About Sheldon D. Newton:
Sheldon D. Newton is a #1 best-selling author, teacher and international speaker, whose goal is to share with others their worth and value and how to embrace and fulfill their Divine purpose. For over thirty years Sheldon D. Newton is on a mission to share the foundational and practical keys to successful and victorious living, through the application of Biblical Truths which transforms lives. He is the senior pastor of Jesus Christ Centered Ministries, located in Nassau, Bahamas. His teachings on Kingdom living and the power of prayer will ignite you and enable you to live effectively and produce results in your personal, family and professional life.
Sheldon is the author of many books, focusing on various areas of living. These include the #1 best-seller, How To Pray & Get Results; a novel, Genna's Fight (which some readers have requested that it become a movie for it's heart-pounding drama), the 30 day life-changing devotional, My Name is Jealous; Diligence, The Master Key To Achieving Your Dreams, just to name a few.
Sheldon lives in Nassau with his wife and two children.
What inspires you to write?
I just love helping and motivating people to be their best. I enjoy sharing things I learn about living victoriously, and effectively, making a marked difference in the earth. So I write to inspire and help others. This is my passion!
Tell us about your writing process.
I have done outlines for some of the books I considered writing, but what works best for me is to simply sit down behind my computer and just begin writing based upon things I may have been pondering and picturing in my mind for a while, or based on the inspiration I may get at the spur of the moment. Sometimes inspiration comes suddenly. For example, my novel, Genna's Fight was just an idea that came as I sat behind my computer. I have now come to the place where I can write a good book in a month, as long as I keep at it daily while the inspiration is flowing.
For Fiction Writers: Do you listen (or talk to) to your characters?
To be honest, when it comes to my fiction writings, I actually imagine the story as I go through-out my day doing other things until the story becomes so ALIVE, or so moving that I have to write. I get real excited as I picture scenes and the characters and how to react and respond in certain circumstance. Somehow it seems like you can feel what a person feels, whether it is sorrow and grief, anger, happiness or peace. I can finish a whole book in my mind before I write it. It's fun to imagine.
What advice would you give other writers?
My greatest encouragement to you if you desire to write a book is to first of all find your niche. In other words, what kind of book do you want to write? Is it fiction, or non-fiction? (I write both). Will it be a self-help, drama or cook-book? Once you discover what you would like to write on, ensure you are knowledgeable about your subject, and then set some time aside DAILY and write. Master procrastination, which is one of the main things an author must over-come, and get started. Once you do, just keep at it until you finish. Your first will probably be your hardest. It was mine. However, after that first one, I was able to complete three the following year. So just get started and keep at it. The rewards will be well worth it.
How did you decide how to publish your books?
As it pertains to publishing my book, I must admit that I made some grave mistakes which I hope I can help others avoid. I have been able to teach others who have now become authors and help them learn from my mistakes. I hope I can help you too. When I first began I looked online for a publishing company, and tried to get into what is termed, "Traditional Publishing." This means that you approach and send your work to a "Big-time Publisher" and seek for them to accept your work and reward you with a huge advance for your labor. However, this is also where my work was rejected. I felt bad about it. Then I learned that many of the traditional publishing houses usually never take on first-time authors. They wait to see if your work will sell before they even consider it. This pushed me towards self-publishing. I tried one I found online for my first book, and to be quite honest, it was a good experience. I nearly cried as I held my first book. It was a special moment. I was now an author. Then I approach a traditional publisher again with another book, and they asked if I would be willing to purchase some as a co-op arrangement. I accepted and ended up paying five thousand dollars on those copies. (One thousand copies). This was when I noticed that the publishing company was not really pushing my book. They just printed some for me and watched to see what I would do. I learned a hard lesson here. Initially, marketing my book and making it a success was up to me, not the publisher. It is a lesson I never forgot. Then I came across a lady who had a publishing company online and said she would even market the book for me. This was the worst experience I have ever had as an author, for she did put out the book. But she never sent me any of the proceeds. So I had to cut ties with her. Finally I found a way to self-publish through a publishing company amazon owns. It is the best way that I have found to go thus far, until a major publishing company comes and offers a great deal to take any of my books over. Right now, I am continuing to enjoy the journey and learn all I can.
What do you think about the future of book publishing?
I firmly believe that publishing books is changing rapidly right before our eyes. People are now able to read books on their phones. So I believe that kindle and e-books will become more and more common as the readers choice. Of course, paperbacks will never go out of style, but the e-books revolution will only get larger and larger with time. Also, I believe that many more people, as they discover this revolution, will drive into the market and become authors. It is one of the best ways to effect lives for the better, impact lives with inspiration, motivate the masses, entertain the minds and imaginations of multitudes, and by the way, increase a person financially too.
What do you use?: Professional Editor, Professional Cover Designer
What genres do you write?: Drama Fiction, Christian Living, Self-help
What formats are your books in?: Both eBook and Print
Website(s)
Sheldon D. Newton Home Page Link
Link To Sheldon D. Newton Page On Amazon
Your Social Media Links
Facebook
Twitter
LinkedIn
All information in this post is presented “as is” supplied by the author. We don’t edit to allow you the reader to hear the author in their own voice.
