Wednesday, October 6, 2021

While We’re Waiting – Encouragement for the Pre-published Author

 

by Mindy Obenhaus

The road to publication can be daunting, to say the least. There’s so much to learn. I wrote my first manuscript before I ever attended any sort of writers’ group. When I finally did, I promptly learned what I had written was a really bad first draft.

I knew nothing about writing. Not even proper formatting. And POV? What was that all about? Deep POV? Ay, ay, ay.

I started buying books on writing, attended every meeting and conference I could. I wrote and rewrote. Joined a critique group and rewrote some more until, finally, after years of learning and implementing, I had something worthy of submitting.

[Insert weird, Psycho-like music]

Yep, sending our babies out into the world is always scary, whether it’s to kindergarten or an agent or editor. Yet while kindergarteners are usually home by mid-afternoon, it could be months before you hear anything about your manuscript. What’s a writer to do?

Well, if your goal is to build a career as a writer, you only have one option. Keep writing.

“But, but,” I hear you say. “What if…?”

Don’t allow fear to stifle you

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but somewhere along the way an agent or editor might tell you your work isn’t quite there yet. An editor might respond that your project isn’t right for their house. Or they love the concept but want you to rewrite two thirds of the book. You crumble and whine. How could they possibly think your baby is anything but perfect? They don’t know what they’re talking about. You drown yourself in chocolate or something else that’s normally off limits. Then, once the Seekerville allotted 24-hour mourning period is over, you go back and reread the agent/editor’s comments again.


Rejection vs Redirection

If their response states that your project isn’t right for them and they’re going to pass, that’s a rejection. But things like, “your work isn’t quite there yet,” or “I love the story concept, but I’d like the hero to learn he has a child in chapter one instead of chapter nine,” puts the ball back in your court. That’s not a rejection, my friend, that’s redirection and you can do one of two things with it. You can choose to dig your heels in and lament about how the story will have to change and that’s not how you envisioned it, or you can make changes and resubmit. If your work isn’t quite there, keep working. And above all…

Never stop learning

In my years of attending writer’s conferences there’s one thing I’ve observed. Bestselling, multi-published authors are always learning. The first time I saw Terri Blackstock sitting in the same workshop I was attending, I was flabbergasted. She was even taking notes! What an example that was for an aspiring author. Of course, the simple fact that you’re here at Seekerville tells me you’re eager to learn. And now with so many online classes, it’s easier than ever to learn right at home.

Publication may be a writer’s goal, but it’s not the finish line. Fear will still try to ensnare us. Rejection and/or redirection still lurks around the corner. But as it says in Hebrews 12, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking unto Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith.”

If you’re a published author, what words of wisdom do you have for those still chasing that dream? If you’re still waiting on that seemingly elusive contract, what keeps you pressing on? And readers, what do you think when you hear how much is involved in the writing process?

Award-winning author Mindy Obenhaus is passionate about touching readers with Biblical truths in an entertaining, and sometimes adventurous, manner. She lives on a ranch in Texas with her husband, two sassy pups, countless cattle, deer and the occasional coyote, mountain lion or snake. When she's not writing, she enjoys spending time with her grandchildren, cooking and watching copious amounts of the Hallmark Channel. Learn more at www.MindyObenhaus.com

19 comments:

  1. This is all so true... it's the "Don't quit" mentality that sends us forward, keeps us in the game. Staying the course is clutch.

    I think there is a generous portion of "how bad do you want it?" in each of us and to stay in the game, unpublished (if you're looking for a traditional publisher) for years and sometimes decades, that's gutsy.

    Go get 'em, all!

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    1. Ruthy, you have always been a great example to me. You don't give up. You keep pushing forward no matter what obstacles might threaten your way. Thank you.

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  2. Excellent Post, Mindy! Although I'm not writing fiction at the present, your post still applies! Never ever give up. I submitted a devotion for publication in a compilation that will be published next year. I've been writing devotions for years. I am humbled to say that my devotion was accepted. All glory and honor belongs to God!

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    1. Amen, Edwina. If God calls us to write, then He has a plan. One that will unfold in His timing, not ours. Our job is to cling and to trust.

