Pump Up Your Book Chats with William Higgins, author of Your Road to Damascus

The seed for this book was planted many years ago. Bill’s journey down his road to Damascus began as a senior in high school when he had his personal encounter with the risen Lord. Immediately upon graduation from high school he faced his first crossroad when contemplating what to do vocationally. He joined the U.S. Air Force because he really wasn’t sure what he wanted to do. It was while in the service that he began to see how his own internal GPS (God’s Positioning System) was calibrated.

As he began to follow the direction of his internal GPS, other crossroads led him to Biola University and Talbot Seminary where he earned a B.S. and M.A. respectively in Christian Education. Upon graduation, the next three destinations on his journey led to local churches in the U.S. and Canada where he served as a Minister of Christian Education for almost 10 years. These were opportunities to use his organizational, curriculum development, instructional design and classroom facilitation skills. These were delightful years.

Bill faced another crossroad at the last church he served when he resigned and then found himself in his prison years. For four years he traveled a dusty, pothole filled road as he consulted his roadmap. During this time he viewed the world from the prison cell of under-employment. His perspective through the cell bars was as an owner/operator of a commercial janitorial business. These were four tortuous years as he saw one opportunity after another disintegrate. These years gave him the ability to relate to others experiencing the same employment imprisonment.

At the conclusion of these four years, Bill faced another crossroad and selected a new direction in his vocational travels; looking to apply his skills and experience in the business community. He made stops along the way as he worked for about six years in three industry leading organizations as a Director of Training & Development, attaining the position of Vice-President of Corporate Training at one stop.

It was also during this time that he took a parallel road into the field of Career Coaching. He has spent over 20 years working with individuals and small groups as they struggle down their own roads to Damascus and conduct their own job searches.

While continuing as a career coach, where he has worked with over 5,000 clients, Bill also embarked down another path by starting his own consulting business, MindWare Incorporated (www.mindwareincorporated.com). MindWare pulled together the specialties of career coaching, instructional design, and technical writing. IN this capacity, Bill has worked with many Fortune 500 companies as well as numerous smaller organizations of a for-profit and non-profit status.

Bill’s writing experience has been primarily in the area of technical and curriculum writing of a proprietary nature. He has written literally hundreds of technical documents and curriculum courseware. This stop, writing Your Road to Damascus, is his first venture into writing for public consumption.

You can learn more about Bill at www.mindwareincorporated.com under the About Us tab.

———— INTERVIEW ———–

Q: Can you tell us why you wrote your book?

Your Road to Damascus is a response to the need for a faith-based resource that relates the biblical perspective of how God works through a job loss. In dealing with career coaching clients I have assisted numerous individuals whose faith was an important part of their lives. Yet, there was no resource available that provided insight on how God mays use this kind of situation in their lives, and presented principles from scripture on how to make the most of this situation.

I realized while working with a pastor who had left the ministry and was searching for a new position that our program was the same for him as it was for anyone else, believer or not. And that just didn’t seem right.

To check and see what was available I looked at Google and Amazon to see what we could use when working with Christian clients. And I found nothing, zilch, nada, zero. There were a few that dealt with career decisions from a higher level, but nothing at the level I required.

Then as I reflected on my own experiences with losing a job, I realized that I had been taught the actions I needed to take to put a resume together, prepare for interviewing, and all the rest, but never how God may be using that situation.

Thus the need was identified, and the adventure began.

Q: Which part of the book was the hardest to write?

Toward the end of Your Road to Damascus there is a section on Action Plans. This was a section we typically don’t cover with clients since it happens after they are on the job, so it meant thinking it through completely and doing research for both the biblical part and the practical part to be sure it was on target.

No the section in the book provides an overview of what the Bible has to say about preparing for your new job before you actually start, or shortly after starting. What you need to think about. What you need to plan to do. Actions you can take during the first few days and weeks. And how God is going to take those actions and begin to use you in the new organization.

Q: Does your book have an underlying message that readers should know about?

The underlying message is that God is present and walks through the various crises we encounter as we are going through them. As it is repeated in the book, God is at work and He’s not finished yet.

