Even when we're not looking...

For all of us, 2020 has been a strange year. In my family, not much as changed as I mostly work from home already and chronic illness has us 'social isolating' most of the time anyway. In many ways, 2020 hasn't been any stranger than the last few years.

It's been a few years since my last book was published. Life has been taken up with, well, life. Little did I know how God had been working in my life to make my dreams come true, even when I was just plodding away doing my thing.

Back in 2013, I was asked by my local library to run a group with young writers. This was a face to face workshop once a fortnight and it was the highlight of my week. I come up with a crazy writing prompt as well as give the teens an opportunity to pick my brains about all things writing. With covid hitting earlier this year, the group has moved to a weekly session via Zoom.

Over the last couple of years, I have known that my day job would be ending as my bosses were retiring. I tried many different things, but kept coming back to the business idea of working with young writers, basically expanding what I had been doing with young writers.

A few months ago, an opportunity came up to purchase a business that does exactly what I have been wanting to do. I can already see potential and possible growth with this business, freeing me up to write and publish more books.

This is also clearing the way so I have the headspace to get back to doing what I really love - writing!

In all of this, I can see God's hand at work, even when I wasn't looking or even asking specifically for help. Opportunities come along when we're least expecting it. In the chaos of 2020, it can sometimes be hard to see God at work, but He is there, working away in the background.

A little encouragement in these crazy times. Keep moving and remember, God is working, even if you can't see it at the time. Things will come together at just the right time.

Melissa Gijsbers currently has three middle grade books published and a picture book on the way in 2020. She currently lives in Gippsland, Victoria with her two teenage sons, their pet blue-tongue lizard, and baby budgie. She runs a weekly online writing group for young writers via Zoom.

You can find her at www.melissagijsbers.com and on Facebook and Twitter.

Holding On and Letting Go

Image by rawpixel from Pixabay 

I’m not feeling the best while writing this. I caught a nasty bug over the weekend and my brain is still flagging. So today, I’m keeping it simple. 

The problem is that there is not a lot that’s simple in the life of a writer nowadays, not if you want to get your words out into the world. 

It's never been easy to be an author. It used to be that if you wanted your novel published there was one main way. You refined your craft and sent your manuscript out again and again either to literary agents or to the small number of traditional publishers who would accept unsolicited manuscripts. Getting accepted was a kind of lottery. JK Rowling’s first Harry Potter book was rejected anywhere between twelve and twenty-eight times depending on which article you read. And she (obviously) was one of the lucky ones. Writers have always had to persevere and wonderful stories have been rejected with their authors finally giving up their dream. In those days the only other option was to self publish, print a pallet load of books and store them in your shed until you either sold them or they rotted with mould. 

Things are a different today – but it’s still not simple. Today you can take the same journey towards traditional publishing – with lower or no advance – or you can be your own project manager and independently (indie) publish on online platforms such as Amazon and Apple Books. Indie publishing pays better royalties than traditional publishing but it still isn’t simple. If you follow that path there are so many decisions to make. You need to create a professional quality manuscript, which usually means paying for professional editing. You need a professionally designed cover and the insides of the book, be it e-book or paperback, should be well designed too. If you’ve done all those things then you still need to choose your platform. Do you publish your book as widely as possible or do you sacrifice independence and go exclusively with Amazon and enjoy the benefits of their Kindle Unlimited program? 

Photo courtesy of Pixabay

Just thinking about these things can be exhausting. Also, paid advertising has become a necessity if you want to properly promote your books. There are books and courses out there to tell you how to do this, but how do you sift through the advice? And having paid for editing and cover art, how do you find the funds to finance the advertising?

Publication is a complex process whichever path you pursue. Some people, frustrated by the traditional pathway and daunted by the indie one, opt for pay-to-publish options. Alas, many of these so-called publishers are vanity presses who prey on unsuspecting authors, They promise the earth but rarely deliver, even when you part with thousands of dollars. If you want to know more about what a vanity press is then read this article by Iola Goulton.

What are we to do? We feel a desire to write and believe it is part of our calling. Whether we create content that is overtly Christian or write stories seasoned with salt that give flavour to the world in which we live, we want our words to touch people with God’s love. Yet no matter what path to publication we choose, perseverance, knowledge and wisdom are vital. What do we do when it becomes all too much? How do we cope when we feel overwhelmed by it all? When we don’t know what to do?

At times like these I’m very glad I’m a Christian. People who don’t know Jesus are dependent on their own wit and wiles. But we have the resources of heaven at our disposal. We also have the rest that only Jesus can give. In Matthew 11:28-30 the Bible (NIV) says: ‘Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.’

