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General FAQ
1. What are the underlying beliefs in the
Storybook Advent?
2. What
age group is the book for?
3.
Why is the color paperback so
expensive?
4.
Where do your story
ideas come from?
5.
Why
haven't you gone through a regular publisher?
6.
Is Lewis Brech
Christian?
7.
Are the book and CD
available in other languages?
8.
Why did you include
the Story Matthew, Mohammed & Micah?
9.
Are there people who will be offended by
this book?
10. Can
we review the book and CD before we commit?
11.
What if we don't
like it? Can we return the book or CD?
FUNDRAISING QUESTIONS
12. How
do we use the CDs or MP3s for fundraising or corporate
gifts?
13.
What if nobody buys
a book or CD through our link? Are we responsible for any
costs?
14.
We're not in the
United States. Can we still promote the book and CD as a
fundraiser?
15.
Do I have to be a non-profit or Christian
organization to sell Storybook Advent Calendar and
Carols Collections V1 & V2?
16.
I bought
the book and now we want to use it as a fundraiser.
Can we get credit back for my purchases?
CLICKBANK AFFILIATE PROGRAM FAQ
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1. What are the underlying beliefs in the
Storybook Advent?
The
Kingdom Principles guiding the Storybook Advent Calendar
are predominantly from the New Testament.
The
underlying theme is Matt 5:3-10 & Matt 25.
Additional themes come from: John 3:16. 1 Cor 13, Matt
25:35-40, Matt 22: 7-40, the entire book of Luke, Matt
2:1-14, Matt 5:28, Proverbs 23:21, Ephesians 4:19,
Proverbs 15:1, 1 Peter 2: 1-2 Proverbs 16:18, Proverbs
6:16-19, Galatians 5:22, Exodus 20:2-17, Matt 6:10-14,
Duet 11:19, Matt 28:19 and John 19:30.
See the full statement here
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2. What age
group is the book for?
The
stories appeal to people age three and older.
Adults especially seem to enjoy many as we've included
all-time favorites from Dickens, Louisa May Alcott,
Khalil Gibran, Hans Christian Anderson and others in addition to several new
stories. We've included historical notes
about the authors, making this a wonderful literary
learning tool.
The only story in the book recommend for
age 8 and above is Matthew, Mohammed and Micah.
This story discusses the similarities and differences of
the three faiths of The Book and the holidays each
celebrates during December and why. For children
under eight, we've included L Frank Baum's (Author of
The Wizard of Oz) First Journey
with Reindeer.
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3.
Why is the color paperback so expensive?
Printing costs. If you
purchase the book through Amazon, Borders, Barnes &
Noble or any other online retailer, we only gross $1.49
on each color paperback. We had to price it at
$28.95 because we're charged $27.46 for it by the
retailers and printer. We're not getting rich on
these and we really did want to make it less expensive
but for the time being, our hands are tied.
Our solution to this since
we really wanted to be able to offer the book for under
$20, is to create a black and white paperback version
for $19.95 and of course the full color digital version
via PDF, iPad, epub or Nook for $9.95. In essence,
depending upon which version you want, you can get the
book for anywhere between $9.95 and $28.95, which we
hope makes it affordable to all.
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4. Where do your
story ideas come from?
A variety of
sources: folktales, bible stories, real-life observations, news
stories, bible verses...anything that inspires us.
We're
beginning work on a second edition due out in 2011.
If you have a favorite passage from the New Testament,
tell us about it and why.
We just might build a story around it and credit you in
the next edition!
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5. Why haven't you gone through a
regular publisher?
Frankly,
we never approached any. We decided to
self-publish because it was faster and we could create
multiple products with this and share the profits with
non-profits easily. This may change. We've been
approached by several publishers around the world for
multiple language versions of this book and we've
received inquiries from traditional US based publishers
as well.
Creating
the Storybook Advent required a lot of work, nearly 12
months total spread out over two and a half years. A
traditional publisher will enable us to delegate many of
the aspects like editing and marketing that require a
substantial amount of time and energy; it also would
allow us to generate larger press runs thus creating a
lower price for you so we are seriously considering
offers. Concurrently, a traditional publisher makes it
much easier to generate book tours and media
appearances. Of course this also means the first
editions you're purchasing may be worth something extra
one day. Both DH Lawrence and Mark Twain were
self-published first before a traditional publisher
brought them on.
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6. Is Lewis Brech
Christian?
Yes, we both are.
Lewis Brech is our pen name for the team of Laura Lewis and Michael
Brech. We've both had a variety of Christian influences.
