When I began writing in earnest, my original goal was to reach 75,000 words. Last week, when I thought I'd finished the book, I'd only reached 70,000. And I was okay with that. After one editing earlier this week, I added a little over 2,000 words. And I thought I was finished.
But something kept nagging at me.
If my book claims to be one that emphasizes forgiveness and mercy, shouldn't the most pivotal moment in the character's life be worthy of more than just two paragraphs? Most certainly! As it now stands, it was deserving of an entire chapter all its' own. I feel like I've broadened this message and given it more room to sink into my readers than before.
And in the process of what I felt were necessary improvements to the story, I added far more words than I expected.
In fact, I now have just over 75,500 words in my story. Which means that my original goal has now been met.
9/16/2013
Fun Part's Done...Now for the Real Work!
It occurred to me last night as I updated this blog how accurate the tag line under my heading is. "An aspiring writer's quest to becoming a published author." Oh, boy, is it ever a quest!
I've often heard that breaking into traditional publishing is nigh on impossible anymore (and, again, why I think there are so many indie-publishers out there). But I'm gonna give it my best shot.
After checking out the submission requirements for several Christian publishing companies, I've discovered two websites that cater to people trying to get published. On one, you submit your entire manuscript and wait to be "discovered". On the other, you pay a one-time fee of less than $100 and submit a proposal (plus a sample of your work). It remains for 6 months. In that time, publishers can look at it and, if interested, send you a contract.
Just to round things out, I also looked at CreateSpace (one of the self-publishing branches of Amazon that lets you publish your novel digitally and in print).
I'm still waiting to hear back from the company I contacted yesterday. Once I do, depending upon what they say, I may go ahead and start the process for the online Christian publishing website I found.
I'm not quite sure which is the best way to go at this point. While I love the idea of "The Reunion" being published by one of the traditional publishing companies, I do not want a writing contract at this time. I've never done well writing under deadlines. In this case, self-publishing might just be a better option all around.
Something to think and pray about, anyway.
At any rate, I realize that the fun part--writing the story--is done. Now the real work begins!
Edited to add - I heard back from the company - they are not accepting submissions at this time. There's a part of me that can't help thinking if I'd finished much sooner and not lollygagged about, I could've sent it straight to my original contact. At the same time, there's obviously nothing I can do about it now, and this kind of thinking is not helpful. God knew the perfect time for me to be finished and He knows just what the next steps should be. I just have to keep focusing on the MAJOR accomplishment I've just achieved instead of the long, hard road ahead of me.
I've often heard that breaking into traditional publishing is nigh on impossible anymore (and, again, why I think there are so many indie-publishers out there). But I'm gonna give it my best shot.
After checking out the submission requirements for several Christian publishing companies, I've discovered two websites that cater to people trying to get published. On one, you submit your entire manuscript and wait to be "discovered". On the other, you pay a one-time fee of less than $100 and submit a proposal (plus a sample of your work). It remains for 6 months. In that time, publishers can look at it and, if interested, send you a contract.
Just to round things out, I also looked at CreateSpace (one of the self-publishing branches of Amazon that lets you publish your novel digitally and in print).
I'm still waiting to hear back from the company I contacted yesterday. Once I do, depending upon what they say, I may go ahead and start the process for the online Christian publishing website I found.
I'm not quite sure which is the best way to go at this point. While I love the idea of "The Reunion" being published by one of the traditional publishing companies, I do not want a writing contract at this time. I've never done well writing under deadlines. In this case, self-publishing might just be a better option all around.
Something to think and pray about, anyway.
At any rate, I realize that the fun part--writing the story--is done. Now the real work begins!
Edited to add - I heard back from the company - they are not accepting submissions at this time. There's a part of me that can't help thinking if I'd finished much sooner and not lollygagged about, I could've sent it straight to my original contact. At the same time, there's obviously nothing I can do about it now, and this kind of thinking is not helpful. God knew the perfect time for me to be finished and He knows just what the next steps should be. I just have to keep focusing on the MAJOR accomplishment I've just achieved instead of the long, hard road ahead of me.
9/15/2013
A Brief Blip of Disappointment
I dug out the story again this afternoon and reworked a part that just didn't feel finished. 2,000 words later, it feels finished. Yay!
At that point, I decided it was time to send The Email. Two years ago, I received the contact information for a woman who worked for a Christian publishing company. She seemed interested in reading my story---when it was finished---and encouraged me to keep her contact information. I did. And I emailed her that it was finally finished.
And......she apparently no longer works there, as the email came back to me.
Hmm.
I'm not gonna lie, I was very disappointed. On the one hand, I know this is a long process. But the impatient (excited) side of me hoped that this very first company would love it and want to publish it. Silly, really. Especially when I hear stories about famous (and well-published) authors like John Grisham who kept getting refusals when they first began writing novels.