Image by pixel2013 from Pixabay 

Many years ago, in my pastor days, I preached a sermon called Holding On and Letting Go. This has become one of the lessons I've had to learn and relearn again and again and again. Holding on is about persevering, not giving up, fighting the good fight. It’s about being diligent and doing things the best way we can. Letting go is resting in the abundant grace of our God and letting him work for us. Unless the Lord builds the house, it says in Psalm 127, the builders labour in vain. It's funny but I find it's a lot easier to hold on than to let go. Does that mean I like to be in control?

We don’t have to do this writing gig by ourselves. When we find ourselves stretched thin and wondering how we can move forward we need to remember that it’s not all about us. The true purpose and power of each word we write is in God’s hands. We need to learn to rest in that, and in him. Abandon ourselves to the one who knows us better than we know ourselves and is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us (Ephesians 3:20 NIV). 

Image by Lisa Caroselli from Pixabay 

Do you find it easier to hold on in God’s strength or let go and rest? Tell me about your experience in the comments below.

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 has worked for many years as a veterinarian, and writes stories filled with themes of suspense, adventure, romance and overcoming. Susan also loves to paint animals. Susan won the ‘Short’ section of the inaugural Stories of Life writing competition and recently 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. Her e-book, 'Ruthless The Killer: A Short Story' is available on Amazon.com. You can check out Susan’s animal art on Facebook.

Waiting

by Jeanette O'Hagan

In my latest release, Stone of the Sea, one of the characters thinks, "Waiting was all they seemed to do these days. Wait for food. Wait for to learn their fate. Wait for Baba to return and take back the realm.'

Sometimes being a writer can feel like that - waiting to finish a novel,  waiting for feedback, waiting to hear back from agents and publishers, waiting to be published, waiting for sales, waiting for reviews, waiting for traction in the market, waiting for... it doesn't seem to end.

When I launched back into writing about six years ago, I thought getting published was the ultimate goal. After a while, it seemed like that goal would never happen. Others achieved it, but I didn't.

So I was over the moon with when a few of my poems and a short story was accepted for publication in 2014. Holding a published book with my story in it was a thrilling experience. Yet, I soon discovered that with each goal achieved, there are others that loom ahead and the waiting begins again - and with it the uncertainty and the feeling that the new horizon remains beyond reach and the voices of doubt and discouragement multiply. It can be frustrating and demoralising.

What I've learned along the way is that waiting is part of the journey. It's part of the way of things. But it doesn't last for ever.

Things Happen While We Wait 

When I was seven, I decided to grow a pawpaw tree. Armed with a little knowledge and a great deal of enthusiasm, I separated out a single seed, found a gardening spade and marched out to the back garden. I dug a hole—probably about 30 cms deep—placed the seed at the bottom of the pit, flooded it with water from the hose, piled in the dirt, patted and shaped the resulting slurry until it was a hard  concrete dome (drawing on my uber-mudcake making skills, but that's another story).

I congratulated myself and sat back and waited for the tree to sprout and grow.

Next day, I checked my tree-in-the making. The mound looked just as I left it. Maybe, little drier under the baking Mt Isa sun. I added some more water. The next day—nothing, just bare dirt. The following day—well, you guessed it, nothing.

Frustrated and worried, I grabbed the spade and dug up the seed to see if it was growing yet. Nope. I buried it again. Dug it up the following day. 

Mum said, ‘Be patient, Jenny. Seeds take time to grow.’

My first venture into horticulture was, I confess, a huge failure, but it taught me something. That good things take time to grow. That patience is an important asset. And digging up seeds is not a great strategy.


Growing plants requires knowledge—what does the plant like in terms of soil, water, position, depth to plant the seed etc—and experience.

It also requires, active waiting. Passive or idle waiting is doing nothing and expecting something to grow. In active waiting, we plant, care for and tend the plant, but we don’t keep digging it up each day to see if it’s growing.

Looking back now, I'm glad my novel wasn't published immediately. It gave me time to hone my craft, become aware of current styles, grow a nework. I'm still not very good at waiting, but I can appreciate it's necessity.

God's timing matters

Six years on, and I have many short stories and poems published. I've published three novellas in my Under the Mountain series, a collection of short stories and my first novel, Akrad's Children.  I've seen sales and reviews, yet I'm still very much a small fish in this big pond.

I write because I love writing and I have so many stories waiting to be written. It's such a joy when others enjoy my stories as much as I do :)

I also write because I feel called to it and believe that God can speak through my writing, even though it is aimed at the general market.

I would love my writing to be sustainable - so I can continue to write and to publish. Sometimes that seems an impossible dream. This year I've been under some pressure to 'show results' and as the putative deadline looms, I've felt pressured and overwhelmed, trying to do everything with all the other roles, responsibilities and expectations. At the same time, sales took a dip, finding reviewers for my latest book met mostly deaf ears, and my campaign chest emptied. It seem an impossible task. Growth was slow or invisible.

