Author Success Story: Jason Simon

An interview showcasing the journey of writing and publishing MISSION-READY FRIENDSHIP

Jason Simon, the President of The Evangelical Catholic, published a book last year: Mission-Ready Friendship: A Blueprint for Deeper Relationships and Life-Changing Faith. I had the privilege of reading and giving feedback on one of his drafts. It’s an accessible, engaging read that provides a fresh look on how to help your friends grow closer to Jesus.

The Evangelical Catholic is a nonprofit that helps Catholic parishes and campus ministries create systems to train and support lay people for mission in their communities.

Every book goes through its own journey from idea to publication. In this interview, I ask Jason to describe what it was like to write and publish this book.

Why did you write this book? What was your inspiration?

I wanted to write an easy-to-read book to help people share their faith with their friends in helpful ways, without being awkward. I was inspired by the way Matthew Kelly writes his books, to not speak over people's heads with a lot of technical, religious words. I hoped that the book would feel doable to read in someone's hands and be quick to read because of interesting stories and analogies.

How did you get from the initial idea to finished manuscript? Describe the journey of writing it.

Starting in the fall of 2022, I wrote on the plane during trips. I wrote about whatever was inspiring me at the time. Eventually, I wrote my story and realized the pivotal power of past friendships. I saw how they had invested in me and how I was never turned off by them. They never seemed to have an agenda with me. Their personal investment in me was always clearly motivated by their care for me as a friend. I saw that I had been able to impact the lives of several of my friends over the years because of the model they had given me, though I was never conscious of it. So, I started thinking through how they did that and sought to simplify their friendship into eight habits of friendship that would help people intentionally support their friends and see the power of faith.

How did you publish it, and what was that journey like?

In the spring of 2023, I emailed a query to Ave Maria Press. I chose them because they had a good track record for marketing in the Catholic space. I showed them my first 15,000 words and explained my hope behind the book. They helped me organize the book, build an outline, and hold me accountable to having my first manuscript done. After that was submitted, they had several editors pick through the text to make sure it made sense and was polished. I had a different title in mind, but they ran it past people and found that it was too easily misunderstood.

Finishing and publishing a book takes a team behind just the author. At what points did you seek feedback, from how many people, and how did that help you improve your book?

Besides my main editor and the other three editors from Ave Maria who read the manuscript, I had seven friends in the target audience read it to tell me what was confusing or where they lost interest. I sent it to them before I submitted the final manuscript to Ave Maria.

From their reads, I restructured certain sections, brought some key insights closer to the front, clarified confusing parts, added more stories to keep it moving, and fixed the tone in certain sections to match the tone I wanted in the whole book.

What are you most proud of about this book?

I am proud and excited that the book seems to impact people's view of their friendships in significant ways. I am happy that it seems not to add burdens to their friendships, but simply to point a way to have a deeper impact on people they love. Everyone tells me it is easy to read and very practical. That was my hope in writing.

What would you do differently for a future book?

If I write another book, I would take more time to line-up more pre-sales through my network and hire a PR firm to schedule more interviews with TV (Catholic stations, podcasts, and radio) to generate more buzz and initial demand for the book. I didn’t make enough time for the launch of the book even though my publisher did a great job of emphasizing its importance. My network with The Evangelical Catholic has driven a lot of the sales, though I’m not sure of the percentage.

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Final note from Katelin

Jason’s author journey is uncommon in that he landed a publishing deal with the first publisher he approached. Often times, it takes many tries before finding a publisher for a book. In this case, he didn’t need a literary agent. Like most Catholic publishers, Ave Maria accepts queries directly from authors.

Selling nonfiction books has a lot to do with having a strong platform, which Jason has through his work at The Evangelical Catholic. I expect that this added strength to his query. If you want to publish a nonfiction book, I recommend that you write and/or speak on your topic regularly to develop your platform.

I hope you found Jason’s story inspiring! Please check out his book and his work at The Evangelical Catholic. I highly recommend the work they do for parishes and campus ministries.

Thank you for reading! If you’re new here, I’m Katelin Cummins, a Catholic writer, book coach, gamer, and fantasy fan. If you would like to know more about what I write, check out this post. If you want help planning, writing, or revising your novel or nonfiction book, check out my services on my website.