A Step in
the Write Direction
July 22,
2013
Update:
I always kept all my
sold/rejected records in folders with a hard copy of my manuscript. A few years
back a friend talked me into putting everything on CD, which I did, and also
threw away the paper records. Then my computer crashed, so for months I’ve
hesitated to send out reprints as I couldn’t remember who all I had sent them
to. So the last few days I’ve been reconstructing all my records. Have gotten to
the “Ns.” Only problem: I had copied a huge bunch of manuscripts from Documents
to a CD, and then couldn’t find the CD. Put out a prayer request on Facebook
last night, and during the night I woke up and remembered that I had copied that
CD onto a flash drive. Found it! Hopefully can finish up within the next two
days, then can start a 400-page editing job and a 144-page proofreading job
before starting to send out reprints.
Had a really good sermon in
church this morning from our children’s minister who admitted she was fighting a
spiritual battle. She talked about Joshua facing the wall of Jericho (Joshua
5:13-15). A few notes:
·
Joshua thought he could fix
it himself. Instead of looking up, he looked inside.
·
He
forgot that God was the Commander-in-Chief. It was His battle, not
Joshua’s.
·
We
build up a wall of doubt and discouragement.
·
No
one could go in or out of Jericho. When we have a wall up, we don’t let anyone
in or out. Share our battles as well as our victories.
·
The march around the wall
didn’t bring the victory; their faith did.
·
What is the Jericho in your
life today? Are you letting God fight your battle for you?
·
There’s no limit to what God
can do if we surrender everything to Him.
Thought for the
Day:
DREAMS
Hold fast to
dreams
For if dreams
die
Life is a broken-winged
bird
That cannot
fly.
— Langston
Hughes
Laugh for
Today:
1.
Jokes about German sausage are the wurst.
2. I know a guy who's addicted to brake fluid. He says he can stop anytime.
3. I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I can't put it down.
4. Velcro—what a rip off!
5. I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.
2. I know a guy who's addicted to brake fluid. He says he can stop anytime.
3. I'm reading a book about anti-gravity. I can't put it down.
4. Velcro—what a rip off!
5. I stayed up all night to see where the sun went. Then it dawned on me.
Writer’s
Tips:
Are you
discouraged over rejection letters you’ve received? (Our group calls them
“pre-acceptances.) Perhaps the following will encourage
you.
·
About 15 years ago I put
together 7 booklets on various aspects of writing from workshops I taught over
the years: poetry, devotional writing, marketing, personal experiences, writing
your first book, how to get started, and starting and running a Christian
writers’ club. Tried for years to sell these booklets with no luck. Eventually I
put them all into a book, along with other material, and this sold as A Step in the Write Direction—the Complete
How-to Book for Christian Writers.
·
I sent my Advent devotional book Preparing Your Heart for Christmas to 11
publishers over a period of 3 years. It sold in November 2012 and came out for
Christmas that year—both in printed form and in e-book.
·
I put together a joke-a-day perpetual calendar and
submitted it 13 times without a sale. Then I put it in book form and sold it to
a publisher a couple of months ago.
·
I sent out my Rhyme-Time Bible Stories to 15
publishers over a period of 2 years, and sold it to the above publisher at the
beginning of this year.
·
I sent The Freedom
of Letting Go to at least 7 or 8 publishers before it was picked up last
year by a publisher. (The reason some rejected it was the reason this particular
publisher liked it!)
·
I put out a 30-page booklet on “Letting Go of Grief” which
never sold. This became the opening chapter in my Letting Go book.
·
I have two gift books for friends and mothers I’ve sent out
at least 13 times. The last time I sent them snail mail to a publisher that I
read in Christian Retailing was now
beginning a gift and devotional book line. The editor wrote and asked me to send
them email so she could present them to a committee where they are now.
Lessons I’ve
Learned:
·
They’re not rejecting YOU, just your manuscript. This
doesn’t mean it isn’t well-written; just that it doesn’t fit their readership or
they’re not accepting manuscripts at the present. If they tell you this, feel
free to re-submit it in six months or so.
·
Check The Christian
Communicator, the Christian Writer’s
Market Guide, or the publishers’ web sites to see if there’s a change in
editors. What doesn’t appeal to one editor may appeal to a new one.
·
Look for new publishers. Often they’re more willing to take
on an unknown author.
·
Change the format as I did with the writing booklets, the
joke book, and the grief booklet, and most importantly,
·
KEEP TRYING!
Have a good week spreading
the
gospel through the printed
page!
Donna Clark Goodrich
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