December 16, 2025 · 50:50

Guest Host, Alex, McFarland, is joined by, Christian author & speaker, Karen Whiting.

Culture & Media

Show notes

Guest Host, Alex, McFarland, is joined by, Christian author & speaker, Karen Whiting. | 1-800-326-4543 ext. 345 To donate call : 877-616-2396

References & links

Phone lines mentioned

1-800-326-4543 ext. 345
877-616-2396

Full transcript Auto-generated · 8,720 words

Transcribed with OpenAI Whisper (base.en). Timestamps are approximate. Lightly cleaned for readability; quotations from on-air callers may include filler words. Use the audio player above for the authoritative recording.

0:00Darkness is not an affirmative force.
0:03It simply reoccupies the space vacated by the light.
0:06This is the Hamilton Quarter on American Family Radio.
0:11It should be uncomfortable for a believer to live as a hypocrite.
0:15Delivery people out of the bondage of mainstream media.
0:18And the philosophies of this world.
0:20God has called you and me to be His ambassador.
0:24Even in this dark moment.
0:26Let's not miss our moment.
0:28and now, The Hamilton Corner.
0:33Welcome to the program.
0:34Alex McFarland here tonight,
0:36sitting in for attorney pastor,
0:38journalist, broadcaster Abe Hamilton the third.
0:41You may know me from exploring the word,
0:43which now for more than 15 years has erred live,
0:47Monday through Friday, 3 to 4 central, 4 to 5 eastern,
0:50and in the time zone of your choice on the American Family Radio Network.
0:54But I have the great privilege, some of you are aware of this,
0:57aware of this on a somewhat regular basis.
1:00I sit in for Abe Hamilton when he is traveling
1:03and tonight is one of those nights.
1:04And we've got a different kind of show, but a great program,
1:08someone that I've wanted to have on the radio
1:10for a long, long time.
1:12She's a very prolific author, Karen Whiting,
1:15and we'll talk about her work.
1:18But let me say this.
1:20What are the questions that I get most frequently
1:22as I'm traveling?
1:23And if you've ever pondered this question yourself
1:27Tonight is a show that I think can be very instructive and very helpful for you.
1:31But many people ask me how I got into Christian writing and being published.
1:37And I completely give God the glory.
1:40My 21st book just came out about six weeks ago.
1:44And, you know, I give God the glory just this past weekend on town hall.com had
1:50an article published on Christmas.
1:53That's what we call short form op-ed.
1:58A lot of the sites, whether it be ChristianPost.com or CBN, townhall.com, Newsmax, Fox News,
2:07you would be amazed, your listeners, how your articles, 650 to 800 words max,
2:15your op-eds could get published and could touch lives.
2:20I want to talk about writing as ministry.
2:25I didn't go into it with the idea to make money.
2:29I didn't think about that.
2:31You know, whatsoever we do, we do as unto the Lord.
2:35And really, to talk to us about the ministry of biblical worldview, the gospel,
2:43Scripture being conveyed through good writing honestly. There's about three
2:51names I'm thinking of. One of whom is with us right now, Karen Whiting. She's
2:56very prolific. She has been used by God in so many great ways and I could
3:02recommend any or all of her books, but she has got a book about Christmas and
3:07Advent and me being the big Christmas proponent and fan that I am, I want to
3:14recommend that book. But without further ado, to talk about publishing,
3:18getting the Gospel out through the printed page, our friend and colleague
3:24Karen Whiting. Welcome to the program, Karen. Thank you for having me on, Alex.
3:30Well, it's good to have you on and before we go too far, I want people to know
3:36about you and I know you've got a website and Karen Whiting W-H-I-T-I-N-G.com. But I want
3:45to hear your journey. How did God bring you to this? Your name is well-known in publishing
3:51circles. The Tyndale, folks on the family, many of the people with whom I interact. You
3:59are well-known. You've written a lot. How did God bring you to this point in your journey?
4:05Well, as a mathematician, and then as a mother of five, I never wanted to write a sentence.
4:13So this was very interesting, but God at one point gave me, basically called me to write,
4:20and I won on a retreat to pray about that.
4:23And while I was on this retreat, God gave me a vision.
4:26I thought, I've never had a vision before.
4:29And I thought he wanted me to write one book, and he held out what looked like a golden ball,
4:34And I said, so you do want me to write a book and he pulled it back and said, no.
4:37And I said, so I'm off the hook.
4:38You don't want me to write.
4:39And he says, yes, I do.
4:41This is a seed planted.
4:42It will produce much.
4:43And then in my mind, I saw this tree full of books.
4:46And I said, oh, you want me to be a writer?
4:50The next morning, I kept wondering where I should sit for breakfast at this retreat.
4:55And I said, I think I'm supposed to sit here.
4:57And at the end, we were told to turn over our placemats and that they would each have
5:02a unique painting and mine was a painting of the vision. So, Robert's three, four, five
5:07on it. So that was quite a conformation. I said, all right, Lord, I'll give you five years
5:11of nothing's accepted for publication, even a tiny little thing. I'll know I didn't hear
5:16you right, but within five years I had contracts for five books.
5:19Oh, my goodness. That is great. Now, how did that come about? Did you go and meet publishers
5:27or did publishers somehow pursue you?
5:32A whole combination of things because my daughter was dating a young man and they had just moved
5:38to town and that was senior year of high school.
5:41So I invited the parents over thinking they would want to know more people not knowing
5:45the mother.
5:46Not only was from Miami, Florida where we were living at the time, but she was a writer
5:51with Zondervin.
5:53And so we started becoming walking partners and she took me under her wing to mentor me
5:59as I was learning to write.
6:01And then I went to my first writers conference where, you know, people gave me different advice
6:06and one person said, here, a beginner or intermediate writer spent at least 45 minutes a day writing.
6:11And I thought, oh, with my youngest in preschool, that's about what I can manage.
6:16And they also said, look at all these things.
6:18We're handing out Sunday school take homes and everything else and start writing for some
6:21of them and get the Christian Writers Market Guide, which is the best book to start with.
6:26And I did everything they said and I started writing for a Sunday School Quarterly magazine,
6:33which I didn't realize was published by Simon and Schuster.
