What to know when writing a book

What to know when writing a book

Jimmy Henderson (PH.D)

So you want to write a book? If this is the case the first thing you have to consider is your reason for doing so.

If you want money and fame I have bad news for you. Only the top 5% of all authors become rich and famous. Perhaps you just want a second source of income? This is more realistic as there is no doubt that with hard work you can achieve at least a measure of success.

Another reason may be that you want to improve your credibility in whatever field you are in, be it academics or business, and being a published author can certainly give you a certain standing.

However, I would like to believe that most of us have good personal reasons for wanting to write. For instance, we may have certain life-experience that we wish to share with the world, something that needs to be told, either to teach or to help others. Writing is also an excellent way of dealing with personal trauma, as sharing and expressing your feelings and thoughts can be very therapeutic.

Having a passion for writing may simply have come naturally. You may have a good imagination and these stories keep coming and you are able to shape them in the form of novels. Whatever your reason, know that there is possibly a long and difficult road ahead, and you will need that passion to keep you going during the bad times.

I would also suggest joining a writing group to receive feedback on the quality of your writing and your style, and you may need to consider coaching if you find that it is not up to standard. In this regard I would suggest the SA Writers Circle (sawriters.org.za) or some other writers groups on Meetup.com.

So what are the problems you are likely to face as a first-time author?

If you follow the traditional publishing route, you will first need to understand that publishers need to know that they will make a profit from the sale of your book and this leads them to be very selective. In other words, they will first evaluate your ‘saleability’ before committing to any book deal. It certainly helps if you are a well-known personality, famous sportsman or celebrity, but for most of us, this is not the case, so I will try to highlight the challenges using my own early experiences as a first-time author. 

Getting published was even more difficult back then in the early 80’s, as there were no computers or internet in South Africa and everything had to be typed and processed by hand. And there was also no data-base of publishers. So I began by writing down the postal addresses of suitable publishing houses by looking at books in my genre on the shelves of different bookshops. After a few weeks, I had not found a suitable South African publisher and therefore decided to send my first hand-typed manuscript overseas via registered post, which was costly even in those days. You must remember that before computers manuscripts had to be hand-typed on a typewriter and could be very bulky. In my case, it weighed two kilograms. 

A waiting game 

Over a period of a few years I sent the manuscript to a number of different overseas publishers and waited for a written reply by post. Following up on these submissions was difficult, as the phone details of the publishers were not listed on the printed books, only postal addresses, and in any case, overseas telephone calls were also hugely expensive. The turn-around time for these submissions was about 3 months, if and when they did reply, and in most cases I had to send follow-up letters to get an answer. So my initial efforts at finding a publisher were unsuccessful and I received a variety of rejection letters. ‘Sorry, not applicable for our lists’ ‘We have decided to remain with our current authors’ One MS was even returned unopened with the message; ‘After careful consideration it is not suitable’. There was also no guidance, feedback on the quality of the manuscript or encouragement from any of these publishers. It was only twenty years later with the help of the internet that I managed to find a publisher in Cape Town who accepted my manuscripts and I became a published author.

The situation today

It is a lot easier today. The internet has made publishers more accessible as they now have websites with details on how to correctly submit manuscripts. But there are still many challenges in getting your book accepted by a traditional publisher and achieving sales success.

Genre

For instance, you need to find a publisher who specialises in your genre, which may not be that saleable and your target readership market may be small. Not many people read books today and certain genres are more popular than others. For example, fiction novels are quite popular, but my non-fiction self-help books need time and effort to process and many people are reluctant to give up this amount of time. The following website (may help you to find a suitable publisher: Publisher’s Assoc. Of South Africa (PASA)
http://www.publishsa.co.za/members/category?all=all

Quality 

You also need to make sure that your book is well-written, edited, and sent exactly as each publisher wants it. Even if your manuscript is accepted there is still a lot of work to be done. 

