Good morning to everyone. Grace and Peace be with you.
When I started this writing journey, I had no plan, no thoughts, no direction … less one. Serve God. As I got rolling with it, I thought that it was annoying and cool at the same time that I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning with messages … yes, messages. Sometimes I would write a devotion and then turn around and write one, two, and sometimes three poems. When my first book got picked up by a traditional publisher, I was super stoked and almost quit my job. Because you know, I was going to be a published author and my book would pay my bills. Obviously, God spoke sense into me, and I did not quit. Though I took quite some time off from writing, until now, anything that I wrote was for Him. He was my focus. My writing was and is all about bringing glory to Him.
I belong to several online writing groups. There is a mixture of traditional (publisher does all the hard work like editing/marketing) authors, vanity (author pays publisher for the editing and marketing), and Indie (author does all the work and publishes through specific free publishing sites) authors in these groups. You can see through the comments where their heart lies. I read the posts and find the information that God wants me to see, and comment only where He leads me to comment. One common theme with them is that we all have one familiar mindset … ‘that is not how I thought this worked’.
Traditionally, with the help of television and other stories, writing a book and getting it published was set on certain parameters. If you did not conform to those parameters, you were left out in the cold. Well, anyone who knows me knows that I do not conform well. Haha. I have always been an odd duck.
In my scrolling, I have gotten several different ideas on how to better market my books. All of which require me to be present. To have face-to-face encounters. To sign all copies … without a separate fee. To get His message out there. To show the chaotic world that peace is possible. One of the areas that I found to market is in supermarkets. Yes, you saw that right … supermarkets. That concept gave me all kinds of ideas. I do a lot of small town fests and farmer’s markets. The other day, well before the 4th, I saw a tent set up in a Burger King parking lot to sell fireworks … I instantly thought, “Why can’t I do that?”
When I first started looking at doing book signings, my mind was stuck in a rut of libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops. Places typically or stereotypically are associated with reading … but why not some place no one expects to see an author set up … grocery stores, fast food, random retail establishments … why not?
John the Baptist was not a conformist. He actually was considered a radical. I have often called Peter my hero or soul mate of the apostles because of my hot temper; however, I am leaning into John the Baptist’s radical stubbornness … spread the word no matter how I look or sound or where I am located. Speak truth. Always. Everywhere.
What is it that God is asking you to do that sounds too off kilter? What is keeping you from jumping in feet first? Nothing that Jesus did was in line with the religious leaders' vision of godliness, so why are you worried about the optics of the world? Why not be a part of the revival that is confusing those stuck on the law of tradition?
My plan, moving forward, is the same as it has been … honor God … but in those places, any place, that I can set up … and speak Truth to the lost. If it is fests, markets, stores, fast food, or the middle of a random parking lot, I am in. How about you? Are you in to spread the Good News … regardless of the world’s view?
Be blessed.
**But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.—1 Corinthians 1:27
**Therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” –Isaiah 29:14
Good morning to everyone. Grace and Peace be with you.
When I started this writing journey, I had no plan, no thoughts, no direction … less one. Serve God. As I got rolling with it, I thought that it was annoying and cool at the same time that I would wake up in the wee hours of the morning with messages … yes, messages. Sometimes I would write a devotion and then turn around and write one, two, and sometimes three poems. When my first book got picked up by a traditional publisher, I was super stoked and almost quit my job. Because you know, I was going to be a published author and my book would pay my bills. Obviously, God spoke sense into me, and I did not quit. Though I took quite some time off from writing, until now, anything that I wrote was for Him. He was my focus. My writing was and is all about bringing glory to Him.
I belong to several online writing groups. There is a mixture of traditional (publisher does all the hard work like editing/marketing) authors, vanity (author pays publisher for the editing and marketing), and Indie (author does all the work and publishes through specific free publishing sites) authors in these groups. You can see through the comments where their heart lies. I read the posts and find the information that God wants me to see, and comment only where He leads me to comment. One common theme with them is that we all have one familiar mindset … ‘that is not how I thought this worked’.
Traditionally, with the help of television and other stories, writing a book and getting it published was set on certain parameters. If you did not conform to those parameters, you were left out in the cold. Well, anyone who knows me knows that I do not conform well. Haha. I have always been an odd duck.
In my scrolling, I have gotten several different ideas on how to better market my books. All of which require me to be present. To have face-to-face encounters. To sign all copies … without a separate fee. To get His message out there. To show the chaotic world that peace is possible. One of the areas that I found to market is in supermarkets. Yes, you saw that right … supermarkets. That concept gave me all kinds of ideas. I do a lot of small town fests and farmer’s markets. The other day, well before the 4th, I saw a tent set up in a Burger King parking lot to sell fireworks … I instantly thought, “Why can’t I do that?”
When I first started looking at doing book signings, my mind was stuck in a rut of libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops. Places typically or stereotypically are associated with reading … but why not some place no one expects to see an author set up … grocery stores, fast food, random retail establishments … why not?
John the Baptist was not a conformist. He actually was considered a radical. I have often called Peter my hero or soul mate of the apostles because of my hot temper; however, I am leaning into John the Baptist’s radical stubbornness … spread the word no matter how I look or sound or where I am located. Speak truth. Always. Everywhere.
What is it that God is asking you to do that sounds too off kilter? What is keeping you from jumping in feet first? Nothing that Jesus did was in line with the religious leaders' vision of godliness, so why are you worried about the optics of the world? Why not be a part of the revival that is confusing those stuck on the law of tradition?
My plan, moving forward, is the same as it has been … honor God … but in those places, any place, that I can set up … and speak Truth to the lost. If it is fests, markets, stores, fast food, or the middle of a random parking lot, I am in. How about you? Are you in to spread the Good News … regardless of the world’s view?
Be blessed.
**But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong.—1 Corinthians 1:27
**Therefore, behold, I will again do wonderful things with this people, with wonder upon wonder; and the wisdom of their wise men shall perish, and the discernment of their discerning men shall be hidden.” –Isaiah 29:14
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