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: Jeremy Madsen!

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Jeremy Madsen lives in Provo, Utah

What are some names of the books or other media you have created?
  • The Atrium of Light Scripture Song project: making available online a collection of 300+ songs that set major scripture passages to original melodies. These songs were written by my family while I was growing up. They are extremely powerful for helping people memorize scriptures and incorporate spiritual power into their day-to-day lives.
  • “From Precepts to Power,” a blog for Latter-day Saints that explores principles for spiritual and personal empowerment.
  • I’m the chief editor for Studia Antiqua, a BYU student journal for the study of the ancient world.
  • Rendhart, a half-finished YA fantasy novel.
What inspired you to become a creator of media?

My brothers. Growing up, they both read a lot of fantasy and adventure books and also wrote fantastic stories. Since I was eleven, I have had the dream of becoming a fantasy author myself. I used to don a cape and draw a sword (actually a plastic ruler) and fight imaginary duels in my bedroom. Oh, wait—I still do that! In high school, I once listed all the books I wanted to write one day. The list was at least thirty items long and ranged from quirky sci-fi titles to personal development books. I still have that list.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Being involved with LDSPMA. I love the people I have met, the things I have learned about the publishing industry, and the opportunities that have become available to me. It truly is an awesome organization, and I’m so glad I could be a part of making its mission happen as the new Operations Manager.

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

Advice from C. S. Lewis: “No [writer] who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply try to tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.” Also, the book Style: Lessons in Clarity and Grace by Williams and Bizup taught me more about effective writing than any other book I’ve read.

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

Identify your priorities early, and then stick to them. Never allow your writing (or editing or podcasting, etc.) to come before God, family, or Church duties. But don’t let inconsequential hobbies, distractions, or concerns take time away from your creative work either. Drink lots of water. I drink 20-30 cups of water a day, and it does amazing things to my energy level and mental clarity. Set high standards for the content you create. There are enough media out there with profanity, vulgarity, crude humor, and unprincipled protagonists. Don’t add more. Create media that will truly bring people to God.

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

Sometimes it’s easy to get discouraged as a creator. I walk into a library and see the thousands upon thousands of books, and I think, “What could I ever add? And who would read it?”

The main source that sustains me is God. Every once in a while, He’ll remind me that my words and ideas are valuable and needed. The second source that sustains me is sincere praise from others. Someone told me recently, “Even if you write your blog posts for no one else but me, I get so much out of them that they’d be worth it.”

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

I love capes! Capes and cloaks of all kinds. I’ve worn them around the house, to school, even on dates. One of my most prized possessions is a dragon-scale-pattern cloak my wife made for me back when we were dating. March 10th is Universal Cape Day! Mark your calendars for next year. Wear a cape. Feel heroic.

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

I want my writing to model mature romantic relationships—something that is very rare in media. I want to show agency-based love instead of “love at first sight” or “love by happenstance.” I want to show the work and commitment that building and maintaining (or repairing) a relationship requires. And I also want to show the deep sense of security, love, and fulfillment that a well-nurtured marriage can bring.

If you want your spotlight to link to your website or any of your social media platforms, include the URLs here.

The website my siblings and I built to house our creative content: AtriumOfLight.com.

Announcing the Praiseworthy Awards for Emerging Authors!

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By Katie Wiscombe, LDSPMA Awards Committee Member   

How are you like the following people: Gerald Lund, Sarah Eden, or even Brandon Sanderson? I’m sure most of you would say you are nothing like these amazing Latter-day Saint authors. But really, you would be wrong. You probably have several things in common, but I’m looking for just one. Any guesses? No? Well, let me tell you.

You are like these creators simply because they, too, were once unknown authors with the drive, discipline, and talent to take that first step. The first step for you can be right here. If your dreams are tied up in telling the stories rolling around in your head, you’re in the right place. Let me explain.

In conjunction with our annual Latter-day Saint Publishing & Media Association conference held in October, we offer an opportunity for previously unpublished authors to submit their work to the Praiseworthy Award for Emerging Authors contest. This is a writing contest specifically for members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints who are unpublished and unagented. And this opportunity has a wonderful prize waiting at the finish line for the winners: feedback from the industry professionals at Eschler Editing! What?! Truly, the chance to have a professional in the field help you on your way is worth that first step.

