One Author's Journey of Persistence

by Karen Whiting @KarenHWhiting

You attribute your success to persistence. Why is persistence important?

• It keeps you focused on the goals and helps you to not focus on rejection or negative feedback

How did you learn to be persistent?

• The rip and stitch club with my grandma doody

One of your first rejections motivated you to try harder. What happened?

• Puppet script that sent a form where they checked off the reason the script fell short. Mine had every single reason checked. I viewed that as a challenge to write one that they could not check anything. It took 2 months, but they accepted it in two weeks when I submitted it.

You can’t control a publisher’s reaction or a reader’s buying habits, so what ways can you be persistent in writing that bring success?

• I chose to learn about the market, writing, and to set measurable goals-I studied the writer’s market guide every night for at least 5 minutes, I followed the advice to submit something every month and read writing books plus attended conference where I took classes in which I needed to improve.

• I kept record of successes and tossed out rejections that had no meat in them.

• I also chose to view publishing as a team effort. Editors at traditional houses are for us and not against us. They want our books to succeed. I am not experienced in indie publishing and know some are good and want success and some just want to get an author’s money, so authors must investigate before investing.

You had a few books that take years to be contracted. What did you do as you waited on those?

• 11 and 22 years.

• I rewrote, waited for opportunities to share about them, and for one God helped me pair up with a great co-author and the book. The One Year Devotions for Active Boys, is in its 3rd printing and we just sent a proposal for a series of shorter devotions.

What motivated you to persist rather than giving up on such books?

• I believed in the book. The reason for the book and how it helped what I wrote helped my youngest son and his friends. 

When you have not had contracts what have you done?

• I wrote articles, including ones connected to my topic., I studied, build credits, and read books that competed with mine to discover what was unique. I also did in-house work for some publishers and some work-for-hire. I also studied people like the Apostle Paul and Thomas Edison who learned from failures.

How does persistence make you aware of weaknesses?

• When I get a rejection, I stop to analyze it and figure out what I could do better to succeed. I listen to editors. One who edited decision magazine for years shared that while I don’t have the credits needed for a book such as a Bible study, I can transform the idea by writing a devotional. That opened my mind to looking at things from different perspectives and packaging the ideas differently.

How did persistence help you become more professional?

• I realized I needed to appear serious about my work if I wanted editors to take a serious look at it. I followed the suggestion of Susan Titus Osborn, a teacher at one of my first conferences, to spend at least 45 minutes a day writing and let that grow over time. With my youngest in preschool that was doable. As he grew, I expanded my hours, so in a few years it was half a day and then a full day. 

• I followed what successful authors in my area did such as their websites and applied what I saw worked. 

What can writers do to be more persistent?

• Listen to your audience to hear what they want and need.

• Write the goals and reasons to write the book.

• Investigate before spending hours writing a book that is already published. That way you can find what is needed and unique to write.

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One Author's Journey of Persistence, insight from @KarenHWhiting on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Karen Whiting (WWW.KARENWHITING.COM) is an international speaker, former television host of Puppets on Parade, certified writing and marketing coach, and award-winning author of twenty-seven books for women, children, and families. Her newest book, The Gift of Bread: Recipes for the Heart and the Table reflects her passion for bread and growing up helping at her grandparent’s restaurant. Check out her newest book Growing a Mother’s Heart: Devotions of Faith, Hope, and Love from Mothers Past, Present, and Future. It's full of heartwarming and teary-eyed stories of moms.

Karen has a heart to grow tomorrow’s wholesome families today. She has written more than eight hundred articles for more than sixty publications and loves to let creativity splash over the pages of what she writes. She writes for Crosswalk. Connect with Karen on Twitter @KarenHWhiting Pinterest KarenWhiting FB KarenHWhiting.