With the focus on the crisis of a job loss, Your Road to Damascus focuses on how God has worked in the lives of biblical personalities, Joseph of coat-of-many-colors fame and Saul of Tarsus in this case, and principles and strategies for how He will work with the reader in the current crisis of a job loss.

Q: Do you remember when the writing bug hit?

I have had the ‘writing bug’ for many years, but it was only within the last few years that it hit me big time. I have seen a new vision for the power of written words and how they can be used.

I remembered an experience I had some time ago. A friend of mine had done something that I really appreciated, and I sent her a written thank you not. Some ten years later I happened to be talking with her and she pulled my note out of her purse. She shared with me that my note meant so much to her, and when things were not going well she would pull it out and read it to be encouraged.

I thought, WOW! That’s powerful. That was a good reminder of how powerful a book could be, and what was a motivator to complete this book.

Q: Besides books, what else do you write?  Do you write for publications?

I write curriculum for training in corporations and Bible study plans for a small group. I have also written customized educational games for classroom use. I do not currently write a regular column for any publications.

Q: Do you have a writing tip you’d like to share?

The biggest tip I would like to share is to have reviewers and copyeditors involved in giving feedback on your project for things like spelling and grammar et al and for bigger picture points, like flow, details, and structure.

Q:  Would you like to tell us about your home life?  Where you live?  Family?  Pets?

I live in Seattle with my wife; no pets, kids (at present) or others in our home. We like to spend our time working in the yard when home, and hiking when we can get away. We also like to photograph lighthouses so we travel all over the country for that purpose. We have four kids that live in Washington and southern California.

Q:  Can you tell us a little about your childhood?

I was brought up in Ohio in a single-parent family. We were not well off financially so there was always a challenge when it came to money. My Mon did her best, but it was a struggle raising two kids on her own. I lacked direction and self-esteem as a kid and grew up not really understanding myself and what I was capable of or what my strengths were.

That took a major turn when I accepted Christ as a senior in high school and then joined the Air Force after graduation. The next five years were ones of discovery and adventure as I embarked on my own path.

Q: Where’s your favorite place to write at home?

My favorite place to write is my office. I have a nice office that looks out over a wooded lot and allows me to escape visually. However, when I am deep into a project, as I was with Your Road to Damascus, I find that I write, or at least make notes, at all times of the day and night and anywhere I think of things. This includes the middle of the night when I awaken with ideas, when driving, when visiting others, when attending worship at church. My wife even reminded me the other day when we were on our way to a friend’s cabin some 3 hours away, that part of the trip I had her taking notes as I thought of things pertaining to the book. So when the ideas come, I need to capture them.

Q: What do you do to get away from it all?

Getting away from it all for me takes the form of activities; reading, hiking, photography, landscaping.

I love to read and consume about 50 books a year, including both fiction and personal development.

When it comes to hiking we live in a great place. Mt. Rainer is only about 90 minutes away, and there are many other hiking trails within only a few hours. We have hiked all over Washington and seen some breathtaking sights.

Q: What was the first thing you did as far as promoting your book?

Boy, I have to think back on that to remember what the first thing was. I think the very first thing I did was to tell the client I was working with at the time that my time with him had helped to prompt me into writing the book. The very next thing I did was tell the small group I am involved with in Bible study. After that I contacted a book cover artist to help design a book cover (which I consider a big part of marketing and you can see it here: http://mindwarepublishing.com/wp-content/uploads/Damascus3D_B.jpg) and then started a series of emails messages, followed by contacting a professional to produce a book trailer (which you can access here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LULi5srSf80&feature=youtu.be).

Q: Are you familiar with the social networks and do you actively participate?

I haven’t been as active in the various social networks as I should have been. I guess the one I have done the most with has been LinkedIn. Others I have started and will need to get better with are Facebook and Twitter, as well as others I am not as familiar with.

Q: How do you think book promotion has changed over the years?

From my limited understanding of book marketing, the biggest change would be the use of the Internet. This includes social networks, and virtual opportunities with such things as blogs, book trailers and virtual book tours. Today we also use more personal networking to get the word out. A very popular self-published book entitled The Shack has sold over 15 million copies and was published using self-published technologies. It was primarily promoted initially using word of mouth, and social networks.

