This is the transcript of what I shared in Meredith Resce’s “Hopes, Dreams, Expectations, and Disappointments” session at the recent Omega Writers online retreat. I shared from the perspective of an editor and a writer.
As an editor, I have to look at a book impartially.
Whether I like the book or not isn’t relevant (although I will always do what I can to make it better). I have to look at the book through the eyes of the target reader and advise on that basis.
Sometimes that’s easy because the author has researched the market and read lots of books in their genre, so they know who their target reader is and what they have to write to make that reader happy.
Sometimes that’s hard because it’s not obvious who the target reader is (sometimes I can’t even tell if the book is meant for an adult, YA, or middle grade audience). The closer the book aligns with an identifiable audience, the easier it is to give specific and actionable advice.
Sometimes we write for an audience of one: ourselves i.e. God has a purpose in us writing a particular article or book or story, and that purpose might be the learning He has for us in the process. The book doesn’t need to be published or read.
Sometimes it enough that the book was written.
This can be a hard message for someone who has struggled through a life experience and written about it, and wants to share what they’ve learned with a world who don’t care to read it.
Sometimes we’re writing for an audience of One: God.
If so, success is our obedient completion of the task. Let that be enough. Sometimes we are writing to write, not to publish. Or we are called to publish through a blog or a free newsletter, not a book (especially if they are talking about a nonfiction subject, blogs are often a much better way to start. Then the blog can become a book if the topic shows potential).
We need to be open to how God is calling us to write and publish.
We aren’t magically a better person for having written and published a book (or 20), so don’t buy into the lie that you’re only a “real” writer or author if you’re published in book form.
Some authors are willing to ask for advice and others aren’t. Of those who ask for advice, not all take the advice offered. Sure, it grates a little when my advice isn’t followed and the author then gets stung in reviews because they didn’t change the thing/s I suggested they change.
But it’s not my book, so I don’t let it bother me. (If those authors blame me, none of them have ever told me so.)
Stephen Covey said to begin with the end in mind.
Know what you’re writing, and why. Are you writing for yourself, for God, or for other readers? (No wrong answer here.)
Once you know who you’re writing for, serve that target reader to the best of your ability. Yes, we’re here to serve others. Not ourselves.
One of my best pieces of advice is for pre-published authors to read at least as many hours a day/week as they write, with an emphasis on reading newer books. I’ve seen too many manuscripts where the authors weren’t in touch with current writing trends, or is completely out of line with reader expectations.
Sometimes we have to align our hopes, dreams, and expectations with the reality of the market.
If I want to make a gazillion dollars as a romance writer, then Christian romance set in Australia or New Zealand is (sadly) not how to do it. There are some Christian writers doing really well, but it’s probably easier to succeed in a different niche … and in romance, that’s going to be something like explicit/erotic reverse harem or LGBT or dinosaurs or whatever the latest fad is.
I think a lot of newbie authors don’t have realistic expectations.
They think getting published is a simple matter of writing a draft, running it through spell check, and sending it off to a top publisher.
Even if they put in the effort, they may still believe they are going to be bestselling award-winning authors with a break-out story, and get disappointed when they’re not.
Sometimes the lack of “success” because the author isn’t willing to do the work—to learn the craft of writing, to practice, to revise and edit and rewrite. Sometimes it’s because they have a burning desire to publish This One Book (perhaps a memoir or family story), even though that’s not what readers are interested in.
Sometimes it’s because the book hits the market at the wrong time, like publishing a thriller about a global pandemic … in the middle of a global pandemic.
If we’re obedient to God in our writing, then our writing or book/s will be exactly as successful as God intends them to be …
However that success is measured. If that’s more “successful” than we’d expected, then Praise God!
If we are less “successful”, then perhaps our expectations of success were out of alignment with God’s plan … or perhaps we didn’t give God our best offering or the offering he’d asked for (a problem that has existed since Cain and Abel).
I also believe we measure success through the wrong lens: even as Christians, we measure success by sales made and dollars earned and reviews received, not by lives touched or souls saved. That’s largely because sales and dollars and reviews are easy to measure … but they’re also the wrong currency.
Thank you Iola. I have read your words. I’m a visual learner. I took notes. I now want a list of questions on this topic so I can ask myself, ‘How does this apply to me personally?’ Don’t stress, I can write the questions!
Thank you again for highlighting these important facts.
Barbara McKay – maybe I’m writing for an audience of One – time will tell! But hey, I’m still writing, revising, practising, rewriting and learning to edit. And my mate Margie said ‘We’re almost 80, Barb’. 🤣