Dear KeePers of Kingdom Pen,
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It was nearly eight years ago when I first heard about a fledgeling little e-magazine that my friend Eli King was considering shutting down.
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Using nothing but Microsoft Word, and his own time, he published a pdf e-magazine to a subscriber base of about 30 other writers. The magazine had published 3 issues when I first heard of it, and was running on nothing but the vision and hard work of Eli King and his team of contributors.
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Kingdom Pen nearly died in its infancy because of the sheer amount of work it takes to promote, review submissions, edit submissions, format, publish, and more.
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But when I heard about it, I was immediately reminded of the message John Stonestreet spoke at homeschool conference I had previously attended.
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I don’t remember his exact words, but he spoke about the “Political Illusion”, the false idea that every problem in society is a political one, and thus, in need of a political solution.
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However, this just isn’t true. In fact, politics is just a reflection of a culture.
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And what impacts culture?
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Story.
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Art.
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Ideas.
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These are all things we can provide as authors.
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Before I heard Stonestreet’s talk, I believed in the Political Illusion without realizing it.
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But his speech gave greater meaning and purpose to the call of being a writer.
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In fact, he point blank said,
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“We NEED writers!”
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This idea was running through my head when I first heard of KP.
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So when I heard that Eli couldn’t keep up with it on his own, I offered to join, and he accepted me on as Co-partners and owners.
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Two years later, Eli gave me sole ownership, and Kingdom Pen changed from a pdf that was made in Adobe In-Design, into an online platform.
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Along the way, the staff grew and shrunk, and many times we would essentially have to start over from scratch, but KP kept going, and it kept growing.
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However, Kingdom Pen has now reached a stage where it can no longer be sustained.
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Most of our staff are now much older, and have many other responsibilities.
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I, myself, am now married to an amazing woman (whom I met through Kingdom Pen), who gave birth to our first child on April 20th, 2018.
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Others are moving on to other ventures, such as Story Embers, and now we simply don’t have the resources, capital, or man-power to keep KP going.
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So it’s with reluctance that I am announcing that Kingdom Pen is going on an indefinite hiatus.
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The website isn’t going anywhere. The forum isn’t going anywhere. Those will remain.
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The only difference is now we won’t be accepting any new submissions or forum members, and we won’t be publishing any new content, or sending out newsletters.
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I would like to restart Kingdom Pen again in the future, but I don’t know when that would be.
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That said, the mission and vision of Kingdom Pen will live on!
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This site will still be here for anyone who needs it.
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And our mission of encouraging Christian authors to write for Christ lives on in the mission of Story Embers, and in you guys. The KeePers! You are now the ones who are in charge of keeping the vision alive.
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This has been an incredible journey, and I’m so grateful for all of your support, and to all our amazing volunteer staff members, both past and present.
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So though Kingdom Pen is being put on pause, your journey and your mission doesn’t have to be.
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I highly encourage you all to go check out Story Embers, and to get involved in their community. I’m confident that they’re going to take Kingdom Pen’s vision to even greater heights!
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Best wishes, and keep writing for Christ!
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Reagan Ramm
Owner & Co-founder
Kingdom Pen changed my life. I don’t have anything else to say, but all things considered I think that’s the highest praise anyone could say. Tremendous thanks to all of you. I’m sad KP is winding down, but I know it’s more than just a website— it’s a movement, and it’s alive in every single one of you. Change is tough, but you people are tougher. I’ve been with you for a while; I should know. 😛 Keep on Kapeefering. The world needs you.
Kingdom Pen has turned me into the writer I am today. I’m so glad I can say I’m a Kapeefer!
You folks that made it happen deserve thank-you notes delivered by dragon , raspberry ice cream, and lots and lots of fireworks. I’m fresh out of dragons, so please accept my thanks for impacting my writing journey so profoundly. It’s amazing to look back and see where God has used KP. I know He’s blessed me with it more than I even realize!
To quote Kate, keep on Kapeefering!
Ecc 3:1- “To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.”