Building a recognisable public profile 

Your public profile is most important. Even if you do find a publisher, if you are not an established name, bookshops are reluctant to order your book. Your name either sells or it doesn’t. Publishers do not market you or create your profile. You as the author have to create a public profile using social media, book launches, public talks, blog articles and appearances etc. Public appearances in the form of talks to book groups or other organisations help to improve your profile and also provide a ‘captured’ audience for the sale of your books. The problem is that you can only draw the crowds once you are well-known, which means that your public appearances will initially not be well-attended and you have to accept this. 

Unsympathetic bookshops 

My dealings with bookshops have led me to believe that many are only concerned with sales and profits and not really interested in supporting local authors. Some are still reluctant to arrange book launches unless you are already well-established and they can be sure that it will be successful. I also find that they generally tend to openly display the most popular novels by famous writers and offer very little in the way of display space to local authors. They will often return your books to your publisher if they are not sold within 6 months and orders for your book (s) soon dwindle.

Try to create a demand for your books by using social media and informing those who attend your workshops and talks to specifically order your book at the bookshops.

Royalties 

The royalties given to you by a traditional publisher are also very small, usually only about 5% to 10% of the final sale cost of the book. This means that you have to sell large volumes in order to cover your investment costs. The communication between the publisher and yourself with regard to royalties is often poor and you may have to wait many months or even a year to find out what is the pittance you have earned. 

The dangers of ‘vanity’ publishing 

Some overseas publishers target writers who desperately want to gain acceptance as a published author by offering ‘author packages’ which include editing and printing and promise sales and marketing opportunities. These ‘packages’ are very expensive, as they usually have to be bought in dollars or other strong currencies. Unfortunately, there is no way in which you can monitor the efforts of these companies and if they are actually delivering on their promises, and some South African writers I know have had little success with these costly ventures. 

So what other options are there?

The self-publishing model 

Self-publishing means you have to do everything yourself, from typing the manuscript to finding an editor and arranging the cover, printing and marketing of your book. Many famous authors have started out by self-publishing (Stephen King and even Mark Twain).

In the early days self-publishing was costly as it had to be done on printing presses and printers did not want to print less than 1000 copies. This made it very expensive. Now with desktop publishing being freely available, smaller publishers have emerged who will print only a few copies using computerized systems. This is called print-on-demand. 

If you are successful with the self-publishing and marketing of your book, you may eventually attract the attention of a large publishing house which will be prepared to take over the printing, sale and distribution of your book. 

There are a number of advantages to self-publishing 

• Your royalties are higher as there is no publisher involved 

• You have more control over your book and its design than an ‘author package’ you may have bought

• You can print only as much as you need

• Your books are your property (copyright) 

However, there are also a number of drawbacks when it comes to self-publishing:  

• You will have to pay for your own editing, printing and design work (covers) 

• You have to sell to bookshops ‘on consignment’, which is when they keep the books on the shelves but only pay you a percentage if and when the book is sold

• It is often not easy to convince individual bookshops to take your books, as you still need to build a public profile and do the advertising and marketing of your own books

• Many bookshops are not really interested in self-published books, claiming that the quality and content is substandard. You will therefore have to make sure that your book is well-written and presentable

Royalties

• Bookshops also take much of the profits from the sale of the self-published books, usually between 35-45 %, leaving you as the author with all the costs of printing and marketing and very little in the way of royalties 

Stocks and postage 

• Another problem is that you will have to keep stocks of your own books, go door to door to the different bookshops and attend a variety of shows and festivals to display and try to sell them 

• If you take online orders, you will have additional costs with packaging, postage and transport 

A new online publishing model (e-books) 

With the advent of Kindle and other digital book readers, online publishing of your book as an e-book has become a real option. In this case your manuscript is published in the form of an e-book on world-wide platforms and sold internationally through sales portals such as Amazon. Buyers can then order a hard copy on print-on demand from Amazon if they so wish

There are a number of benefits of this model: 

• Cost effective The e-book option is extremely cost-effective, as, although there are initial costs with editing, design, conversion and uploading, these are far less than the packages offered by overseas ‘vanity’ publishers 

• Ease of marketing and sales 

• Obviously, efforts to market yourself, such as public talks and appearances have to continue, but this can now be combined with online marketing and the use of social media, as the process has now been simplified with potential buyers only having to log onto your website to get sales links to your e-books

• Your book is also instantly available internationally

• Print-on demand

There are also no packaging or postage costs, as the buyer pays for the delivery of hard-copies done by the sales platform in their own country. These print-on-demand copies can now be delivered internationally, including to South Africa. 

