The past few weeks have been dizzying to me. The uncertainty of releasing a new book—KNOWING one cannot control what happens to it—along with the sheer volume of work and travel that goes with the experience… Well, lets just say it can seem overwhelming.
It is not my intention to bore you with the details of a long process that in the end might leave you thinking I was boasting about how hard our team worked. Instead, my amazement at what has begun to happen with The Noticer has sent my thoughts in another direction entirely. As I mentioned earlier, one simply cannot control what happens to a book when it is out of the author’s hands. Neither an author nor publisher can control where it is placed in the bookstore, how it is placed in the bookstore, how long it stays in the bookstore, or whether the book even gets in a bookstore in the first place! So forget trying to force a book onto one of the significant best-seller lists…Even Amazon has become wise to the ways of those who would manipulate its ranking system.
What ultimately happens with a book is simply and purely up to the readers—word of mouth trumps all. Therefore it has been with grateful astonishment that I have watched you begin to tell others about The Noticer and it’s possible value in their life. In essence, I have seen a huge team of people do something that is simply impossible for a small team to accomplish… And I am inspired to think outside this tiny box.
As people who don’t even know each other, who do care and are willing to work, what might we accomplish that can be so much greater than a mere book for our community, our nation, our world, and our God? And why does our country seem so disconnected right now? How firm are we in the actions and beliefs that have allowed us to become divided along political, racial, even financial lines?
These are simply questions for us to ponder as we watch this short video of people who are significantly “apart”, yet have managed to come together in order to create something incredible.
So I ask you…who can we stand by?
Yours,
Andy
