As we move into the next chapter, my wife and realize the need to look for other sources of income, since our long-term model of being self-supporting missionaries though owning a bookstore is no longer commercially viable. So we’re introducing something — actually re-introducing — that we’ve already been doing for many years.
Introducing Corosbolting Advertising, Editorial and Copy Services
Introducing what? The name is a story in itself. But first let’s define what we’re offering here. Both my wife and I love to write. Get the two of us in a room and we can craft something truly excellent for a client who is willing to pay. But we’re often not in the same room, because we have different specialties.
Ruth shines in two areas that are kind of at opposite ends of the writing spectrum. The first is accuracy; she’s done medical transcriptions, worked for a lawyer, and finalized drafts for a number of theses including a 300-page doctoral thesis for the head of well-known national charity. But at the other end of that spectrum, she’s an artist who knows how to turn simple ideas into stories, poems and songs.
I fill in the middle of the spectrum and aim for practical and pragmatic communication. I look for concision in writing and words that are going to be effective in conveying ideas and motivating action or change. If I write something, I want it to reflect the passion of the person in the story or my own excitement about the topic at hand. In other words, I use more italics than she does.
Some projects we’ve done in the past 12 months included
- a study guide on the book of Revelation (proofreading, editing) for a U.S. author with several titles already in print
- fundraising letters for an international Christian charity in Florida (proofreading, re-formatting)
- a full length book manuscript on prayer and inner healing (an ongoing project assisting the author in shaping the final product)
Additional, there is blogging with over 3,500 posts online (as of this writing 1842 here, 1021 on my book industry blog, 656 at Christianity 201, and 179 at five other blogs I write or administer).
However, we tend to do a lot of this work for free — it’s easy to always fall into a missionary mindset — and while it’s not my intent to monetize Thinking out Loud, I do want to reintroduce our services here because, basically, we need to stop doing things for free! (See Matthew 10:10) However, I do need to add that our preference is to work that furthers Christian causes, charities, justice issues, etc.
So, if you or your organization need something done, connect with us. We also have an organization we work with should your need include website development, including search engine optimization.
Now then… about the name. We actually work under the business name Searchlight, but we fell in love with the word ‘corosbolting’ the first and only time we ever saw it used. A long time ago in a galaxy far away, a pastor needed his doctoral thesis typed, and gave his church secretary his multi-page, but entirely hand-written draft. Unable to read his writing in various places, she guessed, and on one scribble that just refused to form any word she knew, she guessed again and came up with ‘corosbolting.’
We’ve been in love with that word ever since, because it represents what you don’t need and don’t want when you hire a writer or editor. So we promise not to use it. Unless you insist.
Thinking Out Loud 