From the bestselling author of Climbing with Abraham comes a powerfully concise and practical book on how to know your Bible better. In The Bible Habit readers will discover:
* How to build a habit that sticks
* What tools are the most useful
* How the Bible can fuel a satisfying spiritual life and much more!
The seven strategies in this book are essential for anyone wanting to grow in their knowledge of God’s Word and in their relationship with Christ. Don’t miss out, jump into The Bible Habit today!
David Ramos is here with me today to discuss his book, ‘The Bible Habit: 7 Strategies On How To Study The Bible’. David, thanks for joining me today, I appreciate that you’ve set some time aside for me today. Let’s start at the genesis of this book, what motivated you to write a book about how to use the Bible?
I struggled for a long time trying to figure out how I could understand the Bible better. This book is the tool I wish I had 10 years ago when I first began learning about the Bible in real depth.
Interesting, I guess I haven’t put much thought into it myself but if you gave me a Bible and told me what to do with it I think I would be pretty stumped on how to get much value out of it as a book. Was this the main experience that you were looking to improve when you were writing this book?
Yes, for this book, it was mainly my experience of being so frustrated as a new or “immature” Christian and being lost with this whole Bible thing.
As you were trying to answer this very specific problem, did you find that you were making conscious decisions as to the concepts that were being presented?
I always try to make my books as accessible as possible and that means using themes and ideas that really resonate with the readers. So yes, its very purposeful.
Were you able to find many resources that supported or helped you figure out how to answer this question.
Yes! I always include endnotes in my books so that curious readers can look up my sources.
That’s good that you found some resources to get you started in the right direction. Once you were in the right direction, approximately how long did it take for you to write the book once you started typing?
I knew I wanted to write a book like this, so I’ve been taking down notes for the past year. But the actual writing process took about 40 days.
Wow, forty days is impressive. How did you manage to get so much completed in the relatively short period of time?
I do writing spurts. So I won’t write every single day, but for periods of time (3-4 weeks) I’ll write for at least 3 hours a day (broken up as needed).
Does editing take up a large part of the writing process for you?
My schedule is the following: write first draft, use spell check to fix minor issues, read entire draft aloud and correct as I go, send that to editor, make necessary corrections, read aloud final time.
Okay, so it seems that you are placing a large amount of the editing process on a third party. Is this a writing tip that you would recommend, or do you think that there are other ways that people can get more out of their writing time?
Write more books. I know you think each book you’re working on is “the one” but I promise you, you have no idea what is inside of you until you really keep digging by churning out lots of work.
I think that advice kind of falls under the old adage, ‘Practice makes perfect’, which is still true in this technological age. Apart from keep writing, do you have a top tip for other authors?
Write what you want to read.
Was creating a resource that you personally wanted to read the most rewarding aspect of this journey for you?
After the first draft was done I shared it with a handful of beta-readers and I received a very positive response. Every single one of them said they learned something new – which was impressive since I consider most of them way further along in their spiritual journey than I am.
Wow, I can see that providing something new to those further advanced along their spiritual walks than you would be greatly rewarding. When you finally had the book published, how did you feel from the reviews others have provided?
Grateful. That fact that people take the time to read my work still surprises and makes me extremely thankful.
This is not your first book and I’m assuming that it’s not your last either. What are you working on next?
I have a few more books in my Testament Heroes series that I want to finish before the end of 2016!
Good luck working on your series. Now I fear that we have been to serious for too long. I’ve pulled a few random quick fire questions out of my bag just to bring some levity to this interview. We’ll start with, which are cooler? Dinosaurs or Dragons?
Dinosaurs! I am a huge Jurassic Park fan!
Who isn’t :). What is your favourite word?
Psithurism – the sound of wind in trees or rustling leaves
I really like that word, however I’m never going to remember how to spell that so I don’t think it’s going to pop up in any author interviews anytime soon :). David, thanks again for joining me today and I hope that you find many new readers to assist
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