LDSPMA

Empowering Latter-day Saints to spread light and truth by connecting them at the intersection of faith, creativity, and professional skill

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Member Spotlight: Estefany Mendez!

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Estefany Mendez is from San Francisco, California.

What are some names of the books or other media you have created?

I am currently a news producer and writer at CBS in San Francisco (KPIX-5). Aside from my professional work, I enjoy shooting and editing videos for non-profits. Most of the work I have produced surrounds social justice and immigration.

What inspired you to become a creator of media?

My father was a journalist back when I lived in Mexico. He nearly lost his life due to political repression. My family and I immigrated to the U.S. and I felt it was my duty to continue my father’s legacy. Since high school, I began working on short stories. Later on in life, I created the first Spanish newscast at BYU-Idaho.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Emmy recognitions for my professional work. For projects with non-profits, helping causes I care for go viral and have legislators take action.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative journey?

Put The Lord first in all you do. I know my professional success is a blessing from the time I joined the church. Serving my mission prepared me for the trials I have had in the broadcasting field.

This is a national media package Estefany Mendez worked on that features the band “La Santa Cecilia” whose music illustrates the struggles immigrants in the United States face, something Estefany is especially passionate about.
What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Find your focus and a mentor.

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

Understanding the purpose of the content I create.

What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?

Being bilingual is a plus.

In what ways do you feel you have been able to be a voice for good in your creative pursuits?

Sharing personal experiences with those I collaborate with and by being neutral and open to ideas.

Announcing the New LDSPMA Podcast!

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By Ted Finch

I am happy to announce the launch of the first episode of The LDSPMA Podcast! In the first episode, I interview Steven Piersanti, who is one of the original members of the Latter-day Saint Publishing and Media Association. He currently serves as the director of conferences and programs.

Podcasting is always an adventure for me. I love listening to podcasts and I have enjoyed the few that I have done before hosting The LDSPMA Podcast. To be honest, I never thought of myself as a podcaster. I’ve always seen myself as a writer and storyteller, but sometimes our creative paths lead us in directions we never imagined.

Podcasting is turning into a medium where we can simply and effectively share our light. We can flood the airwaves with hope and positivity. We can model civility and celebrate differences of opinion and diversity of thought.

I still write poems and work on my novels, but I feel my focus, for this time and season in my life, shifting to figuring out how to be the best podcaster I can be. I know that I’ll make some mistakes. I’ll even put out a few episodes that aren’t perfect, but I know that I can’t wait. If I wait—it won’t happen. There are stories to tell that need to be heard.

So, if you are a podcaster, or want to be, I encourage you to get your message out there. I would also love to connect and learn what is working well for you and what pitfalls to avoid.

Keep moving and don’t give up.

Ted Finch – Host of The LDSPMA Podcast

To be a future guest on The LDSPMA podcast, you can schedule an interview with Ted Finch at tfinch@ldspma.org

Member Spotlight: Joseph Batzel!

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This week’s member spotlight is Joseph Batzel from Brigham City, Utah!

What inspired you to become a writer/musician/publisher/creative in media?

I always had a creative mind as a child and wanted to express myself as an adult.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

My opportunity to produce and narrate children’s books has given me a tremendous amount of pleasure.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative work?

Be who you are and remember where you came from.

What advice do you have for someone just starting in your field?

Training!

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

People are enjoying my work!

What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?

The primary thing that people don’t understand about the creative process is how much work it takes.

Tell us about your work!

My work is diversified, and I am involved in creating and teaching. I love teaching my university students as well as my private acting and voice-over students.

What are the names of your books/products you’ve created?

Audiobooks!

Redeeming Grace, How I Met Lewis Howard Latimer, Robin Hood, The Lost Tooth, Driving Dainty, The Rollercoaster, His Greatest Creation, Pinocchio, The Purpose of Life, Faith, Love and Fried Chicken, Keep Dreaming, Cowboy, and five volumes of Toby’s adventures.

What is your website URL?

www.josephbatzel.com

What are your social media URLs?

The Arts as a Superpower

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By Shaun Stahle

“What is the most powerful weapon in the world?” I asked a class of fifth graders in Fielding Elementary School many years ago.

The Gulf War was raging at the time. Every news cast led with horrific scenes of destruction. “The Apache Helicopter with laser-guided smart bombs,” blurted one boy. “Nah,” said another. “Tomahawk cruise missiles launched from warships.” 