• Ease of monitoring The online sales portals provide facilities for you to monitor all your sales and income and generate your own reports

• Higher income from royalties 

• E-books and print-on-demand pay much higher royalties, as there are no middle-men such as bookshops or other overheads involved. Royalties from Amazon can be as high as 70%. 

• No need for storage You do not need space for storing e-books and there is no chance of damage or loss due to flooding or theft. 

To conclude, all I can say is that if we had had online publishing and print-to-order 30 years ago, I might not have had so much grey hair as I now have. Becoming an author has really become easier and income from my e-books now exceeds that of my hard-copy sales following the traditional route. If you are interested in this e-book option, I recommend that you contact the team at www.myebook.co.za 

Best wishes for your writing career!
Jimmy Henderson (Ph.D) (psychology) 

A conversation on the possibility of parallel universes

A conversation on the possibility of parallel universes

Dr. Jimmy Henderson

Recently a lot of ideas have been discussed around Quantum mechanics. Some quantum researchers have even mentioned the possibility of parallel universes. In other words, they believe that some mathematical problems that have shown up in the study of quantum mathematics can only be resolved if we accept the possibility that ‘mirror images’ of our universe, including our own world and even duplicates of ourselves, exist on higher levels.

As a cognitive scientist and philosopher, I would like to comment on this idea, which is not acceptable to me in its present form. I personally believe that what these mathematicians are measuring are ‘universes of possibility’, alternate paths through history which we could see as ‘potential worlds’. However, if we accept that reality is actually of our own making, alternate realities or new possible worlds can only come to exist once we as a species collectively make choices that lead us off on a tangent to the path we are now following.

This situation can be likened to a dream. We (subconsciously) choose what version of the dream we wish to see and are therefore creators of the dream. In this way we would be the co-creators of a new world and could be said to be ultimately capable of entering and engaging a new ‘parallel universe’ in which we follow a different path and end up with a totally different history.    

In other words, parallel universes, which are alluded to by quantum mathematicians, only exist in theory as potential pathways. They have not yet been called into actual existence or ‘populated’ by anyone at all. A useful metaphor would be that of the cyber world, in which there are many potential pathways in a computer program, but these pathways are not active until the correct programming conditions are met. In other words, mankind as a whole must decide to take an alternate path in order to activate and populate a parallel universe.  

A good example would be that of a ‘green’ world in which everyone, including the corporations and industries, care for the environment and implement radical changes towards this ideal. However, as can be seen in the world today, it would take a great deal of commitment and hard work to bring about this shift.

So I am afraid that we will have to be content with this world and this universe until we have progressed to the point where we can choose a better, alternate, parallel universe. 

www.discoveringyourself.co.za

Soul Evolution-fact or fantasy?

My latest article in the Aneis de Vida magazine

https://issuu.com/aneisdevida/docs/april_2017/72

Psychic and self-development

Psychic and self-development

Dr. Jimmy Henderson

Introduction

I know that there are many people who are very cautious or are ‘sitting on the fence’ when it comes to topics like psychic development and metaphysics, and I think this is due to the fact that these fields have received bad press by using their own jargon such as ‘connecting’, ‘channeling’ and ‘5^th dimensional portals’ which sound very mysterious and strange to those who are not part of such groups or circles. So what I really want to do is de-mystify some ideas on psychic development and metaphysics by linking them to the normal process of human self-development and the scientific and psychological research which underlies this development.

A simple definition of metaphysics would be the study and practice of principles relating to the mind and reality which extend beyond our everyday understanding. This means a more universal and expanded framework of thinking than is currently taught in learning institutions.

