Sports editor writes book on his personal journey of faith

Monday, March 17, 2014

OGALLALA, Nebraska -- When Herb Teter was merely more than a toddler, he stood with his mother under the big Nebraska sky on the family farm, and did what many little boys do -- ask questions.

"We were out looking at the stars. And of course, a 3-year-old is rather curious and I asked her, "What are all these lights?" Teter said, a Cambridge, Nebraska, native and former sports editor at the McCook Gazette.

"And she said, 'They're stars.' And I said, 'Well what's a star?'"

His mother explained that a star was a big fire in the sky.

"So I asked, 'Who lit the match?'"

In his first book, self-published and available locally in Hokes Bookstore, Teter said the book aims to provide that answer.

"It's basically a journey to see if I can find an answer to that question," he said.

Teter, 62, a 37-year-newspaperman, the last nine years spent as Keith County News' sports editor, said the notion to write a book was fostered from his mom.

"After relating some experiences I had, my mother on three or four occasions, probably starting from when I was 35 years old, would just say, 'You should write a book.' And so that was kind of in the back of my mind," Teter said.

About a decade ago, Teter tried to write that book.

"There were actually three or four attempts on this general idea but I would find that it wasn't working. The timing wasn't right and I didn't think I even knew how to do it," he said.

In the fall of 2009, Teter thought again about trying his hand at penning his memoirs.

"The idea came to my mind that it wouldn't have to be a book necessarily but that I could start when I was small and write a personal history," he said. "I didn't pursue it at that time but I had it in the back of my mind."

In the summer 2012, after vacationing in Utah and having another "things happen for a reason" experience, one night, Teter sat down at the computer and laid down several ground rules.

He would not write on Sundays, keeping holy the Sabbath; he would seek inspiration prior to writing; and he would write only for as long as he felt like writing.

"The other rule was I didn't care if it was ever a book. If it's just a personal history and a few people read it, that was fine," he said.

And so he started writing the story of his life, starting when he was a child. He wrote almost every day for six weeks. At that point, it was the start of the high school football season, and a busy time for his job. He didn't pick the project up again until after basketball season.

When he started writing again, Teter determined that where he was in telling his story -- his late 30s -- should actually be the starting point of the book and he would incorporate his childhood throughout the story.

Teter completed his story in the spring of 2013, and spent that summer editing and revising.

In November 2013, he put the final touches on the manuscript. After checking out several publishers' websites, Teter learned there was not a lot of interest in memoirs or autobiographies.

"I thought if a standard publisher is going to have some qualms about an autobiography and me being a rookie author, I might have to consider some alternatives," Teter said.

Teter said through a professor at Brigham Young University he found a self-publishing entity that accepted his book.

On Jan. 9, he sent the manuscript and after some back and forth editing, the book became available online in early February.

"The process was fairly quick," he said.

Teter said the book is religious in nature, as well as inspirational.

In it, Teter talks about the unexpected twists and turns of life that led him to where he is today and his faith journey.

Teter said he credits his parents and siblings for his ability to approach things open-mindedly and being willing to change the way one looks at things based on the occurrences in one's life.

Teter said "Who Lit the Match?" digs deep into his life as he looks for answers about faith.

"It gets pretty deep, really. There's some experiences that are very personal," he said.

Teter said the book is not meant to sway a person to or away from religion but only an account of his journey.

"I'm not trying to tell anyone what to believe. That's not part of it. I'm just saying this is what I believe and this is why I believe it and everyone has the same right to freedom of religion," Teter said.

In addition to in Hokes Bookstore in downtown Ogallala, "Who Lit the Match?" is available in soft and hard cover, and ebook format at amazon.com, barnesandnoble.com

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