Tag Archive | impact

Author Confessions: Be Who God Created You to Be

Sep29
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Author Confessions: Who God Created You to Be

In light of events in the past few weeks there has been a lot of focus on one man. His videos are being watched by millions and many want to use his name as a calling card and a rallying cry. This is not a post about that man, or any man.

It is amazing what some people accomplish in this world. People can be so amazing. We can point to great parenting, deep faith, dizzying intellect or any other number of things to explain why someone would be so polarizing and inspiring all at the same time.

Here’s the truth. God called you to be you.

Your journey on this earth will be uniquely yours.

It’s nice to look up to people and admire them but the reality is our only focus should be on Jesus, God the  Father, and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit within those of us who claim to be His redeemed children.

Any little thing we do can have a ripple effect through eternity and we may never know what that impact will be. If you’ve never read The Butterfly Effect by Andy Andrews, check it out at the library. It’s a short read but inspiring. He also has a children’s book called The Kid Who Changed the World which has similar content.

While some people seem to be having an impact due to number of followers on social media or a blog, how many watch an interview on television or a podcast… the reality is, we can never fully know that impact and to do any of that to seek numbers, followers, or money, is a vain and foolish goal.

When we sold our house I asked our realtor if it was unusual to have so many showings so quickly. She said, “Yes, at your price point this is unusual, but you only need one right buyer.”

Just one. We did and he loves the house.

If I spent years working on a manuscript between writing, revising, editing, pitching, revising again, editing, submitting to a publisher, contracting, editing, editing, editing, marketing and trying to get that book out, how many people will make those hundreds or maybe thousands of hours of work worth it? f I’m trying to be compensated fairly for my time the number would be quite high.

If I’m writing the stories God tells me to write, then the true answer is: the right reader who needs that story. Five hundred people could read it but it might be one person who needed that story to take that next step of faith. That has eternal value.

An author sat down to pitch a story to me at a writer’s conference and she started out by saying, “I know you don’t like Amish fiction, but…” I stopped her. “You knew I didn’t want that yet you’re here to pitch it? Why did you write Amish fiction?” She said she wrote it because it sells well. That was true at the time and even my agent wanted me to write Amish romances, but I refused for a variety or reasons that maybe I’ll write about another time. I told her that as a Christian author she should write the stories God tells her to write, not just what will sell.

Why does obedience and faith need to be tied to a price tag or a quantity of people validating it?

This post is not about any big name who died doing what God called them to do. It’s not about any well known person who is getting attention in this world. Yes, their lives matter.

Don’t compare yourselves to them or try to be anything other than who God created you to be. It’s a reminder to me as well. My journey is my journey and it has at times been unconventional, but I’ve always sought God’s leading through the Holy Spirit along the way. Have I obeyed flawlessly? No. None of us can. But I’m still here and I’m still trying to be who He needs me to be, which is ME and no one else, using the unique gifts, calling, and opportuinities as they present themselves, for HIS glory and not my own.

Don’t focus on a big name or someone who seems popular. Keep your eyes fixed on Jesus, and be exactly who God created you to be. Let God take care of the rest.

Author Confessions: Who Is My Audience?

Aug11
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Author Confessions: Who Is My Audience?

This is a questions authors are asked by publishers and agents. When writing a book, who is your audience? Who are you hoping will purchase this book? It can’t be too broad. I write romance and I cannot say, “Women from 18 to 98.”

Although I have had women from that age range (and younger, and sometimes men!), the idea is to narrow down the audience so marketing can be aimed their direction.

I ran some advertisments last year through META and it was funny because someone messaged me complaining about my ad being on her page. “Get off my page!” she stated. I explained that it was automated and she can tell Facebook she doesn’t want to see the advertisment. I told her to have a nice day and then she was nicer to me. Obviously, regardless of what META’s algorhythm was, she wasn’t my target audience.

I’ve had teenagers read my books and I’ve had a man in his 80’s be the first in line to pick up any new contemporary romance from me. A former pastor of mine also read all my books as they would come out. Mine were the only fiction he would read and he greatly enjoyed the stories.

So then, who is my audience?

Originally, I started writing for myself. I always loved Regency romances, however, many on the market have unnecessary sex scenes. There was not a lot of inspirational or Christian Regency romances available to someone who devoured them (me!). Those were my great escape. When I started writing, I wrote a Regency (The Virtuous Viscount) and the audience was: me.

I primarily write the stories I want to write, the ones I believe God is giving me. Some are easier to write than others and with everyone I learn new things about writing, life, and myself. Writing fiction can be a revelation to me, not just to the reader. When I’ve co-authored, there was a differen’t process for those books and to be honest, they were harder for me to write. I’m glad I did them, and I learned a lot, but prefer writing my own stories while still editing those of other authors I work with through Pelican Book Group.

