Writing Lessons From Joseph

by Emme Gannon @GannonEmme

What if, at this moment in time, God is calling you to be a quiet reflection of Himself. No best seller. No requests to speak or teach at conferences. No interest by the agent of your dreams. You receive encouragement. Then rejection. Your mind stirs from the present to a time when you knew God had called you to greater things. You knew it was He who had planted this dream deep in your heart. That was long ago, you reason. Maybe you heard wrong. For if this was God’s dream for you, wouldn’t success soon follow?

How Authors Can Build an Indie Empire—Building Your Newsletter Matters

by Traci Tyne Hilton @TraciTyneHilton

*disclaimer. This series is about following rules. I know that Indies don’t have to follow rules. That’s the whole point of being indie. But indies who pay attention to what rich and famous authors do, have a much better shot at fame and riches.*

In part two of this series, How You Advertise Matters I explained the importance of advertising. It is vitally important. What I didn’t explain was why those sites I recommend work so well. 

Quit Writing From a Place of Fear and Find Your Joy

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

A while back, I was having difficulties with a project I was working. As I tried to figure out why, it dawned on me that instead of writing with courage and faith, I was writing from a place of fear.

Fear of failure.

Fear of expectations.

Fear of others and how I might be perceived.

No wonder I was having such a difficult time. The revelation stunned me. If there’s one thing I pride myself on (and that should have been my first clue I was about to fall flat on my face), it’s the thought that I’m not afraid of anything.

A Checklist Before A Writer Hits Send

by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman 28

There’s a little voice in our writer minds that likes to nag. Usually it acts as our friend, reminding us to double check our articles for typos. But sometimes this little voice becomes obsessive, causing us to worry that an editor will find something obviously wrong with our submissions even though we have no idea what the problem might be.  

When a Writer Can't Write

by Lucinda Secrest McDowell @LucindaSMcDowel

If you’ve yet to experience this, let me assure you that one day it may come. Just as it did for me. 

You will be sitting in front of your computer, or journal or notepad and the words will not appear. Panicked, you will realize that—at least for this moment in time—you simply have nothing to say! More accurately, you have plenty to say but a temporary inability to put your message into words. 

A Writer's Identity and Social Media

by Molly Jo Realy @MollyJoRealy 

If you’ve been doing this writing thing for a while, and you, like me, have grown oldermore maturechanged directions in life, it’s never too late to change your identity. You don’t even have to go into hiding to get it done! [A little Hoffa Humor, there.]

Failure Is Not Forever

by Andy Lee @WordsByAndyLee

“Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Don’t be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go” (Joshua 1:9)

“Do you know how you get from one mountaintop to the other mountaintop?” a good friend asked one day as we chatted over afternoon coffee.