I have made the statement that psychic or ‘spiritual” growth could be seen as linked to a natural process of self-development, having a gradual learning curve and being part of a continuum of growth which involves mastering new skills relating to feelings, thinking and perception. If we accept that we all have a higher, more spiritual and moral side (sometimes called the higher or authentic self in psychology), this could be seen as similar to a process of self-actualisation, and both personal growth and metaphysics could be seen as having the aim of achieving this self-actualisation.   

Of course, metaphysics does present teachings which contain a number of ‘different’ views or ideas on life, death and what supposedly happens after death, some of which may seem radical, and you may argue that these ideas are simply another set of dogmatic beliefs. However, there is an important difference, in that metaphysics encourages free thought and provides an open-ended exploration of self and reality directed at the development of consciousness, in which each person is urged to find his or her own path. Truth is discovered in the heart by those who are sincere in their search, and each is allowed to decide this for him or herself.

To substantiate my earlier statement that psychic development can be linked to self-development, it will be seen that in most metaphysical teachings, similar to courses or coaching in personal development, each person is encouraged to deal with important emotional and psychological obstacles to growth, including repressed emotions, self-defeating thoughts and beliefs and closed paradigms of thinking. I personally do not believe that it is possible to achieve self-actualisation when one is caught in a web of fear-based thoughts and habits based on unpleasant experiences and memories from the past.  

Self-exploration (IQ) (Intelligence Quotient)

Metaphysical practices are aimed at self-introspection, emotional and psychological change and the learning of new skills designed to unleash the true creative power of the mind, build new levels of confidence and self-understanding and develop the latent abilities which we all have.

It is a well-known fact that meditation improves mindfulness and increases creativity. At the beginning of the development curve or continuum, metaphysics introduces practices such as meditation and visualisation for the purpose of self-exploration and self-empowerment, radically increasing mindfulness, producing a greater depth of understanding, deeper self-knowledge and the improvement of one’s self-image and self-esteem through self-acceptance. In this way these practices fulfill the same role as coaching or counselling.

Emotional development (EQ) (Emotional Quotient)

The next part of the curve would involve achieving a degree of emotional wellness, or emotional intelligence, which means developing empathy for others, identifying and managing our own emotions, and attaining a degree of emotional resilience to day-to-day challenges which may be stressful. A period of emotional healing is also necessary, during which we let go of lingering emotions from the past such as anger and resentment, and learn to forgive others as well as ourselves for past mistakes. This would apply to normal human development as well as training in metaphysics.

When it comes to emotional wellness, meditation is a recognised practice in some forms of therapy. It has also been shown to be useful as a means of de-stressing, as well as increasing the sense of control and self-mastery, which is certainly related to self-development.

Heightened levels of empathy that accompany an improved emotional intelligence (EQ) would correspond to an increased moral sense, which could also be related to metaphysical practices, which emphasise the brotherhood of man and the aspect of service to mankind.   

The development of the mind

.

Metaphysical practices also demand a clear and open mind. This means having to deal with outdated ideas, self-limiting beliefs and unwanted emotional ‘debris’ from the past, and ‘shifting gears’ to more universal or holistic patterns of thinking. Both self-development and metaphysics encourage this clearing or healing process, as well as the adopting of a more flexible framework of ideas which allows us to process and assimilate new insights and experiences.  

The development of spiritual development or spiritual intelligence (SQ)

(Spiritual Quotient)

However, by its very nature, metaphysics extends beyond normal day-to-day self-development to include building a relationship with our subconscious minds, which will provide the underlying power for advanced new skills such as heightened sense perception, intuition, psychic sight and realisation of the higher self or soul. This meeting/ merging with the true human identity could be viewed as self-actualisation, and be seen as the apex of the developmental curve, or end of the self-development continuum.  

Conclusion

The process of psychic and spiritual development as introduced in metaphysics follows a path similar to normal human self-development, but extends this process to include the highest possible levels of self-realisation. In this way it could be seen to have a foundation in human psychology and developmental processes.   

