“Have You Ever Thought About Writing A Book?”

I’ve had multiple people ask me recently if or when I was going to write a book.  I guess I’m somewhat flattered.  And if I’m completely honest, the idea has crossed my mind.  After all, it would be an honor to follow in my dad’s footsteps as he as written some books to go along with his articles, studies, countless sermons, and other writing adventures.  (I remember my dad typing away at his typewriter and old word processor in our basement as he diligently worked towards a publisher’s deadline.)

I’ve thought about what I would write about and several ideas have crossed my mind, but I haven’t settled on one thing that says, “That’s it!” yet.  Here are some of my crazy ideas:

1.  Stretched – This could kind of me a compilation of my blog posts along with other stretch stories.  I’m not sure how it would all tie together, but it’s one thought.

2.  Why? – This would be my side of the story related to dealing with mental illness in my family.  Maybe this could be the story of discovering HOPE in the midst of HEARTACHE.  This one scares me as it would force me to revisit areas of my life that consist of pain and fear and lots of emotional scar tissue.

3.  Memoir – This would simply be stories of my journey.  Would this idea really be all that appealing to anyone but my mom?

4.  Something along my passion path – connection, community, leadership, integrity, grace…

When I think about writing a book, I have a lot of other questions.  Like why should I consider writing a book?  I write my blog for three main reasons:  1.  To process out loud some of the stuff that’s going on in my head.  My blog is for me.  2.  To honor God.  I want my writing to bring God glory.  3.  To help other people.  Whether it’s making people laugh or just giving some encouragement, I want to help people connect and move closer to God.

In writing a book, I would think that these reasons still apply.

Would people really read a book written by Jon Stolpe?  Writing a book and trying to get a book published sounds like so much work.  Am I really ready for that?

These are some of my thoughts.  Maybe someday, you’ll order your copy of my book on Amazon.  Until then, keep connecting here at Jon Stolpe Stretched.  (Thanks!)

What do you think?  Have you ever written a book?  If you could write a book, what would it be about?