Conventional writerly wisdom says that apparently every writer should send regular newsletters to their followers (aka subscribers/ readers/ cheerleaders/ fans/ supporters/ friends). And as regular readers know, that word tends to irritate me. I don’t make a habit of doing things simply because other people say I should. If I’m going to commit to regularly e-mailing people I want a good reason.
So I asked my lovely KSW chums for their insight, and they helped me see something really important. All the time and effort I put into my social media pages, hoping to communicate with those who are interested in my journey, is often thwarted by Meta’s programming. The sad fact is that unless I pay for endless adverts, only a select few (selected by who-knows-what algorithm) of the people who have liked or followed my page will actually receive my updates. The vast majority just will not see them.
In contrast, they said, newsletters have been proven to be a much more reliable way of communicating with those who want to keep in touch.
And as I considered the possibility and tackled head-on the subconscious whispers saying people won’t want to hear from me, or that I will have nothing to say, I chatted with God and He spoke to me about Project Lampstand (see my previous blog post). I started to see the potential in a newsletter where I could genuinely keep in touch with those lovely people who are interested in my books, my mission, my journey, etc.
So I’ve been learning how to go about it and am now biting the proverbial bullet (where DOES that saying come from? Answers on a digital postcard…?) So if any of you would like to hear from me once a month, please click here or on the subscribe button at the top of the right hand column. You will (assuming everything works) receive an instant confirmation email with a link to a free chapter from one of my books, and then my first month’s newsletter should arrive later this week.
I won’t be offended if you don’t sign up, but I do hope you will!
It is neither a secret nor a surprise that I – and many writers – struggle with the promotional aspect of publishing books. Especially for those of us who are introverts, holing up and scribbling (or typing) away for hours… days… months on end can feel like lovely self-indulgence at times. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still hard work – especially once you hit editing stage – but it’s largely hidden and ‘safe’. However once our precious books are finally published and we just want a good rest to recover from the exertion of it all, that can be when the even harder work begins: the excruciating torture of promotion and advertising our work in order to persuade countless people, both friends and strangers, to part with their hard-earned money in order to read what we have produced. *Shudder*
And having had time off after Finding Jesus in the Wilderness came out (because I was genuinely exhausted… and then it was Christmas…) I entered this year with absolutely zero momentum or motivation. But it’s something I know I need to do. So at a recent prayer zoom for writers (thank you Kingdom Story Writers), I asked for prayer that God would find a way to help with my motivation (I think I actually asked for Him to give me a loving kick up the behind!) Then this weekend I met with the KSW team to plan our upcoming retreat (in May – watch this space for more info to come soon). Oh it is so GOOD to meet with like-minded fellow Kingdom writers! We did achieve the planning needed, but also enjoyed plenty of rich time together sharing encouragement and practical advice which gave me some ideas to get me pointed in a helpful direction.
And after everyone had left and I got some time to chat with God, He took me to the well-known verses from Mark 4:21-22, “He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.”
Talk about motivation (or a kick up the behind, if you prefer)! I do believe that in the books that I have written I have done my best to shine my light as clearly and openly as I can. I don’t think I have tried to conceal or hide them (though the ‘bowls’ of shame, imposter syndrome and self doubt, and the ‘beds’ of laziness or procrastination are always lurking as temptations). But I can see that I do need to make a conscious decision to lift up the light in my books and put it on a lampstand: to do everything in my power to help people see what God has given through me.
And that is all the motivation I need. So I am in. I’m asking God to give me a budget and a strategy in order to promote my books and shine His light as bright as I can… and then trust Him with the rest. I don’t fully know what that will look like, but I do think it will involve an upcoming blog tour, plus possible newsletters, giveaways, reviews, opportunities for support etc. All things that will probably still make me cringe inwardly. But I am going to do my best to be brave nonetheless and embrace “project lampstand”.
