Tips for Writers
Kitty Chappell’s Trip to Poland by Kitty Chappell
By Jerry D. Simmons | January 27th, 2010 | No Comments » (Click to add yours!)
In 2002, even as a first-time book author, I realized the day I signed the contact with New Hope Publishers there would come a time when my book—my baby that I’d given birth to, Sins of a Father, Forgiving the Unforgivable—would one day die. I knew it would go out of print and be deleted by the same wonderful publisher responsible for its birth, the very one who had covered all its “birthing” expenses, announced its entrance into the world, and who did everything to celebrate and promote its birth except pass out cigars.
As a former business owner having dealt in a business supplying products and services, I understood that a business simply cannot continue producing products without also dropping others—those that fall below a certain sales volume—unless you want to become a nonprofit business. Understanding that business reality, however, did not lessen the pain and grief I felt the day I received the written notice by mail informing me of the demise date of my “baby”.
I made all of the necessary arrangements, beginning with asking for and receiving the copyright to my book and purchasing as many of the remainders as I could. But what was my next step?
I knew I could self-publish, but as a new widow, faced with a myriad of new responsibilities, dealing with my late husband’s business partner regarding sales negotiations from our 50% share in the business, selling our house on the lake which I could no longer afford without my husband’s income, downsizing from a 5-bedroom home into a tiny house, while at the same time trying to keep up with my speaking responsibilities. And all without the physical support of my children who lived out of state while missing deeply the love of my life who had taken care of me for 47 years. I simply had no energy for self-publishing.
For months I coasted but as I saw my hoarded book supply dwindling, I realized I must take action. As a believer, I know God cares about each of us and is vitally interested in every aspect of our lives. So I prayed.
Sometime later, I met Polish publisher Piotr Waclawik, CEO of Vocatio Publishers in Warsaw who had recently opened an office in Phoenix. We met at a mutual friend’s social function and at the suggestion of our host; I gave Piotr a copy of my out-of- print book. Piotr graciously accepted it but I could tell he wasn’t actually interested, nor did I expect him to be. (No other publisher was interested in an out-of-print book—I had already checked) To make conversation, Piotr politely asked about the book’s theme and when I mentioned forgiveness he suddenly came alive. “In Eastern Europe people are begging for anything in print pertaining to forgiveness that they can get their hands on!” After he read the book, I signed a contract with Vocatio and what happened next was amazing!
My book was updated, given a new cover and title of I Can Forgive if I Want to, translated into Polish and Danish, released in Poland in 2008 and then Denmark in 2009. Its translation into Nepali and Burmese are nearing completion and there are enquiries regarding possible translations into Arabic, Swahili, and Lithuanian.
In 2008 I was invited to speak in Poland for the entire month of October, 2009. While there I spoke 17 times in thirteen cities (four times in the Warsaw area alone) sharing my life story emphasizing not only forgiveness but also the great need for Poland to establish more shelters for abused women and children.
At my kickoff speaking event in Warsaw, a representative from The Prime Minister’s Office in the Capitol of Warsaw presented me with a long eloquent letter of welcome from Elizbieta Radziszewska, Government’s Plenipotentiary for Equal Rights. She commended me for my book (she had a copy) and my willingness to come to Poland and teach people with emotional wounds how they can be healed and overcome their past—while at the same time raise public awareness regarding domestic violence. She officially endorsed all of my scheduled public appearances throughout the 13 cites in Poland.
Jagoda Markiewicz, Women’s Forum Director for all of Poland was amazed at this endorsement by the government official, saying to her knowledge this was a first.
The level of Poland’s awareness of domestic violence is about the same as was America’s 50 to 60 years ago. Society there, as a whole, heretofore has denied the existence of abuse—relegating it to a few isolated incidents limited to the “lower class”—as did America at the time my family and I suffered abuse.
Wherever I spoke, I was overwhelmed by the love and gratitude shown to me as people hugged me and wept. My translators repeated their phrases over and over as people thanked me for bringing the message of forgiveness to Poland. One event leader in a large city greeted me with a strong embrace, and, through tears, said in her fluent English, “I have prayed six years for someone to come to Poland with a message of forgiveness. Thank you for traveling so far to answer my prayer.”
As I toured Auschwitz and relived the horrors of the holocaust, my heart broke for this great country. This brave nation has been beaten and brutalized by its neighbors during its entire existence. It has rebuilt its beautiful cities but the healing of its soul is a longer process. I felt humbled to be there at a time when the stirring of the nation’s heart is nudging them toward healing through forgiveness.
This reality was reflected by the media’s open interest regarding the subject of forgiveness as a whole. I was guest on seven radio broadcasts; two of them live radio talk shows where everyone was eager to discuss forgiveness, so much so that all of the calls couldn’t be taken—and they were one and a half hour long shows. I was also guest on one live talk show videoed for TV, and interviewed by a number of newspapers and magazines. So intense was their interest on the subject of forgiveness, domestic violence, and Poland’s need for shelters for abused women and children, that a number of those interviews were 3-1/2 hours long.
I will never understand how God works, for His ways truly are mysterious. But in looking back at the rebirth and evolvement of my book, I suspect these events and circumstances could only have been orchestrated by God. I am reminded of the statement made by Jesus in John 12:24 unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains by itself alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit.
As painful as it was for me at the time, had my “baby”, my Sins of a Father book not died and gone out of print, I Can Forgive if I Want to would never have been born and this timely European trip would have not taken place—and thousands of people in Poland would have missed the blessing of its message of forgiveness.
— Kitty Chappell
www.kittychappell.com
Note: This updated book is yet to be released in the U.S. but is available on my website in English.
Tags: Book Marketing, Book Publishing, Book Sales, Self-Published Author, Self-Publishing, writing
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