Lewis is baptized and confirmed Lutheran, but went to a Roman
Catholic High School in South America for awhile and today attends
several churches: Lutheran, Reform and Evangelical, online and brick
and mortar. Several of her cousins and an aunt are Mormon. Brech was baptized and
raised Anglican outside of London and continues to perform concerts
in Latin as well as other languages. Both have friends ranging from
atheist to hard-core conservatives in you-name-the-faith.
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7. Are the book
and CD available in other languages?
The CD is all
instrumental so language isn't an issue. The book right now is
only available in English. However, since Lewis and Brech both speak
several languages (Spanish, Portuguese, French, German
and Arabic) we hope to have the book available next year in at least
two to three other languages. We can proof read in these
languages. We just can't write too well!
How many
languages we're able to offer the book in depends on how well it
sells this year. We have to pay to have it translated. Most of the funds we make will go into
creating next year's books and CD's. The better we do this
year, the more languages we'll be able to offer.
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8.
Why did you include
the Story Matthew, Mohammed & Micah?
Since age
ten I'd been asking pastors why if we
share portions of the Old Testament with
Jews and Muslims, we don't celebrate the
same holidays? No matter how many times
I asked this question, or how many different ways, I
never got an answer. I found that frustrating! I
really wanted to know.
I decided to research it.
Matthew, Mohammed & Micah answers that question and many others and I think
you'll be amazed and pleasantly surprised.
The response to Matthew,
Mohammed and Micah has been better than we could
have hoped for. The fact is,
evangelizing, that is sharing the good news of Jesus is
central to Christianity. But you'll notice in the
bible, when Jesus spoke to those outside of the Hebrew
faith, He spoke in language and used examples they could
understand. He didn't apply Hebrew laws and traditions
to their situation. He took their beliefs and
traditions, then showed how these applied to God's plan.
It's called being sensitive to another culture and it
makes all the difference in the world when speaking to
others about our faith.
By being sensitive to
other's beliefs, Jesus invited those outside of the
faith to learn about Jesus and relate His message to
themselves. The problem many Christians have when
speaking about our faith to those outside it, is most
Christians really don't understand what Judaism or Islam
are about. Some, emphatically don't want to know.
The problem is, you can't talk to people outside the
faith and make sense unless you understand what they
believe and why. Matthew, Mohammed and Micah
will give you that edge while strengthening your
commitment to Christ.
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9. Are there people who will be
offended by this book?
It is impossible to please everyone. I think every
pastor knows that.
Surprisingly the most controversial article, the one
that gets us the most hate mail on my relationship site
is Ten Reasons not to Date a Married Man or Woman.
That shocked me. There are actually people out
there who think violating the covenant of marriage is
good thing. Go figure.
The only
negative comments (about 5%) Storybook Advent has
received come from Christians who self-identify as the
Christian Right or they have political agendas that
require either/and or Jewish and Muslim people be seen
as enemies or not like everyone else. We don't
support that ideology or the political agenda it
embraces and we respectfully disagree with their
position.
We see
all people who do not follow Christianity as human,
simply humans with a different faith, no better or worse
and still children of God. We believe it is the duty of
all Christians to reach out and attempt to understand
others, even if we disagree with their beliefs. There
are those in the Christian community who disagree with
this principle strongly and they have communicated to us
they are offended by our position and the story
Matthew, Mohammed and Micah a story that talks about
the similarities and differences between the faiths.
This book isn't about dividing people or promoting ideas
that split the body of Christ. It's about the
messages of the New Testament and building bridges
between people through understanding. Jesus always
sought common ground and understanding and He always
spoke to those outside the faith from their position and
beliefs. To successfully evangelize, Christians
need to understand what other's believe, why they
believe it, how they're different and where we share
common ground. This is the spirit in which this
controversial story was written and created.
Some in
this same self-identified group have also chastised us
for including stories with Santa Claus in a Christmas
book as well, also from the same self-identifying group.
It's a children's book. It is the message not the icon
that counts. Santa stays.
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10. Can we review the book and CD before we
commit?
Yes!
Amazon.com has done a wonderful job
of creating an mix of each Album online. Simply click 'Preview
all Songs' and over the next five minutes you can preview the music
on each album.
Volume
One Can be Previewed Here
Storybook Advent Carols Collection Volume One
Volume
Two Can be Previewed Here
Storybook Advent Carols Collection Volume Two
Preview
Storybook Advent Calendar in Full Color Here:
http://www.storybookadvent.com/Books/SBAVColorSampler.pdf
Preview
Storybook Advent Calendar in Black & White Here:
http://www.storybookadvent.com/Books/SBAVPBBWSampler.pdf
Preview
Storybook Advent Carols Collection Full Color Songbook
Here:
http://www.storybookadvent.com/Books/CarolsBookColorSampler.pdf
Preview
Storybook Advent Carols Collection Black & White
Songbook Here
http://www.storybookadvent.com/Books/CarolsBookBWSampler.pdf
Preview Free Gift: Memo From God--The
Secrets of Wealth and Happiness
http://www.storybookadvent.com/images/SampleMemo.pdf
11. What if we
don't like it? Can we return the book or CD?