In the midst of my frenzy- God has blessed me through the kindness of friends, through small encouragements (another great review, a fan asking about a sequel, an unexpected job, great sales and interactions at Supernova last weekend).

Most of all, He reminds me that He gives life, He gives the growth, He builds the house. I realised I was holding on too tight, that I needed to release my death grip on my dream, to give back to him the dream he ignited in me out of the ashes.

Once again, I'm learning to wait on Him and to trust him with the desires of my heart.

I don't know what the future holds, but I do know whose hand I'm holding as walk toward it. And that is all I need.



*****

Jeanette started spinning tales in the world of Nardva at the age of eight or nine. She enjoys writing secondary world fiction, poetry, blogging and editing.

Her Nardvan stories span continents, time and cultures. They involve a mixture of courtly intrigue, adventure, romance and/or shapeshifters and magic users.

She has published numerous short stories, poems, two novellas and her debut novel, Akrad's Children and Ruhanna's Flight and other stories.

Her latest release, Stone of the Sea (the third novella) is now available. .


Subscribe (here) to Jeanette's monthly email newsletter for the latest on cover reveals, new releases, giveways, and receive the short story Ruhanna's Flight for free.

You can also find her on:

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Clutter Bust into the New Year – by Ruth Bonetti

Do you embrace or resist making resolutions as you pass that annual threshold? My goal is to declutter. Not just the old year, but past decades.

It's not easy. Mess with closets and mere muddles inflate into chaos.

Breathe. Do it. Breathe.

Believe that beyond the pain threshold lies freedom, lightness of being.

Biff the business cards from superficial network functions, whose goal was to spam victims with PR. Switching computer systems messed my contacts database. So it's time to delete people I met 30 years ago for three minutes and now wouldn’t recognise.

WORDS AND MUSIC

Bin early book drafts and failed Varuna Residency applications, online publisher Manuscript Monday and Friday Pitch submissions. Rejection led to resignation led to self-publishing with the cover, content and style I chose.  

Bury those dead manuscripts in the bin. That children’s book Pipi the Pirate Parrot never found wings. What about a How-To-Get-Healthy? An early vent called Mothers Can Stay Human! Life’s caravan moved on. Now, jigsaw pieces must be hidden from crawling grandsons. Good riddance to a puzzle untouched since last Christmas holidays whose fiddly trees wasted table space. Send it to Lifeline for a retired person with time to fill. 
With boxes of dusty books and colleagues’ unplayed handwritten compositions. Decades of writing and of Clarinet and Saxophone magazines. Will I keep photocopied cut-and-paste “The Squeaker Speaks” volumes that I edited back in the 80’s? No.

WHAT YOU WILL EAT

• How to use that fiddly appliance?
• Will I ever find time to bake bread?
• Crammed cupboards invite cockroaches, weevils and mould. Look on use-by dates and despair!
• What healing did the medication and vitamin supplements promise?
• Might I bake Christmas cakes to use evil white sugar packets left by a jam-making son years ago? Aldi is easier.

OR WHAT YOU WILL WEAR

Because I commute across two venues for work and for occasional recreation, I need gear for all seasons. Clothes, shoes, handbags. Last time I vowed “I’ll never wear that style again!” it came back into fashion. So my closet jumble repels.

Do I need so many multi-skilling hats? Or do they make me look harried, worn? 

I draw a tree of my life. Erase a branch that flags effort for little gain. Why push through holiday heat and lethargy to organise and deliver that pencilled seminar? Later, when the time is right.

I enjoy pulling weeds and “farmer’s friends” that clog my garden.

What of those in my head? My heart?

Let it go. Even though pruning can hurt, and empty spaces feel vulnerable.

But how else to move forward?

Every branch that does not bear fruit he prunes so it may become more fruitful. Those that do not bear fruit wither, are thrown in the fire and burned.

This cleansing process opens space for a new thing, that way out of a wilderness of fizzled plans and failure wastelands.

Wait and hope for rivers in the desert.

Trust that new shoots will spring up. In due season, the green blade will rise from the buried grain. Rest in the Lord of the harvest.

What have you found hardest to let go of? Did declutter free you for your next ventures?

Author-wise, Ruth Bonetti is (largely) resting after her decade’s effort to publish her Midnight Sun to Southern Cross saga. The first book of the series, Burn My Letters was Nonfiction winner of 2017 CALEB Prize. She is decluttering old research for her earlier published books that help people present confident Words and Music. Available via Book Depository,  Amazon and her website http://www.ruthbonetti.com

http://www.ruthbonetti.com/burn-my-letters/

Thanks to author colleagues for reviews! 
Facebook: @RuthBonetti @ruthbonettimusic 

Ruth’s blog: http://ruthbonetti.musicabonetti.com

Ruth founded Omega Writers in 1992.