Welcome! After finishing a 16-episode blog series last month, "The Life and Times of Hope for Charity," we are taking a break to just chat about a writer's life—or at least my experiences and what I've heard from others in this field. The writing life is not for the faint of heart. It is a long, arduous journey of mistakes, learning, rejections, and progress. Slow progress. We write, we rewrite, we edit, we create in-depth proposals that are like resumes on steroids, and then put our work in front of professionals with the power to take us to the next level or not.
When the "no thankyous" come, we take it on the chin, dust ourselves off, and do it all again. However, in the Christian writer's life, we have faith the Lord God will fulfill His purpose in us and that this calling on our lives to write for Him will bear fruit if we trust Him and remain obedient.
Unpublished and published writers make many mistakes along the way. Sometimes because of a lack of knowledge concerning the craft, sometimes from carelessness, and sometimes because the rules have changed in the traditional publishing world. These are all good reasons I attend writers' conferences, read books of the trade, join critique groups, and writer's groups, and encourage other writers to do the same. From these resources, we can learn trade secrets from the best in the business—their tips and tricks for prolific writing, plotting, characterization, what the industry expects, and more. And we find people further along the journey to show us the way. Once we increase our knowledge, we can improve our WIP (work in progress). It is a continual process of writing, learning, rewriting, etc..
Add to the work of creating our best product, i.e. a published novel worth reading, the ever-increasing expectations of building our readership not by tens or hundreds but by thousands. Without a marketing team behind us. 😱 That is no easy feat for many of us writers who are inherently introverts, and/or technologically challenged, and/or have no sellable product—yet. Can you see the dilemma? Despite the hurdles, it is the nature of the job. And all jobs have their difficulties. The only thing to do is to keep moving forward on the never-ending treadmill of writing, rewriting, editing, self-marketing, and repeating it all in hopes some of our works will find their way onto shelves, in blogs, in magazines, and that there will be people out there wanting to read what we produce.
Don't get me wrong, I love the challenges, but that doesn't mean it doesn't get frustrating or downright depressing sometimes. However, my great-grandmother had a saying (though I've heard it more recently, too), "Keep on Keeping on." That saying and the memory of my sweet, encouraging, godly Mama Gertie kept me going many times when I considered giving up. And God has placed other wonderful encouragers in my life who cheer me on, too. I am blessed and I will Keep on Keeping on as long as I am able.
In my last blog, I told you I'd update you on some of my writing life happenings mentioned in the July newsletter. I wish I had more exciting news to share. Even so, here it is.
Updates:
Revise and Resubmit Request:
As I told you in the newsletter, I received a "revise and resubmit" request from a traditional publishing house for Hope for Charity, the first book in my A Lady of Hope three-novel series, my debut novel. The owner of this small press gave me some great feedback. Since I received this request, I have been working on the revisions, and I am nearly finished.
Literary Agent and Acquisition Editor Updates:
An acquisition editor from a different traditional publishing house requested a detailed proposal and the first three chapters of Hope for Charity by the end of July. I made that deadline and am awaiting a response.
Literary Agent #1 will receive my revised packet soon for a second look.
Literary Agent #2 sent a note saying they are still considering my proposal.
Literary Agent #3 never responded, even with a nudge in May.
Did I mention there are months and months of waiting every time I submit a proposal or query? But, while I wait, there is always more to write. I am working on two series at the moment with a third in the planning phase.
Besides writing novels, I have also been writing short stories. One is supposed to be published in March 2025 (Hopefully. The date has changed once before). And I've submitted another to a magazine with the hope of it being published in their periodical. I'll let you know. And I have another non-fiction story I plan to submit to Chicken Soup for the Soul soon.
Writers Write. That's the saying, and it is so true.
The trick is to get all that writing in front of our readers. And believe me, I am trying.
What's next for the Timeless Love blog?
In the next several episodes, I plan to post book reviews and maybe some author interviews. There are so many wonderful Christian writers out there. If you are a Christian reader, consider supporting your Christian brothers and sisters who write. If you prefer "clean" fiction, but are not a professing Christian, give Christian fiction a try.
The general market may sell some outstanding books, but many are not God-honoring. Perhaps, ask some questions next time you shop for a book. Will it encourage me in my walk with the Lord? Does it have a message of faith, hope, and love? Will it encourage and uplift? Will it inspire? Or will it weigh me down with discomfort or guilt? Does it advocate ways of living that are at odds with the truths in God's word?
If you choose books in the general market, be extra careful. What you put in your mind can affect how you think and act. And aren't we, as Christians, inundated with worldly philosophies enough already, from commercials to movies, to newscasts, to billboards, and so on? If we have a choice, let's choose well.
I am not telling you to read books by Christian authors only. I am asking you to read with care and to consider supporting those who write for a smaller market, making less money, with less recognition and more persecution, because they are attempting to be obedient to the call placed on their lives to write for God's glory and not their own. Think about it.
Hope to see you next time! Remember to comment, like, and share to help me grow! And if you haven't yet subscribed, hit that button below for the latest blogs, updates, and newsletters.
I’m sure there are others out there besides me that love your writing! We all have challenges but with God’s help we will persevere!