6:36I didn't even know who Simon and Schuster was.
6:39And after I wrote for them for a couple of years, they called and said, would I do a book
6:43and asked me.
6:44And I said, sure, so I did my first book with them.
6:47And from there it just started snowballing and I met a lot of people each time I went
6:51to different writers conferences.
6:54And I would write for both the magazines and then put in proposals for the books.
6:58And most of the time those proposals for the books got accepted.
7:01The articles were a lot did, a lot didn't on those because you're always going to get
7:07rejected when you start.
7:09Yeah.
7:10I've found that writing articles is good because for one, it's practice, at least in my case,
7:18Karen, just like anything, sports or playing a musical instrument or anything, the more you do it,
7:26the more proficient you can become. And for me, the more I write, and tons and tons of what
7:34I've written will never see the light of day, but it was just practice and working on things.
7:39And then things come together and you submit things and they get published.
7:44I give God the glory.
7:47I had published a lot of articles before I ever got a book contract with Tindale.
7:53And then I self-published one book.
7:56But for the aspiring writer, do you agree with that?
8:00That it's almost like any discipline.
8:02You need to do it and practice it.
8:05just write things, whether or not they'll ever land anywhere. Do you think that's a good advice?
8:12Oh, exactly. And I actually started writing for my church bulletin in exchange for they paid for
8:17my registration for conferences so that I could become a better writer. Yeah, bartering is always a
8:24good thing to do. It helps out. But then I also, yes, but it also gives you a sense of what you're
8:30good at and what people like of what you write. So you start noticing, am I better writing for
8:35the younger people or for the older people or what and what should I be writing about?
8:40And you get to talk to editors when you go to a writer's conference. I can remember talking to
8:44the editor home life at the time and I had written up an index card for each one that I wanted to
8:52speak with about what I could pitch to them and I sat with him at lunch and said, so what do you
8:57He said, I don't know exactly what I want, but I can tell you what I don't want.
9:01And everything he listed off would cross off the three different ideas that I had on that.
9:06So he said, but I really want something that'll make me laugh.
9:08So I told him a very funny story about miscommunication with my husband and myself.
9:12And he said, that's what I want.
9:14Write that up.
9:15And it became a feature article for their Christmas magazine on wrapping communication
9:20skills is what I ended up calling it.
9:23And so you learn a lot as you're doing that.
9:26And when you take these classes, when you become part of a critique group with other writers,
9:34which I did, although I'm not currently in one, I just don't have the time right now.
9:39I have certain people that if I want something looked at, I'll just send it to them and we'll
9:43swap off as we need to for things.
9:47But just snowballed as I started realizing where I really belonged was in writing to help
9:53strengthen families.
9:55And let me say this and I want you to comment by the way if you're just tuning in Alex McFarland
10:00here with friend and colleague Karen Whiting, a prolific Christian author.
10:06By the way Karen before we go too far what is the best website to direct people to familiarize
10:12themselves with your work?
10:15www.CaronWyting.com and B-H-I-N-G.
10:21And I want to talk about, you've written on women of the Revolutionary War era, but let
10:27me just say to everybody, you do need an editor.
10:33Whether it's just a friend to read and give some critique, you know, I've experienced
10:41Like first-time writers say, no, God gave me this message,
10:45and it's got to be printed as written.
10:48No, trust me, folks.
10:49And I learned this when I was working at Focus on the Family.
10:52There were a lot of editors highly experienced
10:55that had written for James Dobson and Chuck Colson,
10:59and they, gently, and sometimes not so gently,
11:03would critique and give me advice.
11:07And looking back, I'm thankful because multiple sets of eyes to read what you've written, and
11:15they give critique and advice.
11:16It makes it a better finished product, doesn't it, Karen?
11:21Oh, it certainly does.
11:22And when people say to me, well, but God gave me every word, I said, you know, Peter might
11:26have said that too, but remember, when he said one particular sentence, and you can go
11:30find this and look it up, Jesus turned to him and said, get thee behind me Satan.
11:35It was basically saying, no, what you have has to be totally stricken.
11:41We have to know we need to be edited.
11:45And that is so important.
11:46And there's so much that people don't know about the writing.
11:50And they will learn that as they write articles.
11:52I would write these articles, see it, publish and then say, no, what have they changed?
11:56So I know how I can get even better.
11:59Indeed.
12:00Indeed.
12:01You mentioned book proposals.
12:04If you would, Karen, explain what is a book proposal and how does one begin?
12:10Because to me, I mean, that's a key part of the equation in itself, an almost an art form
12:17to write a winning book proposal.
12:19But speak to that if you would, please.
12:22Yes, the proposal is your first display of your concept to the marketing and the content
12:32of what you're writing about. And in that, it's the first couple of pages are very key because it
12:38lays out what you're doing. Proposals are longer because you also include two or three chapters,
12:43usually. But in laying it out, you want to give them a description of the book a hook, which is only
12:52at one or two sentences that can be done in 30 seconds if you were speaking it. And sometimes
12:58a longer description. Now, all of these are actually used by a publisher as part of the
13:02ad campaign. Some will go into ad copy in the catalog. Some will go into little brief things
13:08they put out there. And you don't realize a lot of what you put in there ends up being
13:14used by the publisher for in various ways. Then you're going to put in, you know, how many words
13:19do you expect this to be? And what's the intended audience, secondary and tertiary audiences
13:26of who will read this, to include your marketing plans.
13:30And you don't say, oh, I'm willing to be on TV, radio,
13:33or whatever, anywhere.
13:35No, you need to say, I have been on,
13:38or I have been taking training classes to be a guest.
13:43And that experience or that training
13:45is going to go much further than that you're
