When Listening to Others' Advice, Don't Forget the Fun

Tricia Goyer is an acclaimed and prolific writer, publishing hundreds of articles in national magazines including Thriving Family and MomSense while authoring more than thirty-one fiction and nonfiction books combined. Among those are 3:16 Teen Edition with Max Lucado and the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Award winners Night Song and Dawn of a Thousand Nights. She has also written books on marriage and parenting and contributed notes to the Women of Faith Study Bible. Tricia hosts a weekly radio program Living Inspired and lives with her husband and children in Arkansas. You can find out more about Tricia at www.triciagoyer.com or www.facebook.com/authortriciagoyer

NR: Tricia will give away 2 books, so leave a comment to be entered in the drawing. Continental U.S. only, please.

When Listening to Others' Advice, Don't Forget the Fun

Often when people find out you want to be a novelist they give you the following advice:

Don't quit your day job.
Don't be disappointed by rejection, because it will happen.
Prepare for a long journey to publication.
Expect hurdles along the way.

Good advice, except that if you focus on all the warnings you're going to lose part of the fun of the process.

And why do you want to follow this dream if you aren't going to have any fun?

I remember going to my second Mt. Hermon Writer's Conference in 1995. I'd submitted a novel I'd JUST started working on and I had a big worry. What IF more than one publisher wanted it? How would I choose!! Oh my!

I laugh now because I was such a newbie. I had nothing publishable to offer, and I didn't realize that...but writing to me was fun. In the last 17 years I still have the same joy. Yes, writing is work but everyday I want to pinch myself. I really get to write books for people from around the world to read??? How cool is that!

So, as for that advice. Let's turn it on it's head.

Don't quit your day job. Of course you can't quit your full-time work (with full-time pay) and expect that you can support yourself with your writing income right off the bat.

But…treat your writing as if you will be doing it as a career for the next 20, 30, 40 years. Focus on what you enjoy doing the most—historical, contemporary, young adult, sci-fi. Don't let others tell you what you should write. Write what a book you'd love to read, and make a 5-year plan of where you want to go. Give yourself performance reviews and bonuses for a job well done. Build relationships with others in the business.

Don't be disappointed by rejection, because it will happen. Yes, rejection will happen but don't feel you have to shrug it off right away. Give yourself time to pout. Rejection hurts because writing matters.

I remember the day after my first novel went to committee and I received a “no.” I fed my children cereal for breakfast, lunch, and dinner and I spent the whole day moping on the couch. I used a whole box of Kleenex on my tears, but you know what? The next day I got up, squared my shoulders and got back to work. That novel never did get published...but the next proposal that went to committee got a “yes.” And you can bet I celebrated then!

Prepare for a long journey to publication. The truth is that it takes an average of ten years for someone to start writing fiction until they have a novel accepted and published. For me it was eight years—pretty close! How did I not get discouraged and give up? Instead of focusing my getting a novel published, I worked on other things. I wrote articles. I did some word-for-hire projects. I even wrote study notes for a Bible. This wasn't the “publishing” I was dreaming of, but I learned some good skills along the way. I also build some great relationships that continue today!

Expect hurdles along the way. There are always bumps in the road. Problems we don't expect. Family situations that keep us away from the computer. Health problems that throw us for a loop. But on every journey there are unexpected surprises. Along the way to having your novel published you'll meet amazing people. You'll discover things about yourself you never knew. You'll grow closer to God as you lean on Him. The hurdles will come, but so will the triumphs and joys. Look forward to these, too.

(And finally, above all, do take at least a few minutes to worry IF more than one publisher wants to buy your work. It could happen...and it's a fun way to brighten your day!)

Chasing Mona Lisa

One enigmatic smile. Two passionate protectors. And a relentlessly ticking clock.

August 1944. Paris is on the cusp of liberation. As the soldiers of the Third Reich flee the Allied advance, they ravage the country and steal countless pieces of irreplaceable art. In fact, Reichsmarschall Hermann Göring will stop at nothing to claim the most valuable one of all--the Mona Lisa--as a postwar bargaining chip.

But the woman with the mysterious smile has some very determined protectors. Can Swiss OSS agents Gabi Mueller and Eric Hofstadler rescue Leonardo da Vinci's masterpiece before it falls into German hands?

With nonstop action and intrigue, Chasing Mona Lisa is sure to get your adrenaline pumping as you join the chase to save the most famous painting in the world. From war-ravaged Paris to a posh Swiss chateau, the race is on--and the runners are playing for keeps.