How to Write a Book Proposal (as best I know how)

Note: this article was created as a presentation for the 2020 Business of Art conference put on by Arts Partners of Central Illinois and held at Bradley University. This is the experience I have gained in getting my own book, Celebrating the 12 Days of Christmas, accepted and published. This is the third article in a series on completing a book from proposal to publication. The other articles are:
12 Days of Christmas Book Marketing Blitz!
How to Market a Book (as best I know how)

The buildup to the proposal
In my short career as an author (depending on what you mean by short), I have written one successful and one unsuccessful book proposal. Each of them took me months and months of preparation and work and both were essentially formatted the same. With the unsuccessful book I truly played the lottery, as it was written for a specific book series (33 1/3 with Bloomsbury) and was specifically about the band Arcade Fire's album Reflektor. With around 500 submissions, my proposal made the first cut to around 80 proposals, but it did not make the final cut of being accepted for publication. Knowing there was not much of a place in the publishing world for a book like this (at least that I could see), I regrouped and attempted to figure out what kind of book I could get published.

Album Review: Fernando Ortega's "The Crucifixion of Jesus"

Last week I was able to interview Fernando Ortega for the PostConsumer Reports Podcast. This week I am featuring a review of his new album The Crucifixion of Jesus, which you can order at his website: www.fernandoortega.com. You can listen to our interview here:


Subscribe to the podcast on itunes or check out the podcast page to subscribe on Stitcher, Google Play, Tunein, and PocketCasts.

You can also stream/download the album on itunes, Amazon, or Spotify.

It's been six years since Fernando Ortega last released an album, and his new work The Crucifixion of Jesus finds him creating music in mainly the same vein as he has been for the past decade. And yet this new collection finds the New Mexican singer-songwriter beginning to paint on a much larger canvas. As we have come to expect from Ortega, this album features a gorgeous collection of hymn re-tunings and spiritual songs, but Ortega is now 60 and you can tell he feels mortality weighing on his bones. 

Ep 52: Fernando Ortega on "The Crucifixion of Jesus"

Episode 52 features an interview with musician and composer Fernando Ortega, who releases his newest album The Crucifixion of Jesus on August 4, 2017, which is available to purchase at his website: http://www.fernandoortega.com/. Our talk runs the gamut of topics, from politics in the American church, his love of bird watching, the tension between performing and worship leading, as well as an in depth look at the songs and making of the new album. On top of all that I also get to ask him about his family's history in America and whether or not he's concerned the new album might be considered "too Catholic" by some.

You can stream the episode below.

Crucifixion by Nikolai Ge, as mentioned by Fernando

I have written a number of articles about Fernando over the years, including a brief interview, which you can find here:
Worship Leader Death Match!: Fernando Ortega vs. Matt Redman
Interview: Fernando Ortega on Come Down Oh Love Divine
Arriving Late to the Party #1: Fernando Ortega
Why I Listen to Fernando Ortega
Singing Over Our Children (songs from Rich Mullins, Michael Card, and Fernando Ortega)




You can stream the episode above, subscribe to the podcast on itunes or
Check out the podcast page to subscribe on Stitcher, Google Play, Tunein, and PocketCasts.

Check below for related podcast episodes and articles on worship.

Let's Not Think About the Election! Let's Listen to Music!—Songs Telling the Story of God

Let's not think about the election! Let's listen to music! 

It's the week before the 2016 presidential election but let's pretend it's not happening. Instead, if you happen to find yourself reading this article, please take a few moments to stop what you're doing, click play on the tracks below, and take in some beauty, truth, and goodness. I have curated a play list worthy of your consideration. May they work their way into your soul, embed themselves into your mind, and stir your strength into edifying action.

Today's list (Part 3 of 3):
Songs Telling the Story of Redemption
There is a story being told in our world that gets heard more than all the others. It is a story that makes you afraid. It tells you that if you don't do all you can you will lose everything. It is the kind of story that makes you want to win at all costs. It is a story of power and dominance and progress and accumulation. In this story we pick sides and if you aren't on my side, well, get ready to face the consequences.

But there is an alternate story being told. It is the way of Christ. It is the laying down of our lives willingly for the sake of others. Christ poured himself out and gave life to all the world. This is the story of new creation, of rebirth, of redemption. This is where justice reigns and truth finally wins. God is sovereign in this story and he has told us how the story ends. "Your mercies are new, new every morning..."