13:47saying I'm willing to do it, because that doesn't show you
13:49can do it, or that you have done it.
13:52One of my first proposals, puppets.
13:55And I said, well, should I even put in that I'm a TV host
13:59because it's just a show on puppetry?
14:00And they said, well, certainly for puppets,
14:02but you always should because that makes people understand
14:05you know how to speak for media.
14:09Exactly.
14:10And folks, that is your platform.
14:13And I want to encourage the aspiring writers out there
14:16to understand, and we'll elaborate on this
14:20in much, much more.
14:20Plus, we will take questions if you want
14:23to ask a question about writing or communication
14:27or integrating God's word into what you write,
14:32care and writing.
14:33And I don't say this lightly, but she's an expert.
14:36I mean, honestly, and we will take questions
14:39in the third segment, but this is the Hamilton Corner
14:42with Alex McFarland and Karen Whiting.
14:44When we come back, we'll talk about the ministry
14:47of the gospel through the written word.
14:50We'll talk about how your platform plays into the doors that can open for you.
14:56Stay tuned the American Family Radio Network is back after this brief break.
15:00We do wish you a Merry Christmas.
15:02We pray it's a joyful Jesus field Christmas.
15:05Stay tuned.
15:08A discipleship minute with Joseph Parker.
15:12Looking in the book of Romans, Romans 12, beginning at verse 1.
15:16I beseech you there for brethren by the mercies of God
15:19that you present your body as a living sacrifice.
15:22Holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service.
15:27And do not be conformed to this world,
15:29but be transformed by the renewing of your mind,
15:32which you may prove what is that good
15:34and acceptable and perfect will of God.
15:37For I say through the grace given to me,
15:39to everyone who is among you,
15:40not to thank himself more highly than he ought to think,
15:43but to think soberly as God is dealt
15:45to each one a measure of faith,
15:48and individually members of one another.
15:51Father, we thank you once again for the wisdom,
15:53the powerful grace, the powerful understanding,
15:56and insight that is ours,
15:58as we spend time with you one on one in your word,
16:00each and every day.
16:02We thank you, and we praise you.
16:03In Jesus' name, we do pray.
16:06Amen.
16:13Shiting light into the darkness,
16:15this is the Hamilton Quarter,
16:17on American Family Radio.
16:20Welcome back to the program.
16:22Alex McFarland here, we're talking with Karen Whiting.
16:25Karen Whiting.com is her website.
16:29You know, it's important to talk about writing,
16:32and it's important to talk about the ministry,
16:35and it is a ministry to write,
16:38because it's been said, folks,
16:40that your life is shaped by the books you read
16:44and the people with whom you associate.
16:46And I had a professor in graduate school,
16:48and he used to always say,
16:50tell me who your friends are and tell me what you're reading and I can predict who
16:55you'll be in four to five years. And I think about in my own life, my life was
17:00utterly changed. The trajectory of my life was set by two books that I read as a
17:07brand new believer in college, more than a carpenter and evidence that demands a
17:12verdict by Josh McDowell. And those two books I had never heard of the word
17:17apologetics but as a brand new Christian just days into my Christian faith trying
17:23to witness to my buddies at college I came across two books by Josh McDowell and
17:28little did I know that the next 35 years of my life would be in apologetics and
17:35worldview. Karen Whiting our guest right now I'm always curious because I love to
17:41hear people's story. What books or which authors impacted you coming up? Karen?
17:51Well, one of them was Dr. Bob Barnes writing a book on raising your children for responsibility.
17:57So as a parent, that was great. And I did end up going into books to help the families in many
18:03ways, because that book helped me a lot. The other one was a book on how to study the Bible
18:11by Carol Mayhew. And that really changed how I understood scriptures. I'd been reading the
18:18Bible since I was about 10 years old. But that made a big difference of how that impacted me and
18:25how to apply those scriptures in life and how to help others do that. And that's so much a part
18:31of what I do because I've done a lot of devotions where you're using scriptures to help children
18:35understand that, or women understand that. And then there's other books I do even my,
18:42when I realized I'm doing this for family and I was asked what I like to do something in the
18:46Battlefield and Blessing series on maybe World War II when I just laughed and said that the editor,
18:51I already book on time and a book on home for them, that I didn't know anything about war strategy,
18:57cannons, machine guns or anything, but I could do a book on the home front and they said,
19:03would even go in that and I said, that would be those untold stories of women that are behind
19:09the men and the daughters and the mothers through all the war times starting with the French Indian
19:16War, but then Abigail Adams, who had so much to say about women and the war and did so much to help
19:24out. And so that's where, because I know what I'm called to write, I know when to say yes and when
19:30to say no.
19:31You know, before the break we were talking about the two P's, the proposal and the platform.
19:40And Karen, I remember this is 23 years ago.
19:45At my own expense, I flew around the country to several publishers and I had some ideas
19:50about apologetics.
19:52And I remember when everything changed, when I mentioned, and just by the grace of God, I
19:58I'd been on the radio on one single Salem radio station
20:02in North Carolina for about three or four years,
20:05and it had grown, and I was getting speaking invitations,
20:09and I just mentioned, I said,
20:10you know, God's given me a platform.
20:13And the acquisitions editor said,
20:16tell me about your platform, and I said,
20:17well, I'm speaking about 75 nights a year
20:21all around the country, and I realized
20:25that it wasn't so much the content of my proposal,
20:28but it was the reality that the Lord
20:31had given me a bit of a platform, and that's grown.
20:34So talk if you would about the aspiring writer,
20:39because I'll say this, I'll throw it to you, Karen.
20:42If God has called you to write,
20:45and if you want to pursue the ministry of writing folks,
20:51don't think about the money you might make
20:53because unless you're Dr. Dobson or somebody,
20:59you're probably not gonna make a lot of money.
21:01I mean, it's ministry.