The Details

Now for a little housekeeping. We open for submissions for all genres on May 1, 2021. Fiction submissions are due by June 1, 2021. Nonfiction submissions are DUE by June 15, 2021. 

You are welcome to submit up to 2,500 words from any genre and on any topic you would like. Picture books to epic fantasy. Romance to memoir. Historical fiction or nonfiction. Poetry or essays. Do you have a manuscript on how to make goat cheese? Or maybe you have a more serious subject matter that needs to be heard. Send it over.  The sky’s the limit. All you need to do is click here for additional information on submitting your manuscript.

Winners

Winners will be announced at the conference in October. Besides the feedback from Eschler Editing, all winners and honorable mentions will receive a certificate and a digital badge to post on their social media pages or website. 

The Invitation

I hope you follow that voice in your head that encourages you to take that first step. It’s not impossible to think that you could someday be in the same place as those incredible authors above. Nelson Mandela shared some inspired insight on the subject when he said, “It always seems impossible until it’s done.” So what are you waiting for? Dust off your manuscript, click the link, and submit your 2,500 words. Impossible no more–you just got it done. One step closer to your dream becoming a reality. 

We can’t wait to hear your stories!

Member Spotlight: Alan Sanderson!

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Dr. Alan Sanderson lives in Enoch, Utah.

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

I have two main creative outlets:
1) The Medicine and Faith blog, started in 2014, where I write from my perspective as a Church member and as a practicing neurologist, and
2) My music website, started in 2017, where my family members and I post our recordings and collaborations, as well as tutorials and reviews of the software and hardware tools that we use in our home studios.

What inspired you to become a creator of media?

The Medicine and Faith blog was inspired by Elder Uchtdorf’s encouragement for Church members to share the gospel online. I was also influenced by Clayton Christensen’s book, The Power of Everyday Missionaries. But I think I have always been a creator. For as long as I can remember, I have wanted to make music, images, and stories.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

Medicine is my career; writing and music are just hobbies. That said, it was an honor to receive a Praiseworthy Award at the 2018 LDSPMA conference.

Image for The Queen of Public Transportation, a song by Tom and Alan Sanderson.
What was the best advice you’ve ever been given in your creative journey?

Have fun!

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

Creating is more fun when you are learning. Learn new skills, build your foundation, and be willing to try new things.

What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

The joy of creating, the satisfaction of improving my skills, the payoff of seeing or hearing the finished project as a real thing in the world. The thrill of good web traffic and comments is like a sugar rush—it doesn’t last long enough to get your next project done. Your primary motivations have to be intrinsic in order for them to be durable, especially when you are a hobbyist.

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

I work on projects intuitively, based on what interests and motivates me from day to day and week to week. I don’t hold myself to a timeline or a schedule, but I try to keep two–three projects going all of the time so that there is always something in the pipeline. Also I don’t worry much about whether other people will like my creations. If I can satisfy my audience of one (myself), then I’m happy.

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

People comment to me pretty often that my music is uplifting or that they learned something from a blog post.

Member Spotlight: Hannah Johnson!

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Hannah Johnson lives in Provo, Utah, and is the BYU Chapter President of LDSPMA!

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

Edits for The Freelance Framework and the Enyo Shatterbelt series.

What inspired you to become a creator of media?

Like many in the Latter-day Saint Publishing & Media Association, I was a chronic reader. I started publishing reviews on Goodreads when I was thirteen. Eventually I found myself writing reviews that were both analytical and constructive. I started to wonder if my perspectives could make these books better. It wasn’t until BYU announced its new editing and publishing major—just a few months before I arrived—that the pieces fell into place and my pipe dream started to feel like a reality.

What has been the highlight of your career so far?

I’ve loved my developmental editing internship with Book Development Resources because they allowed me so much creative freedom. One book in particular required extensive brainstorming to solve several structural weaknesses. Finding a new plot point that killed all three birds with one stone and seeing the book’s transformation was so fulfilling; it confirmed to me that I’m in the right place.