Still. Can't help how I feel about it.
I've emailed the customer service department asking whom I need to send my submission to (and if they are even accepting unsolicited submissions. Zondervan, unfortunately, is not. At least, not in my genre), so hopefully I'll hear back soon.
Otherwise, I guess it's a waiting game.
(Like so many other things in my life lately.)
At that point, I decided it was time to send The Email. Two years ago, I received the contact information for a woman who worked for a Christian publishing company. She seemed interested in reading my story---when it was finished---and encouraged me to keep her contact information. I did. And I emailed her that it was finally finished.
And......she apparently no longer works there, as the email came back to me.
Hmm.
I'm not gonna lie, I was very disappointed. On the one hand, I know this is a long process. But the impatient (excited) side of me hoped that this very first company would love it and want to publish it. Silly, really. Especially when I hear stories about famous (and well-published) authors like John Grisham who kept getting refusals when they first began writing novels.
Still. Can't help how I feel about it.
I've emailed the customer service department asking whom I need to send my submission to (and if they are even accepting unsolicited submissions. Zondervan, unfortunately, is not. At least, not in my genre), so hopefully I'll hear back soon.
Otherwise, I guess it's a waiting game.
(Like so many other things in my life lately.)
9/13/2013
Okay, I Wrote a Novel.... What's Next?
I have a sinking feeling that all that work I just finished was the easy part. Now comes the challenging part.
Honestly, I have some idea of where to go from here but not really. There is a plan, yes, but if that doesn't work out...
First, I will let it simmer for about a week and then do another reading. Once I've made any corrections that need to be made, I'll start the process of submitting it to editors. And I'll keep doing this until I find one that wants my book. However long that takes.
I've got one possible contact but that's it. So if anyone has any editorial contacts they want to send my way, I'd love to have them. There is always the option of going the self-publishing route, but after dreaming about this since I was about 10, I'd really like it to be traditionally published.
Even if that means I submit it over and over and over until I find someone who wants it. (But I pray it doesn't come to that.)
Honestly, I have some idea of where to go from here but not really. There is a plan, yes, but if that doesn't work out...
First, I will let it simmer for about a week and then do another reading. Once I've made any corrections that need to be made, I'll start the process of submitting it to editors. And I'll keep doing this until I find one that wants my book. However long that takes.
I've got one possible contact but that's it. So if anyone has any editorial contacts they want to send my way, I'd love to have them. There is always the option of going the self-publishing route, but after dreaming about this since I was about 10, I'd really like it to be traditionally published.
Even if that means I submit it over and over and over until I find someone who wants it. (But I pray it doesn't come to that.)
9/12/2013
It Is Finished
4+ years and 70,000 words later, it’s finished.
My first novel is done.
It is so strange to write those words and even harder to take them in. Justin and Emma have been with me for so long now that it’s very difficult to imagine days not spent in their presence. Their story has changed so much from what I originally intended. But in a good way. I always intended this to be more Emma’s story than anything. And it still is. I wasn’t prepared, however, for the fact that Justin had a story to tell as well. So I’ve decided it’s not necessarily Emma’s story or Justin’s I’m telling---it’s their story. Their combined story of grace and forgiveness.
What’s also hard for me to take in is that I’ve completed a full-length novel. Up until now, the only stories I’ve ever completed were short ones of no more than 20 pages in length (at the longest). And now... 70,000 words written.
Whoa.
And I don’t know how to feel about that. I’m giddy and sad all at the same time.
Is this normal? Who knows.
There’s also an element of fear.
What if nobody likes it? What if people hate it and leave me scathing reviews. Or, what if none of the publishing companies want it???
On the other hand, just whom did I write this for anyway? For other people? Or for me? If I’m pleased with the story, it shouldn’t matter what anyone else says. In fact, I can about guarantee someone (most likely multiple someones) won’t like it. And I’ll probably cry and be depressed.
But that’s okay.
I just have to remember why I wrote it.
There is one undeniable fact to remember:
I wrote a novel.
And that’s something to be ridiculously proud of regardless of what happens.
My first novel is done.
It is so strange to write those words and even harder to take them in. Justin and Emma have been with me for so long now that it’s very difficult to imagine days not spent in their presence. Their story has changed so much from what I originally intended. But in a good way. I always intended this to be more Emma’s story than anything. And it still is. I wasn’t prepared, however, for the fact that Justin had a story to tell as well. So I’ve decided it’s not necessarily Emma’s story or Justin’s I’m telling---it’s their story. Their combined story of grace and forgiveness.
What’s also hard for me to take in is that I’ve completed a full-length novel. Up until now, the only stories I’ve ever completed were short ones of no more than 20 pages in length (at the longest). And now... 70,000 words written.
Whoa.
And I don’t know how to feel about that. I’m giddy and sad all at the same time.
Is this normal? Who knows.