Dr Jimmy Henderson is a cognitive scientist, philosopher and metaphysician. He has been involved in the study of the Mind and Spirit for over thirty years as a member of the Rosicrucian Order (AMORC), and has written a number of books and e-books on self-development and the power of the mind. His website is www.discoveringyourself.co.za

A new view of spiritual development

A new view of spiritual development

Jimmy Henderson (Ph.D) F.R.C 

In my previous article I proposed a new theory of the human soul as the complete and perfect essence of each human formed (created) in a Universal Mind. In this case, the existence of a Universal Mind I derived from the idea of a collective unconscious described by Carl Jung, as well as the notion of a universal consciousness, which, according to some quantum physicists, is said to be at the basis of the entire universe. The perfection of the soul itself I linked to Plato’s idea of the world of ‘ideal forms’, which he believed provides the templates for everything in existence. As a result, I expect some questions as to what would be the point, purpose and process of spiritual development if human souls are already, in essence, perfect and complete.

The answer is pretty simple really. In my article I pointed out that the idea of the evolution of the soul itself is fraught with problems, but that the notion of the gradual evolution of the body does not pose these same problems at all. A human soul simply await the evolution of a body sufficiently complex so as to be able to express its consciousness (at least to a degree), and appropriately matched to its individual personality.    

I also mentioned that the soul brings with it, the principle of consciousness, which, in this case, is severely limited by biological and instinctual structures set by the DNA of the human body. In other words, spiritual evolution could be linked to an unfolding consciousness, and seen as the gradual mastery of the human soul over basic animal (even reptilian) drives, instincts and destructive urges derived from earlier evolutionary stages of the human body. In religious terms, this could be seen as the metaphorical “battle between good and evil”.

An analogy for this process would be that of an insect which has a larval stage during which it struggles for survival and later emerges from a chrysalis having evolved into an adult. It is interesting to note that in the larval stage the insect is very primitive and destructive. Only later, as it matures and the outer casing (chrysalis) falls away, does the inner being emerge, which is more perfect.

However, dealing with the primal urges is not the end of the process. Once we have learnt to manage the early irrational energies to some extent, (this would probably take us into adulthood), we are still left to undo the many years of conditioning linked to outdated modes of education and societal ‘programs’, and also challenge our own fears, misperceptions and the many misguided beliefs which have led to the creation of the false sense of self commonly known as the ‘ego’. This programming has so entangled the pathways of our adult minds as to block the emergence of the soul, the authentic human self.

To conclude, if viewed in this manner, spiritual development is actually quite a natural and practical process, being simply the attempts of the authentic self (soul) to ‘reform’ the lower state of being.

However, we also know that the lower human drives and instincts have been imbedded in our DNA for millennia, and the question now arises as to how the final emergence of the soul could ever be possible. Fortunately, there is new scientific evidence that DNA can actually be altered by powerful emotional experiences, and hopefully we can evolve to a fuller expression of the soul by consciously releasing destructive emotions such as hatred, selfishness and greed and replacing them with emotions such as compassion and love.

Dr Jimmy Henderson is a cognitive scientist, philosopher and metaphysician. He has been involved in the study of the Mind and Spirit for over thirty years as a member of the Rosicrucian Order (AMORC), and has written a number of books and e-books on self-development and the power of the mind. His website is www.discoveringyourself.co.za 

Soul evolution; a fallacy or a reality?

Soul evolution; a fallacy or a reality?

                      

Dr. Jimmy Henderson

                                                  

Introduction

Many ancient metaphysical texts maintain that the soul or spiritual essence of a person passes through stages of evolution in the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms to emerge only later as a human soul. As a cognitive scientist and a metaphysician, this idea seems outdated in the light of human psychology. This article looks at arguments against the ancient view of the evolution of the soul and introduces a new theory based on recent research in the human sciences.

                                            The earlier view

Very early teachings on what is sometimes called ‘the transmigration of the soul’, maintain that the human soul (as the true spiritual essence of a human being), can pass through a variety of forms, both human and animal. These texts suggest that the human soul had an embryonic stage during which it passed through earlier levels of consciousness represented by the mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms. In other words, they maintain that the human consciousness could, at an earlier stage, have been submerged in lower forms of life.