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

There’s more than one way to cook an egg! If something isn’t sounding right despite the grammatical rules, find a different way to say it!

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

I am someone just starting out in my field (I won’t graduate for another year), but for everyone else out there struggling, I say take every opportunity! Don’t ever think you’re underqualified before you look into it. I would have never believed I’d be on the LDSPMA board, but I’m so grateful that I took the opportunities that brought me here!

A graphic of a typewriter and the word "Editing," since Hannah Johnson is an editor.
What keeps you inspired in your daily creative work?

I like to think of positive stories as missionary work. The scriptures are often told in stories, and that’s how we best remember the lessons we learn. To me, the Plan of Salvation is the greatest story ever told. Bringing that spirit into my work always helps me refocus.

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

Because BYU’s editing and publishing program is in the college of linguistics, my editing is strongly rooted in how people actually speak and process language. It’s surprising to some, but I believe it produces the most accessible results.

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

Asking honest questions and starting conversations has brought both goodness and greatness into my collaborative efforts. In specific projects, sincere communication has steered our novels and journals toward the most positive product. As a Gen Z-er in the larger publishing community, honestly acknowledging concerns has brought understanding and peace to me and other young members of the Church as we struggle to find our footing in a quickly changing industry.

Where can we find you online?

My website, HannahJohnsonEdits.com, and on LinkedIn and Goodreads.

Podcasting: Why You Should Think About Trying It

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By Ashley Fontes

Years ago, I started a children’s yoga blog. I had my blog name and a good website address. I wrote innovative content, I had my target audience, I made videos, I offered free content. Eventually, I even wrote on guest blogs. I was doing everything everyone was telling me to do to get my name out there, and still, I was not getting more than 50 hits a month. 

What was I doing wrong? Why couldn’t I break into the market? 

Trying a New Tactic

I couldn’t figure it out, but then last year I found this little gem that made me think: “As of this writing, there are over 500 million blogs available on the Internet. By contrast, Google claims to have indexed two million podcasts, and in 2018, Apple claimed that there were 525,000 active podcasts. Would you rather try to be noticeable in a room of 500 people, or a room with two?”

I did some more researching to see if podcasts would really make that big of a difference. Again, this is what I found: 

  • 75% of the US population is familiar with the term “podcasting”
  • 55% (155 million) of the US population has listened to a podcast
  • 16 million people in the US are “avid podcast fans”

With such a surprisingly large potential audience waiting, I had to try this out. 

I rebranded everything I owned to one name. I made sure all of my social media accounts pointed to my website and blog and that I owned the simplest domain for my new brand. Then I started my podcast, Read and Yoga. Same brand, same content, same audience, just a different platform. 

A podcast set up with microphone and computer.
The Results

In two months, I had 100 downloads on my podcast. While 100 downloads in two months didn’t mean instant podcaster celebrity status for me, it came with great side effects:

  • I went from 50 unique visits a month on my website to 150 unique visits to my website.
  • Since there are only 15 podcasters in my genre, I don’t have as much competition to get my content noticed in that sphere. 
  • I have been featured as a guest on two other podcasts, with a third coming up next month. And my podcast has received a shoutout from one of the top podcasters in my genre. These opportunities have drawn new readers and listeners to my blog and podcast from those podcasters’ audiences.
  • My social media page has grown faster in the last two months than in the last two years. 

The steps for starting a podcast are very similar to starting a blog . . . and there is no one saying you can’t have both. My podcast allows me to reach my audience where they are in ways that my blog can’t. While my blog talks mostly to caregivers and teachers, my podcast can reach straight out to yogis.

You can find the same benefits from starting your own podcast! Reach people where they are, and don’t be afraid to change. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ashley Fontes graduated from Brigham Young University (Provo) with a BA in Humanities. She continued exploring her love for cultures by becoming a certified Iyengar yoga teacher, instructing both children and adults. While raising a family, writing, and teaching yoga, she has been active in the Deaf community, and in 2018 she co-founded a non-profit organization, ASL Junction.

