The Value of Unpublished Words

 

• A traditionally published book = Value
• A quality self-published book = Value
• A homemade photocopied booklet = ?

I’ve been thinking a lot lately about the value we place on various types of writing. As writers, we want to find an audience for our work. In my role as an editor, however, I’ve often had to tell authors that their manuscript needs more work if they want it to be published. Sometimes a LOT of work. Many take feedback on board and polish up their drafts, but I know there are others who’ve felt discouraged and maybe even doubted whether they’re meant to be writers. This is never my intention, as I always try to be encouraging, but I have no control over how people will respond to my comments.

I think one of the problems is that we tend to equate value with publication, but they’re really two separate things. If we want to be traditionally published or produce a quality self-published book, there might be certain things we need to do (e.g., adhere to spelling and grammar conventions, use creative writing techniques, have the work thoroughly edited, ensure that the cover and overall book design are pleasing). However, our work can still be of value even if none of those things happen. Here are some examples.

Journaling

You might record your thoughts in a journal or write a blog as a regular practice or at special times (e.g., during a trip). Or you may keep a diary on a particular theme (e.g., a gratitude journal or a prayer journal). You might later use some of this information as the basis for a book. However, even if you don’t do anything specific with it, the practice itself is still valuable. It helps you to recall events such as answered prayers. It hones your powers of observation and reflection. Even the process of writing can be beneficial in helping you to work through issues, including mental health concerns. Click here for some more information on the benefits of journaling for mental health. Whether anyone else ever reads what you’ve written, journaling is valuable.

Letters

Back in the Dark Ages when I was at school, I had a lot of overseas pen pals. I also collected stamps, so I loved opening the letter box and finding letters from India, Sweden, Germany, England, Austria and more. With the advent of email, text messaging and social media, we've largely lost the art of letter writing. Even sending Christmas cards is becoming less common. After all, if you've been in touch with someone on Facebook all year, what's the point of sending them a card and Christmas letter? 

While the speed and ease of modern communication certainly has its advantages, there's still something special about receiving an actual letter from someone. They're ideal for those who aren't on social media, such as older folk in aged care homes who might not have a mobile phone or computer. They're more permanent than emails. You can keep them and read them over and over. 

Remember that most of the New Testament, including Luke and Acts, are letters to various individuals or churches. We're still reading them 2000 years later.

Postage can be an issue. I'm old enough to remember when you could post a letter within Australia for 7c and overseas for less than $1.00. Now it's $1.10 for a small local letter and between $2.50 and $3.75 for a small overseas letter. Phew! I guess I won't be sending out 100 Christmas cards anymore. However, think about who might be blessed by receiving an actual letter and who might like a longer email occasionally. You can't underestimate the power of an encouraging word. Your words are of value.

Writing Prompts and Exercises

We’ve all probably come across blogs, books or classes that have included writing prompts or exercises. But is there any point to these if we’re just writing bits and pieces that aren’t for publication? Absolutely! They help us to hone our craft and get the creative juices going. The process of creating in itself can be good for us. I’ve sometimes written a funny piece just for fun and it’s really lifted my spirits. I’ve also ended up with some publications from snippets that started out as writing exercises, though that shouldn’t be the main aim. Art for art’s sake is still of value.

Zines

A zine is a small homemade booklet that is usually photocopied and distributed free of charge. There’s no ‘right’ way to make a zine. Some zines are produced using computer software, but they can also be handwritten, cut and pasted from other material or a combination of both. Some zines are like newsletters (e.g., they might advertise what’s happening in the local community), while others contain poetry, art, comics, short stories, true stories, opinions, reviews, calls to action, how-to information. There’s really no limit.

 My local book shop (Jeremy’s Book Exchange) has just started a zine library and I felt inspired to have a go at making a little mini zine for fun. Click here to see Austin Kleon’s two-minute video on how to make a little zine from a single sheet of paper.

I used some blackout poetry for this zine, which involves finding some text from newspapers, books or magazines, choosing some words that would make a new poem and then blacking out the rest. Here’s a photo of the finished product.

You can put anything in a zine. You could use it to try out some ideas, to bless other people, to get across some information. Whether it’s just for you, for the members of your family, or for a wider audience, it’s of value.

 

Intrinsic Value

I’ve only just scratched the surface here and could have easily written longer blogs on each of those topics, but hopefully that’s whetted your appetite for more. Don’t equate your worth or the value of your writing with society’s idea of what’s valid. You are made in the image of God and are of unimaginable value to him. He has also imbued you with interests, desires and gifts to help you and others. Whether published or not, your work has immense value.

 

Have you got some other examples of unpublished work that’s helped you? I’d love to hear your stories.