My fellow Kapeefers:
The past two years I have been a part of a website called Kingdom Pen. In the beginning, it was just that: a website. But today, I realize that this place is truly special. The community is God-honoring and the people are so very real about everything. You all have helped me grow, not only as a writer, but as a person. And for that, I thank all you lovely, crazy dragons, dogs, elves, droids, and humans. I hope that no matter where we all end up, the Kingdom lives inside us.
Long live the Kingdom!
Oh goodness, this is so sad.
Bittersweet … no, just sad.
Kingdom Pen has been everything to my writing journey. I really wouldn’t be where I am– if writing at all– without you guys. Thank you for time and effort. For a willingness, for encouragement. I hope this hiatus doesn’t go on forever. 🙁
To all the Kapeefers: You all are the loveliest people on the internet.
-Snapper
*melts chair and sends it out to sea as a Viking tradition*
Kingdom Pen was an answer to prayer, literally. I found the community of my dreams; a group of like-minded teen writers ready to change the world with their words. I’m sad to hear of this indefinite hiatus, but I totally understand the reasons, and I’ll definitely be hanging out on SE.
Yes, long live Kingdom Pen AND Story Embers! And enjoy that adorable new baby Mr. Ramm. 😉
Kingdom Pen has probably been the single greatest thing to happen to my writing. It’s encouraged, taught, and inspired me and for that I am supremely grateful. This news is sad, but even if the website is winding down the movement and the people are still here. Story Embers helps a lot with this kind of thing.
Sam
Nothing has helped my writing more than Kingdom Pen! I am proud to be a kapeefer, and I will always be one. Thank you for being such amazing leaders and mentors! I hope you can come back soon.
Your baby is adorable, by the way!
I may be a “newer” member, of only around 6 months, but I’ve been reading this site for years now and honestly, I don’t think I’d be the writer I was today without it. Kingdom Pen has literally become a blessing from God for anyone who loves writing, reading, art, and just chatting with great people in the forums. Hopefully, someday we can get it up and going again. Until then, we Kapeefers(go Kapeefers!) shall wait, and with Story Embers up and running(and awesome, btw) we’ll await the epic return of KP.
~Sarah
P.S. By the way, your baby is adorable. 😉 Hope to hear from you soon.
And to all the Kapeefers–
You guys are epic. Keep Calm and Kapeefer On.
I am happy that even though KP will be a little abandoned, that it isn’t going to be literally deleted!
I just found Kingdom Pen a few months ago and have been “eating it up” the past few weeks. I can honestly say it has completely helped me grow with writing and changed my book(s) (for better), making me think deeper and plot harder. I am really sad this is over, but it could come back again. 🙂
Thank you everyone for writing and sharing and helping others grow, I am sure this all took a lot of time and hard work to do and I really appreciate it.
And for all the writers of the Kingdom, keep fighting with the pen and stay on the narrow path. 🙂
Guys: once a KeePer, always a KeePer.
Always.
Right!?!
All good things have an ending..well everything but God does. I’ve ‘met’ so many wonderful writers through KP and am sad to see it slowing down. Thank you to everyone who made it possible. God Bless.
(Congrats on your baby!)
Dang. It is strange to think that two years ago I got on here thinking it would help with my writing and that was it. But I have met so many people on here. I am glad that the forums will stay open, but it will be a very different site.
(congratulations on your baby!)
Well, it’s hard to believe this day has come. I don’t know when exactly I encountered Kingdom Pen, or how, but I know it was during Eli’s time. I’ve never been a very faithful reader/participator here, but I’ve always come back on and off. I’m glad to see that the incredible resources here will stay alive for others to find and learn from, and I’m glad to know the dream still lives on. It’s grown beyond KP now, that’s all!
I’ve only been on kingdom Pen a little while. but i have really enjoyed all the great stories and articles. Thank you all who have kept this site running.
Thanks so much for everything here at KP! It changed my writing. I’ll keep coming back to reread things.
Keep being amazing guys!