“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” (Matt 5:16)
A couple of months ago, a lovely friend asked if I could give her some writing feedback. Once I retrieved my mind from its initial imposter-syndrome flight of panic, I replied that I was really happy to do so (and then resumed panicking). Once she sent her work over and I had a look (I really hope she publishes: it was so good!), I surprised myself by realising that imposter or not, I actually did have a couple of structural ideas that might help her. And as I jotted down some notes I realised that over my many years of blogging I have developed a kind of approach to writing blog posts that can be described by analogy. It’s not precise, but I think it holds up as a general approach…
For me, blogging (especially for my In The Secret Place blog) is a bit like inviting my readers to take a journey with me. It’s usually a journey that I have been on myself, from which I have now returned in order to share the highlights with them – minus all the stumbling about, dead-ends and boring bits (the benefits of editing).
So when I write, I have a destination in mind: the main point that I’d like to show them. And while I write, I keep checking my metaphorical compass to make sure I am still heading towards our destination point. I haven’t always been great at this, but I’d like to think I have improved.
The introduction (and often the title) establishes our starting point and reveals (or at least hints at) where we’re going – it whets the appetite and gets the reader on board. I don’t want us to take too long wandering about without a clear direction, otherwise they might lose interest, so I try to introduce the main point/ destination within a paragraph or two.
Once we’re into the main body of the text, I see that as the active walking part of the journey where we cover most ground. It doesn’t have to be dry and linear like walking along a tarmac road – my favourite walks are often meandering cross-country ones with beautiful scenery to look at along the way. So I try to visit the stops that generally lead towards our main destination: a/ in a logical order that progresses. b/ enjoying the scenery (illustrations) along the way but not getting so engrossed in detail that we tire and/or fail to reach our destination. Pace is key – we must keep moving. c/ keeping my compass (main point) to hand so we don’t go too far off on a rabbit trail. Meandering/ digression is fine, as long as we are still generally heading in the right direction and not jolting the reader by realising the destination is now out of sight/ a different way entirely.
And when we arrive at your destination we stop and drink in the view, appreciating where we came from and establishing that we have arrived, for that sense of completion. This is the summing up/ conclusion.
I personally think this analogy works for those writing longer books too – you can just afford longer side-trails etc. Blog posts are like short outings/ day-trips, whereas books are maybe more like walking holidays that give space to explore more widely around the destination, or just to take a slower, more detailed approach to the same destination.
Fellow bloggers, what do you think? Do you have a different approach, or does the journey analogy work for you too?
I have two blogs: one here on my writer website, which is about my writing journey, and my ‘In the Secret Place’ blog where I write about the things that God and I chat about. So when I talk with Him about my writing, it can cause a conundrum: where to post? Well today I am posting here because I think it will be an encouragement to other Kingdom writers, mostly…
You probably know that last week I published not one, but two books. Other writers – particularly the self-published ones – will know that this is a far more exhausting process than most people realise. And coming as it did at a time when I was dealing with other intense life situations, I felt utterly worn out by the day after publication day. Fair warning: what follows is self-pitying, which I wouldn’t usually share – but I believe it’s important to acknowledge the temptations we face when we are exhausted…
In my depleted state, my emotions were running high. I had poured myself into this book, not just for the year that it took to write and edit it, but also the previous two years’ experience of struggle and pain in the wilderness that I wrote about. I’m still in it – God asked me to write while I was still in the wilderness myself, so I did, thanks only to His grace that kept me going – and by the end I felt every bit of how much it had cost to publish this book. I was completely spent. It wasn’t even just the book: I had slogged away to produce endless promotional material for Social Media, because when you don’t have a famous name or a big publishing house behind you, that is what is required to get your book in front of people. But I find it utterly soul-destroying and only do it because I want to be faithful to get the message out that I believe God wants to bless His people with. And all that promo, the year of writing/ editing, and the years of suffering? It all led to a couple of dozen sales (so far). That’s it. The temptation to judge success by numbers of sales is a cruel one indeed.