21:02But the thing is, it's a 20-year commitment.
21:07I mean, I really believe that, and I praise God for it,
21:11but the ramp up of really hitting a stride
21:16and becoming fruitful, it is a long-term commitment,
21:22at least in my experience.
21:24But talk about platform and viewing this as a long-term stewardship, Karen.
21:31And there's two things there that stewardship of stewarding and nurturing the people who are your readers, but also you often find you are going to help other people who want to become writers.
21:43And that's why I'm on the board of directors of a group of over 1100 Christian women who write and speak.
21:49And I became a writing and marketing coach because people needed that type of help.
21:56And so you do have that side.
21:58But it starts so small.
22:00My first rejection was for a puppet script because I had a big puppet ministry and had
22:05a TV show on puppets.
22:07They had a little form they could send me and check off anything you did wrong.
22:13Everything was checked off on mine.
22:14Every single thing.
22:15And I looked at them.
22:16And no, no, it's okay.
22:18I'm a very analytical people, I looked at my husband and said, look honey, if I write a
22:22puppet script and they can't check anything off, they'll have to buy it.
22:25And he said, oh sure honey.
22:28That's what I did.
22:28And I had the kids performing.
22:29It took me about two months.
22:30They sent it in and within two weeks they bought it.
22:33So it did help that when you take that criticism and when you hear what people say,
22:37you're not doing right, if you can flip that around, then you can start selling.
22:42And that's what I did.
22:44And that's important.
22:45Now, as I said for me, I started to do a little with articles, not because I was told
22:49if you want to get anywhere, you have to start with articles, whether it's Sunday school
22:53materials and take home materials or whatever.
22:57And I went through the Christian Writers Market Guide and I would jog your pages.
23:03I'd read five minutes a night and check off anything that I thought I could write for,
23:07especially where they had tips and I thought, oh, I could do that.
23:10And started writing and sending things and making sure I submitted one thing at least
23:14every month. And within really just a few months of that, I started selling these different
23:21articles, puzzles, pieces, whatever I sent. And I kept track of that. I had a sale of
23:29something every month for a hundred straight months. And by that time, I was a columnist
23:32and I just stopped counting any of that. I mean, I've sold over a thousand articles now
23:37and written quite a few that aren't, you know, that are just free for different reasons.
23:43But missed of that. I also did the book proposals and started selling those. Well, actually, what
23:48Simon and Schuster, because I was writing for their quarterly magazine, they called and
23:52asked me if I would write a book. And that happened a number of times I have had people.
23:58When I thought, oh, I think I'm not getting as much maybe God wants me to stop writing and
24:02retire from this, I had two or three editors come to me and ask me to write books and to
24:07talk about what I could write. So they will perceive you at certain points. And you never
24:13know when that will happen. You just have to be ready and willing. I had received contracts
24:18for four books in the same week of my birthday week one year, not only about two years after
24:23I was really into writing. And then I got a no one, another book, and I said, Oh Lord,
24:28I'm so thankful I got a no because I couldn't have done five. And I had to spread out new
24:32new things for the year in order to get that done and negotiate the deadlines.
24:39So let me ask you this.
24:42And I've got friends in Christian publishing some or thumbs up, some are thumbs down on
24:50this.
24:51What about a literary agent?
24:53Do you advise Christian writers to use an agent or just do it themselves?
25:02I've had an agent for a long time and I am with an agency.
25:06And for me that's been good because I don't really like to negotiate contracts.
25:10My husband wasn't a go shader but I was not.
25:13And so that puts me a step away.
25:15I don't have to get into a fight over anything.
25:17I can let my agent know what's killing point for me and what I would like and they take
25:23care of that.
25:24So the agent looks bad.
25:25I don't ever look bad or look like I'm arguing.
25:28They also know what's out there and what people want.
25:33And that's really through an agent is how I got into Tindale.
25:35I was already writing for some other publishers I had written for Barbara and Concordia and
25:44other places, but they got me into Tindale and that was very good and I liked that.
25:50So sometimes they can take you from where you are and bring you up a step.
25:53And they've always gotten me more in the contract than I think I would have gotten in my own.
25:58Do you feel like the public is reading like they did?
26:03I mean, I've read articles caring about
26:06that we are literacy levels are slipping.
26:10And before we go there, let me ask you this.
26:14Some of the iconic writers like C.S. Lewis.
26:16C.S. Lewis, mere Christianity, chronicles of Narnia,
26:20Lewis, he died in 1963, but he's an iconic writer
26:24and an absolute icon in the world of apologetics.
26:29Mirror Christianity is a tough read.
26:32I mean, I've read it many times.
26:34I've taught through it at the college level.
26:38Here's the question.
26:39Could CS Lewis get published today?
26:43You might have to be more creative.
26:45You know, one copy of Mirror Christianity
26:47is actually done as a comic book form.
26:51And that's how we taught our children was with that one,
26:53especially since the two-year-old is posted 16-year-old,
26:57liked all the pictures and liked to look at wormwood
27:00and everything and whatever.
27:02I guess that was a screw tape letter
27:04so that was in the comic book.
27:05Yeah, I was screw tape.
27:06Yes, and so I think sometimes he may have had to find
27:09a creative way to do that, but certainly,
27:14his book is still so iconic.
27:17I think that saying the books that he would have written
27:19would have gotten through.
27:22I don't know, you know, I sometimes look and say, would my books have the early ones that
27:27I did?
27:28And I really don't know, although many of those sold quite well.
27:33Everything changes all the time.
27:34All we can do is say, if God has called me to it, I have to do what He's called me to do.
27:39I may become a great writer, I may not.
27:41I may be a supporter of other writers than other things that I am doing.
27:46you look at Luke and he wrote two books, the Gospel of an Axe, and he was a detailed resource