I am my audience, but that doesn’t sell many books, does it? It takes a lot of my time between the first draft, edits, and then going through the publishing process (with numberous other edits) and marketing. I do want other people to be blessed by the books God gave me to write. They will not be everyone’s cup of tea, and there is a lot of great fiction out there.

While there’s a part of me that envies authors who have a bigger audience and reach, I remember that I only need to reach the one person who needs the message God gave me for each book. A message that might encouraged them, or cause them to draw close to God in a fresh way, or even for the first time. While that’s a noble thought it doesn’t pay all the people who work on that book, does it? Every single one deserves to be paid for the work they do from cover art, editing, copyediting, formatting, getting it in the system, marketing etc. A book at $17.99 isn’t going to be enough to pay for all that and the cost of printing.

While I say I write for myself, I’m missing the most important audience: Jesus, the Word Himself! I write as an act of worship and hope to honor Him with the words that are put on the page.

A relationship also happens with some readers, who I know personally, who have blessed me with their prayers and words of encouragement “When is the next book coming out?” It’s wonderful to know there are those who love the stories, but some of them even love me. That is a blessing I cherish.

All that to say, I pray that God will lead people who need my stories to find those books. I work harder at that now than I ever did on the marketing. Not sure yet how that will all work out but I recognize that fame and fortune, while good and yes, I would like money to help sustain the basic necessities of life, are not as important as honoring God in and through the process. He is the One who is in control.

Fans of my stories can also help by writing reviews on Amazon. They can be short and sweet but they can help others find my books. Also helpful is sharing with others about them and recommending them. Word of mouth, or sharing on Facebook or Instagram or Twitter can help as well. The nice thing for new readers is, there is a great back-catalogue of stories for them to read if they decide they like my stories.

I’ll keep plugging away at the writing… and appreciate your prayers and encouragement on the way.

Who is my audience? Most likely it’s you.

Author Confessions: Reaching One vs Many

Jul15
Reading Time: 4 minutes

Author Confessions: Reaching One vs Many

As an author it would be lovely to have a best selling book. Except that how do you measure that? By overall sales? Well, that’s one way. My book Pesto and Potholes was offered for a week at an extremely discounted rate and it shot to number one on Amazon and stayed in the top ten that week for the catagory it was listed in. A friend asked me how it felt to be a “best-seller.”

Weird. Surreal.

It wasn’t real. The reality is most authors, this one included, do not make a liveable wage from writing books. Having said that, I’m doing fine. God has given me a calling and I’ve striven with His help to follow where He has led on this journey to publishing. He has provided for my physical needs. On paper, I make a small amount of taxable income but that is usually because I will not always include every deduction I possibly could when I file my  taxes. Too many losses when self-employed makes the IRS think it’s just a hobby.

Writing, for me, is not a hobby. As I said, it’s a calling. Sure it would be nice to have the accolades like other better-known, authors have. Oh, to have the income of a Richard Castle! Granted, he is fictional, but still, what a delightful fantasy to have that kind of financial resource to do whatever I wanted to do, go wherever I wanted to go, and live without any worry over investments, inflation or anything else. The only battle he had was against himself and writer’s block. And maybe his vanity? Or how about Jessica Fletcher in Murder She Wrote? Not so much living the high life but definitely not worried about her finances, although it seemed she found foul play around every corner. Not the kind of life I would want.

Oh, maybe I need to be writing murder mysteries? Or erotica. They do seem to sell well.

Nope. That’s not what God has called me to do. I write romance because the best romance is the one we have with our Savior. It’s real. It’s personal. It is life-changing. By His grace we have been given real-life love that reflects or mirrors that of our relationship to God.

I digress, but it was an important point.

The reality is, when I get to heaven, God isn’t going to ask about my book sales. He’s not even going to be worried about how many books or blog posts I’ve written. He will only be concerned with whether I accepted the free gift of salvation found only in Jesus Christ.

After that all the rest is a reward based on my obedience and the lives I influence for HIS glory while here on this planet.

That isn’t always reflected in book sales.

That might be the interaction I have at a craft fair with a young teen who loves to write. He or she may not even purchase my one of my books but I encouraged them to pursue their passion. If nothing else, good writing skills will always be an asset in any career field. It might be a friend I sit with to listen, love, and pray over. It might be the small group of people who meet in my home to study the work of another writer that encourages us to grow in our faith. It might be a student in a writing or theology class I’ve taught. None of which has anything to do with any book I’ve written.

None of that translates into book sales, does it?

I can do all the marketing, pay lots of money for ads, do interviews, and blog tours and it still might not make me or my publisher any more money. My books can be high quality without having a huge readership and income.

If one person’s life is helped. If they are encouraged in their faith or finally understand God’s love for the first time through a story God led me to write. That’s priceless.

The down side? That doesn’t help pay the bills for myself, my editor, publisher, cover artist, marketing person, or virtual assistant.