There’s also an element of fear.
What if nobody likes it? What if people hate it and leave me scathing reviews. Or, what if none of the publishing companies want it???
On the other hand, just whom did I write this for anyway? For other people? Or for me? If I’m pleased with the story, it shouldn’t matter what anyone else says. In fact, I can about guarantee someone (most likely multiple someones) won’t like it. And I’ll probably cry and be depressed.
But that’s okay.
I just have to remember why I wrote it.
There is one undeniable fact to remember:
I wrote a novel.
And that’s something to be ridiculously proud of regardless of what happens.
8/20/2013
Sharing the Burden
August 15, 2013 will always be a special day for me. It is the day that my family of six arrived in Mexico City to begin our ministry among our brothers-and-sisters in Christ to the lost of the city. Troy and I first received our calling to serve in Mexico in 1999. Later, God changed the organization--and location--where we would serve to One Mission Society in Mexico City. We were accepted to OMS and appointed to MC in December, 2007, and began fundraising the following May. Therefore, this special day had been long awaited (14 years from the time we initially received our Mexican calling; 5 years after we began fundraising). Long anticipated and longed for. There are no words to adequately describe my emotions that day. In a previous post of our ministry blog (link at the top of the page), I tried to describe some of them. Suffice it to say I was a weepy mess all day. From the time we checked our bags in (although those were more tears of relief that it was done), to handing our tickets and passport to the agent at the gate, to the initial take off and landing, to walking outside after easing through customs and immigration and finding Steve, our field director, waiting for us, to the drive back to the seminary in the NW part of the city, to our first Sunday worshiping with our Mexican brothers-and-sisters in Christ at the Campanario church (interestingly enough, the very same church we attended 5 years ago when we visited MC with the kids), to the kids’ first day of school at Mexico City Christian Academy yesterday... Many, many moments where tears of gratitude, of extreme happiness would overcome me and rain down my face.
Of course there have been (and will continue to be, I’m sure) moments where I feel completely over my head. I’d never seen the city from the sky before. Let me tell you, it is quite overwhelming. Everywhere your eye falls, there are streets. Buildings. Houses. People. People who don’t know that Jesus came to set them free from a life of sin. People who don’t know that the saints they turn to for comfort can no more fill that hole inside them than I can.
There is a voice in my head that says, “You are just one person. What can you do for so many?” Of course, it’s not anything I do that matters. Jesus can reach out to these people Himself--He doesn’t need me. I’m blessed to be the vessel chosen to minister to His lost children. A few people came up to me this weekend, wanting to express how thankful they are that I left everything behind to come here and minister to their people. To reach the lost. Even as I type that, it gives me chills. There were many people along our fundraising journey who questioned us. Why, after struggling for so long in our funding, were we still determined to go to Mexico? Why not just stay and reach the Mexicans at home? The mission field has come to us, they said. And for some, this is true. But we knew with every fiber of our beings that God was calling us to go. The look on these faces, the tears of humble gratitude in their eyes as they thanked me confirms that we were right not to waver. I don’t know that we can reach the lost in Mexico any better than her own sons and daughters can. But we have something very special in common: we both feel a deep burden for these men, women, and children who live in spiritual bondage.
And so the ministry begins. Together.
Of course there have been (and will continue to be, I’m sure) moments where I feel completely over my head. I’d never seen the city from the sky before. Let me tell you, it is quite overwhelming. Everywhere your eye falls, there are streets. Buildings. Houses. People. People who don’t know that Jesus came to set them free from a life of sin. People who don’t know that the saints they turn to for comfort can no more fill that hole inside them than I can.
There is a voice in my head that says, “You are just one person. What can you do for so many?” Of course, it’s not anything I do that matters. Jesus can reach out to these people Himself--He doesn’t need me. I’m blessed to be the vessel chosen to minister to His lost children. A few people came up to me this weekend, wanting to express how thankful they are that I left everything behind to come here and minister to their people. To reach the lost. Even as I type that, it gives me chills. There were many people along our fundraising journey who questioned us. Why, after struggling for so long in our funding, were we still determined to go to Mexico? Why not just stay and reach the Mexicans at home? The mission field has come to us, they said. And for some, this is true. But we knew with every fiber of our beings that God was calling us to go. The look on these faces, the tears of humble gratitude in their eyes as they thanked me confirms that we were right not to waver. I don’t know that we can reach the lost in Mexico any better than her own sons and daughters can. But we have something very special in common: we both feel a deep burden for these men, women, and children who live in spiritual bondage.
And so the ministry begins. Together.
8/01/2013
Learning to Lean Not on My Own Understandings
We had a lovely evening with friends tonight, sharing a meal and talking. It was such a pleasant time together.
Then, we received news that I didn't want to hear.
