Blogs and Books
For those who want to be a writer… read on.
For the last several years I have been approached by many people who have expressed interest in writing. Countless times I have heard the statement, “I have always wanted to write a book!”
I normally respond with, “So write one.”
However, the conversation always ends with, “Oh, I don’t have time.”
That would have been my response about eight or nine years ago; I don’t have time. Although, my dream was always to become a published author. At the time though, I knew no one who was an author and the self-proclaimed-self-published few I was acquainted with acted as if they didn’t want to mentor a would-be writer. I once did meet someone who claimed to be self-published and viewed some of the work they did. Afterwards, I wasn’t sure I even wanted to associate with said person. I realize it sounds rather rude, but please understand, once this person discovered I loved the Lord, he was more interested in insulting the God I love rather than helping me discover how to self-publish my writing.
I will admit, writing a book takes a lot of time, effort and, as cliché as it sounds: blood sweat and tears… almost literally. Well, at least the sweat and tears part anyway.
Self-Publishing has come a long way in the last few years. Years ago, to self-publish your own work was sketchy at best. Self-published authors were given a bad rap and not thought of in a good way. To go the traditional publishing route though, was virtually impossible. Publishing companies set such high standards, often charging money to obtain guidelines to their criteria for submitting to them, if you were even chosen. The one time I decided to write an article and submit to a magazine, I was rejected. I was crushed when I got that first rejection letter. In my addled (at the time) mind, it just confirmed I wasn’t good enough.
Becoming a writer is also a tough adjustment. As such, you have to develop thick skin where rejections and reviews are concerned and not just with publishing companies. You must realize not everyone is going to like your work. Not everyone will want to read it. Even still, those who do read it won’t always give you a good review. Therefore, it is very important for you, as a writer (especially a Christian writer), to know who you are and Whose you are and always remember Who your audience is. You write for an audience of One. The Lord. But you also have a target audience who will be reading and reviewing your work. Therefore, learn from all reviews, good and bad, allow it to help you improve your writing skill, and move forward.
If the Lord inspires you to write, do it. Trust Him to guide you. You may be wondering; how will I know? Let me encourage you with: You’ll know. It will feel right. If it is not something He wants you to say, you’ll also know. It won’t feel right. Be aware though, there will be times when you struggle to write something which you absolutely know God wants you to say. Those are the times I have come to know that the enemy is fighting against me. I have had that happen many times. In most cases, I have pushed through it, edited much, and published it to my blog. Those are the posts which usually get the most attention and feedback. Those are the posts I absolutely know were meant to get to the people who needed a Word from the Lord.
So, how do you know which is which? By prayer. Whenever you are in the Word, in constant communication with the Lord, and humbly surrendered to Him, awesome things will happen in your writing. When you aren’t, you will have difficulty. It’s as simple as that.
Maybe you’re wondering whether you should do a blog or write a book. That is a decision you’ll have to make, through prayer and searching within yourself. However, my advice would be to begin a blog and write there for a while. With blog-writing, you will develop your writing style, hone your skill, perfect your craft, and build your platform. If what you write is inspiring and encouraging you will also develop followers (readers) who will help build your audience without you even asking them to. They will share your posts with friends, who will share your post with more friends, etc. See where this is going?
After my healing, I began blogging. I told my story in spurts, always telling a small portion of what I had been through, while weaving into it the way God intervened and how wonderful He is. I did that for three years before deciding it was time to write my book.
Upon that decision, I began to struggle with how to actually write it. A couple of years before my healing I had taken a class on how to write a book. I actually wrote one back then, but right in the middle of writing it, the Lord healed me and my writing style changed drastically. It was a complete anomaly. Therefore, I put it aside and began blogging. Now, here I was three years later trying to figure out how I would write about my healing.
One afternoon, while I was having lunch with a friend. After listening to me whine about my struggle with this book idea she finally said to me, “Your book is already written. It’s on your blog. Go look.”