Website: www.readandyoga.com

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Be sure to check out LDSPMA’s new podcast! You can find the first episode here.

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.”

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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.

Latter-day Profiles

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Latter-day Profiles is a collaborative effort of students, faculty, and staff at Brigham Young University-Idaho. The program features in-depth interviews with noteworthy members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Guests range from leaders in business and industry to educators, to musicians and authors to volunteers. All have stories to tell that are interesting, informative, and thought-provoking.

Latter-day Profiles is produced by students in coordination with faculty and staff advisors. That means the students research the guests, schedule the interviews, run the cameras, and edit the programs.

BYU-Idaho Communication faculty, Brian Howard, hosts the program and works closely with the students in the production process. Currently, Latter-day Profiles airs Sunday afternoons at 2:35 Mountain Time on BYUTV. Twenty-eight new episodes are produced every year.

We thought you might be interested in seeing the schedule for the first quarter of 2021!

LDPRF_39_01 / Carmen Rasmusen Herbert / Speaker, Singer & Author

Airs January 3rd 2021 / February 28th 2021

Carmen Rasmusen Herbert was a Top 6 finalist on the second season of FOX’s “American Idol” in 2003. She has appeared on many talk and entertainment shows including David Letterman, the Today show, MSNBC, and Good Morning America. 

LDPRF_39_02 / Ed Sexton / Dean, College of Business and Communication at BYU-Idaho

Airs January 10th 2021 / March 7th 2021

Ed Sexton is the dean of the College of Business and Communication at BYU-Idaho. He has served in the Sixth Quorum of the Seventy and as a bishop, high councilor, mission president, stake mission president, stake president’s counselor, and stake president.

LDPRF_39_03 / Meg Johnson / Speaker & Author

Airs January 17th 2021 / March 14th 2021

Meg Johnson is a founding partner for Jumping Turtle LLC and Our Turtle House. Her work as an influencer has touched many on a local, national, and international level, and Meg is a recipient of the Athena Leadership Award. Meg was a ballroom dancer and professional party planner. Then a weekend trip changed it all, and Meg was paralyzed on March 6, 2004, when she was hiking in Southern Utah.

LDPRF_39_04 / Joel Bishop / Speaker & Actor

Airs January 24th 2021 / March 21st 2021

Joel Bishop is the president of Rise to Your Challenge, which offers speaking, training, and consulting services. Joel is an accomplished actor, speaker, and presenter.

LDPRF_39_05 / David Christensen / Author

Airs January 31st 2021 / March 28th 2021

David Christensen is a senior advisor to the non-profit organization Mentors International. David is an author and has served as a mission president in Chile and as MTC President in Guatemala.

LDPRF_39_06 / Trina Boice / Author, Podcaster, BYU-I Instructor & Entrepreneur
Airs February 7th 2021 / April 11th 2021

Dr. Trina Boice is a #1 best-selling author of 31 non-fiction books. She is an author coach at FromBooks2Business.com and creates online courses at LifelongLearningEducation.com.  Trina also writes movie reviews at MovieReviewMom.com. A popular international keynote, she has gone on many speaking tours around the world. 

LDPRF_39_07 / Sharla Goettl / Author
Airs February 14th 2021 / April 18th 2021

Sharla Goettl is the author of “Spiritual Resilience: Leading Our Youth to Go and Do.”

LDPRF_39_01 / Charlie Bird / Author

Airs February 21st 2021 / April 25th 2021

Charlie Bird was Cosmo the Cougar at Brigham Young University from 2016 to 2018. He received national acclaim for his multiple dance performances with the BYU Cougarettes. As Cosmo, he performed across the country, including on the ESPN College Football Awards and on America’s Got Talent. 2017 was dubbed “Year of the Mascot” by NBC Sports in honor of Cosmo’s character and performance. Charlie was born and raised in Southwest Missouri and served a two-year mission for The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Redlands, California. He graduated from BYU in 2018. Charlie is an active LBGTQ advocate and is involved with multiple nonprofit LGBTQ organizations nationally and across Utah.