Yes, that Catholic Answers.
They discovered If Protestantism is True, saw the great reviews (thanks to you!), reviewed it, and decided they want to publish it.
I am thrilled. I feel like that guy in the movie The Rookie who gets called up to the big leagues from being a high school baseball coach.
But I Thought Your Book Already Was Published?
It was! And it is. But it is published by an imprint that I started, Unitatis Books, which has much less name recognition than does Catholic Answers.
Catholic Answers will bring greatly increased credibility, marketing, and also add their unique stamp to the book.
Will the Book Change Any?
Yes. I will be working with Catholic Answers to revise the book. They’ve got some insightful ideas to take the book from good to great. Because of that, I’ll be focusing for the next several months on revising it with them.
Note though that the solid content of the book will not be drastically altered. This will be a new book, but much of the apologetic and anecdotal content will be transferred from the original.
When Will the New One Be Published?
As soon as we can complete the revisions. That could be four months, or six, or nine, or longer. Hopefully we can get it done sooner rather than later. I’m pumped about working together with them on it, and I know that they also are excited about it, so we plan to knock it out as fast as possible.
So if you were thinking of getting the book or writing a review for the book, please do so! It will help to carry forward the momentum for the new edition when it comes out.
Will the Original Edition Be Discontinued?
Yes, but not just yet. The original edition will continue to be sold for a while, until sometime before the new edition is ready. I see the relationship between the original and the new edition as being an organic one: a good book gets even better.
Will the Title Change?
Most likely. The new working title keeps the same intriguing premise though, so there’s a good chance that the new title will be substantially similar to the original one.
Why Didn’t You Just Publish with Catholic Answers to Begin With?
Because I never sent them a proposal. So they never knew about it, until it was published.
You may recall that I wrote the book’s manuscript with four children ages two and under in the house, including a colicky newborn, newly adopted daughter, keeping a full-time job, etc. So I only sent the book to a few Catholic publishers. That’s what I had time for.
To be honest, I think it would have been a bit cheeky for me to send my debut book proposal to such a powerhouse. I mean, they publish books by guys like Jimmy Akin:
You talkin' to me? YOU TALKIN' TO ME?!
So when Catholic Answers asked me for review copies of the book, I was thrilled. I figured maybe at best they would toss it in their catalog–which would have been great–but for them to be impressed enough to say they want to publish it themselves, that was stunning.
Will You Now Be Banking the Big Loot From This Deal?
Let’s put it this way: I haven’t quit my day job.
Seriously, the book currently is selling far beyond anything I expected. But only NY Times bestseller people retire off of one book. In the Catholic world that just doesn’t happen, unless you’re the pope, and he can’t retire and doesn’t keep the money in any event!
With Catholic Answers, the book will get exposure an order of magnitude greater than what I’ve achieved. So the hope would certainly be that more books will be sold, more people will be reached, but even so none of us are getting rich.
How Did This Happen? What is Your Secret?
I don’t have a secret. I’m just a regular guy. I’ve blogged for over six years, but my blog is not one of the big Catholic ones, which easily get twenty times the number of visitors mine does. In many ways I’ve toiled in relative obscurity. But that’s fine with me. I believe God gave me a charism for writing and evangelization, and I wanted to put those talents to use for His Kingdom. If one person reads it, great. If one thousand do, even better. But I can’t control the numbers, only do my best to write posts that help people.
During these years, I’ve made lots of friendships. And those friends posted links to the book and reviews of it when it came out. So many did, in fact, that it got the attention of Catholic Answers. And the reviews were so positive that they thought it was worth checking out. Also, through various previous contacts EWTN asked me to do an interview on the SonRise show. That was a big help as well.
So, though I may seem like some social media wizard who perfectly executed on his master plan, it’s not the case. Sure, I made a facebook fan page for the book, blogged about the book’s progress and writing process, and worked hard to make the book as good as I could, but ultimately I attribute its success to God’s Providence. I could have done all that stuff and nothing come of it. And that would have been fine, too. I would have felt some disappointment and frustration, but life would go on; my family would still need me; God would still be good.
Conclusion
A big thank you for your help, encouragement, and prayers! Without your support, this would not have happened. Period.
In the coming weeks and months, I will keep you informed of the new book’s progress. God bless!
Congratulations, Devin! This is such great news!
Congrats, Devin! Very happy for you. To God be the glory!
So cool! Very exciting for you! Big fan of Jimmy Akin
This is so awesome, man! I can’t tell you how excited I am for you. Hopefully this is the first of many projects you do with Catholic Answers.
Two questions you didn’t answer though:
First, what does this mean for Unitatis Books?
Second, how much will a Unitatis first edition of your soon-to-be-famous book be worth in five years?
