Kenneth Taylor went to heaven in 2005. He is best know for his Living Bible (or today known as the New Living Translation).
Yep, the internet said the Living Bible (not including NLT) sold 40 million copies.
Having worked at a Bible book store in the mall, I used to think Bible translations were the result of a Christian publishing house committees experimenting on their readers.
I have nothing against this, but I assumed modern translations have a boring markety backstory.
C’mon, when you got niche Bibles for police officers, surfers, and heavy metal fans, selling Bibles is definitely a business run by the board.
Taylor’s story is no where near corporatey.
I see two skills in his auto-biography contributing unintentionally to Kenneth’s success.
#1 His ability to write for children
Kenneth had 10 kids, thanks to his wife Margret.
When reading the King James Bible to his family, he was constantly rephrasing.
Take Philippians 1:8
“For God is my record, how greatly I long after you all in the bowels of Jesus Christ.”
Jesus definitely had bowel activity as a full-on human.
But that would need a little rephrasing for kids (and grown-ups) to understand.
So, he wrote 4 books for children (devotionals, stories, picture Bible) long before he sat down to paraphrase Paul’s letters.
#2 His lack of ability to read the King James Bible
Sometimes lacking a skill leads to something greater.
Kenneth thought something was wrong with him. While his seminary friends were pontificating through the KJV, he often just blank stared at his Bible.
So much so, that it was very difficult for him to maintain any kind of regular Bible reading.
So the collision-course math:
good at writing for children + deep frustration = writing a translation that sold millions
Notice what he didn’t have:
reader growth hacks, proven templates and frameworks guaranteeing writer success
They might work as a pseudo-science for a while, but they will rob you of discovering your particular writing art.
Moral of the story: generate 8 more children in monogamy, fester about something you can’t do, write more emails, avoid the writer growth-hackers.
That will get you much closer to your collision course with something meaningful.
But it is quite possible that you just finished a book and just need an email course to grow your readership. I can help you get a 5-day email course based on your book up and running. So when you are giving an interview on a podcast you can just point them to your email course. Not a bad idea, right?
Here is the offer:
https://www.outofthinblair.com/p/done-for-you-email-course
Blair
P.S. I see a lot of authors converting their books to children’s stories so that parents can teach their kids. I have yet to see one that can compete with “Madeline” and “Gruffalo”. They are kind of magical.