Hi everyone
I've decided to bite the bullet and start writing my book. More specifically, I'm currently writing a book proposal which will include a sample chapter. My aim is to try and get a deal with a publisher first, and if that falls through I can always write the book anyway and go down the self-publishing route.
I'm very mindful that, in writing a book about Jehovah's Witnesses, I'm going down a well-trodden path. I was astonished the other day when I saw how many JW-related books were for sale on Amazon. However, I genuinely believe mine can be a bit different if I do things properly. In particular, I'm not aware of any Jehovah's Witness writing a book that is critical of the organization while they are still technically affiliated with it. I regard this as my "unique selling point", namely the fact that this book being written and published will inevitably get me disfellowshipped, since I will be publishing under my real name. This is something I intend to make very clear in the book, namely that I will face consequences for speaking out. I hope that this alone will help to inform the wider public of just how cult-like Jehovah's Witnesses are.
I should mention that I will be primarily writing the book with the wider public in mind, and writing in a way that they can hopefully grasp things and empathize with our plight. I will, however, be writing with one eye on existing JWs in an attempt to appeal to their common sense.
Anyway, I would appreciate it if anyone could provide pointers. I know there are a few writers on this forum, and I would especially value their input. Generally, I would love to hear what sort of thing people would like to see in a new JW book, perhaps that hasn't been done before.
Obviously there have been a number of developments in the past few months that, for obvious reasons, aren't in any existing JW books. Aside from writing about these, how can I approach this subject differently?
Cedars