The boys grew animated with some coming out of their chairs in mock imitation. These sparkly-faced boys knew their weapons of mass destruction.

After the teacher restored order, I suggested that neither the laser-guided missiles nor the Apache Helicopter—as powerful as they were to level big buildings into little pieces of rubble—were the most power weapons in the world.

More guesses followed. “How about nuclear bombs?” asked another.

“No,” I said long and slow, squeezing every second to build tension. “The most powerful weapon in the world…is words.”

Three illustrated people with speech bubbles. Using words and conversation.
Words: the Most Powerful Weapon in the World

The class went thunderously quiet. Faces contorted. The mental torture of trying to figure how words trumped bombs in causing agony. “Words?” someone finally bellowed. “When did words ever win a war?”

“Think about it,” I suggested, trying to ease their pain before their faces froze in those positions. “When mean words are said, you get angry. When you get angry, you could throw a punch. If nations say enough mean words, people get angry and tempers flare. They sometimes hurl bombs. But do you feel like poking someone’s nose who has complimented you?”

I’m not sure the students understood my analogy. I’m not sure the teacher did either. But I still think the premise has merit. Words tell stories. Stories evoke emotions of virtue such as beauty and love. Such emotions build into peace and contentment and gracious living. Harmony and unity are the result.

Words can also fan the flames of hate and animosity. Words of deceit and injustice can enrage to violence. Instead of unity, we see others as a lower species.

Words Turn Enemies to Friends

President Dallin H. Oaks in his October general conference address recommended that we heed the counsel of a famous musical and make more effort to get to know each other.

He should know. As one who has stood in the heat of intense adversarial debate trying many cases—50, I think—before the US Supreme Court, and as a man deeply cultured in the affections of the Spirit, he knows how to turn enemies into friends.

That’s where we come in. Those who tell stories help society get to know each other. Words and images and sounds are our superpower. The more we use our powers to tell the plight of another, the more we defuse the ugly and demeaning and debase that confronts us.

Most of us will never be introduced in the Rose Garden. None of us will have a finger on the big red nuclear bomb button. But we still have power. “The kind words we give, shall in memory live.”

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Shaun Stahle was yanked from a comfortable bed early one morning at age five to cart newspapers off his grandfather’s printing press and has been cursed with ink in the blood ever since. He spent 17 years detailing the growth of the Church with the Church News. His retirement plan is to find a shoe box full of unmarked bills along the road someday. He says he has saved his wife of 33 years from a life of fame and prosperity.

Member Spotlight: Kristen Reber!

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Our Member Spotlight today is Kristen Reber from Saratoga Springs, Utah.

What are the books/products you’ve created?

Book (paperback, e-book, or audio): Early Homecoming: A Resource for Early Returned Missionaries, their Church Leaders, and Family

Podcast: Early Homecoming: Insights from Missionaries who Returned Early

Tell us about your work!

The book Early Homecoming is the product of  seven years of thought and casual research, and then six intense months of interviewing, in-depth research, writing, and editing after the book suddenly landed a publishing contract. It is for anyone who came home for any reason, as well as for parents, church leaders, and friends of early returned missionaries. It is filled with academic and spiritual research, anecdotes from myself and other early-returned missionaries, and advice for coping with the sudden loss of a mission either right after losing it or if one is still grieving the loss years later.

The podcast Early Homecoming is a more casual work where I interview those who come home early for any reason, as well as parents and church leaders. I ask them to tell me their story, including the reason they (or their missionary/missionaries) came home, how they coped initially (or are coping so far), and how they have found peace and healing.

What inspired you to become a writer/creative in media?

I have always enjoyed literature. My mom told me that even when I was a baby, she and I “got a lot of good book time in.” I’ve been writing fiction stories for as long as I can remember, but my first book is actually nonfiction, inspired by my own journey of coming home early from a Latter-day Saint mission. My podcast was created as an additional resource for those who come home early and are either unaware of my book or don’t want to/don’t have time to read.

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

My audience. Everyone has a unique story. I simply love to watch and listen to people.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

By far it’s been the opportunity to talk to those who have read my book or listen to my podcast and hear how much it has helped them. I am so honored to be part of their healing journey.

What would you like others to know about you or your creative process?