However, philosophically, as well as in terms of the natural and human sciences, this view leads to a number of serious problems. :

For instance, apart from the ludicrous implication that a human being could earlier have been a piece of rock, a carrot or even the rabbit eating the carrot, the concept of a ‘human’ soul applies to a human form. When discussing other lower forms of life, it would be more accurate to rather speak of mineral, vegetable or animal souls than to use the concept of a human soul. However, even this is a misnomer, as one of the attributes of a soul in metaphysics is that it brings with it the dimension of consciousness (or self-awareness), which, in terms of natural science, applies more to humans than to the other natural ‘kingdoms’.

Then there is the issue of separate and distinct personalities, which takes place only at the level of complex life as represented by humans and some higher animals. As it is clear from the natural sciences that plants and insects have more of a collective mind or hive-mentality, we have problems explaining what how a separate human soul with a specific, complex personality can evolve from a collective consciousness.

However, these inconsistencies disappear if the idea of evolution is applied only to the development of the human body itself, as the problems only emerge when we link evolution to the human soul itself, which, according to metaphysics, is the higher, authentic essence of a human being.

Being more authentic (that is, closer in form to its origin), and higher up on the ‘consciousness scale’ than the body, it stands to reason that the soul should be more perfect and complete, and be a sort of a ‘template’ for the human being. As a result, I believe that the notion of the soul evolving from an earlier embryonic stage through the different natural ‘kingdoms’, is a very limited and outdated view. 

            

                  A new view based on science and human psychology

A new approach based on current research in cognitive science can resolve many of these inconsistencies. 

The first clue is provided by the Jungian notion of archetypes, which exist within the human unconscious mind as collections of energies representing certain aspects of personality. For example, the archetype of the ‘inner child’ represents the original childlike innocence often repressed during adulthood, and the ‘nurturer’ archetype  encompasses the protective feelings of compassion, nurturing and the mothering instinct normally found in women. 

These archetypes often find expression in human behaviour.   

Another area of psychological research has identified cognitive (mental) structures called schemas, pre-existing patterns derived from earlier experiences which are active during thinking and perception. Different types of schemas exist, and research has shown that object-schemas provide templates for the recognition, classification and categorisation of objects in the mind.

At this point we need to consider the view of reality as suggested by quantum physicists, in which we are all said to live in a universe of consciousness and our individual minds represent ‘quanta’ derived from this single consciousness. From this information we can see that it is quite possible that, if our own minds mirror the universal consciousness, archetypes and schemas could also exist in a universal ‘Mind’, including ‘human‘ archetypes or ‘schemas’ representing the original template for human beings. Being archetypal, these forms would represent the whole of which they are a part, and could thus be seen in terms of philosophy as ‘ideal forms’ (Plato[H1] ), in metaphysics as human souls, and even in religious terms as (creations in) the image of God. These ‘souls’ would all differ, as does the content of archetypes in the human mind.

This theory of human templates or souls being formed from one universal essence means that any evolution of these forms is unnecessary, as they are ideal and complete, awaiting only the birth of human physical forms which are sufficiently complex and matched so as to act as vehicles for their incarnation. 

According to this approach, evolution would apply only to the human body, thus eliminating all the logical problems associated with the idea of the evolution of the soul through the earthly mineral, vegetable and animal kingdoms. This theory also supports the idea that the human soul does not evolve, but is complete and perfect when formed, and only experiences a loss of consciousness when entering the human physical and cognitive systems, as is already argued in most metaphysical teachings.

 

Dr. Jimmy Henderson is a cognitive scientist, philosopher and metaphysician with a holistic and integrated view of life. His books are available on Amazon.com and are also available through his website www.discoveringyourself.co.za

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 [H1]Inserting link to article on Plato.

The development of religious concepts and ideas

My latest article in the Aneis de Vida magazine 

https://issuu.com/aneisdevida/docs/february_2017/60

The development of religious concepts and ideas