Author Bio

Nola Lorraine (aka Nola Passmore) is a writer and editor who has had more than 150 short pieces published in a variety of genres including fiction, non-fiction, poetry, true stories, memoir, devotions, magazine articles and academic articles. Her debut novel 'Scattered' was published by Breath of Fresh Air Press in 2020. She would love to connect with you through her website: www.nolalorraine.com.au

Picture Sources

Featured photo by hobin on Pixabay.

Journal writing photo by kaboompics on Pixabay.

Letters by blende12 on Pixabay.

Zine photo by author.

Author photo by Wayne Logan at WRLPhoto.

Writing with Passion - Jo Wanmer

It’s a good idea to give yourself time to think.” 

F T Heywood 1966.

Old writings hold much wisdom. The above quote is stored in my memorabilia under the heading of ‘Quotable Quotes from the Letters of a Great Man’. A great man in my eyes, for he was my father and his letters became treasure after he died.  At the time I attended Rockhampton Girls Grammar as a boarder, enabling me to complete years 11 and 12. My mother wrote to me twice a week without fail. Everyone's letters were distributed after our evening meal. They were our only contact with our parents. A black  phone languished on the wall in the entry but we girls never dreamt of touching it. Letters were our connection and daily highlight.

My dad on the other hand only wrote occasionally. His short letters were eagerly awaited, even if his spider scrawl was hard to read.  He died half way through year 12….and the letters stopped. The few I still had I kept for about forty years, and then I reduced them to a few quotes.

Mum’s letters detailed her daily life. Dad’s letters taught me how to live my life.

“If you have 40 men in a hut you have to be extra careful with money and other easily stolen things. But you can usually narrow the field down in a few weeks and in due course you know who it is.”

I can’t remember what I wrote to elicit this response but he used the occasion to teach me.  As I recalled his writings after his death, I realized he was trying to prepare me. Did he know his time was limited?

The other author I honor today diid know his time was limited. He wrote with passion to his ‘family’, teaching and exhorting them, cajoling and rebuking them, loving them and discipling them.

But he didn’t write as I do from the comfort of an airconditioned room, office chair and keyboard. Or as my dad wrote from his messy office desk shoved in a tiny room, using the few minutes he could find in his busy life as a pastoralist and farmer.

Paul wrote from prison, shackled in chains. The only contact he had from his beloved people was by messengers bringing reports and letters. His eye sight was so bad that when he wrote in his own hand the letters were huge. He relied on a scribe. I’ve often tried to imagine what drove a man, who had lost his freedom, to write passionately about freedom that's available to everyone. How did he keep his mind on things above when chains and mud shackled his feet? ( image from adobe.com)

He dictated and his scribe wrote one copy. Paul didn’t safely file the original and send a copy. He sent the only copy and told his family to share his letters around. The first group couldn’t photocopy it so they either released it or someone sat down and copied it, maybe once, maybe twice. Somehow, nearly two thousand years later, there are millions of copies of those letters. they are important to our faith to this day. 

Why did Paul persevere under such heavy difficulty? Did he know his letter would be read for centuries? I don’t think so, but still he was used by God in an impossible situation to write words that minister to me today. What inspired him to rise above his circumstances and write?

Some say he was instructed by the Holy Spirit and I’m sure that's correct. But how did that instruction happen? Was it a still small voice in the middle of the prison clamour? A Dream? An angelic visitation? I don't think so. 

His writings make it clear he was a man like you and I. Often he was led by circumstances. In this case, he was bodily confined but his spirit was fired by his passion. The same fire that drove him to persecute early Christians, now drove him to call Christians to higher heights. The anger that killed Jesus' followers was now being used to destroy the religious spirit that wanted to remain, mixing and perverting the new way. A man that writes, ‘I wish you’d go all the way and castrate yourselves!’ is still a passionate man of zeal.

Passion.

I devoured my Dad’s letters for the same reason. He was a quiet man but passionate about pushing me to my best. I have just finished reading Pauls letters again for the same reason. This author calls me ever higher. His passion is contagious.

And I suddenly realise that passion for my message pushed my first book to publication standard and into print. I wanted the world to know what God did for me. It also explains why my other books languish, waiting. The passion isn’t strong enough to push me past the obstacles of publication. Or is it a fear of judgement of beliefs I hold passionately?

In a few blogs in the last weeks, some of our writers talk of the struggle to write this year - even though in a way we, like Paul, have been confined. Maybe we are in the hush before the storm, the rest before the race, the preparation before production? I believe God is working in each of our lives and He will bring forth a flurry of words in His time.

What about you? What makes you write and persist until the words are good enough to engage and delight a reader? What pushes you past the endless obstacles to get a book in print?

 

       Jo and Steve Wanmer live just north of Brisbane where they do   business, ministry and life together. They share their home with          Barclay, a lively toy poodle, who demands much love and many   walks.  Jo's award winning book, Though the Bud be Bruised, was published six years ago. Other manuscripts are either in rough draft, edited draft, on scraps of paper or in her head. It has been a quieter year for her, as for many - a time to reflect as she enters her seventh decade.