Month: July 2023

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Publishing Your Book the Easy and Inexpensive Way

Have you wanted to write a book but didn’t know how to start? Does the idea of writing a book seem a hard or difficult thing to do? Have you found it difficult to get information about how to get a book published?

You’ve thought about it … you’ve dreamed about it … you might have prayed about it. But now P&L Publishing and Literary Services can help you do something about it. We understand the difficulties because there’s a lot to consider. Writing is an expression of who you are, what you believe, and what you want to accomplish. Writing and publishing are important investments of your time, and we can help you make the best use of it.

The booklet I wrote a few months ago may be just what you’re looking for. The title is Publish Your Book the Easy and Inexpensive Way. When I was asked to speak at a conference, I wrote it so those attending the conference could have a way of remembering more clearly what I taught. This booklet will help dispel the mystery of getting your book in print and out to your readers.

I am S. Eugene Linzey, and I’m the president of P&L Publishing & Literary Services. My staff and I can help you turn your message into a book so it is available to people who want to read it . . . who need to read it.

What are your passions? What flows through your mind every week, if not every day? What do you wish people knew? What would you tell others if you had an audience?

By writing a book, you have an opportunity to impact hundreds . . . maybe thousands . . . of lives. Writing and publishing is your escalator to the world. But how do you even get started?

P&L Publishing & Literary Services was created in 2019 for four basic reasons.

  1. Definitive information about publishing is sometimes hard to get.
  2. Prices are often too high.
  3. Many companies won’t communicate by phone, and it’s difficult to resolve some issues by email.
  4. Waiting many months to finish the job is too long.

Therefore, P&L was formed to give an excellent product at a much lower price and a lot faster than many other companies. We also know that writers are more comfortable and feel more secure if they can talk with the people who publish their books.

We explain the process and spell out the fees up front, and our clients enter the publishing agreement with most questions answered.

But P&L’s mission goes far beyond that.

Many folks have a desire to share their stories, their personal experiences, and their views on life. People are creative, and through their writings they open their readers to new dimensions. And since all our staff members are writers, we know how to make the publishing experience a pleasant one.

Reading informs, empowers, and enables people to learn about life, and writing provides the reading material. You’ll be surprised about the impact your book will have on someone’s life!

Our goal is to make your journey as satisfying and meaningful as possible. We want you to be 100% pleased with the process and with your book.

This booklet will answer many of your questions and introduce you to our staff. But you will most likely have other questions, so please feel free to email or call us at any time. If we’re busy with a client, we will do our best to get back to you the same day.

Come with us on a journey of fulfilling your dream of publishing your story or your message. We’re here to help.

You can type in: S. Eugene Linzey Publish Your Book the Easy and Inexpensive Way, or https://www.amazon.com/Publish-Your-Book-Easy-Inexpensive/dp/B0BVT8KWN2.

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C. M. Russell Museum

In September of 2018, I took Carol to see the 201-foot-long Roe River in Great Falls, Montana, and the Giant Springs that feeds the river. My brother, Paul, and I visited the river in June of 2016, and I was anxious to see it again. (Visit http://www.paullinzey.com)

Returning from the river and springs, Carol saw a sign and excitedly said, “Turn around!”

An obedient chauffeur, I turned around and found my way back to 400 13th Street North. I could hardly believe my eyes. I blurted out, “The Charlie Russell Museum? I didn’t know it was here! You want to go in?”

“I pointed it out to you, didn’t I?” (Good point.)

In Southern California I learned to know the artist as Charlie Russell, but perhaps most of you know him as C. M. Russell. Also known as “Kid” Russell, Charlie was perhaps the greatest painter and sculptor of Western America.

Charles Marion Russell was born in St. Louis, Missouri on March 19, 1864—a year before the American Civil War ended; and he apparently had the desire to sculpt and draw as a child. (Some of my friends say it was not a Civil War, but the War of Northern Aggression. Other friends call it the War of Southern Secession. Whatever……)

Through the stories of his grandmother (Lucy Bent Russell – her brothers were Charles and William Bent who founded Bent’s Fort in Colorado), Charlie became infatuated with The West, and when he was sixteen years old his parents allowed him to head west to work on a sheep ranch in Montana—often called Big Sky Country.

He became a cowboy; but no matter what you saw on television, being a cowboy was not all “Yippie-ty-yi-yo, Get Along, Little Doggies.” It was a rough life, but Charlie stayed on and learned almost everything there was to know about the job. He often sketched scenes, painted, and made models of wildlife to pay for his room and board.

Gifted artists are not usually great businessmen; therefore, he had difficulty paying bills and keeping food in the pantry. But when Charlie married Nancy Cooper in 1896, she became his manager. When Charlie might have settled for $25 for a painting, Nancy knew how to get several hundred for it. With Nancy as his manager, Charles Russell entered the national limelight.

Charlie’s memory was amazing, but he frequently used props and models. Sometimes Nancy and another friend would dress up in Native American costumes to model for him. He would often create a quick reference sketch then join in the fun and dress up as well. His studio was filled with Native American and cowboy tools, jewelry, clothing, etc., which he used for reference.

Charles M. Russell died of congestive heart failure on October 24, 1926.

