Keep Going! by Susan J Bruce

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How are you faring? Do you feel as if you are soaring in your writing life? 

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Or sinking?

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Is the rain pounding against your window, is the ceiling leaking, or are you sitting in the shade on a warm day, sipping a cool drink of lemon squash? 

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I wanted to write a more reflective post today. I’m in the last stages of preparing my first novel, Running Scared, for publication and I’m feeling both extremes. The process of birthing this baby began over twelve years ago when I wrote the first draft as part of my MA in Creative Writing at Tabor, Adelaide. 

Yep, that’s a long gestation. There have been lots of labour pains. There was the agent in 2012 who told me they were loving my book, only to decide a week later not to take it. Then there were the publishers who liked the book and said it had commercial appeal—but then said the manuscript didn’t fit their list. It wasn’t quite what they were looking for, but it was a really good book, and they couldn’t stop reading it! 

Yes, really.

Aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhh!!!

That is what the publishing world is like. Your book has to be in the right place at the right time. Eventually I got tired of waiting. I rewrote the book to please myself rather than a publisher and decided to independently publish it. 

Yes, you say. Much easier. Well, it might have been if I didn’t decide to do everything myself, including design my own cover. That process is for another blog article. My husband Marc is an excellent copyeditor, so he helped. But the learning curve was huge – especially as I want the finished product to equal that of any traditionally published book.

Now, when I’m nearly there, it feels as if I’m climbing a mountain, certain that the finish line is just around the next bend in the track. The problem is when I get to that bend, there’s another bend, and another, and another. There’s always something else to do. How do some people publish a book a month?

But the excitement is beginning to brew. It. Is. Nearly. There.

Of course, then there’s the marketing. Another mountain …

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The writing life is full of exaltation and despair, joy and disappointment. 

How are you going? 

Do you need encouragement?

Here’s some.

God is with you – always (Mathew 28:20). He loves you and you can trust him. 

We’d nearly run out of money. I hadn’t been able to find a job and I should have just trusted God and kept my head down writing. But just at the right time he gave me a job. A stretching when-am-I-ever-going-to-have-time-to-write-my-own-stuff kind of job. But it came when I needed it. 

How are you going financially? Do you need a financial miracle? Keep following Jesus and he will help. Don’t worry (Matthew 6:25-34). If his word says it, we can believe it.

Do you need wisdom? Are you not sure where to go, be it with a major life decision or a plot point in your book? God will always give us the wisdom we need. But when he does, we need to trust him (James 1:5).

Are you feeling that everyone else is moving forward and doing amazing things with their writing careers, and you are still at the start, putting along faithfully but never getting anywhere?

I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve felt like that. 

But Marc reminded the CWD community in his blog the other week that Jesus is the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:2). 

Our story isn’t over, but we sometimes need to remind ourselves that we are the hero, not the victim. When life throws plot twists in our way, what do we do?

The important thing is to keep going.

I think this was what I was meant to write today. Whatever God has put on your heart to do, do it with all your might. Don’t give up.

Trust. Rest. Believe.

My book is being born soon – and there will be much rejoicing in my household.

What are you believing God for this week? Why not share in the comments. I’ll pray. So will others. Keep going!

Susan J Bruce, aka Sue Jeffrey, spent her childhood reading, drawing, and collecting stray animals. Now she’s grown up, she does the same kinds of things. Susan worked for many years as a veterinarian, and now writes stories filled with mystery, suspense, heart and hope. Susan also loves to paint animals. Susan won the ‘Short’ section of the inaugural Stories of Life writing competition and won the 'Unpublished Manuscript' section of the 2018 Caleb prize. Susan is the editor of 'If They Could Talk: Bible Stories Told By the Animals' (Morning Star Publishing) and her stories and poems have appeared in multiple anthologies. Click here to check out Susan’s writing and artwork on her website.