I’m a rather thorough person, but I also know when to hold back. When you read something that I write, you can expect it to be completely thought out. I like to write in a colloquial style, but that doesn’t mean I skimp on the details. When you listen to my podcast, it is a more relaxed atmosphere, but the questions I ask my guests have been either thought out beforehand or are the result of careful listening. I want my audience to feel uplifted and enlightened at the end of a chapter or episode.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative work?

The best advice I’ve ever been given is to be myself. I don’t need to try to be anyone else. While it is important to learn from others and study their work to improve my own craft, when it comes time to create I need to channel my own voice and my own thoughts. People want to hear what I have to say. They don’t want to hear what others are already saying.

What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

I have found that when I have done my research before writing or creating a podcast, the book or podcast pretty much create themselves. So, the advice I would give is to not underestimate the value of spending a decent amount of time researching and learning before diving into creating.

Do you have a website?

kristenreber.com

Where can we find you on social media?

Facebook: Early Homecoming page

Instagram: @author_kristenreber

LinkedIn: Kristen Reber

Podcast: Early Homecoming Podcast

The Entrepreneur Mindset

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By Mariah K. Porter

Has it ever crossed your mind that you—as an author, painter, podcaster, blogger, etc.—are an entrepreneur?

Well, congratulations, because you are!

Google defines an entrepreneur as “a person who organizes and operates a business or businesses, taking on greater than normal financial risks in order to do so.” While we may all be starving artists thanks to those financial risks, I define it as “someone who wants to be vastly successful in a creative field.” Doesn’t that sound like what you’re doing?

Could your creative business benefit from your treating it as an entrepreneurial endeavor? I bet it could!

You may already be doing things typical of an entrepreneur, such as dedicating your time to work on your projects. You may even be getting up early to get things done. But what more can you do?

A young man at a laptop with creative and business ideas illustrated behind him, showing his entrepreneur mindset.

Here’s an exercise for you. Go to five people who know you or your work well and ask them one of two questions: “What do I do better than anyone else?” or “what do I do better with my creative endeavor (writing, podcasting, etc.) than anyone else?”

Evaluate their answers, then utilize them! Whatever it is they say, emphasize that to other people. Put it in your biography. Flaunt it in your ads. The answers your friends give you are going to help you market yourself to your target audience.

For example, if three out of five say that your characters are so realistic and relatable, take advantage of that. Tell the world that these characters will be their new best friends. If they tell you that your expertise has changed their lives, quote them. Let the world see what you can do.

Creating and revising a product is only half the battle as an entrepreneur. The other half is marketing. In order to truly treat your business the way it deserves to be treated, you have to put in the work to get eyes on it. There’s a whole world of information out there on how to do that, but this is a good place to start.

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Mariah K. Porter is an author, entrepreneur, and mental health advocate. Her YA Fantasy series, Recovering Happily Ever After, is about teens struggling with anxiety and depression the same way she does. When she isn’t writing or managing her business, you can probably find her at home listening to J-Pop with her small children. You can find her website at mariahkporter.com.

Member Spotlight: Devan Jensen!

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Our member spotlight this week is Devan Jensen of Orem, Utah. He is the current President of the Latter-day Saint Publishing and Media Association.

What are the books/products you’ve created?

As an author, I have written about fifty articles on people and topics in church history. These include Philo Dibble, C. C. A. Christensen, Shoshone history, and the Utah War. In addition, I also wrote God’s Greatest Gifts: 10 Reasons to Rejoice. I compiled Best-Loved Poems of the LDS People, Poems That Lift the Soul, Gradguide, and Latter-day Saint Essentials. I’m working with Rose Ram to write a book called Saints of Micronesia. (I served as a missionary in Micronesia.)

As an editor at the BYU Religious Studies Center, I have edited thousands of articles and chapters. I also manage social media for BYU Religious Education, BYU Religious Studies Center, Church History News, Religious Educator, and Pohnpei Church History.

What inspired you to become a writer/editor?

My parents and elementary school librarians hooked me on reading and inspired me to become a writer. Only later did I realize that editing could become a career.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

A repeated highlight has been traveling with friends to research or to present papers, especially on Pacific history. My favorite places to travel have included New Zealand, Samoa, Tahiti, Guam, Chuuk, Taiwan, and Washington, DC.

Another real highlight is working with Pacific scholars to write a history of Micronesia that will go in the Yigo Guam Temple.

What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative work?