The family that had planned to move into our house and had said they'd buy the majority of our stuff from us has changed their mind and has decided to go to a language school in their country of service. We're talking about a large amount of money's worth of stuff they'd bespoken. All I could think about was how we now have only two weeks to sell this stuff, and if we don't that's just that much less we'll have to set up housekeeping with in Mexico.
In all of our preparation, Troy's been the one who has been concerned about the visas and how short a time we've had to begin the process. I've said to many people, "If God wants us to have the visas before we go to Mexico, we will. If not, He has another plan in mind. Nothing I can do will speed up the process one bit, so why worry about it?" In a sense, I've bragged about how much I don't worry about stuff. Whatever happens happens.
Well, tonight I proved myself to be a big, fat liar.
The minute I heard we were going to have to try to resell our stuff, I immediately was in a panic. What if we can't? What if we have to leave some behind? What if we don't have enough money to adequately fill our house in Mexico (when we first started raising support, we, having never completely furnished a house before, cut our housing budget in half. In. Half. Now, looking at how expensive beds are, we are wishing we hadn't done that. So if you're reading this, you're a missionary, and you're contemplating cutting your budget to save yourself a few hundred dollars a month, DON'T.)? For the last year, we've lived without things on the walls, with stuff that really isn't ours, and I'd really looked forward to "fluffing our nest". To really making this next home ours. And I felt like that had been taken from me. Because of course, I panicked to the degree that I just knew we would have nothing with which to build a home. (Not true. We have some budgeted in our support, and we've been saving our own personal money to help supplement.)
So I decided to post a "prayer request" on our Facebook group.
But what was the very first post in my news feed upon logging into Facebook? A friend had posted Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
Wow. God could not have sent me a clearer message had He picked up the phone and placed a direct call to our house. He showed me what I should've known all along, that, although I may not necessarily fret about the visas, I most definitely do lean on my own understanding. I try to plan my own way. Figure things out for myself instead of just trusting God to provide. You'd think after 4 years of fund-raising I would've learned this lesson by now.
Guess not.
I'm still, and probably for a long time to come, will be learning not to lean on my own understanding. Learning to completely submit to Him, yes, even in my desire to make a home for our family (a good desire at that). And trusting Him to straighten my paths and provide the things we need in His timing and in His way.
Even if we don't sell a thing, this is the best thing to happen for us because it is another opportunity for us to learn how to completely trust in Him.
And I thank Him.
Then, we received news that I didn't want to hear.
The family that had planned to move into our house and had said they'd buy the majority of our stuff from us has changed their mind and has decided to go to a language school in their country of service. We're talking about a large amount of money's worth of stuff they'd bespoken. All I could think about was how we now have only two weeks to sell this stuff, and if we don't that's just that much less we'll have to set up housekeeping with in Mexico.
In all of our preparation, Troy's been the one who has been concerned about the visas and how short a time we've had to begin the process. I've said to many people, "If God wants us to have the visas before we go to Mexico, we will. If not, He has another plan in mind. Nothing I can do will speed up the process one bit, so why worry about it?" In a sense, I've bragged about how much I don't worry about stuff. Whatever happens happens.
Well, tonight I proved myself to be a big, fat liar.
The minute I heard we were going to have to try to resell our stuff, I immediately was in a panic. What if we can't? What if we have to leave some behind? What if we don't have enough money to adequately fill our house in Mexico (when we first started raising support, we, having never completely furnished a house before, cut our housing budget in half. In. Half. Now, looking at how expensive beds are, we are wishing we hadn't done that. So if you're reading this, you're a missionary, and you're contemplating cutting your budget to save yourself a few hundred dollars a month, DON'T.)? For the last year, we've lived without things on the walls, with stuff that really isn't ours, and I'd really looked forward to "fluffing our nest". To really making this next home ours. And I felt like that had been taken from me. Because of course, I panicked to the degree that I just knew we would have nothing with which to build a home. (Not true. We have some budgeted in our support, and we've been saving our own personal money to help supplement.)
So I decided to post a "prayer request" on our Facebook group.
But what was the very first post in my news feed upon logging into Facebook? A friend had posted Proverbs 3:5-6 - "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight."
Wow. God could not have sent me a clearer message had He picked up the phone and placed a direct call to our house. He showed me what I should've known all along, that, although I may not necessarily fret about the visas, I most definitely do lean on my own understanding. I try to plan my own way. Figure things out for myself instead of just trusting God to provide. You'd think after 4 years of fund-raising I would've learned this lesson by now.
Guess not.
I'm still, and probably for a long time to come, will be learning not to lean on my own understanding. Learning to completely submit to Him, yes, even in my desire to make a home for our family (a good desire at that). And trusting Him to straighten my paths and provide the things we need in His timing and in His way.
Even if we don't sell a thing, this is the best thing to happen for us because it is another opportunity for us to learn how to completely trust in Him.
And I thank Him.
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