It’s been nearly six years since I first knew I wanted to write and publish books. In those six years, I’ve published two books—one fiction and one nonfiction. Before publishing those two books I’d written one 50,000 word novel that I have not published (and probably never will) and several short stories. Now, I’ve almost finished a children’s picture book, and the first book in a historical fiction series set in ancient Rome is well underway. I’m also working on doing a revised and updated edition of my book Do Justly (my nonfiction book about human trafficking, abortion, orphans, other issues, and sharing the gospel). So, yeah, I love to write and do a lot of it. I have learned so much since I’ve started writing books, and I wanted to share some of those lessons I’ve learned with you. Here they are: 1. Writing is one way I can fulfill my purpose in life, but it’s not the only way. God has given us an incredible purpose in life. We are saved by grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone. That’s the gospel. We are not saved by any good works that we do. But when we receive God’s salvation, we also make Him the Lord of our lives. Our lives are not our own. He has a purpose for our lives. We find that purpose in the Bible. It includes loving God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and loving our neighbor as ourselves (Matthew 22:37-39). It also includes fulfilling the Great Commission which is going and sharing the gospel and making disciples (Matthew 28:18-19 and Mark 16:15). Writing is one way I can fulfill God’s purpose for me. But it’s not the only way. I know there are other things besides writing that God would have me do. One big thing I know God wants me to do is to be serving my family and investing in my relationships with them. I also believe He’s leading me towards becoming a midwife. So I will write, and use my writing to bring Him glory, to fulfill the purpose He’s given me, but that’s not all I’ll do. Which leads me to my second point: 2. Don’t let writing (or anything else) become an idol An idol is anything in your life that takes a place that should be reserved for Jesus alone. It could be a hobby or a relationship or dozens of other things. It’s anything that becomes more important to you than Jesus. It’s also anything other than Jesus in which you’re finding your worth or your identity. Ultimately, I’m not a writer, or an illustrator, or a homeschool graduate, or a midwifery student. Even though I do write, and I do illustrate, and I was homeschooled, and I am studying to be a midwife, ultimately who I am is a follower of Jesus Christ. To make sure my writing does not become an idol in my life, I often ask myself, “If the Lord asked me to, would I be willing to give it up, for a season, or even forever?” If I’m truly writing for the glory of God, then I’ll also be willing to not write for the glory of God. 3. Seek wise counsel The Bible talks a lot about the value of wisdom. It’s very important to seek wisdom from other wise people. For me, the main people I talk to are my parents. I get their advice and input on my writing projects, and in other areas of my life. I also gain wisdom from the teaching at church, reading good books, listening to podcasts, etc. And, of course, the most important place to get wisdom is from the Bible. When we get wisdom from other people, in order for it to truly be wisdom, it must line up with Scripture. 4. I must be willing to change my plans When I first started writing, I thought I would write young adult medieval fantasy books. God changed my plans. Instead, the first book I published was Do Justly. Then I started writing The Invisible Guide, thinking that this would be a medieval fantasy geared towards older teens. But my plans got changed again. In the midst of writing it, I knew I needed to make some changes and make it a book fitting for younger kids, too. Then the same thing happened again when I started writing The Fire and the Trial (the first book in my historical fiction series set in ancient Rome). I started writing it, intending it to be a novel for older teens. But while listening to my mama read a book aloud to my younger siblings and me, I thought “I want this to be a book that moms can read aloud to their kids.” So I changed that book, too, and made it the first in a series at a middle-grade reading level (although I hope older teenagers will still enjoy it, too). 5. Write for God’s approval, not the approval of man. It’s so easy to start worrying about what other people will think of you. But it says in Galatians 1:10, “…if I still pleased men, I would not be a bondservant of Christ.” My one main goal in writing should be to please the Lord. So I write what He would want me to write, even if it happens to be unpopular. And if people don’t like it, oh well. 6. Make a schedule, establish a routine, but be flexible. I find I get a lot more done if I have a plan. So I make goals of what I want to write by when, and I have a routine of when I write. Currently, my routine is to write for at least an hour in the morning while my younger siblings are doing school. But I have to be flexible. Sometimes we go somewhere unexpectedly, or sometimes we have a crazy morning. Again, if I’m truly writing for the glory of God, I must also be willing to not write for the glory of God. 7. Be willing to wait when you need to, and wait with joy. This has been a hard one for me! While I love the writing process, I also love getting writing projects done and moving on to new ones. But sometimes it just has to wait. Maybe I’m going through a season (like moving to another state) where it’s hard to find time to write. When that happens, I must wait, and wait with joy. If God wants me to wait to do something, then He can certainly give me joy while I’m waiting. And also, I’ve learned how important it is to edit and proofread. Even though I might be in a hurry to get a book published, I must remember I should do my best for the Lord. So that might mean I need to wait a while to publish, while I do some more polishing and editing and get some more input from my proofreaders. Now, of course, you could edit forever. It does come to a point when it’s time to call it done. It will never be perfect. But do take your time and make it as good as you can. (At the very least, make sure there aren’t typos, and spelling and grammar mistakes. There are some self-published books out there with a lot of these in them. Ask some friends and family members to proofread and correct these mistakes. And be patient while they do it.) 8. Stay humble. And finally, stay humble! Don’t get prideful. A. W. Tozer said, “Our gifts and talents should also be turned over to Him. They should be recognized for what they are, God’s loan to us, and should never be considered in any sense our own. We have no more right to claim credit for special abilities than for blue eyes or strong muscles. ‘For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive?’ (1 Corinthians 4:17).”
I have blue eyes, but it would be silly for me to get prideful about that and start thinking things like, “Not many people have blue eyes. I’m something special.” I didn’t do anything to make myself get blue eyes! It’s the same with gifts, talents, and special abilities. God gave them to us. We can’t claim credit for them. All glory goes to Him. Well, I hope you found that helpful! Always remember, “He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it,” (1 Th. 5:24). All for Him, Savannah Jane
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Hi! I'm Savannah Jane...I'm the author of several books for children and young adults with a passion to encourage young people to live for Jesus. The third born in an amazing family of seven children, I was homeschooled all the way through. This is where I share encouragement for Christian girls, updates about my books, writing tips, book and movie reviews, and assorted other tidbits. Archives
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Quote"When I try, I fail. When I trust, He succeeds."
-Corrie ten Boom I'm on GoodReadsFollow my family's writing, illustrating, and publishing business/ministry.Follow my blog on Bloglovin' |