A grab bag of many years of advice:

  • Find the empty spot on the shelf and write for that audience.
  • Ask good research questions.
  • Pluck the low-hanging fruit of the internet and libraries. Then visit archives to dig into original research.
  • Network with other scholars and refine your work through informal peer review and then formal peer review.
What advice do you have for someone just starting out in your field?

Pay the price of learning to become an expert in your field.

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

Traveling with friends to research or present papers is a huge motivating factor. I hope to travel to New York in 2021 to present at the Mormon History Association conference. I would like to visit the Yigo Guam Temple dedication.

What would you like others to know about you?

Like so many of you, I have a voracious appetite for learning, and for challenging my preexisting assumptions. My Facebook page shares my aspirations: As a writer and editor, I’m shaping a more just and sustainable community, nation, and world.

My wife, Patty, and I live in Orem, Utah. We have four children and an adorable granddaughter. I like to ride my electric bike all over Utah Valley. I perform magic tricks and like to sing and play the piano and ukulele.

Tell us about your work!

I enjoy helping authors to publish and helping promote their work. I have more than thirty years of experience working with books, journals, magazines, newsletters, websites, and social media. I’m volunteering as the president of the Latter-day Saint Publishing and Media Association (LDSPMA), which I helped to found.

I was hired in 2001 at the BYU Religious Studies Center. Since then I have led talented teams to edit about 250 books or book-length projects, which has garnered many awards.

I have been an adjunct instructor of business writing, editing, and religion for BYU and Utah Valley University. Also, I have been an editor for the Ensign magazine, Church Publishing Services Department, and Deseret Book Company. I have presented at BYU Education Week, Latter-day Saint Publishing and Media Association, Mormon History Association Conference, Sons of Utah Pioneers, Pacific History Association, and Utah State History Conference. As a National Merit Scholar, I received my BA (cum laude) and MA degrees in English from BYU.

Do you have a website?

BYU Religious Studies Center, my personal blog and the Pohnpei Church History Blog.

Where can we find you on social media?

Common Roadblocks to Getting into Creative Flow

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By Trina Boice

You know the feeling. There’s a deadline looming, and your mind has gone completely blank. Nothing, nada. It’s like your brain has frozen. Luckily the latest research shows us the most common roadblocks to getting into creative flow and how to move past them and get on with the job.

Fear of failure

Most people are afraid of failing because they see it as a one-way street to disaster, rejection, and a stain on their reputation forever. The fear of failure means you’re less likely to take risks, and you put off even starting. And those are two things that can kill creativity stone dead. Redefine creativity as a series of experiments, with failure as a kind of course-correction and an inevitable part of the process.

There’s not enough time

The ticking clock is another creativity killer. If you’re like most people, your schedule is probably crammed, and you feel like you’ll never catch up. If your checklist just keeps growing, you won’t be able to relax in the creative process and let the ideas flow.

A surprising way to find more time is to quarantine some chillout time in your daily schedule. Prioritize some downtime to listen to music, meditate, or just sit quietly. You’ll feel much less stressed and open to the creative flow.

You’re still staring at the screen

Sitting at your desk, staring at the computer or the blank page is not a good way to get creative. If you’ve been trying to write or problem-solve and it’s just not happening, the best thing you can do is go for a walk or do something else first. Get out of the environment that’s keeping you stuck, and your mental gears can disengage and relax enough to be ready when inspiration strikes.

You’re feeling negative

Negative thinking can stop creativity in its track. If you’re sitting there frowning, and thinking you can’t do it, you’re pretty much guaranteeing that you won’t be able to do it. Pessimism and negative self-talk set up a vicious cycle of gloom and low energy.

Reject that self-defeating attitude and give yourself a pep talk. Reframe your task and just promise yourself you’ll write down whatever comes into your head, just to get the process started. Be willing to create garbage to get the creative juices flowing again.

Remember, first drafts are invariably not your best product, because that’s what a first draft is for! You’ve done good work before, so you know you’ll do it again. Tell the muse you’re ready to get past these common roadblocks to creative flow and get writing!

The world needs your brilliance!

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Dr. Trina Boice is a #1 best-selling author of 31 books and an author coach at www.FromBook2Business.com. She teaches online for Brigham Young University (Idaho campus), is a film critic at www.MovieReviewMom.com. Trina is the Marketing Director at LDSPMA and loves rubbing shoulders with all of you amazing creatives!