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Archive for the ‘Overcoming self-doubts’ Category

Making the impossible – possible!

Posted in Called to write, Colorado Christian Writers Conference, Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference, Overcoming self-doubts, Publishing journey, Writing Nonfiction Books on April 17, 2012| Leave a Comment »

I knew God had called me to write a book. What I didn’t know was if I could do it. As my friend, Gayle Roper, once said, “There’s a big difference between a book and a magazine article – like 250 pages difference.”

To be honest, there were days the last thing I wanted to do was work on the book. The evil one’s lies grew louder and more insistent. “What makes you think anyone would want to read what you’ve written?” My self-doubts intensified. I wanted to run from what I still knew God was calling me to do.

“He who believes need never run away again,” I read in Isaiah 28:16 (TLB).

Exactly 365 days after I had committed to finish the book in a year, I completed the manuscript. And then the waiting began. Some of you know that the manuscript was rejected by 42 publishers over a five year period. Finally, the 43rd editor to see the manuscript accepted it for publication.

Looking back I’m amazed that I didn’t give up. I certainly wanted to give up. But God wouldn’t let me, and I’m so glad I didn’t. Had I given up, eight other books would never have been published. I wouldn’t have known the joy of serving on the faculty of over 70 Christian writers’ conferences and giving my one and two day writing seminars over 50 times around the nation. The Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference would not have been birthed 30 years ago, and the awesome privilege of directing the Colorado Christian Writers Conference for 17 years would never have happened.

What about you? Is God calling you to write an article or story, a book or even a screenplay? Does it seem impossible? Do you feel you lack the writing skills to make it happen? Are you stuck and the words aren’t flowing? Do you have a completed manuscript that you’ve not been able to sell? Are you discouraged and ready to run from God’s call?

I know the Colorado or Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference can be a turning point for you and your writing ministry. It’s not too late to register for the May 15-18 Colorado conference and to schedule one-on-one appointments with FOUR editors, agents, or authors if you attend Thursday through Saturday. Secure online registration for the July 31 – August 3 Greater Philly conference will open April 15.

Trust Father to make a way –

  •  Logistically – Friends babysat my three children so I could attend the St. Davids Christian Writers Conference for a number of years.
  • Financially – We often “have not because we ask not.” I want to encourage you to approach your church family and your friends if you need help. They may welcome the opportunity to invest in your writing ministry. My pastor paid for my first writers conference and provided the accountability I needed afterwards to not waste what he invested in me. The conferences do not have any full scholarships to offer this year, but partial scholarships up to 50% of the cost of registration are possible. The scholarship application is not yet posted for the Philly conference. For Colorado’s application click here. Time payments can be arranged if necessary.

 Lord, I believe. Please help my unbelief. Help me to have faith in You knowing that You can make all things possible.

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Crisis of Confidence?

Posted in Called to write, Colorado Christian Writers Conference, God's promises, Overcoming self-doubts on March 15, 2012| 1 Comment »

Have you experienced a “crisis of confidence” lately? Do you feel overwhelmed and inadequate to accomplish what you know God is calling you to do and to write? Is the evil one no longer whispering, but shouting, that you can’t do it?

Today I needed to re-read the words I wrote over 20 years ago in my book Write His Answer – A Bible Study for Christian Writers that has been in print since 1990.

“The cure for a crisis of confidence is to reexamine in what or, more importantly, in whom we have placed our confidence. ‘I know the one in whom I trust,’ Paul wrote to Timothy (2 Tim. 1:12 TLB). That’s the key. It’s not self-confidence, but God-confidence.”

The challenges of converting the conference website from FrontPage to Expression Web are daunting. Of course everything is taking much too long and I’m getting farther and farther behind. Time pressures and problems are buddies and last night they invited another “p” word – panic – to join them as an unexplained glitch caused online registration to stop working the day before early registration was supposed to end. (It’s been extended through Saturday, March 17.)

I’m so grateful the Lord wasn’t sleeping and that He nudged a friend to pray and to email needed encouragement.