Arriving at the museum in Great Falls around 1:30 pm, time escaped us as we visited the gallery. The Charlie Russell Riders Sculpture Garden in the front of the museum is beautiful. And once inside the gallery, we were amazed with the paintings, sketches, sculptures, and carvings! Even the model stagecoach looked realistic.

Charlie was observant! Seeing what most others glossed over, Charlie saw the beauty in a galloping horse; sage brush in twilight; sunset over the rugged plains; and the fearsome look on the face of the Chief sitting on his pinto without a saddle.

He had a memory for detail that far surpassed most people. A gunfight at a saloon with rowdy cowboys riding their steeds on the boardwalks became a beautifully detailed painting. And looking at another painting, I could almost feel the pain in the cowboy’s wrenched back as he tried to “break the bronco.”

The museum is very well laid out as it reveals the evolution of Charlie’s life: professional as well as personal. We found high-quality gifts in the C. M. Russell Museum Store. The personnel are friendly, informative, and a joy to be with. I learned a lot as I spoke with them. In 2009 the Wall Street Journal called the museum “One of America’s premier Western art museums,” and I fully agree.

As we drove back to Dick’s RV Campground, I marveled at Charlie Russell’s abilities. Almighty God is a great and loving Creator. I believe that God gives everyone some creative ability or talent at birth, and it’s up to us to discover what it is and develop it. Charlie did. I encourage you to visit the C. M. Russell Museum at 400 13th St. North, Great Falls, Montana. You’ll enjoy it.

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Let Freedom Ring!

After the eight-year War of Independence ended in 1784, the colonists were finally free! Well, I suppose they weren’t colonists any longer; they were citizens of a brand new country. But they were free!

They were free from tyranny. Free from taxation without representation. Free from the hated Redcoats! And free from a host of other problems: both real and imagined.

But what were they free to do? They were free of military oppression and free to operate their own businesses. What else were the colonists – I mean, Americans – free to do?

Political freedom was a major item. Not desiring any over-arching government, they wouldn’t bow to any state but their own. This was a problem because there were thirteen new governments to consider. So, the former colonies – now sovereign states – agreed to a limited government under a federation called The United States of America. To them that actually meant The United Countries of America.

They were free to tax themselves with “in-house” representation. That was a fight! The local towns didn’t want the states to tax them, and the states didn’t want the feds to tax them. They were also free to print their own money. Oops … that didn’t work too well. Each state created its own currency, with some states having several currencies. Banks issued their own money, and by 1836 over 1,600 banks were issuing thousands of varieties of paper money. Many of them were not “worth a continental.” Amazingly, standardized currency was not established until 1929.

How about freedom of religion.

In order to have a workable government, compromises are made. However, these concessions need to be in the civil arena; not in matters of faith. In colonial legislation, Thomas Jefferson said in the Virginia Statute for Religious Freedom (written in 1779):

“No man shall be compelled to frequent or support any religious worship, place, or ministry whatsoever … nor shall otherwise suffer, on account of his religious opinions or belief; but that all men shall be free to profess, and by argument [discussion] to maintain, their opinions in matters of religion, and that the same shall in no wise diminish, enlarge, or affect their civil capacities.”

Jefferson made sure the First Amendment carried the same idea: “Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof….”

President Eisenhower said on January 20, 1953, “History does not long entrust the care of freedom to the weak or the timid.” And on November 25, 1981, the United Nations General Assembly passed the “Declaration on the Elimination of All Forms of Intolerance and of Discrimination Based on Religion or Belief.” (This was, however, controversial.)

With that in mind, why is our government prohibiting the free exercise of the Christian religion? Why are we disregarding our religious freedoms that are protected in our own national documents? I am referring, of course, to openly reading and teaching from the Holy Bible.

When Scripture teaches that marriage is between a man and a woman, why do we cower before those who disagree? Why does our government pressure us to turn our back on our faith and turn against the Bible? Without a constitutional amendment, Congress does not have the right to revoke our constitutional rights of freedom of speech and freedom of religion and deny my right to preach the truth as found in Scripture. I don’t hate homosexuals; I have worked alongside several, and some of my friends are homosexuals. There is no hate involved when I tell them that the Bible teaches against homosexuality. It’s a statement of fact. But hate is involved when “gay” people angrily hurl insults and epithets at me.

It is unconstitutional, immoral, and unethical to allow the LGBTQIA2+ person first amendment rights yet disallow those with traditional Biblical beliefs the same rights. Everyone should have the freedom to speak their mind in the same way without fear of reprisal. And whoever dares to limit or eliminate one person’s freedom does damage to everyone’s freedom.

Proverbs 25:26 says, “A good person who gives in to evil is like a muddy spring or dirty well.”

     Christians have the same guaranteed, blood-bought, constitutional freedoms to teach and worship according to conscience, and to express our beliefs as does anyone else – including the right and obligation of teaching the Biblical view of life. To deny that freedom would be discrimination, bigotry, intolerance, and anti-American. And remember, even the UN denounces intolerance – at least, on paper.

So respect those with whom you disagree; live according to Scriptural principles; and give thanks for our national and religious freedoms.