Today we began the final phase of actual publication of Dear Walt.

We elected to go with CreateSpace, an amazon.com online print-on-demand, self-publishing company because there is very little cost involved in actually getting salable books online almost immediately.

In our case we were able to leverage our previous graphic design, layout, writing, editing, and web design experience into real dollar savings over other print-on-demand publishing companies which offer varying cost packages which include combinations of these services.

So, today we uploaded Dear Walt into the CreateSpace sytem and are awaiting review of the uploaded files. After their review to make sure the files are to their specifications, we’ll be able to order a proof copy before the book actually goes “online” for sale in two locations, the CreateSpace E-Store and Amazon.com.

The E-Store page is still in its preliminary stages today, but you are welcome to look at it. I believe the thumbnail image of the book cover will be added after the book is finally available for purchase. Right now there is only a placeholder for it. To view the E-Store page click here.

There were many steps involved in getting to this point, and a few more before the book acctually appears for sale on the web. We will chronicle these steps in future posts and give you more step-by-step instruction on how we got to this point later, when we have the chance. Stay tuned!

This little book subtitled “A Conversation Between Spiritual Friends” was on my mind the entire eighteen months I was writing “Dear Walt.” In fact, it provided the basic framework for the correspondence between Andy and Walt, because that is what was really happening in their long-distance conversation over those thirty years. The balance of the book rests entirely on this “spiritual conversation.”

Several years ago I was enrolled in a class which required that we read The Wisdom of Each Other in addition to the regular class attendance, study and homework. This is a fascinating little book of a little over a hundred pages comprised entirely of letters from Eugene Peterson to Gunnar Thorkildsson, a not entirely fictional correspondent. Gunnar is actually a composite of the people with whom Peterson has corresponded during his career as a pastor, and the letters are a composite of the responses Peterson has made to them over the years.

The letters cover a wide spectrum of situations a pastor might be asked to address within his congregation or while responding to a friend in a letter. Each letter brings new insights to every day Christian life and the common influences of American life.

Since each letter is a short, insightful message on a single subject it is easy to read this book in pieces as we grab a minute here and there in our busy schedules.

And don’t miss the foreword and introduction, they are worth the price of the book simply for the perspective they bring.