writer

By Karen L. Willoughby

What does it take to get a book from an idea onto published pages? 

Ask shy and reserved JoEllen Claypool, who started scribbling her teenaged angst into poetry. In time she became a lonely pastor’s wife, out of which came a book about pastor’s wives, then other books, then helping others turn their ideas into published books.

Today, Claypool, wife of Dallas, pastor of Sand Hollow Baptist Church near Caldwell, Idaho, also is a mother, grandmother, halftime grandkid-sitter, author, copy editor, ghostwriter, book coach, speaker and co-coordinator of a local writer’s group in Idaho. 

Claypool told UI Connections she loves her work because it is a ministry to not only those who otherwise would probably not get their book into print, but also to all the readers of each of the books she has a part in.

UI Connections lead writer, Karen Willoughby, asked Claypool about her ministry. 

How did you get started? 

“One day a member brought this book – The Fine Art of Female Friendship – to church and asked if we could do this as a Bible study. The author, who was from Boise, offered to lead the final session. She was a book coach and became my mentor.”

This included learning how to proof a manuscript and market a published book, which for Claypool included driving to a nearby sizable town to pitch a poetry/short story anthology “to every door” in that town. “It was a ‘learn as you go type of thing,” Claypool said.

Claypool wrote A Realist’s Guide to Being a Pastor’s Wife, which describes the role of a pastor’s wife, and what goes on behind the scenes so a congregation knows how to pray for the leadership. 

The book took 18 months and several drafts to write.

“I was hurt, lonely, angry,” Claypool said. “The first version was much different. I realized part of the problem for the struggles I was having was my own heart condition.”

She interviewed other wives of pastors, including one who was retired, “a super classy lady,” Claypool said. “‘What was your first thought when your husband told you he was going to be a pastor?’ I asked her. ‘Oh no you’re not!’ she said, and I thought, ‘Oh, this [book] is going to get real!’”

That book has sold about 500 copies in 14 years. The publishing industry says an unknown author’s first book usually doesn’t sell more than 250 copies.

One thing that helped Claypool: She wrote a 25-page e-book – Tips to Being a Pastor’s Wife – sold it for 99 cents and promoted it on her Facebook page. It was a lead-in, Claypool said. Nearly every e-book led to the purchase of the full book.

“That book has helped me make connections all over the world,” Claypool said. “A lady in Africa found my book somehow and said, ‘It saved my life!’ We’ve been Facebook friends ever since. France. England. It’s cool when people who read the book reach out to you to let you know your book made an impact.”

UIC: Why should an author hire an editor?

“Your first draft gets words on paper. After refining it several times you find an editor. Why? Your mind knows what should be there, so that’s what it sees. An editor serves as a fresh pair of eyes and helps make things clear to a reader. 

“I do copy editing, grammar, spelling, word tense, sentence structure. I’ll read through every Bible verse, make sure the version is correct and that the verse is quoted correctly. One thing I don’t do unless it’s blatant is fact-check. It’s happened very few times. One author wrote the Rocky Mountains were in Pennsylvania. I told him to do more research. I also verify names and places to make sure they are consistent throughout.”

Five years after A Realist’s Guide to being a Pastor’s Wife, Claypool and three other Christian authors started the Idaho Creative Authors Network (ICAN) which hosts writing conferences, retreats, and book signings “to help other authors get their books finished,” Claypool said. She came out of the first event in 2015 with four clients.

“There’s been only one week since that I haven’t had any clients,” Claypool said. “I promote myself as a book coach. I say, if you have written a book and don’t know what’s next, I can help. Every project I do I learn something new and add things to my contract, more boundaries as what I do and don’t do.

“My idea of being a book coach is to help people with their first book and teach them how to self-publish so they can do future books on their own, but out of 45 clients, I’ve had just three do it on their own. They say, ‘It’s easier to have you do it and write a check.’”

UIC: Please explain the process.

“They send the manuscript. I read through it, do the editing, read through it again and then we work back and forth through emails until we’re happy with it. I get everything squared away and format it, get the cover done, order the proof and read through it again.

“I use Amazon’s KDP template. You choose the size [dimensions aka 6×9 inches] of the book and the template sets the margins. The template tells you where to put the table of contents, title page, that sort of thing. With all that set, I hit the ‘order proof” button. Make any needed changes, hit the ‘publish’ button and it’s usually live on Amazon in three days, with hardback or softbound books available on order. I then instruct clients to go clean their houses because we both neglected them during the project.”

UIC: What’s it like to be a pastor’s wife and a book coach?

“I stepped away from teaching Sunday School but now I’m doing women’s ministry. We just got done with VBS and next week we’re going on a mission trip to Atlanta [Idaho.] A lot of times when I have work planned, somebody needs a ride or is in crisis. Blessed are the flexible because they’ll never be bent out of shape! 

“Always be willing to be interrupted. You never know what the day is going to hold. If you’re not willing to be interrupted you’ll be frustrated. I never know when my husband, kids, people from the church will need me. You just go with the flow. 

“My husband likes me to be done in the office by 5:00 or 6:00 so that I can spend the evening with him. Without that boundary, I lose all track of time and would be in there all night. I have a hard time not working on something though, so I’m usually reading a proof, working on event planning or folding clothes while we watch TV ‘together.’ 

“I do my Bible reading at night. Nighttime is my Bible time. I think even my writing time is time with God because that is what He created me to do.”

Along with book coaching, Claypool also has written If Words Were Falling Down Like Rain: Quotes and Prompts for the Writing Journey; The Secrets Behind the Eyes: Life (?) After Abortion; Are You on the Verge of a Spiritual Heart Attack; and five children’s books: Truth in Troy Valley, Loyalty in Troy Valley, Faith in Troy Valley, Follow me Hummingbird, and The Battle for Christmas.

Reprinted with permission from The Baptist Paper.