I was taken aback by this bold, yet true statement. Therefore, after our lunch date, I went home, logged online, and went back to the beginning of my blog posts to check. Sure enough, there it was! After compiling all the posts I knew were supposed to go into that book, I began the process of making everything look the way it was supposed to (or the way I thought it should look). Except, I had only ever tried self-publishing one time and it turned into a disaster (that’s another story for another time).
When I took that class a few years prior, I had received information on various printing companies and Print-On-Demand (POD) companies. I had also been guest blogging on another website with a large number of other authors (don’t think God doesn’t line things up for you?), whom a couple of them would ultimately be my saving grace in a short amount of time.
I began to research my options. Here is where I must make a disclaimer about writing a book: do not get in a hurry with any step in the writing or publishing process! You will thank me for that later. In my writing and blogging contacts, I stumbled upon a writer who had what I thought were some pretty impressive connections and credentials. I contacted her and she put me in contact with, again, what I thought was a prestigious company – well, they were a subsidiary of a prestigious company. But if published with them, the mother company might discover me, publish me, and I would have it made (I thought). For me, the only drawback was the five-hundred-dollars I had to pay up front for them to even look at my manuscript. Being that I was ready to publish, excited, and maybe a little ego-inflated, I jumped on.
After speaking with someone who told me he would be my liaison, and asking me several times when I wanted to get started and didn’t I want to get in on this deal today because the deal ended in a few hours (this is how they suck you in), I agreed to do it. Immediately afterwards, I got a sick feeling in the pit of my stomach, so I emailed two of my writer friend connections (who are now colleagues). One said to go for it and every opportunity is a learning opportunity. But the other one, who happens to be a best-selling author and freelance, professional editor, had this is to say:
“PUHLEEEZE tell me you didn’t pay someone to publish your book!”
I nearly fainted. What had I done? After a lengthy time of emailing back and forth, my friend telling me in no uncertain terms, “Never pay someone to publish your work.” She had me send my manuscript to her, offered to edit my book and help me get it published, “without charging an arm and a leg” … and for hundreds less than I was going to end up having paid the other company thousands by the end of the deal, and with virtually nothing to show for it afterwards.
I called the company back and, after a lengthy phone conversation, a small argument, and a few more emails back and forth, I was able to get out of the their contract, only losing about $175 of the five-hundred I had initially sent them. But it was oh, so worth it in the end because I learned more than I ever would have otherwise.
I told you this story in hopes that you will take it to heart. Publishing is a very time-consuming and demanding business. Yes, I said business. It’s not a hobby. Hobby-writing, in my opinion, is writing a story, poem, or blog and never doing anything with it. Writing is a career and a business. There is a lot that goes into becoming a writer and author.
I also learned that I could not call myself an author or even an Indie Author (Independent Author) until I actually published my first book. Who knew?
Another thing I learned is, I cannot call myself a best-selling author until I actually hit the best-sellers chart. Incidentally, in 2015, when I self-published my first, official book, Walking Healed and went through a POD (Print On Demand) printing company that also uploaded my book to places such as Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Books-A-Million, Kobo, etc. I officially became an Indie Author.
When Walking Healed, was released on Amazon, it hit the Amazon Top 50 Chart within the first hour of its release! Impressive, yeah? But also know the chart changes hourly. Still, for a first-time book hitting the Top 50 in the first hour it was released is an accomplishment, even if it was short-lived. I’ll take that.
Between blogs and books I will say, I love them both. Blogging helps you get started and keep going. You can do it in small posts, or you can post lengthy ones, like this one. As long as readers enjoy what you’ve written, go for it. Eventually, when you are ready to write a book, you can go back through your archives and look for posts in which you may compile into a book, like I did with Walking Healed. Either way, just get out there and write. Develop your craft, your skill, your gift. Hone it. Perfect it. Make it yours. Build your platform. And above all, have fun.
Whatever you decide to do, I’m sure it will be amazing!
Write on!
Walking Healed Ministries, has launched a new author coaching program titled Anointing the Scribes. Instructed by Shelley Wilburn, Anointing the Scribes is available to anyone who desires to become a blogger and writer. For more information, send your request and contact information via the link. Click here.
