It has finally happened! Last week I was offered a book contract to be published.
Thank you so much for being part of this journey with me.
My first book The Duke’s Refuge will be the first in a three-book series published by Wild Heart Books. If you’re looking for fish-out-of-water, case-of-mistaken-identity, love triangle, Christian romance with a happily-ever-after. Then stay tuned.
Greater Things are Yet to Come!
I’m not a patient person. I never prayed for patience, because I was afraid to test the running joke that God would give me things to be patient about. However, God put writing on my heart. It is a profession
where returned emails can take six months to a year. Criticism and critiques are frequent and so is rejection. There is even a website (http://stoneslidecorrective.com/select-your-rejection/) created for authors to help them become better at handling rejection. Writers give their email address and are issued various rejection emails until the author can easily brush it off.
I have finished five 300-plus page manuscripts. (The first two will never leave my computer.) Writing has become a part of me, and I can’t even imagine not creating stories. The strokes of my keyboard have become a way that I worship God, but doors still continued to slam shut on my dream. However, God was and is faithful.
If you have a dream still left unfulfilled, please take heart. Here are some things I’ve learned from the process:
- God is good: Like mana given to Moses and those who wandered in the desert, he gives you just enough of what you need to sustain you each day until you reach the promised land.
- Keep your eyes open: There were times I felt inept or wondered whether I’d heard God wrong. But, if I paused from my sulking, I realized how God coaxed me along with tidbits of encouragement: placing in contests, interest from an agent or publisher, or an encouraging email from one of you.
- Encouragement from your peeps is invaluable: Friends are a source of strength. You may not know it, but by liking my posts, commenting, or emailing, God was using you to keep me writing. I could never have done this without your encouragement. I am so grateful for every one of you.
- Stay limber because you’re going to stretch: Learning is not always an easy process. Sometimes it comes through tough critiques sometimes it comes through failure, but if you can step back and remove yourself from the emotional aspect, you will grow stronger, better, and more refined.
- Trust in God’s timing: We live in an on-demand society, but sometimes right now isn’t what’s best. I have learned to trust God’s timing. He knows better than I. I thought the first book I wrote was amazing. Now, I can’t even stand to read it. I’ve tried to go back and revamp it a couple of times, but it needs so much work that I’d prefer to write a new one. Maturing is a slow process, and only God knows when you’re ready.
- Greater things are yet to come: My work isn’t over. It is just beginning. I now have deadlines I have to hit and people to which I am accountable. But God has big plans, and I want Him to use me. Who am I to think small when God is so big?
I have had “get published” on my yearly goals for the past four years and have always come up short, but this year I get to check it off. If you have struggled with not receiving a desire of your heart, I hope this helps to encourage you. God hasn’t forgotten. Listen and look for his little pearls of encouragement.
“I am the Lord, who opened a way through the waters, making a dry path through the sea. But forget all that— it is nothing compared to what I am going to do. For I am about to do something new. See, I have already begun! Do you not see it? I will make a pathway through the wilderness. I will create rivers in the dry wasteland.” – Isaiah 43:16, 18-19NLT (emphasis mine)
Thank you for being part of this journey with me. I’m looking forward to the greater things yet to come!
Don’t miss a post sign up for my blog by clicking here: Lorri’s blog