I know God is in this book. I know (because all readers so far have said) that it is a deep resource of treasure for those who will read it. But I also know (partly because of the crazy levels of opposition that have arisen) that the enemy does not want people to read it. And honestly, I feel too exhausted to fight back. And so in the temptations to self-pity that followed, I heard – or felt – the nasty thought cross my mind: “Why bother? What was the point of all that cost – for nothing?” When we are tired and our guard is down, the enemy is skilled at making his voice sound like our own thoughts and feelings.
Now, I do know it wasn’t for nothing. I know there are people out there whose lives have already been changed by reading the book. So that alone means it was worth it. And honestly, I do know that the true judge of success is whether I obeyed God and did as He asked – which to the best of my ability, I believe I did. So it’s all good: my feelings will calm down as I recover, and all will be well. But God in His endless compassion and mercy did not leave it there. In a prayer meeting last night with some beautiful writer friends, every one of whom is bravely sacrificing themselves in order to write words that will give honour and glory to God, God showed me a picture of Mary with her broken alabaster jar, pouring perfume over Jesus’ feet and weeping as she did so (John 12:3). His hand rested lovingly on her head and He was breathing in the beautiful aroma. Then I heard the lyrics from an old song: “you don’t know the cost of the oil from my alabaster box.” And the point was this: He DOES know. Even if nobody else does. He sees the cost, and receives it as a fragrant offering. We are all broken vessels. Maybe another day I’ll share the values of alabaster – or you can look it up and see what God shows you through it. But what God showed me was the high value He places on the perfumed oil produced by crushing, then poured out through our brokenness. He sees that our writing for Him IS costly and He receives it as worship, as we value Him far more than whatever it costs us to write.
And this morning as I thanked Him for last night’s picture He spoke to me again. Some of it was personal, to be treasured in my heart only. And some of it I felt permission to share, in the hope that it will speak to and encourage you also. He said, “I see your sacrifice, beloved, and I receive it. It is a beautiful fragrance to Me, fully acceptable in my sight. Now as I receive it, trust it fully to My hands, and let it go. I have received it all, so it cannot be wasted. Even if nobody else sees it (which is not My will) that is not your concern. You have poured it out at My feet: it is spilled; you cannot scoop it back into a container to hold on to now. It is My treasure, for Me to do with as I will. And I thank You for it, for it is a most precious gift to Me. Thank You, My love.”
What a blessing. How kind He always is! I don’t know whether or not He will ask me to do any more ‘promo’ – that’s up to Him. All I know is, the matter is settled in my heart. My books are an offering to HIM, and their value cannot be measured in how many people do or do not see/ buy/ read them. As usual, the enemy’s temptations have been silenced by God’s Word. I am so grateful. And the cost? Well I could never out-give what He has given me! So it was totally worth it.
It takes a village to raise a child, or so we are told. This week, having released twin book-babies into the world, I can confidently assert that the same is true when birthing books. It certainly takes a village to get them from conception to delivery…
It was almost a year ago that I felt God was leading me to take the idea of writing a book about the wilderness, to pull it out of my metaphorical TBW (to-be-written) pile, and to write it even while still experiencing a wilderness season of my own. I had conceived the spark of a divine idea. However, many people conceive book-ideas that never make it full term, and I can honestly say that over the past year if it were not for the love, support, advice, experience and hands-on help of my own village, I don’t think my two books would have made it to publication.
For a start there was my small group of writer-friends from the Kingdom Story Writers who when I bounced the idea off them didn’t respond with horror or laughter, but fully endorsed it, believed I could do it, and helped launch me on my journey. As I began writing they periodically checked in with encouragement, in particular when it came to Lent and I felt God was leading me to write a chapter a day. I really needed the accountability that came from sharing my goals with a group of supportive friends, to keep me on track. Every writer needs a squad of cheerleaders when trying to write a book. (If you don’t have one, I recommend joining a writing group, in person or online). Thus conception and the first trimester were complete. Joy M, Joy V, Alex, Natasha, Jo… thank you.