“Our Father is the mover of mountains and the God of the impossible. All this opposition is proof of what will happen on those Rocky Mountains in May! It will be beyond our wildest expectations. Have faith in what is unseen.”

And so . . . I’m fixing my eyes on the Mountain Mover and pressing on to prepare for this year’s CCWC. I know it’s going to be a life-changing conference. Today, as I worked on the Book Editors, Periodical Editors, and Agents & Others pages I praised God for the faculty He has provided. I hope you’ll check out their bios, what they’ll be doing at the conference, and their editorial needs that are finally posted.  This year’s CCWC offers so many exciting opportunities for beginning as well as advanced writers. Even more important, I KNOW Father is going to meet us on the mountain.

Online registration is working again. If you tried to register within the last 24 hours and couldn’t, be sure to refresh the page. Scholarship applications are also online. In addition to three $100 Vickie Baker Memorial Scholarships and partial scholarships, my dear friend, Cec Murphey, is offering TEN full registration scholarships. Have confidence in God. If He is calling you to this year’s CCWC, no obstacle is too big for Him to enable you to overcome.

Thank You, Father!

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Best Opportunities in Christian Periodicals

Posted in Overcoming self-doubts, Publishing journey on October 25, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I’ve been teaching workshops at Christian writers’ conferences and giving my one- and   two-day Christian writers’ seminars for more than 25 years. I’ve met many gifted writers who were discouraged and ready to give up because their work   wasn’t selling. Why? Invariably I found they were aiming for the most   difficult places to break into print. As a result, I began teaching the “Best Opportunities in Christian Periodicals” – a workshop I just updated for the Vine & Vessels Christian Writers Conference in Delaware.

I’m   excited about the ministry opportunity Christian periodicals provide. Whether in print or online, you can reach far more people than you can with books unless you’re a best-selling author. You can also keep your work in print by selling reprints to non-overlapping markets as long as you have not sold all rights. (If you’ve sold first rights, you need to be certain not to submit the piece elsewhere until it is in print and the date of publication has   passed.)

But what if you’re working on a book? Although obviously there is a BIG difference between a book and an article or short story, I want to encourage you not to overlook the Christian periodical market. Why?

  • The time it takes to complete a book manuscript, find an agent or publisher, and wait for your book to come off press can be very discouraging. Sales to periodicals will encourage you to keep on keeping on.
  • Writing for periodicals will strengthen your writing skills and grow your confidence.
  • Print and online magazines will help you build your platform and your writing credits.
  • You can “test the waters” by submitting portions of your book manuscript to periodicals. Yes, I know that won’t work with a novel, but it’s a great
    way to determine if your nonfiction is publishable.

But that brings us back to where we started. You’ve got to know the best opportunities!

A CD of the “Best Opportunities in Christian Periodicals” workshop that I just taught can be ordered for $6 at http:writehisanswer.com/CDs_&_Tapes.htm.
Included with the CD at no additional charge are four helpful handouts:

Scope of Christian Periodicals
Needs of Christian Periodicals
Best Opportunities (Scope & Needs)
Best Opportunity Markets

NOTE: “Best Opportunity Markets” can be downloaded free of charge
at www.writehisanswer.com/Marketing_tips.htm

While ou’re there, check out my expanded bookstore for writers. With over 240 titles, you’re sure to find something that will help you grow your writing
skills. Place your order by December 10 and take an additional 10% off the already discounted price.

God bless you as you “write His answer.”

In Him –  Marlene

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Don’t Give Up!

Posted in Called to write, Overcoming self-doubts, Publishing journey on June 10, 2011| Leave a Comment »

I hope you’ll visit http://www.rosemccauley.blogspot.com/ where I’m today’s (June 10) guest blogger.

Be encouraged! The One who has called you to “write His answer” is faithful. He will open the right door at the right time!

 

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Spring Is Coming!

Posted in Called to write, Colorado Christian Writers Conference, God's promises, Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference, Overcoming self-doubts, Publishing journey on February 7, 2011| 3 Comments »

Spring is coming, or so the groundhog says.  Whether he’s right that we’ll have an early spring remains to be seen, but one thing is certain – spring will come!

