Today I have the pleasure of visiting with best-selling, award-winning author Terry Toler. Terry’s book The Longest Day recently won the 2020 Religious Fiction Best Book Award sponsored by American Book Fest.
Terry has written fifteen nonfiction books and eight novels including the Jamie Austen and Alex Halee spy novels along with The Eden Stories. He is a minister, public speaker, counselor, and retired entrepreneur. Impacting the lives of people worldwide through storytelling has become one of his passions in life. He can be followed at terrytoler.com.
What do you hope your readers draw from your books?
Above all else, I hope my readers draw closer to God through my books. Even my fiction books are written with an underlying Christian theme. I have often wondered why I’ve written so many diverse genres of books. My novels range from spy fiction and mystery that appeal to secular readers, to Christian speculative fiction about life on other planets with the gospel message throughout.
One of my most successful releases to date is a crime mystery. An insurance adjuster is investigating a simple Christmas tree fire at the townhome of the most famous jazz singer of her day, Wanda Rose. What follows are a number of twists and turns as she tries to sort out an intricate mystery when she learns that her ex-husband of twelve years never heard her sing! The main character, who is a Christian, has a crisis of faith at one point in the book and a Christian friend walks her through it. A few people have left reviews saying it’s preachy, but most find it uplifting and appreciate a book without profanity, sexual situations, blood and gore.
What’s exciting to me is that my thousands of secular readers are even finding my nonfiction books like The Jesus Diet and the Uncommon Grace Bible studies.
Really, glorifying God through my writing, is at the forefront of my mind with every book as I’m writing it. I also hope the readers are entertained, which should go without saying.
What advice would you have for a beginning/intermediate writer?
Write for yourself first and without expectations. Many writers have come to me over the years for advice and mentoring. So many of them get frustrated because they have the expectation that they are going to be the next Rick Warren or James Patterson.
It’s not easy to get published, secure an agent, or find an audience for your books. Having written twenty-three books, I know how hard it is to start and then finish just one. That’s an accomplishment in and of itself. If your expectations are modest, then you can have joy through the process. If God does more than you ask or think, and your book does have some success, then you can stay humble through the process.
Another thing I would say is for writers to be careful what they put in books as examples. Particularly nonfiction books. I had one lady ask me to read her manuscript. The book was full of hateful and embarrassing stories about her ex-husband and estranged son. While it was cathartic for her, I could imagine it could be painful to them, especially her son, if he ever read it. It might cut off any possibility of reconciliation in the future. Sometimes, changing the names to protect the innocent is a good idea after all.
Do you advise writers find an agent? Why/why not?
I suggest that writers at least try to find an agent. Again, with tempered expectations. Even if one is fortunate enough to attract an agent, that doesn’t necessarily mean a publisher is going to publish the book. The success rate is extremely low for an unpublished author. However, if you want to go the route of a traditional publisher, you need an agent.
I recently read about the author of the book The Martian, which was recently released as a movie with Matt Damon. He couldn’t attract an agent or a publisher, so he started selling his book for .99 cents and giving away free chapters. When he reached 35K in sales, he attracted the interest of a major publisher and got a six-figure deal along with a movie deal.
He wrote a second book that he pitched to his agent and publisher. The publisher turned it down! It wasn’t compelling enough. Even though he was a New York Times best-selling author and his first book has sold several million copies, this is a tough business and success does not come easily.
In conclusion…
Wow, not “compelling enough,” makes me wonder whether it didn’t have enough action, gore, blood, or sex. Those elements seem to dominate today’s entertainment.
Terry, you are an example that writers don’t have to provide all that stuff and can still sell. Kudos to you! Thank you for being here today. Congratulations on your 9 Amazon #1 best sellers!
To learn more about Terry Toler and his books, visit BeHoldings Publishing.
About The Longest Day, Reviewers blurb:
What would happen if an astronaut from Earth, a fallen and sinful man, discovered a planet where Adam and Eve had not eaten from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil?
Adam Lang, a self-professed atheist, travels to the ends of the universe to discover intelligent life on the only perfect planet left, Adon. There he discovered something he least expected to find . . . God.
Best-selling author, Terry Toler is a well-written, rising star in literary fiction, with his latest and greatest fantasy story, The Longest Day, the first in The Eden Stories series and the one that started the franchise. As much as it is about a strange journey across the stars, it’s also about people, and consequences, both of which are captured expertly. The Longest Day is one man’s story of romance, loss, science, discovery, mystery, sin, and salvation.
Toler draws his readers in and makes sure that they’re settled in, because he knows it’s going to be a long ride and they aren’t going to want to miss a thing. Best of all, there are more Eden Stories coming as he tells us what happened on each of the planets in our solar system through suspenseful, thrilling stories.
THE LONGEST DAY: WINNER 2020 RELIGIOUS FICTION BEST BOOK AWARD (The Eden Stories 1) – Kindle edition by Terry Toler. Religion & Spirituality Kindle eBooks @ Amazon.com.
Great interview and advice from Terry Toler. I will definitely read The Longest Day.
It sounds interesting for sure! I was rather shocked by his anecdote about The Martian! I wonder what Hollywood considers “compelling.”