27:54writer, I would say. That was a historic resource that he gave us. Whereas Paul wrote many letters,
28:00Peter only wrote two because he was busy in a leadership role. And so we have to look back at how
28:07God used those different people that he called to write and how he may be using those, not to
28:12the spire and say, I have to get to 100 books or 50 books or whatever. I thought if I get to one
28:16that'll be amazing. And you know, I'm at 34 with three more releasing in the next couple of years.
28:22And it's always praying about what does God want me to do and where is he going to open the door?
28:27And is this a book or is it just an article or series of articles? Which if they do very well,
28:34that could later be a request for you to do a book. I did so well on one article I did on prayer
28:40That was a number one article on crosswalk that I got to contract to write a book on family
28:46prayer for families.
28:48We're going to take calls in a few moments folks.
28:51If you want to get in the queue, the number is triple 8, 5, 8, 9, 88, 40, triple 8, 5,
28:578, 9, 88, 40.
28:58Maybe you've got a question about how to get published and what to write.
29:04Our guest is Karen Whiting a SME, an SME, a subject matter expert, really.
29:11And let me ask you this, Karen.
29:16Did you feel like you were called to fiction, nonfiction, or can someone adequately write
29:24in both worlds?
29:26I have friends who write in both worlds.
29:28I was called to write in the nonfiction world.
29:32And I had a family actually twisted my hand to have me write one short story for her clubhouse
29:39for the kids magazine.
29:40And they had to write it after I wrote it.
29:42And I had somebody else help me with it.
29:45And I saw, see, I'm really not the fiction writer.
29:49I started with a nonfiction article I wanted to do for them.
29:52And they wanted me to turn it into a fiction story.
29:54And it was humorous.
29:55And they did use my little situations of humor.
29:58But that's not my forte, and yet I use fiction technique to write a lot of storytelling that
30:04I do within the books that I write.
30:07So if I'm doing a devotional, those write very well as a story.
30:12If I'm doing an article that is perhaps an interview of somebody, sometimes it's better
30:18to write their story and put it in a good story line rather than to write it as a Q&A
30:24or some other format.
30:26What do you think about how much people read and the attention spans?
30:32I personally think social media, internet, has at least to a degree diminished people's
30:40attention spans.
30:42Has that impacted how you write?
30:46Yes and no, because I will find that I write a lot of books where there's a lot of little
30:52blots, but that's because I am writing for young people a lot.
30:55When I write for adults, I'll still put a little box of a key thought or an application
31:00to break up the text and that will help.
31:04You know, where I'm writing a deeper subject for the tweens that comes out in 27 of Biblical
31:09archaeology for children digging deep uncovering God's truth through Biblical archaeology.
31:15That's a big subject, but we're taking the Biblical story, Jesse Floria from Focus on the
31:19Family and I go off.
31:21All right, Jesse.
31:22Yeah.
31:23We've done four books together.
31:24Okay, so that was taking the Bible story and making that really fun creatively and then
31:31taking the artifacts or the dig that was found and writing that in a more scientific way.
31:39And various other things that we did within it, I mean we added in jokes and some fun things
31:44and factoids for the kids.
31:46So we have these breakups and these parts where the children can put in their words.
31:52And so for kids, that can be very, very good.
31:55And that's why even for adults, like a Bible study isn't just done as a lecture, you have
32:00the parts where people respond in places for them to fill in because it helps them break
32:04up and pause and think about things.
32:08So I find that people who want the subject will read the book.
32:13Sure.
32:14We've got a break.
32:15talking with author and really writing coach and publishing expert Karen Whiting.
32:22This is the Hamilton Corner with Alex McFarland on the American Family Radio Network.
32:27As always, you can listen to this show again.
32:29It's archived along with so many other shows at aFR.net.
32:34And I would encourage you if you're aspiring to minister through the written word, listen
32:39again.
32:40When we come back, we are going to take phone calls.
32:42The number is 888-884888-5888-8848.
32:49Your questions on publishing, Christian writing,
32:53and the ministry of the word through the printed page.
32:56Stay tuned more with Karen Whiteing after this brief break.
33:09Hello, my name is Andy Miller, and I'm
33:11the president of Wesley Biblical Seminary
33:13based in Ridgeland, Mississippi.
33:15We are developing trusted leaders for faithful churches,
33:19And we do that based in the authority of scripture
33:21and in the reality that Christians can be transformed.
33:25We do that also through bachelor's,
33:27master's and doctoral degrees.
33:29We'd love for you to learn more
33:30about Wesley Biblical Seminary at WBS.edu,
33:34where we're developing trusted leaders for faithful churches.
33:39Bruce, I'm old Jerusalem.
33:41How many times I would have taken you under my wings?
33:44They had everything that was necessary
33:47for them to know Jesus and follow Him.
33:50and they went their way.
33:52I think for nations, for individuals,
33:55there is a day that you have to make the decision
33:58to respond to the Lord,
34:00and it might be that the door of opportunity
34:02after that shuts.
34:04Exploring the word, weekdays, 3 p.m. Central on AFR.
34:09Islam in America.
34:11This is David Wheaton, host of the Christian worldview.
34:14Those bent on fundamentally transforming the United States
34:18have settled hundreds of thousands of Muslims in our country in order to diminish our Christian
34:23ethos and to build their modern day Babel.
34:27The problem is that Islam is not about assimilation but political takeover and subjugation of
34:32non-Muslims.
34:34Just look at what has taken place in Dearborn, Michigan, Minneapolis or New York City.
34:39Jesus told his disciples to be shrewd as serpent and innocent as doves.
34:44should be shrewd about not letting this false religion take over our land, and yet innocent
34:49and living pure lives that proclaim and exemplify the gospel.
34:53Here are most recent program with Darryl Harrison on Islam at TheChristianWorldView.org and then
34:58tune in this weekend for a special Christmas program.
35:02Listen to The Christian World View with David Wheaton, Saturday mornings at 8 Central on