Even more certain is God’s promise in Hosea 6:3: “Oh, that we might know the Lord! Let us press on to know him, and he will respond to us as surely as the coming of dawn or the rain of early spring” (TLB). But did you read the condition? Are you pressing in to know Him and, as one who has been given the gift of words, are you pressing on to make Him known?

If you’re feeling stuck in a long, cold winter of your soul when God seems distant and a season when your writing appears to be going nowhere, take heart. “Even when we are too weak to have any faith left, he remains faithful to us and will help us, for he cannot disown us who are part of himself, and he will always carry out his promises to us” (2 Tim. 2:13 TLB). And what does He promise? Romans 11:29 says “God’s gifts and his call can never be withdrawn” (TLB). He also promises that “Now you have every grace and blessing; every spiritual gift and power for doing his will are yours during this time of waiting for the return of our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Cor. 1:7 TLB).

A promise that kept me writing and submitting when my first book kept getting rejected is Galatians 6:9. “Let us not get tired of doing what is right, for after a while we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don’t get discouraged and give up” (TLB). That book was finally accepted after being returned 42 times over a five year period. (I learned not to use the word “rejected.”) Had I given up, I would have missed the joy of encouraging others through my book, Write His Answer – A Bible Study for Christian Writer; the joy of the six other books that followed; and the joy of directing the Greater Philly and Colorado Christian Writers Conference.

We’re picking up 8,000 brochures today for the May 11-14 Colorado Christian Writers Conference. If you’re not on our mailing list, please email me to receive the 16-page brochure. The August 10-13 Greater Philly conference is well along in the planning stages. And I’ve expanded my online bookstore for writers – finally. Through February 28 I’m offering an additional 10% off the already discounted prices including Sally Stuart’s 2011 Christian Writers Market Guide making the price for the new edition only $18. I hope you’ll visit www.writehisanswer.com/bookstore.htm.

But Father, most of all I pray that Your people will be encouraged to “write Your answer” during these critical days. Help us all to be faithful to our calling.

Because of Christ – Marlene

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Overcoming Doubts

Posted in Called to write, Overcoming self-doubts, Publishing journey on November 9, 2010| 17 Comments »

Do you feel called to “write His answer” and yet struggle with self-doubts? Truthfully, through working with hundreds of writers through the years, I find that the those who really have a gift with words and a message that needs to be published are the ones most likely to be crippled by self-doubts.

I shudder when I think of how many times I almost gave up because my self-doubts were so loud and insistent. Why would anyone want to read what I wrote? I What made me think that I could write for the Lord? I wasn’t qualified! How could He possibly use someone who was only a high school graduate? I felt ashamed and woefully inadequate.

How it must have grieved the Lord when I failed to see that the Cross turns my minus into a plus – when I believed the lies of the evil one instead of His promises. And how much time I wasted in my self-centered and selfish focus on my doubts instead of on the needs Father was calling me to address through the words He would give me if I would just trust Him.

I’m presently reading Joel Rosenberg’s new novel, The Twelfth Imam. When I saw the following subject line in an article from ASSIST News yesterday, I immediately knew it was about him: Author of End Times Political Thriller Hits New York Times Best Seller List with His Latest Middle Eastern Novel. What I didn’t know was that when Joel got the idea to write “a political thriller – a Middle East-based terrorism story that would have the Gospel woven into it,” he “didn’t know how to write a novel.” He says,  “I’d never written one before. I’d never even taken a class on writing a novel and I didn’t even like to read novels. So that was a problem.” I hope you’ll go to ASSIST News at http://www.assistNews.net/stories/2010/s10110053.htm  // to read the rest of the story of how God used someone who was not qualified and who, as he admits, “didn’t know how to write a novel and . . . didn’t have a story.”

Father, thank You for calling us to do what seems impossible and for Your faithfulness to do exceedingly, abundantly beyond as we choose to listen to You and not to our doubts.

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