What to do AFTER a Writing Conference

by Bruce Brady @BDBrady007

Recently, a friend of mine, Cherrilynn Bisbano, posted a meme for 1 Chronicles 28:20 from The Living Bible translation. It says, “Be strong and courageous and GET TO WORK (emphasis added). Don’t be frightened by the size of the task, for the Lord my God is with you; He will not forsake you. He will see to it that everything is finished correctly.”

This made me think of my current work-in-progress (WIP) and the many conferees who’ve been asked to take some action by agents, editors, or publishers they met or spent 15 minutes with at a writers’ conference. We seek out our friends and call our loved ones to share the great news. We spend the rest of the conference struggling to concentrate in classes and conversations. We’re ecstatic!

Then we return home. The realities of day-to-day life close in on us. We’re overwhelmed. Our confidence quickly erodes. We manufacture myriad excuses. Tell ourselves the requests weren’t really sincere. They were just being kind when they asked us for more. These scenarios dance in our heads until we convince ourselves it’s okay not to comply.

It would be near impossible to get our work perfect enough for them to see. Besides, we have all that other stuff going on in our lives.

But David, a man after God’s own heart, reminds us that we’re never given a task that the Lord won’t help us see through to the end. And, He will make sure we do it perfectly.

We need only put our trust in His promises and follow His directions.

This is NOT easy for us humans. We struggle with trusting what we can see. Trusting an unseen Lord is near impossible. What if He doesn’t keep His promise, this time? Or, what if we misunderstood the whole situation?

And, we’re people of action. Waiting for directions isn’t naturally in our DNA. Even when we do wait, we’re constantly thinking about the next action step.

So, what should we do?

First, let’s remember requests for our manuscripts are from God. These solicitations may have come from industry professionals but God was speaking to us through them. There’s our call to action.

Now, don’t make the mistake I often make by answering the call with a, “Thanks God. I’ve got it from here.” His promise says He will be with us and guarantee we will do it properly. If we exclude Him from the process, we also exclude His assurance of success.

Armed with our calls to action, we must press on, doing what was requested of us. Get those books, short stories, and articles done. And send them out. Don’t let self-doubts nor worldly pressures stop our god-inspired memoirs, devotions, and biographies from reaching their intended readers.

Our calls to action are NOT times for distress but times for JOY. Let the reality sink in that people who can help make our writing dreams come true have asked for more. So, when our fears start pushing us towards pity parties, go ahead and have the party—just throw pity out.

What are you doing to comply with your requests? Are you struggling with what to do next? Let’s keep the conversation going in the Comments section.

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What to do AFTER a #writing conference - @BDBrady007 on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Armed with our #writing calls to action, we must press on, doing what's requested - @BDBrady007 (Click to Tweet)

Bruce Brady is an author, writer and playwright. His work has appeared in Focus on the Family’s Thriving Family, www.ChristianDevotions.us, and on stage. Currently, Bruce is working on a Young Adult Novel about a boy who must deal with the death of his dad, being bullied, and helping his mom through her grief. His first five pages took third place in the ACFW South Carolina Chapter’s “First Five Pages” contest.When he’s not writing, Bruce spends time learning from and helping other writers. He serves as Mentor of Word Weavers International’s Online Chapter, and as a member of Cross ‘N’ Pens, The Writer’s Plot, ACFW’s National and South Carolina Chapters.