Featuring the songs of Rich Mullins, Fernando Ortega, Sara Groves Keith Green/Annie Herring, Andrew Peterson, Matt Redman, and Audrey Assad

Let's Not Think About the Election! Let's Listen to Music!—Songs of Hope & Peace

Let's not think about the election! Let's listen to music! 

It's the week before the 2016 presidential election but let's pretend it's not happening. Instead, if you happen to find yourself reading this article, please take a few moments to stop what you're doing, click play on the tracks below, and take in some beauty, truth, and goodness. I have curated a play list worthy of your consideration. May they work their way into your soul, embed themselves into your mind, and stir your strength into edifying action.

Today's list (Part 2 of 3):
Songs of Hope & Peace
When the whole earth is shifting beneath our feet, when everything around us seems to be crumbling, we desperately need a sure foundation on which to stand and a refuge from the chaos. These are songs that root us in the hope of Christ, of finding peace in him through times of trouble. Allow yourself to rest in these songs, but even more than that, allow yourself to rest in God our Savior in whom all things were made and in whom we live and move and have our being. Featuring the songs of Switchfoot, Rich Mullins, Phil Keaggy, Newsboys, Matt Redman, Delirious?, and Fernando Ortega.

Let's Not Think About the Election! Let's Listen to Music!—Songs of Protest, Satire, & the Apocalypse

The current political season leaves bloggers like me with a dilemma. In what can only be viewed as the most polemicized election of our lifetime(s) do we even bother with bothering people about our piddly little blog posts? Personally, I have a few articles I've been working hard at for the past several weeks, but at the moment I hardly see any point in adding to the noise. I'd like my thoughts to actually get heard and considered, so why waste the effort of putting out another article when people's psyches are already over-saturated with the latest scandal or with attempting to sift through what is fact and fiction in the media's neverending truth manipulation game? 

More than anything, I believe people are increasingly weary of the whole thing. We are tired of fighting each other. Tired of the lies and cover ups and conspicuous tactics of both sides. We've all been spun by the media's spin and I believe if we slow down enough we'll become horrified that often we are the ones doing the spinning ourselves. Having been spun we continue on spinning others... That is, if we are wounded as a nation, a lot of the wounds are self-inflicted...

With all this in mind, I have decided to hold off on my "important" articles for a couple of weeks (or more....We'll see where everything settles in the aftermath of the election). Instead, as a blogger, with something of a public forum for propagating the importance of art and faith in our culture, I am asking us to slow down and listen and ponder and take in some truth, beauty, and goodness. So...

Let's not think about the election! Let's listen to music! 

This is a sincere call. If you happen to find yourself reading this article, please take a few moments to stop what you're doing and click play on the tracks below. I have curated a play list worthy of your consideration. May they work their way into your soul, embed themselves into your mind, and stir your strength into edifying action.

Today's list (Part 1 of 3):
Songs of Protest, Satire, & the Apocalypse
"Listen to the words of the prophet..." These are finger-pointing songs. These are songs that hurt us to our core. They catch us at our most hypocritical. At first we think they are singing about Someone Else, but if we keep on listening we come to find that no, they are singing about us too. Yes, we are culpable for the same crimes we accused others of committing. It would seem some repentance is in order.

But these are also songs that make us laugh...uncomfortably so...at the horror of it all. Sometimes a good bellyache can help us see the world differently and in seeing the world differently we begin to live differently and thus a laugh is never just a laugh. Sometimes a joke can change the world. 

Today's list includes: Bob Dylan, Larry Norman, Keith Green, Randy Newman, Arcade Fire, and Steve Taylor.

What I Learned Listening to New Worship Music For An Entire Year Part 1: no melodies, beards, cuss words and Mumford and Sons ripoffs

Let's play spot the differences: One of these images is of Mumford and Sons, one is a worship band, and one
is of Civil War soldiers. Can you tell which is which? It might be harder than you think.

I have intentionally listened to new "praise and worship" music over the course of the last year. Here is my initial listening list: The Great Worship Music Binge of 2015. And here are the songs that made my final list of songs I plan/hope to sing in my church: The Best New Worship Music.

I had hoped my experiment would only take a couple of months, but I felt compelled to keep listening and listening in the hopes of being fair to all the potential "new" music in existence. The process soon became overwhelming and my ears grew weary and tired. I decided to have short but concentrated listening sessions: an evening here and there, a few afternoons right in a row.