Then once my first and second drafts were done, I reached out to my squad of beta-readers (some of whom came from the first group of cheerleaders). These are my friendly critics: experienced writers who know what they are talking about but have the grace to suggest improvements in a constructive way. Without knowing they had all cast their expert eyes over my book, I doubt I would have had the confidence to send it to those I hoped would endorse it – greatly respected Christian leaders. When they were all happy to give endorsements it was a real boost!. This felt like my second trimester when I started to ‘show’ and let others see what had been growing. Again: Joy M, Joy V, Alex, and Natasha; Jenny, Chris, and Cath; Steve, Anne and Laurence… thank you.
Next came my lovely cover designer, line editor, proof-reader and formatter, all in one glorious human being. I handed my manuscript over to the excellent Liz Carter, secure in the knowledge that hers were very safe hands for it to be in. Being able to trust the publishing professionals you are working with is a blessing that cannot be taken for granted. I’ve heard some horrifying stories that have resulted in botched or unfinished books, and I am so grateful that God pointed me in Liz’s direction for my first book, so I have never needed to go elsewhere since. Once Liz had finished, I was at the finish line – third trimester complete, it was time for delivery. Liz, you rock. Thank you x
And that brings us to this week. If you’ll pardon my stretching the metaphor further, I had been nesting like crazy – working intently to prepare the world for my babies’ arrival, with daily scheduled promos all over Social Media. It was intense, exhausting, and emotionally draining to the point where a set-back with my print-run felt utterly devastating. At that point I am most grateful for my lovely, beautiful village who rallied around: my friends who prayed for me, reached out and encouraged me, and in some cases put themselves out to offer very practical help, in order to get me to – and through – delivery. All the aforementioned villagers, plus Mike, Mum, Aimee, Thelma, the Warrior Mums, our family prayer support group, the Kingdom Story Writers and Association of Christian Writers, and every person on social media who has liked, shared, commented, pre-ordered, and in any other way cheered me on… thank you. You all made a very real difference.
So this evening I am resting. Delivery complete, I have twin book-babies newly arrived in the world. And it took a whole village of people to get them here safely.
In October 21 years ago I discovered I was pregnant for the second time. Having been told years previously that we could not have children, this pregnancy felt as much a miracle as the first – every one a blessing. We were so excited. However if you have read Friend of God you will know that the pregnancy ended in miscarriage at Christmas, a couple of months later. One of the things I remember needing to know is where my baby was now, and God was quick to tell me he (I believe God showed me it was a boy) was with Him. In the midst of all the grief and pain of that time, I wrote a poem to my unborn baby, as a way of processing and verbalising my deepest sorrow.
I have never shared that poem with anyone until now.
It is still an intensely personal poem. I still love and miss both the babies who I lost – it’s a pain that will never be fully resolved until we are reunited in Heaven. However, in recognition of Pregnancy and Infant Loss Remembrance Day, in honour of all the families out there who have also experienced miscarriage, and in remembrance of my two beloved heaven-babies, I felt that this year it is time to share. So here is my poem:
For Samuel…
You would have been a beautiful baby I would have called you Samuel – my treasure – my son. I would have rocked you, nursed you, held you – given you all the love I had, and probably more. We would have been a family – played together, loved together. You would have brought joy to our lives.
But now it’s over – for this life at least. And all the things I looked forward to, I’ll never get to do. Like kissing your tiny features, wiping away your tears, making a smile light up your face and hearing your first words.
Samuel, my love, Letting go of you is the hardest thing I’ve ever done – and I don’t want to. I want you to come back to me, but that just can’t happen.
So I choose to give you to the only One Who loves you more than I do. He will hold you and kiss you, and you will grow up strong in His presence. You will have peace and joy, and know no pain. But I will miss you until the day we are reunited in Heaven, And I will be free to love you again with no pain.