35:06American Family Radio.
35:09The Hamilton Quarter Podcast and One-Minute Commentaries are available at EFR.net.
35:19Back to the Hamilton Quarter on American Family Radio.
35:25You know, I think about writing and some of the most iconic life-changing pieces that
35:31have been created were just little personal projects.
35:35I love the movie It's a Wonderful Life, of course directed by Frank Capra.
35:40But it began as a little essay in a Christmas card that a man self-published their only
35:47200 copies, but it was called The Greatest Gift.
35:51And it was a little story that was put in Christmas cards.
35:56And just in the Providence of God, it found its way to Frank Capra.
36:00Of course, Jimmy Stewart, Donna Reed, one of the great pictures, and for many a family,
36:06included is just not Christmas, till you've seen It's a Wonderful Life that Mark Twain,
36:11self-published, C.S. Lewis, self-published his first work. So folks, you can minister
36:18through writing and the Holy Spirit of God can use your creativity. I would just say
36:25go into it to give God all the glory and our guest, Karen Whiting, has certainly
36:32done that and been used by God in a great way.
36:35And we're going to take calls.
36:36The number is triple eight, five, eight, nine, eighty eight, forty.
36:40But Karen, for anyone listening that wanted to, you know, not only avail themselves to
36:47your books, but get to know you or maybe solicit your help as a writing coach or mentor, how
36:55could people get in touch with you?
36:57Well, they can email me at authorcarronwhiting at gmail.com.
37:04There's also a contact form on my website that they can go to.
37:09And they can follow me on Facebook and chat with me there and Pinterest and other places
37:13that I'm at.
37:15I am always on the online conference that Marlene Bagnell does, the Christian Writers Conference
37:21Let's see, it's the, I'm trying to think of it's right for him.
37:31But that conference which is held in August, they can get to know me there and be part of
37:36whatever group I'm teaching because she often has me do a continuing class or a clinic there.
37:43I do other conferences during the year.
37:45I'm not sure what I'm doing next year yet.
37:49I have to think about that a little bit.
37:52Yeah, we're gonna take a few calls. I'll hold that thought
37:56Let's go to Alabama
37:59Allen in Alabama. Allen are you there? I'm here
38:04Well, welcome to the program and our conversation with otter
38:09What am I saying author?
38:11Karen Whiting Allen. What is your question? Hey, let's care. How you doing?
38:17Alex I want to let you know that I'm Allen from a manual by the church in Vic's work
38:22Mississippi, first of all, I got you to come there and speak for us.
38:31And I moved to Alabama to be around my grandbabies and I wanted to learn the Kousa River.
38:39I'm a big fisherman. I'm a bad fisherman. And I was finishing the tournament one night and just
38:46the Lord spoke to me about writing a book. Okay, so I'm in my fifth chapter at the moment and the book
38:57is going to be called, Fishing for Christ. And I'm putting it all together to where, you know,
39:09I'm letting him speak to me through it, but you know, you've got to believe into what you're
39:14throwing where you're at, conditions you're in, things like that, is how my book is being
39:21laid out.
39:23But I know nothing about what I'm doing.
39:26I mean, all I know is this.
39:28I am writing an autobiography of myself, but he led me to do this, and so I've been doing
39:38it.
39:39And I really don't know what I'm doing.
39:42Now, I'm just thinking initially, I mean, this would be a good book marketed to men, but what
39:50advice do you have for Alan, Karen?
39:53Well, two things, because he's a pastor, right?
39:56I would make sure that he keeps contacts with wherever he has pastored and rekindled any
40:02that he has left behind, because they are going to be a great source for him for a platform,
40:07for him to speak and for him to contact them, do a postcard campaign to let them know once
40:12the book is out. The other thing is he says he doesn't think he has any idea and the first
40:16thing in writing is just right. Then you go back and start editing and start reorganizing
40:22and say, oh this part belongs in this other chapter. I was just thinking it through and
40:28it just flowed out but I see it doesn't have the adhesiveness to be in this chapter and
40:34that would go there. So first write, then start reorganizing and editing and get someone else
40:43to edit. Not just your wife or someone who loves you because they're always going to
40:46like the book. You need to find someone who's going to be more critical of the book and
40:51give you very constructive feedback.
40:55You know, I have found that English teachers are really, really good readers and editors,
41:03you know.
41:04And, in fact, there's one in particular, Linda Keiger, who is a just wonderful, retired teacher,
41:11and I let her read almost everything I write, and she, you know, gets out the proverbial
41:19red pen to help me.
41:21We say this.
41:22that iron out the wrinkles.
41:24So Alan, that helps to get some objectivity.
41:31And Karen, let me ask you this.
41:33So let's say he writes his book.
41:35Did you have a word count you would go for?
41:37Like most of my books are 50 to 60,000 words.
41:43But what word count do you go for?
41:46Or does it depend on the book?
41:49It depends on the book, okay?
41:51say your general nonfiction that's going to be Christian living is usually 40,000. If
41:57you're doing a 365 day devotional, you're going to be at over 80,000. If you're doing
42:03apologetic or more serious topic that can go to the 60,000. So it does depend. A fiction
42:10can be anywhere there. No, never over 90,000 though I would say in a lot will stop at 75,000.
42:19Once you have to think, if you start having a huge amount of words, you probably have more
42:23than one book and you can divide that up into two books, sometimes three books, because you
42:28thought everything you wanted to say, you could put into one book and sometimes God has more
42:33for you to say, then we'll fit in one and you're trying to cram it in and it's going to be too
42:38jumbled up and you need to separate it out and figure out how many books you really have.
42:44Thank you, Alan.
42:45Let's go to Iowa, Patty in Iowa.
42:48for holding welcome to our conversation with author Karen Whiting. I met you Alex Peter Falls Bible
43:02Conference. Oh yes. I got to say is hang on Patty for those that may not know the Cedar Falls Bible
43:13Conference is one of the great treasures of our nation for over a hundred years. The city fathers
43:21planned a century ago that there would be an annual Bible conference and they've had Erwin Lutzer and