Eventually, I came to a consensus of songs I liked, though I still feel like I have done a gross disservice to the numerous songs I have failed to even get to. Oh well...

Throughout this process I began to make a number of observations and reflections on what I was listening to. Here now are my thoughts.

An Album For My Wife: Commitment & Epilogue (Part 3)

Welcome to the commentary of 1 + 1 = 1: The Courtship of Green & Blue.
This is Part 3, containing tracks 10-15 of the album, that is, the third section of the album called "Commitment" and the "Epilogue". 

Here are links to the Introduction, Prologue & Infatuation (Part 1), and Infatuation (Part 2).

Association of Classical Christian Schools 2016 Conference Day 1

As I write, myself and 3 teachers from the school I headmaster (Aletheia, www.peoriaclassical.org) are in Atlanta, Georgia at the Association of Classical Christian Schools' annual national conference, whose website is here: http://www.accsconference.org/

I brought with me Abbie Corey (Kindergarten), Gabi Michlik (2nd grade & art), and Heather Olsson (6th grade & music/choir).

This is the kind of magical place where you can meet and have a robust discussion with highly influential people in the Classical Education world and with the authors of various books. For example I was purchasing The Administrator's Handbook For Christian Schools when a gentlemen came up and asked me if I was a school administrator. I said "Yes I am," and the bookstore clerk running my credit card said "Oh, that's Dr. Stephenson—he wrote the book." After I bought my books I went over and had a nice 3 minute talk with him. 

It's blurry, but this is The Getty's performing.

But there are other famous people here as well. 

"I don't care if the church will sing it in 2065": Questions From Jeremiah Gibbs

Ha ha! This comic is SO funny! Even if it is basically an ignorant and unfair stereotype

Last week I published an article calling for a discussion on what it would take to form a "Canon of Contemporary Worship Music." A canon is a measurement, a ruler, of what is best in any given field of knowledge. Within the realm of church music hymnals have traditionally functioned as their "canon". They contain a set amount of songs a committee has thought about, prayed about, sung, and eventually voted on. But it would be very difficult to create a comprehensive and fair modern day hymnal, especially one that would incorporate what is known as "contemporary" worship music. The first difficulty is our music (and even lyrics) tends to be disposable and the second difficulty is there is just too much of it out there to sift through.

My friend, Dr. Jeremiah Gibbs, had some push back for me in my search for the contemporary canon. His questions were thought provoking enough that I thought they deserved worthy answers. Jeremiah is University Chaplain and Assistant Professor of Philosophy and Religion at the University of Indianapolis. He blogs at: https://jeremiahgibbs.com/ Next month I will be featuring an interview with him on the PostConsumer Reports Podcast about his book Apologetics After Lindbeck. 

PostConsumer Culture Club #1—The Week of August 30-September 5

I'm not exactly sure what the next year will look like for me.

There is the potential I could start writing a book (Lord, open that door), I have a number of articles on worship music already written that I am going to share starting in November (whoops, I just shared one a couple of days ago), and I would really like to flex my interviewing skills and do more podcasting (I have lots of ideas...). I am also in the (slow) process of being ordained as an Anglican Priest. And so I am going to attempt putting out a weekly article that is simple for me to write but hopefully fun and informative for everyone else. I am calling it "PostConsumer Culture Club".

Here's the description:
PostConsumer Culture Club: A list of everything we at PostConsumer Reports have been digesting this week, with brief commentary. Hopefully, we can culture something good in you. Happy PostConsuming!

Rich Mullins and America as the Promised Land

 _____________________
I usually have very little to say about civic holidays and devotion to the motherland, but this July 4 Rich Mullins got me thinking about my country in entirely new ways. Though I have listened to his music for most of my life it was not until now I actually saw the particular and peculiar perspective he brought forth in his songs surrounding being a Christian in America. I offer that perspective now...
_____________________

Part 1: Psalms for America
There is this moment right in the middle of Rich Mullins' song "Calling Out Your Name" where a choir breaks in with a wordless "Woh-oh-oh-ohhhhhh!!! Woh-woh-ohh!!! Woh-oh-oh-oh-ohhh..." Prior to that Mullins has just repeated the refrain "And I hear the prairies calling out your name." Recently, while listening to the song for perhaps the 200th plus time a realization came to me: the "Woh-oh-oh" section was the song of the prairies themselves, the earth bursting forth in worship of the Lord.