One thing about poetry – although i love it for its free-flowing and slightly anarchic disrespect of the usual rules of good writing – that same freedom often means I’m never 100% sure what makes a poem – well, a poem. Take this morning’s offering. It came out of my own prayer time with God. He had been speaking to me about the need to be FILLED with the Holy Spirit, and as I pictured my lungs being filled with good rich air and felt all the emotions involved, I wrote down my response. It didn’t follow the rules of prose (full sentences, proper grammar, paragraphs etc), and was much more a kind of creative representation of the thoughts and emotions of my response. So I call it poetry, because that seems the closest I get to expressing feelings in words. But even then – is it really poetry? I don’t know. Maybe I’ll just call it writing… Ruach, Breath of God
Holy Spirit in this quiet place, breathe on me… Like the first divine breath that gave life to mankind, Essence of life, breathe on me again… Be the breath filling my lungs, that keeps me alive, the wind filling my sails, that keeps me moving forward, the air filling my tyres, that protects me from bumps in this road.
Fill me with your breath, your love, your presence, your empowering grace, that I might live Your life abundantly. Let my spirit breathe deep, lungs FILLED with you – not gasping, expiring, fading away as one who forgets to breathe.
Holy Spirit, here and now I breathe you in as the very oxygen I need to survive, And exhale the cares of this world that tighten my chest. I breathe in your grace… and let go of shoulds. I breathe in your acceptance… and let go of rejection. I breathe in your love… and let go of fear. I breathe in your mercy… and let go of shame. I breathe in your presence… and let go of self.
Let my every breath be filled with you. May I never forget to keep breathing. Inhale… and exhale… Keep breathing my Ruach.
I confess, I didn’t have time to write a new one, so am sharing one from my archives. It was important to me to do so today because although I loved poetry when I was younger, for many years I have not written many poems. Child-rearing and the general busyness of life have a way of stifling creativity and consuming any time that might otherwise have been used for self-expression. But since publishing my first book (and approaching the end of my child-rearing days), I have been trying to embrace a wide range of writing, and have rediscovered my old love of poetry. And recently I have been pushing myself to share it publicly. Not for acknowledgement or recognition – it’s been so long that I doubt there is much merit in it – I just want to share my love of it and encourage myself to do more.
Because poetry rules. In prose, starting a sentence with the word ‘because’ as I just did is usually frowned upon (apart from the few occasions when it is legitimate). But (the same goes for ‘but’s) I prefer to write informally, so I tend to rebel against such rules, as you can tell. And (ditto) yet despite my rebellion I can’t quite ignore the nagging voice in my head reminding me that a decent writer would not commit any of the above crimes of syntax. However in poetry, that nagging voice is beautifully silenced. Linguistic anarchy rebel is not only permitted, but encouraged. Rules of structure take second place to effective expression.
Well that’s my take on it anyway. I know that good poetry is not just flung together haphazardly: there is real craft involved – and I’m nowhere near mastering it yet. But for now I’m just rediscovering the joy and freedom of expression that made me fall in love with poetry in the first place. So here it is, a poem that I wrote many years ago, in response to an assignment back in my student days. When my English lecturer read it he encouraged me to pursue publication, and although I did not do so at the time, that kind of encouragement never leaves. Happy National Poetry Day!
Speculation
In trying to write this little rhyme, I found with great frustration There were no subjects in my mind That offered inspiration. I could not write an epic verse – My strength is not narration. I realised, to be a poet Could not be my vocation. But after spending half an hour Of solid application, I suddenly found inside my head A major transformation. And now, although this verse of mine Would not earn publication, I’ve realised the only way Is verbal lubrication.
If I have a single message – a core value that all my writing comes back to – it is this: God desires relationship with you, not religion. He doesn’t just want to be believed in (even demons believe in Him – James 2:18); He wants to be KNOWN. Personally.
There were two occasions this week when that message was highlighted to me again. Firstly during my daily Bible reading which took me to Isaiah 28:13… “So then, the word of the Lord to them will become: do this, do that, a rule for this, a rule for that, a little here, a little there, so that as they go they will fall backwards; they will be injured and snared and captured” (NIV)
It seemed to me to epitomise the tragic descent from hearing the life-giving revelation of God’s word, into a bunch of religious rules followed by those who have never heard God for themselves. The Pharisees were a prime example, taking the law given to Moses and adding rules upon rules until those who wanted to serve God were trapped in legalism. Tragically, church-goers across the world today still experience this kind of religious observance of rules and miss the joy and freedom of walking with God Himself. For when we don’t know Him and walk with Him in relationship, we have to resort to what other people have said about Him, rightly or wrongly: a two-dimensional second-hand representation. It’s no substitute for the real thing, loving relationship with God Himself.