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  4. Hi Mindy! I always enjoy reading your posts and your books. You are so gracious to share what you've learned. I am both reader/author, I completed 3 manuscripts a long time ago. Life got in the way of writing with a teaching job and deaths, but I've kept up with learning the how-to. I'm now retired and I am writing again. Its the "the fire of God" for writing that keeps me going and it's all in God's timing and His plan. Best wishes to you always!

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    1. You're welcome, Karen. And yes, there is that thing called life. Just as God can call us to something, He can also tell us to wait and trust. Keep that fire burning, Karen. God has a plan for you.

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  5. I thought I would learn, get comfortable, and feel confident a lot faster.

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  6. An agent rejected me in my pre-pubbed days and I didn't write for six months. What was wrong with me? I soon learned that any rejection was a rejection of my work because it wasn't right for that particular editor or agent. It wasn't a rejection of me. It didn't mean that I couldn't write or wouldn't sell. Yes, it meant I needed to work hard and pay attention to details, and as Mindy mentioned, I needed to keep studying the craft. Rejection should never stop a writer from writing! Don't make the mistake I made! :)

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    1. Oh, Debby. How sad. I'm so glad you didn't give up.

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  7. Three and a half years ago, we had a house fire that destroyed our home and everything in it, including 15 years worth of writing - shelves of notebooks full of ideas, notes, chapters, and manuscripts in various stages of development for over a dozen projects. All the computers, all the backups, all that work . . . just gone. I'd been waiting for the kids to grow up, then waiting until the grandbabies went to school and didn't need me anymore. Writing seemed a selfish indulgence, so I kept putting it on the back burner.

    After the fire, I really struggled with my desire to write. Had the fire been God's way of telling me that writing wasn't what I should be doing with my time? Or was He simply wanting me to start over? Lol! In retrospect, it seems so obvious, but it was a real struggle at the time. The night after the fire, I had a new notebook and had started a new journal. The week after we moved into the new house, I had set up a new office. Within the month I was trying to reconstruct from memory the basics of what I lost. (And realizing that it's absolutely impossible to write something twice in exactly the same way.)

    It's like kicking an anthill. What will the ants do? Build another, of course, because that's the way God made them. God showed me He wasn't objecting. He's the One who made me a writer. He was just pruning so that it would bear more fruit when it grew back.

    My writing is now on the front burner, and giving up is not an option.

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    1. Wow! What a story, Terri. I think that right there is every writer's worst nightmare. God bless you for not giving up. Losing everything up to that point was simply a part of your journey, albeit a devastating one. But God. He doesn't promise the things He's called us to will be easy, that there won't be trials along the way, yet He does promise that He will never leave us and that His purpose will prevail. Thank you for sharing this, Terri.

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    2. An amazing story, Terri! Very motivational. You'll use it when you give writing presentations around the country someday! I have faith in you!

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    3. Thanks Mindy and Debbie! Seekerville has done much over the last couple of years to show me that I can (and should) be my authentic Christian self in my writing. I appreciate all that you ladies do to encourage those of us who are still trying to figure out this whole writing thing.

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  8. This is a great post, Mindy!

    It's so easy to think a detour or even a roadblock means that we're going in the wrong direction - but it isn't always. Sometimes it's God's way of saying that He wants us to work, not wait for the thing we want to fall in our laps.

    It reminds me of a moth or butterfly - if you try to help the poor thing along by opening the cocoon or chrysalis to early, you rob the butterfly of the struggle it needs. Without that struggle, fluid doesn't get pumped into the wings...and the butterfly dies.

    We need the work and the struggle to survive and flourish. :-) So I'm (usually) (eventually) thankful for the roadblocks God sends my way. The struggle is worth it!

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    1. Those are wise words, Jan. Just because God calls us to something doesn't mean it's going to be easy. We are His workmanship. And just as our stories take time to craft, we also need time to learn, grow and strengthen as He knocks off the rough edges as polishes us until we shine.

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  9. Great advice that applies to many areas of our lives. Thank you for sharing.

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    1. You're welcome, Lucy. And you are correct, God has a plan a purpose for each of us. Different paths, but one God who promises to lead us every step of the way, no matter how difficult the journey.

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