43:27John MacArthur and great speakers over the years and it's been my privilege to be there
43:32on several occasions and you ought to Google it. Our dear friend Matt Reisner is the leader
43:39of it but people come from all over the Midwest to the Cedar Falls Bible Conference every summer
43:46and that's right Patty, that's you've been there many times and God bless you sister. What
43:54What question do you have for Karen Whiting?
43:57Well, I wondered if there's any market anymore for poetry and you may be turning into hymns.
44:10Okay, markets for poetry.
44:13They have always been somewhat slim.
44:15And yet, if you can do more than just poetry, and again, you can start with writing for some
44:20magazines.
44:21You know, a decision magazine usually has one poem in it.
44:24And I would say if you're doing that, think of a page spread, not just a poem.
44:29Can you put a sidebar with that poem?
44:31So maybe the poem is on grief and the sidebar might be tips of what to say to someone who's
44:36grieving.
44:37And poetry is still a good sale for children because they like the rhyming books.
44:43But for adults, one of the problems with poetry is people who write poetry, when I ask them,
44:49most of them don't buy poetry.
44:51They think, well, I'll just write a poem.
44:53So if you're not going to buy within your own genre,
44:55who is going to buy it?
44:57And one way to get known is to write poems that are short,
45:02that you can write for greeting cards.
45:04If your verses can become very popular there,
45:08it makes it much easier to start selling books.
45:12And that's some of the ways you can do it.
45:15And when you do do poetry, remember that the spoken word
45:19is becoming more popular.
45:20So when you're writing poetry, start doing a podcast or a very short Facebook live all the
45:26time of reading poems out loud so that you will start building a platform of followers who'd
45:32like your words in your poetry.
45:36Patty, thank you for that really good question.
45:38You know, Karen, I love to read myself and I think about reading and I encourage people,
45:47build a library because I know we all read on screens and the internet is
45:52ubiquitous but many a study has shown when you handle a book the term is
45:59haptics the haptics of handling a book turning the page I mean a book book okay
46:07our assimilation and recall is stronger we assimilate new knowledge into the
46:13existing knowledge we possess and then we're able to recall it more. And so
46:19build a library, you know, there's a quote attributed to John Wesley, I don't
46:25know if he really said it, but I've read this quote, those who read lead, regardless
46:30of who originally said it, it's good admonition. And regarding that, Patty,
46:35best loved poems of the American people, that is a must-have book in my opinion.
46:42Let's go to Texas drum in Texas. Yeah, welcome to our conversation with Karen Whiting.
46:49You're on what you got brother. Oh, okay. Yeah, I'm gonna cut this off. Can you still help me Alex? We can still hear you.
47:12All right. My niece came up to me during a concert and she told me that God told her
47:19that I'm supposed to write a book about my sordid life before Christ during and after.
47:25I've been really not doing good at going back to some chapters that I wrote. And I just
47:32wanted to ask Miss Whiting, is it okay to have a period of writer's block and then go
47:36back to it? I didn't get that confirmation from God, but if my niece got it and God says
47:42do it then I guess I got to do it so I just wanted to get her thoughts on this.
47:48Alright, a little bit cut out on me and that was the part about the blog. So did you start
47:53writing a blog and now you're turning it into a book? Is that part of what you're saying?
47:57No, I'm sorry. I'm sorry Ms. Y. She told me to write a book and I started writing chapters
48:01mostly about my childhood and my family members and I wanted to, the name of the book is going
48:08be called Take the Deal. And it's going to curve into, you know, Trump being the deal maker
48:16and God also having a deal for us that is just foolish to refuse. So I want to bring it into
48:23ministry and I've started out just talking about my family members. And then I just went
48:27into writer's block and got, you know, I got to run off and yeah, I just want to know is
48:33is a good idea to go back and let me hear your thoughts on that.
48:37Thank you.
48:39OK, so you've written the book and you've also been writing a blog.
48:42And should you go backwards to that?
48:44That's always good because when you're writing a blog
48:47and you're getting feedback, you understand
48:48what touches people and what they care about more.
48:51And that way you can go back to the book
48:53and say, are there parts in here that is just for my family
48:56and no one else would understand it?
48:57But the main story, if I strip away
48:59some of the details no one needs to know, might be the best.
49:03And what part, if I did a similar thing that was a blog,
49:06hit people that I have to make sure that's what I'm going to
49:09emphasize in this part of the book each time.
49:12And with each story, what should I be emphasizing that is the
49:16lesson, is the message God wants them to have.
49:19So I think, again, because writing develops your writing,
49:22just the practice of it.
49:23And therefore, the blog and the book are both practice.
49:26And each can make the other better as you look at the
49:29components of them and what you've learned and what feedback
49:32you are getting on them.
49:34Karen, let me ask you this.
49:35And by the way, thank you, Jerome.
49:37Best regards and God's blessings in your writing endeavors.
49:41Karen, what about AI?
49:43Because when I'm reading articles online,
49:46I'm talking even major news sources.
49:48You can spot AI content from a mile away.
49:53AI, is that polluting how people read?
49:58And certainly how content is generated?
50:02It's certainly putting too many more words into the online space.
50:09And because people are using AI to write things that are not facts.
50:15You're writing.
50:16There's so much here.
50:17Forgive me.
50:18We're almost out of time.
50:19I didn't realize how far we are along.
50:21Karenwhiting.com.
50:22We've got to visit with you again.
50:23I appreciate you so much this evening.
50:25I wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas.
50:27We'll talk again soon.
50:28In the meantime, folks, remember for the Christian, all of life is
50:32is stewardship. Let's serve Christ and serve Him well. God bless you all.
50:37The views and opinions expressed in this broadcast may not necessarily reflect
50:44those of the American Family Association or American Family Radio.