So, He invites us to walk with Him. In Matthew 11:28, Jesus words are recorded: “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavily burdened [by religious rituals that provide no peace], and I will give you rest [refreshing your souls with salvation]” (AMP)
It is only by coming to HIM, in person, that we receive rest from religion, and our souls are saved.
The second thing that struck me this week happened while I was reading a fiction book set in the times when Jesus physically walked on earth. A character was discussing the crowds that followed Jesus hoping to be healed, and I suddenly saw the scene before me: Jesus walking through a town where hundreds, if not thousands, gathered hoping for a touch. And a question rose within me: if Jesus’ mission was all about healing, why didn’t He just gather a crowd together and then command them all to be healed in one go, when clearly He had the authority and power to do so?
As soon as I asked the question I heard the reply:
“Because I wanted them to come to ME”
There are several accounts of Jesus healing in crowds. These are a few: Matthew 15:30 says, “Great crowds came to him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute and many others, and laid them at his feet; and he healed them” (NIV). Matthew 4:24 says, “people soon began bringing to him all who were sick. And whatever their sickness or disease, or if they were demon possessed or epileptic or paralyzed—he healed them all” (NLT). Luke 4:40 says “all those who had any that were sick with various diseases brought them to Him; and He laid His hands on every one of them and healed them” (NKJV).
Evidently it was about the personal touch: whether being laid at His feet, or touched by His hands -the vast majority* of the people healed by Jesus were those who encountered Him and saw the love and compassion in His eyes as he healed them (*and for those few exceptions who were healed ‘in absentia’, it was after a friend encountered Him personally). If He had healed people en masse they would have been blessed by the healing but missed the most important point: encountering Him personally. (Healing is great, but knowing Him is better. Our physical wellbeing is only an issue during this brief lifetime; knowing Him is for eternity).
I heard a well known Christian preach his theory about Jesus not healing everyone, saying that when Jesus left town there would have been people left behind who weren’t healed, delivered, or raised from the dead. From that assumption he inferred that Jesus didn’t want everyone healed, but that does not seem to match with the Bible teaching that Jesus healed ALL who came to Him. Because God never turns anyone away. He wants everyone to personally receive His love and favour and to enter into relationship with Him, so that when this life is over and we step into eternity, He will have no cause to say “I never knew you” as He said to those who claimed to do great things on His behalf (Matthew 7:23). No, when we know Him and walk with Him, we will be with Him forever, continuing the relationship that can only begin here.
So today I am meditating on those words, “Come to ME”, and praying for myself and for you that we will lay aside all empty religion and simply come to Him, to truly get to know Him and walk with Him in relationship. Amen
One of the things I love about poetry is how it offers the chance to capture, express and process emotions. A friend of mine is going through somewhat of a storm right now (more than one friend in fact), so as I have nowhere else to share my poetry yet, I wanted to share this here, in honour of all those currently experiencing life’s storms. It was written when I was in a storm of my own earlier this year…
Getting To the Other Side
The air has dropped a few degrees The darkening clouds draw near The boat begins to creak and buck Brave fishermen taste fear
The rain falls from the death-black sky, Assaults with cruel force The wind tears through the futile sails And waves turn into walls
The hostile sea now overwhelms The vessel starts to drown All cries for help lost in the fury of the raging storm
“Awake, O Lord, please save us now Else we are going to die! How can you sleep when such a storm has come to take our lives?”
“Such little faith; why so afraid? The other side’s my will. You need not fear when I’m on board, so Peace… be still!”
The wind and waves instantly tamed The little boat at rest. The fishermen relieved that they have made it through the test
Dear Lord, when storms of life arise to overwhelm with fear Help us to keep our hearts at peace Knowing You are with us here.
Rachel Yarworth, Writer 