Writing by Faith by Douglas Patten

Douglas has been a friend of mine for many years. He’s a fellow writer – his book Olde Mysterium came out last year – and he was gracious enough to read As Waters Gone By, my novel that is coming out in September 2013, and give me kind feedback. His journey into the publishing world is interesting and noteworthy. It’s not easy to write, it’s not easy to push through rejection, and today I’ve asked him to share his story…

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Writing By Faith

by Douglas Patten

When Tina asked me to write a guest blog on writing, my first reaction was to feel deeply honored and my second reaction was: what in the world could I say that would be helpful?  Tina and I have been friends since high school and it was only once after we were raising our own families that we each discovered the other was writing.  Over the years we’ve been able to give each other objective feedback and encouragement, both of which are important for any aspiring writer.

I’ve been writing seriously for over a decade and this last year my first book was published.  I get a lot of questions about how I found an agent or a publisher, but the simple truth is that neither of those things panned out the way I had hoped and dreamed.  After finishing my most recent book OLDE MYSTERIUM, I had a panic attack worrying over who would want to publish this thing and moreover who in the world would want to read it?  It was the third book I had written and the first one where I wrote it without any major plotting.  The idea was to do something new by creating broken characters and to unleash them to live and interact in their own world.  To hurt.  To struggle.  To forge friendships.  To love.  And to find redemption.  I had a vague suspicion where the story might lead, but ultimately things broke loose and the characters forged their own path. Nearing the end of the project, I realized that the characters were reflections of my own soul.  Their fears were mine.  Their questions were my own.  And their doubts were buried deep within me.  I was horrified to discover that God had been using this process to soften my spirit.

I wrote the last page of the manuscript in tears, knowing in the secret chambers of my heart that it was a good story, but ultimately unmarketable because it defied every niche in the market I could think of.  I received confirmation of my fears from the rejections I received from agents and publishers.  OLDE MYSTERIUM was too edgy for traditional Christian publishers because of the questionable situations the characters faced.  And OLDE MYSTERIUM had too much Jesus for the taste of the secular publishers and agents.

It wasn’t until my wife, Caitlin read the manuscript and told me that she loved it (keep in mind this was the first thing I’d written that she took the time to read and actually liked).  So we both faced the question: do we really believe in this story?  It didn’t take much time in prayer because I knew God had guided the whole process of writing it and His answer was straightforward: “Let me be your agent.”

We undertook the process of registering our own publishing company Literati Press and obtaining the ISBNs as well as finding a printing and distribution channel.  After that we had to design the cover and Caitlin found a beautiful photograph online.  I reached out blindly to the photographer, Len Saltiel, and explained that I wanted to use his artwork for my book’s cover.  Len expressed interest and I sent him a copy of the manuscript, not knowing how he would respond to such a story.  The next morning he contacted me back affirming that he loved it and would willingly give me the rights to use his photo for the cover (to my amazement).  I learned how to properly format the manuscript into book pages that would print well and selected a nice Baskerville font for an easy reading experience.  Finally, at the end of last July we launched OLDE MYSTERIUM into the market place.  Jesus is my agent and my wife and I are the publishers.  It’s crazy and edgy to be in this place…but it’s also a walk of faith and there’s comfort in it.

Truth be told, writing and then publishing is as uncertain as it is exciting.  I don’t know what God has planned next, but I know that I’m a writer and have undertaken a journey to write as honestly as I can.  It won’t matter if OLDE MYSTERIUM becomes a best seller, because I’ve already seen many people who have been touched by it.  And as I continue to write, I expect that God will continue to transform my heart and reveal new things with each story penned to paper.

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You can read the first three chapters of OLDE MYSTERIUM as well as Doug’s blog at www.oldemysterium.com

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Thank you Douglas! I appreciate your story and the willingness to listen and go down a road you might have wanted to be otherwise. Many Blessings!

Much Love,

Tina Bustamante