In the past, most promotions would have been through book clubs and media advertising; radio, television, and newspapers and magazines.

Q: What is the most frustrating part of being an author?

All of the revisions! Without a doubt the time and energy it takes to do all of the revisions necessary to produce a good product, readable book, just eats you day. It is both time and energy consuming, but essential to have a book you can be proud of. On the flip-side of that is having good reviewers and copyeditors that point out all of the revisions that need to be done. Left on my own, it would be terrible!

Q: What is the most rewarding?

The most rewarding aspect of being an author to me is seeing the whole thing come together. This includes; the book cover, the interior layout, the content finalized, the endorsements all put together into the finished product. Even before it is printed there is a real satisfaction in getting it into one file.

When it’s actually a book, and not a bunch of disparate parts, then it’s reality. And that feels so good!

Q: How do you think book publishing has changed over the years?

From my research when I was trying to decide the direction to go, it seems traditional publishers are really focusing more and more on top selling authors and newbies are moving away from them to independent publishing.

There are so many options when it comes to DIY publishing, and the payback is so much greater, that it doesn’t even make sense to consider traditional publishing. Many published authors who have published using a traditional publisher indicate they will not go that route again. There is too much risk, too little reward, and too much work.

The challenge of going with a traditional publisher, unless you are an already known entity, is that you still have to do pretty much all the marketing on your own. You have to contact bookstores, you have to send press releases, you have to do any direct mail, etc. And it may take up to 18 months to see your book in print, and there is no guarantee that it will ever be printed, and you may see $1 per book sold.

Seems a no-brainer.

Q: If you had one wish, what would that be?

I am going to assume this has to do with publishing my book, because there are too many options otherwise. If I could make one wish come true about my book, it would be that literally millions are touched with the message; they see their faith renewed and their walk with God strengthened, and they find their job search more meaningful and fulfilling.

My goal in publishing my book is not to make a lot of money. Oh sure, I would like to see it succeed beyond my wildest dreams, sell a million copies, and be on the NYT best sellers list. But the real goal is to help people. If that happens, the other goals will take care of themselves. This will be a fulfillment of my desire to touch other people in pain and bring some relief to them in their time of stress and crisis.

Q: If you could be anywhere in the world other than where you are right now, where would that place be?

There is no place in the world I would rather be than Seattle. I love it here. I would like to visit many places; Europe, South America, Africa, Asia and others. But when it comes to a place to call home, this is it. The many bodies of water that surround us, the mountains in the not-too-far distance, the great friends we have. There is just too much to even consider anywhere else.

Q: Your book has just been awarded a Pulitzer.  Who would you thank?

I would think they made a mistake. While I consider my book pretty great, and that it has the capacity to touch a lot of people and help them through a time of crisis while providing practical answers in how to get through the stress and challenges of a job search, it is not Pulitzer material. It is not going to contribute to world peace. It is not going to bring countries together in a more meaningful way. It is not going to help put an end to war. Hopefully, it will win some other more realistic and appropriate award, but the Pulitzer is for those that have bigger thoughts, bigger aspirations, and make a bigger splash on the world they live in. I don’t have the ability to make that kind of contribution. I thank God for those that can, but I am content to minister to the guy next door without a job and feel fulfilled if it helps make his search more meaningful, his life more fulfilled, and his walk with God more engaging.

Q: Thank you so much for this interview, Bill.  Do you have any final words?

I appreciate the opportunity to share some of my life, experience, and thoughts with your readers.

While Your Road to Damascus: 6 Biblical Secrets for an Effective Job Search is primarily about how to find meaning and renewal in a job search, it is about far more than that. It is really about how to find meaning in life. It is about what you do in a time of crisis. It is about Who you rely on when your own resources have dried up.

Even if you aren’t looking for a job right now, you can pass along news of this book to friends and family that are, and you can also find that it will bring meaning to other areas in your life where you may be struggling.

As you travel down your own road to Damascus, may God open roadside vistas that reveal Him for all that He is and open your eyes to the adventure He wants to have with you.

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