Door Prizes

One of the breakout sessions I attended at the writing conference this summer was all about marketing and getting your writing out there. The speaker challenged us to look beyond the usual outlets for our work and to promote it in unique ways. I have just found a place. Our women's ministry is having a conference tomorrow and I am blessed to be a speaker. The director of this ministry always has door prizes to give away during the worship time and lunch. At our last event almost every lady there received a prize. Anyway, I have been given the opportunity to provide some as door prizes. I am so excited to see what God has for this. I pray that whoever receives them will be blessed and if they do not have children at home or at all, they will either read through it themselves or pass it along to someone who will be blessed by it. I'll have to post anything I hear about it.

Until then,

Happy Writing

Advent!

Well it is written. After an enormous amount of prayer, study, typing and even crying when the computer just would not read my mind, the Advent Devotional Guide for 2010 is written, back from the editor, and almost ready for print. I say this every year, it is my favorite.
Everything in it comes from my experience with God this year, and what I hope to teach my own children. That is what makes it hard to release to everyone else. Once it is out there, I get to hear the good, the bad and the ugly things people have to say about it, and believe me, people let you know what is on their mind. That can be difficult to hear, but I have to remember that this is what God called me to do. Criticism, even harsh, can make my ministry better, and my ability to work with difficult people stronger. I am always anxious to see what God does with this project. Every year I see it in new places and watch it leave old ones. I can't be hurt by that either. Every ministry has a season and those seasons do begin and end.
In a few weeks I will have a website with this year's devotional available. That sounds so official. When I have that information I will post it here first.

Until then,

Happy Writing!

Waiting, Waiting, Waiting . . .

In the spirit of setting attainable goals, I have decided to send one query a week. In the last two weeks I sent two queries with writing samples already published or one I submitted hopeful it will be printed somewhere. It is a lot of work to get everything together and present your idea according to all the guidelines, making your work stand out from the other possible contributors.

I am learning patience. According to one guideline it can take up to two months to anything. The other was a bit vague. I will update as I have information. In the meantime, I am working on a few projects, continuing my online class, and praying about a website. If I go that route I will update my blog with that information.

That is all for now.

Happy Writing

Query

Returning from the writer conference I am excited and refreshed. I sense a renewed purpose in my writing and the desire to branch out and explore new opportunities. Last week I submitted a query and devotional and this week a query, resume, and three writing samples to a magazine. Both guidelines stated it could be two months until I hear anything, either rejection or acceptance, so I am just plugging along getting another project ready. The problem is I am compulsively checking email in the hopes that by some miracle my query has been read and is something that the publication cannot go one without. Silly I know, but that is the excitement of having something to write and feeling the need to get it out there. This is a wonderful exercise in patience.

In the meantime, I started the online course I registered for at the conference. First lesson is on goal setting. This has been a slow lesson for me as I try to make attainable goals. A goal may be write a best selling novel this week. An attainable goal may be blog once a week about the projects I am working on. See the difference?

Well, I am off to set some attainable goals and hopefully finish the Advent project for this year.

Happy Writing

IWA Conference

Wow is how I would describe my experience Saturday. I recently returned from the Inspirational Writers Alive Christian Writing Conference in Houston, TX and came away with so much information and encouragement. It is always uplifting with others affirm what you know to be your calling from God. The speakers were insightful and patiently answered questions from seasoned writers and newbie wannabes calling both groups and any in-between "professional writers." That phrase has the most pleasant ring to my ears.

The most difficult part of the day was choosing which workshops to take. The descriptions of them all were so wonderful. Ultimately I chose AppeProfessional and aling Book Proposals given by Wayne Holmes. For anyone who has never submitted a book proposal I would definitely recommend it. His website is www.wayneholmes.com

Janice Thompson led the class that I think may have had the most turnout, entitled Making Money with Your Writing. This was especially interesting to me. As much as I love writing and I really do, it is really nice to get paid for something that you love. Her website is www.janicethompson.com

Brenda Nixon, writer, speaker and radio host spoke on Book Promotion Tips, a must after taking Janice Thompson's workshop on making money. I have never heard more creative and FREE, in most cases, ideas to get your book or yourself out there. Brenda's website is www.brendanixon.com

Finally Anita Higman's topic of Breaking the Publishing Barrier was very encouraging with fresh new ideas and angles that many of us may have never considered. Look her up at www.anitahigman.com

Coming away from the conference I understand that I really need to learn this craft. To do that I signed up for the Freelance Writing Course at www.freelancewritingcourses.com I can't wait to get started and will continue to update my progress on this blog.

In Between

Thankfully I can report that the article I mentioned in the previous post was published in Hometown Journey, www.hometownjourney.net. I am so appreciative to Angela Motz, Editor in Chief for giving me on opportunity. I encourage any followers of this blog to check out their monthly magazine for a taste of Texas hometown living.

This spring and summer I was given the task of writing another church camp curriculum for the Houston/Beaumont Area Conference Youth Camp. Previously I wrote for the 3rd-5th grade camp, but this year the curriculum was use for 5th-6th grade as well. I can't wait to hear how it went with the campers. That is one of my favorite all time assignments. Every year I think this myght be my last year and then the next year my dear friend Stacey will call and ask if I am interested in camp again. She knows how passionate I am about the camp experience and I am so blessed that she has given me so many camps to write.

Now for the real update. I have a book in mind. I tried to make it a novel, but I think that God has other ideas. The thing is it may never be published. This may be a project that I have to pour my blood, sweat and tears into just because I have to get this out of me. As I work on it I will post my struggles and success and see where it goes.

For now I am looking for opportunities as a freelance writer and speaker. Wish me luck as I begin this new adventure. This is a true calling and a scary step, but I think with the articles and devotionals I have published I can be considered a "real writer". I hope editors agree.

Happy Writing

Spring Break 2010

Our Spring Break experience is coming to a close and it was very eventful. Not what we planned, but a blast nonetheless. No matter, I thought it was good enough to write about and so I did! Luckily I have some really great friends that support me and so I sent them the article and asked for feedback. We will see how it goes. At least my Mom liked it, but isn't she supposed to? I wonder if even in my thirties, my mom looks at my work and admires it, not for what it is, but for who she knows created it. That certainly explains the boxes full of precious treasures that I have stored in my attic labeled with my children's names. So for now I have to hope and pray for honest criticism and hopefully some praise as I continue on this journey and hope that someone publishes my efforts.

Happy Writing!