"I need the darkness someone please cut the lights!": A Very Special Arcade Fire ANTI-Advent Reflection

Again Jesus spoke to them, saying, “I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will not walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.”

+++Jesus, from the Gospel of John, chapter 8, verse 12

Statement 1: For as long as I can remember I have been awaiting Christ's second return, longing for his light to shine in our world of darkness, expecting the world's redemption, and the creation of the new heavens and the new earth.

Statement 2: For as long as I have listened to them, Arcade Fire have been singing about getting away from the light, to escape to a place where technology and the burdens of our modern age cannot find them, a place of darkness.

In other words, whereas I have lived my life in a perpetual state of advent, Arcade Fire have been living in nonstop anti-advent, thus making almost exclusively Anti-Advent music.

Teacher Training Conference Daily Blog: Day 2

This is day two of the Rockbridge Teacher Training. I have another 7 or so typed pages of notes, which I am condensing down for you.

Here are the talks I was challenged, inspired, convicted, and awed by today:

Lesson Planning at the Secondary Level

Overview of The 7 Laws of Teaching

The “Why, What, How, Where, When, and Who” of Music Education

The Imperative of Beauty and the Creative Call  

Sights and Sounds of the Grammar and Dialectic (Logic)
The First Two Weeks of Grammar

The 10 Best Matt Redman Songs You're (Probably) Not Singing at Your Church

To some people who read this blog it may seem like I do not like worship leader and church music 
songwriter Matt Redman. Well, I wanted to do something to make it clear exactly where I stand regarding his work.

An Index: Arcade Fire Songs Mentioning Light, Darkness, Mirrors, and Reflections

"Look into the light...Look hard into the light..."
Related Post: "Continual Themes and Subjects in the Work of Arcade Fire (a list)"

For several years now I have been made powerfully aware of a theme that runs throughout a significant amount of the work of my (current) favorite band, Arcade Fire. The theme began to occur to me after I started digesting the lyrics to their 2010 work The Suburbs. I began forming some critical (as in "literary or music criticism") thoughts about their lyrics but nothing really gelled until they released their current album Reflektor.  It now became apparent to me that they are obsessed (obsessed I tells ya!) with imagery surrounding light, darkness, day, night, mirrors, and reflections.  In fact, it permeates a great majority of their work.

Music For Tough Times

In my recent post about the Central Illinois tornado that did a lot of damage on November 17 ("Where is God When a Tornado Hits?")  I listed a number of resources that can help individuals and church groups work through what they are going through: a sermon, a list of Scriptures, and a list of books to read about suffering and the existence of evil.

But I left one vital part of life out: music.

Our Birth Story

These thoughts, which have since been revised, were written after the birth of our second child Micah Joseph with some additions after the birth of our third child Isaac Mathieu, born on July 14, 2013. (Note: words related to birth and sex and human anatomy are used which might make some uncomfortable. The author assumes his readers understand such things and acknowledge their part in life.)

The Birth Story: Section I: Behold All Things Are New

Never have I felt more powerless.  And never have I felt of less use.

Singing Over Our Children (songs from Rich Mullins, Michael Card, and Fernando Ortega)

There's not going to be a regular blog post this week.  A baby was born in our household and I have some more important duties to attend to, namely, getting my wife some juice, doing laundry, and changing that unique first batch of poopy diapers.  We had a boy and his name is Isaac Mathieu (Meaning "he laughs" and "gift of the Lord [YHWH]] or as I like to put it "Laughing gift of the Lord".  He is currently bringing much joy his mother and our prayer is that he will be filled with laughter and joy as he grows in the Lord.).

Is "Call the Midwife" the Most Countercultural Show on TV?

          It brings me great joy when my wife and I can find a television show that we both enjoy and can watch together.  I tend to go for darker or more out-there fare, with British comedy being my absolute favorite (think The Prisoner, Louie, The Office [British version], or The Fast Show).  She tends to go for more relationship oriented comedy/dramas, classic TV, standard crime procedurals, or practical minded reality TV (think Friends, The Mary Tyler Moore Show, Bones, or House Hunters). We both had a love for Seinfeld before we got married and we have enjoyed watching a number of new shows together since we got married: All Creatures Great & Small, Northern Exposure, Frasier, As Time Goes By, Freaks and Geeks, and My So-Called Life, with our latest television bonding coming from a mutual obsession with Friday Night Lights.  But in the past few years since having kids we have watched very little television together.