We offer a 60-day money back guarantee. If anyone who
purchases it is not completely satisfied with the book or CD, they've got
60-days to return it. Details on how to do this are included
on your receipt.
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FUNDRAISING QUESTIONS
12. How
do we use the CDs or MP3s for fundraising or corporate
gifts?
Digital versions are easy. Simply become a
Storybook Advent Affiliate and each time you make a
sale through your website or newsletter of our
products, you earn between 20% (tangible products)
and 50% (intangible) of the purchase price.
For the fundraising CDs and Caroling books, you
simply need to choose 14-20 songs, (depends on
length. What we want is a CD between 35 and 45
minutes).
Then supply the logos for the CD and we’ll design
the interior files based upon the message you want
to include.
We
also put together the companion caroling book. You
can use the pictures in ours or what I recommend is
highlighting your organizations activities in the
pictures.
There is a set up fee and proofing fees that. The
total will depend on how custom you need the CD and
accompanying book to be. Then we order these as
print on demand so you only order what you’ve sold
or want to give away as you need them. No overhead.
They’re shipped directly to you in matter of
7-10days complete.
We
can also do a co-branded version of the Storybook.
Black and white copies are affordable. The color is
expensive.
About
the music: Michael Brech's arrangement and
performance captures the essence of each carol -
whether it be joy or sadness, contemplation or open
hallelujah. The arrangements are inventive and
witty, from the trotting horses in Jingle Bells, the
fife and drum of Patapan, the tears of the Coventry
Carol to the mayhem of gifts in the Twelve Days of
Christmas. His warm, inimitable style is a blend of
classical, baroque and soft jazz, not easy to
imagine but, once heard, never forgotten.
Volume
One Can be Previewed Here
Storybook Advent Carols Collection Volume One
Volume
Two Can be Previewed Here
Storybook Advent Carols Collection Volume Two
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13. What if nobody
buys a book or CD through our link? Are we responsible for any
costs?
Absolutely not.
The primary reason we chose to do the book and CD without
traditional publishers and recording studios is because we wanted to
create a way to raise funds for good works and charities that
wouldn't require any financial outlay on your part. That's the
beauty of affiliate marketing, which is what we've done by giving you
a special link with your own code in it. We pay all the costs
and take all the risks. You simply let people know and if they buy,
you make money. If you're a non-profit with a 501C rating, you
don't have to pay taxes. We do, about 25% of what we make from
what's left over goes to Uncle Sam and the State of California.
Affiliate
marketing began with Amazon in 1997 and it's a multi-billion dollar
business today. We've been working with Clickbank since 2002
through our other companies and books. They are consistent,
honest and reliable, easy to work with and never miss a payment.
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14. We're not in
the United States. Can we still promote the book and CD as a
fundraiser?
Yes you can. The
digital versions are the easiest way to do this because they do not
require you spend any money for inventory, shipping or order
processing.
Clickbank works globally. This means even companies that are
in Africa, Asia, Europe, South America or the Middle East can
promote Storybook Advent and receive donations. Another
advantage of digital books and music is that it doesn't matter where
you are in the world, you can buy and immediately download it to
your computer.
Clickbank offers
direct deposit to several countries as well. For those countries
without direct deposit, Clickbank sends checks in USD. This means,
even if you're a small congregation in Africa, you can use this to
raise much needed funds and support your ministry.
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15. Do I have to be a non-profit or
Christian organization to sell Storybook Advent Calendar
and Carols Collections V1 & V2?
No.
We've had many people who are not Christian who've
commented that the book is wonderful because it touches
on the universal values of humanity. Even the
first story, What is God? appeals to non-Christians
because the passages used, 1 Corinthians Chapter 13 are
the love passages and the values presented are agreed on
by all people regardless of faith or lack of it.
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16.
I bought the book and now we want to use it as a
fundraiser. Can we get credit back for my
purchases?
Of
course. We just need to know what your
organization's affiliate ID is and the order number on
the sale and we'll make sure your church or non-profit
gets 50% of that sale.
This is
not unusual. Most of the time a parishioner or
someone affiliated with a non-profit buys the book
and/or cd's and gets excited about them. This
person then brings it to the church's attention and the
church signs on as a affiliate. We'd be happy to give
your sale's proceeds to your church or non-profit.
Just let us know and we can take care of the rest!
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