Taking Pride in Your Writing Work

by Cindy K Sproles @CindyDevoted

I take pride in my work. It was how I was raised. Do your best because your best represents your effort and how much you care.

Some years back, my ministry partner and I decided we wanted to pay authors for their devotions on the ministry website. It wasn’t much. $10.00. But for a struggling ministry, financially, that was huge when you multiplied it times 30 days, times 12 months. Still, we stepped out on faith praying God would provide so we could offer the writers a token of our appreciation.

What you are about to read is a lesson in two things. 1) God always answers prayers – just not in the way we anticipate 2) take pride in your work.

We prayed continually over these devotions and the funds to pay. AND God answered by providing the funds, but . . . and it was a big but! The devotions we began to receive were less than adequate. In fact, they were poorly written, new age, or links. We received a few good devotions, but most were people submitting simply for the money. “Here’s a link to my website. You can get the devotion from there. My address for payment is bla, bla, bla.”

This plight continued for a full year until we finally realized this was not what God wanted us to do for the ministry site. For our ministry, it was all about heart, not about money. Those who wrote for the site prior to payment, wrote because they genuinely wanted to serve God with their work. After we began payment, we quickly saw the greed of others and the lack of pride in their work. Keep in mind, not all the devotions or writers had this attitude, but unfortunately, the bulk did. We decided to stop paying. And the week we did, amazing devotions began to pour into our email box. 

I tell you this story because it’s important as a writer that you always take pride in your work. Don’t become prideful, but take pride in what you do. There is a big difference.

As I travel and teach at conferences, I use this example over and over. I want writers to see that the gift they have been given is not one to be brushed with laziness. Rather, it’s a gift entrusted to us by our Father in heaven. He expects our best – always. Here are some ways you can take pride in the work you do.

• Always proof your work. Make it the best it can be.
• Follow the guidelines. Never submit JUST a link to your website. Publishers will not look for the work you should care enough about to submit.
• Be gracious when your work is accepted – whether it be a paying or non-paying submission.
• Pray over your work. Ask God to use it to His glory, not yours. (Sometimes that hurts when we don’t receive the accolades we feel we deserve.)
• Trust in God’s timing for your work to be accepted within His will and the timing He sets for it in His plan.

Taking pride in the work you present is important to you both personally and professionally. When you put forth the effort to submit your best, it makes an impression. 

Take pride in the work you do, and you will be rewarded in ways you cannot imagine

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Taking Pride in Your #Writing Work - @CindyDevoted on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

5 Ways to make sure your #writing submissions are something you're proud of - @CindyDevoted on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Cindy K. Sproles is an author, speaker, and conference teacher. She is the cofounder of ChristianDevotions.us and the executive editor of ChristianDevotions.us and InspireaFire.com. Cindy is the managing editor for Straight Street Books and SonRise Devotionals, both imprints of Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. She is an award-winning and best-selling author and the director of the Asheville Christian Writers Conference. Visit Cindy at www.cindysproles.com.  @cindydevoted