Thanks Brandon!
Good question. I am not sure. After Catholic Answers publishes the book, God willing, Unitatis will have no books in its catalog, which is kind of silly for a publishing imprint, but I am still open to working with authors to publish books that promote Christian unity. So I will probably continue maintaining the website and looking for other works to publish, albeit on the back-burner as revising the book with Catholic Answers is top priority.
Second question–ah yes, you now own a limited edition! It is likely the cover will change, and the title will change. This could become like the Honus Wagner limited edition early 1900s baseball card, fetching hundreds of thousands of dollars!
Congratulations! I think I’ll order both books. Lately I’m eating up apologetics books.
WOW! Congratulations!!!! That’s amazing!!
Next thing you know you’ll be on their speakers’ bureau!
Good news!
This is fantastic news!!!!! I need to write a review, I’m so slow!!! I’m also still reading the book! UGH! I must say I’m surprised by what I have learned already and I’m surprised I can understand and follow it! Your next book, put out by catholic answers, I will buy in paperback because I think it’s going to be a great reference when I’m teaching my kids my faith I’m gonna learn by the seat of my pants! LOL Joking in a way.
Congratulations Devin! That’s great news!
“I wrote the book’s manuscript with four children ages two and under in the house, including a colicky newborn, newly adopted daughter, keeping a full-time job…” Oh, big deal. That’s exactly how I am working on my Theology degree.
Congrats! And when will we be seeing the Rose family again? If you come down for Klobase, I may have a newborn for you to hold! Either that or you’ll be dealing with a VERY pregnant, impatient woman. Take your chances!
Sounds fun, Amy! We’ll be doing a trip this fall that could go through your area, so we will see. Would love to see your baby!!
Congratulations! I just bought your book (Kindle version) yesterday, coincidentally enough, and am really enjoying it. I can see why Catholic Answers had an interest!
Thanks JoAnna, and welcome to my blog! Congratulations on your children.
We’re happy for the Rose family!
Actually, you ARE a social media wizard. You worked hard, created something special, then used social media to tell people about it and it worked! That’s exactly how it’s done. Those folks who think they can use social media to spam inferior or worthless goods and services are NOT social media wizards.
Congratulations to you!
That’s definitely a great news Devin. Praise God for his providence. Hopefully, we’ll get to hear you on Catholic Answers when the new edition comes up.
Thanks Jeevan,
I already have it figured out: Jimmy Akin and I are both fielding calls from radio listeners, someone calls in, and just as Jimmy begins answering, I butt in, “Whoa there Jimmy…let the Dev-man handle this one, mmkay?”
That sounds adventurous. Dev-man to the rescue!
Belissimo ! ! !
Good job Devin!
Thanks Tito!
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Thanks my friends!
Woohoo!!! This is *awesome* news. Now I have to get reading and reviewing.
Please do, Sarah, as you are able of course. The more momentum that gets built up, the better. I hope you like it.
I feel like the last person to find out, but I’ve got a smile on my face like I was the first. It was ALWAYS great work, but now its been officially recognized as such. Nice. Peace brother!
Brent! Hahaha, thanks man. I wanted to tell you early but figured I’d better keep it as confidential as I could until it was all good.
Devin,
Congratulations, my friend. This is huge news. Keep us informed and God bless!
Pax,
Brock
I guess it was my review that did it ! LOL…. Seriously, you worked very hard and I believe it is your honesty and transparency that God used to open doors and hearts and minds. May it bring more people home to fulfill Jesus prayer for unity. Nice job Devin!
Congratulations, Devin!
Devin: Congratulations, my man! I hope I made some small contribution to your success with my review. I look forward to seeing more from you!
Devin, what fantastic news!!! I am thrilled for you, and look forward to reading the new-and-improved book when it comes out!! Blessings on your revisions.
Hooray!! Couldn’t have happened to a nicer (and more thoughtful, well-spoken) guy! Your work deserves a wide audience, and I am so glad it will be accessible to even more people.
Yours was the first blog I read regularly, and you were the beginning of my journey to starting my own blog (and evangelizing via the New Media!), so I owe you a great debt.
Looking forward to all the progress and updates!
Congratulations, Devin!
BTW, my wife wanted to read your book, so I ordered it a week ago. It just came in the mail today.
WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!
Congrats!!!
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Thrilled for you, Devin. I admire the grace with which you convey the Truth.
Whoo-hoo! I’m so excited for you — and for us! Can’t wait to read it.
WOW!!!!!!!! Congrats, my little brother! I am bursting with pride for you! Much love to you!
Oh wow! I’ve been out of the loop for a while. BIG CONGRATS! That’s huge!