Transcript indexed for search. Open the panel to read along.

Share this episode

Related Episodes

Jan 1, 2026

Culture & Media

("Best-of" Edition from 7/11) Mental anxiety usually flows from belief in a lie.

0:00 - 15:00. 2 Corinthians 10:3-5. (NASB95). Our current station should never drive our means of engagement. 15:00 - 31:00. Mental anxiety usually flows from belief in a lie. 31:00 - 48:00. Don’t und…

Listen

Mar 12, 2026

Culture & Media

Guest Host, Alex McFarland, is joined by Kevin Hermening, running for a WI Congressional seat

Guest Host, Alex McFarland, is joined by Kevin Hermening, running for a WI Congressional seat https://kevinhermening.com/ https://www.ameripriseadvisors.com/team/hermening-financial-group/ https://act…

Listen

Apr 18, 2025

Culture & Media

Wil and Meeke Addison return to “The Corner” because He is Worthy of it All!

0:00 - 15:00. Hosea 10:1 (NASB95). Stewardship of abundance requires godly character, commitment and devotion. 15:00 - 31:00. Wil and Meeke Addison return to “The Corner” because He is Worthy of it Al…

Listen

Subscribe and never miss an episode.

Pick Your Platform All Episodes

Call (888) 589-8840 Book Abe