Meet A Lover of Words

While many people recognize my years in the book publishing business, I spend years as a magazine editor and a journalist writing for different print publications.

I was an editor at a missionary publication called In Other Words which was the flagship publication for Wycliffe Bible Translators. In Other Words was a member of the Evangelical Press Association and because I was the editor of the magazine, the various staff members were active members of the EPA.

Often during these years I was able to attend the annual conventions of the Evangelical Press Association. These meetings were held in different locations in the U.S. and involved listening to keynote speakers who challenged us to be better editors and also attend workshops to improve our craft as editors.

As a part of these conventions, we got to visit with our fellow editors and exchange stories and experiences. I always looked forward to these gatherings with several hundred colleagues as almost like attending an annual reunion.

One of the regular attendees to these conventions is someone who is now a bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins. At times a number of us would get together and play games like Scrabble. Late one night I learned first-hand about one of Jerry’s skills.

He is a lover of words and grew up in a family who loved solving puzzles. In fact, he is a world-class Scrabble player. I mean the type of player who knows the three letter words and the critical game-winning strategic thinking for Scrabble. To make things “fair” Jerry played against three of us. Three editors against Jerry didn’t seem like it was fair in some ways—except even three editors working as a team were whipped that night. Talk about a lesson in humility!

Over the years, I’ve had some terrific opportunities to interview Jerry for different magazine articles. I have cherished each opportunity because I learn so much more than I’m able to build into the magazine article which I eventually complete.

Now on January 5th, I again have an opportunity to ply Jerry with questions—except this time the majority of questions will come from you. Will you take advantage of this opportunity?

If you could ask Jerry B. Jenkins, the bestselling author who has sold over 70 million books—any question about writing or marketing for the Christian writer. What would be your question?

Take 30 seconds and think about it and type in your question along with your first name and primary email address. I hope it’s one of the questions that I will use when I interview Jerry.

Anyone can ask a question at: www.askjerryjenkins.com and register for the free live 70-minute telewebcast on Thursday, January 5, 2012 at 5 p.m. PST or 8 p.m. EST. Every registrant will receive a free 24-page Ebook, Pursuing Publication, an excerpt from Jenkins Writing for the Soul.

Don’t have time to listen during the workday? The event will be recorded and every registrant will receive access to the replay links which can be downloaded to a computer or iPod.