AUTHOR INTERVIEW: Jim Hughes

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Tell me a about yourself. What got you started in writing?

        

I am Jim Hughes, a pastor and author of the book, C Through Marriage.  I have been serving the Lord as a pastor for over 40 years, have been married to my lovely bride for 42 years, have two married children, a teenager at home, two granddaughters, and a dog.

     

The Lord got me started writing while I was serving a local church as a bi-vocational pastor around 30 years ago.

How do you schedule your writing time? When do you write?

        

I do a lot of writing early in the morning as a part of my daily devotional time.  I post daily devotions on my blog, Facebook, and my web page.  They are not published works, but maybe someday the Lord will lead in that direction.

How and where do you write? Do you prefer a lap top or some other method of getting your words down?

        

I use a laptop.  It is easier to fix my mistakes and easier to store what I have done on thumb drives. 

What's your favorite part about writing? Your least favorite part about writing?

      

My favorite part of writing is what it does for my own spiritual growth.  I love to read through the Bible and each time I do, the Lord shows me new things.  I enjoy expounding on Truth. 

     

The least favorite thing for me is to get what I do published.  I am not knowledgeable on the e-book format and I can't afford to publish traditionally, so what I have done just sits and waits for a breakthrough. 

      

I have several devotional books that could be published as well as two more books on Christian marriages.

How did you come up with your book idea? How long did it take you to write your book?

      

The Lord directed my thoughts.  I was well-trained by a college professor on alliteration and it has influenced my thinking and writing ever since.  When the Lord sat me down to write, the titles of my subject matters just naturally flowed.

      

I first started to write my book around 30 years ago.  About 7 years ago the Lord sat me down and I started writing in earnest while I was working in a local factory.  I found that I just could not write fast enough once I got started.  It took me almost a year to write my book from that point.

What types of marketing do you do to promote your writing?

         

I am mainly on social media.  I use my book as a spring board for my online ministry.  I am on Facebook, Twitter, and my webpage.  I do radio blog interviews as they become available and blogs.  I have done very little book signings, as they rarely prove to be successful for me.

What are you currently working on? Do you have a new book out?

        

As I have already noted, I am working on devotional books right now.  I have at least four that are done as far as the content is concerned.  I am not writing my devotionals with the intent of publishing them, but if the Lord leads in that direction, I will pursue it.  It is my daily prayer that the Lord will bless what I post and use it for His glory.

      

Do you have a project on the back burner? Tell me about it.

        

I just have what has been written already.  I find great contentment in the ministry that the Lord has opened up to me because of my book's existence.  If my book never sells and I never see anything else published, I am quite content.

        

My ministry in the local church, my online ministry, my role as a husband, father and grandfather keep me plenty busy.

What would you tell a beginning writer who wants to publish but doesn't believe he/she has enough talent?

       

Believe in yourself and believe in God.  It doesn't take any special talent to write.  Everybody has a story to tell.  With today's technology, most grammatical problems are easily fixed.  The key to writing and being successfully published is hard work and perseverance.  If you really believe in what you want to share with the world, you can do it.  As a Christian, we know that we can do all things through Christ who gives us the strength to do it.  Nothing is impossible for those who really believe God is directing the process.  Don't listen to the naysayers.  Listen to your heart.

      

Also, be realistic with your expectations.  The chances of your writing a book that will catapult you into world fame and fortune are very slim.  If you want to write to make a living out of it, you will find it will take a lot of very hard work and much time.  Very, very few people ever make a living out of writing books.