Buy now

All done. The proof arrived today and all seems fine. I have taken the plunge and approved it for publication. It is available on Lulu now (see the orange button to your right) and will be available elsewhere in a few weeks.

Done

I've just submitted the FINAL version of the typescript to Lulu. A proof copy is on its way and, barring any major snafu's, I'll be able to publish next week.

A brief synopsis

As promised, here is an outline of what my book is actually about. My main thesis is that Christianity simply does not make sense; scientifically, philosophically or morally. Nor, for that matter, does it make sense as a coherent set of ideas.

I didn't start out intending to write a book but, as is the case with anyone who has more than a passing interest in Christianity, I had a great many questions about it. As I began the cathartic process of trying to find answers to those questions my main concern was to try and find out what Christians actually believe. What I found out is that this is a great deal harder than one might imagine. It is often extremely difficult to persuade a Christian to explain their exact views on a particular subject and this is complicated by the fact that, depending on the denomination of the person being asked, one can be presented with very different answers to the same question.

After a while, I realised that I had accumalated enough material to write a book, albeit a short one, and so that is what I did. Although, as I have said, I have not worked flat out on it, rather it has come on in dribs and drabs, with week-, or even month-long hiatuses.

In the introduction to the book, I identify what I take to be the fundamental principles of Christian believers: things like a belief in the Fall of humanity, Jesus as God, the resurrection etc. And I argue that anyone who does not accept these claims is not in fact a Christian. The main book is then divided up into 7 chapters - 1. God, 2. Sin, 3. Christ, 4. Atonement, 5. Judgement, 6. Infidels, 7. Faith, and there is a brief epilogue that pre-empts potential criticism.

A recurring theme of the book is the need to suspend disbelief. For instance, it would be pointless to talk about atonement, for instance, without first having accepted, for the sake of argument, the idea of original sin. Therefore, each chapter necessarily proceeds by first arbitrarily waiving the objections raised by the one before. This means that by the end of the book, the reader will realise just how many concessions one has to make in order for the Christian faith to stand up.

Anyway. That is probably enough for now. I'm nearly finished proof reading so I'll post again when I resubmit the typescript.

Acknowledging my limitations

In the introduction to my book I acknowledge that I am not an academic or an intellectual, and in the epilogue I try to argue that these facts should not disqualify me from speaking on the subject of Christianity. However, having received my proof copy of 'unbelievable', and having started to go over it, yet again, checking for errors, it is obvious to me that I am not a writer either. In fairness there is not that much in the way of alterations that needs to be made - an oversight in formatting here, a slight change of punctuation there - it is just that the prose itself feels clunky and amateurish.

I have been here before of course, many times. I remember reading a blog of an established author, commenting on his latest project, and he said that he went from thinking that his typescript was the most insightful and elegant piece of work ever produced, to worrying that it was the most disastrous drivel imaginable. That is what I am doing, and have been doing over the course of many months. Only time will tell which of these evaluations is nearest the mark.

I have nearly finished making the final adjustments to the proof copy and over the next day or two I will resubmit for publication. I will probably request another proof copy, but I have promised myself that barring a major cock-up in formatting, these will be my final edits.

Incidentally, I have recently had something of a breakthrough regarding the formatting of the typescript. When I started writing, I think I was still using MS office, but some time ago I switched from Windows to Linux and so began using LibreOffice, or OpenOffice as it was then. I saved my documents as .doc's rather than LibreOffice documents as that format can be used by both systems. When I came to format them properly for publication, I found that I had a hell of a job with things like headers and footers and bullets and things, and particularly section breaks. Sometimes, alterations to these things did not 'take' and I would return to the documents to find that the alterations had not saved. I had to make the alterations again and then export them to a pdf in order to save them. Most bizarre. I put this down to the fact that the documents must be riddled with hidden artifacts from each of the two Office programs, artifacts that are only compatible for one system or another. Yesterday however, I discovered that if I save the documents in LibreOffice's native format, all these problems go away. This will make it much easier when I come to format my final draft in the next few days. Hurrah!

This is quite a long and rambling post and I'm not sure if anyone is ever going to read it. Nevertheless, it occurs to me that I have not yet explained exactly what my book is about. I shall try to remedy this in my next post.

It has arrived!

My proof copy has arrived, and I have to say, it looks rather good. A tad amateurish perhaps but that is probably down to my cover design, and let's face it, an amateur is what I am.

Anyway, all I have to do now is to double check for errors and then I can publish - woo hoo. It will all be over soon.

Putting it to the proof

Well, my typescript is all formatted up, front and back covers and all (front cover pictured here). I've created a copyright page, including my permission from Cambridge University Press allowing me to quote form the King James Bible. I've got myself a barcode and ISBN and I've included a dedication and "by the same author" page, which mentions an unforgivably dismal little book (Scriblets) that I put together a few years ago, which is still available on Lulu and is yet to have made a single sale.

I must say that getting this blasted thing formatted has been a real headache. Not on the part of Lulu I hasten to add. It's just that I am not very good with Word documents or PDF's and such. It has been a real learning curve for me, sorting out things like page numbering on certain pages and not on others; different headers and footers for odd an even numbered pages and different headers for different chapters etc. - ugh!

Anyway, it's done now. I have submitted the damn thing to Lulu and am awaiting a proof copy to check for errors. Should be here in a day or two - fingers crossed, nearly there now.

Giving in to vanity

Well, I've finally done it. I've admitted defeat and done it. I first started 'researching' this project the best part of four years ago, and have been working on it on and off (mostly off) since then.
It is a book. A book called 'unbelievable: christianity as a house of cards'. And after several rejections from literary agents I have finally taken the hint.
Nonetheless, I should like to see it in print, for vanity's sake. Do I go with self publishing website lulu.com? Or do I go with a Kindle single? Well I'd like to do both in due course, but the old-fashioned curmudgeon in me yearns for the physical book, longs for the crisp printed page, and the new-fangled digital e-book can take a powder. For now anyway.
I shall post an overview of the book in due course, but right now I am busy trying to format the pesky thing; page numbering, title pages, headers and footers, table of contents, and other bebuggered things of that nature. I've also got to fabricate some kind of cover, obtain a barcode and ISBN, and find the right place to put my copyright permission for quoting the bible.
Wish me luck...