Maybe I’m not doing this marketing thing right. I’ve hired help and I’m working hard but I’ll admit to occassional discouragement when I see only two reviews on one of my favorite titles. Great reviews but I’m sure more than two people read that book. Reviews help others find great books. Sales also help. Even if you pick up my book at a church library or the public library, a review is sooo helpful to an author. Yes, it’s encouraging to know people love my stories. Reviews help other people find them as well.

I used to pay more attention to reviews and sales than I do now. They are not a reflection of my worth of value as a follower of Christ or an author, although some might make that corralation. Ultimely, I really won’t know the value or impact my words have had until I get to heaven.

In the meantime I’ll keep writing. I have learned over the years that it is the time spent with people, quality time, one-on-one, listening to their story, encouraging them, praying for them, that has greater eternal value. I’m not minimizing the hard work that I put in to writing and editing a novel or novella. It can be grueling at times. It takes discipline and saying no to other great things I might like to do. Reaching one vs many is the tension I live with but when the scales are off balance, I suspect it will always be in favor of the one.

Author Confessions: Pride vs Humility

Jan22
Reading Time: 3 minutes

I’ve been working at book marketing. I hired a virtual assistant company a few months ago and learned a lot from the two wonderful people I worked with. I still have some help but due to trying to be fiscally responsible, I have taken on more of the work with all I’ve learned. I’m incredibly indebted to Tyler and Bonnie. I’ve learned so much but more than that I made some friends who also love the Lord. We pray for and encourage each other as well as deal with the tasks. What a blessing on so many levels.

Most authors hate marketing. At least I do. I don’t like promoting ME. It’s a tough world with so many voices everywhere but I need to help people find my books. The best advertising is word-of-mouth but nowdays so many people only read things on their phone. And with all the information coming at all of use all the time when we go online, who has time to think, “Yeah, I’ll give that author a try.” We’d rather spend $5 – $7 on a new drink at Starbucks than spend the money on an ebook, or perhaps a paperback – which might equal the cost two or three drinks but will take much longer for you to enjoy and can be read over and over or shared. And it’s calorie free. Much like caffiene, a good book can keep you up at night as well.

As I sit at my cluttered desk trying to get marketing stuff organized to feel like I’m on top of it all, I was going over some reviews for some of my first few books. I’ve not looked at reviews much in the past few years because I don’t want to think “I’m all that and a bag of chips,” or to be hurt or disappointed that a reader didn’t perhaps “get” the book or appreciate the effort that was put into it. It takes a lot of effort by many people including me, to publish a book.

I found myself working on sorting through this information and weeping. I did this very task last week with some other books, but for some reason, today, tears started to fall.

I don’t believe that Susan M. Baganz is the greatest author ever. Shocker, right? There are so many other better authors out there and I’m still learning with every book I write.

Early on in my writing I had someone criticize me for promoting my writing on Facebook. However, it’s what I am required to do by my publisher. That individual said I was being prideful. Ouch. There was a lot of other painful words in that verbally abusive conversation that I can shove aside, but that one criticism haunts me.

Sure, I love the stories I write. But here’s the weird thing, at least for me. If there is anything good that shows up on the page that impacts someone, that’s all God. I’m a fallible vessel. If there is any failure, that’s all on me.  I write and pray and it is an act  of worship but I’m not perfect by any means. So when I read reviews and a reader tells me how much they loved the story or how it ministered to them in a particular way, I’m humbled that God allowed me to write those words. What an honor to be used by Him doing something that is hard work with little reward–but hopefully has an eternal impact.

Yes, I write fiction, but even Jesus told stories to get a point a cross. There’s a field of psychology that uses metaphor to help get beneath the defenses of people. That’s the power of story. If God wills it, the words that I labored over will reach someone where they need it most and for every reader it might be a completely different reaction.

So today, I’m humbled and honored. To those of you who read my books and write reviews, thank you from the bottom of my heart for taking the time to share your thoughts with me and the world. I hope and pray God will use all my efforts–at writing, editing, and marketing–to expand the reach of those words He so graciously gave.

If per chance you have read and enjoyed one of my novels or novellas, and haven’t written a review, would you please do so? It really helps readers to find the books. And tell someone about a book you enjoyed. Mine or someone else’s. Writer’s rarely make much money, but knowing our work is appreciated and shared goes a long way, maybe not to paying the bills, but at least in letting us know the work we do matters.

 

 

 

Skipping Stones

Jul14
Reading Time: 3 minutes

At some level we all want to know we are important. The truth is that actions and words can have a ripple effect we don’t know about and that can impact the world for centuries to come. It’s hard to live in that reality that one person is important. That no person is ever unimportant.

Some people are a force to be reckoned with. When you think of people in the public eye, their good (or bad) deeds are seen by many and have a ripple effect. When we hear of their deaths, (rest in peace Andy Griffith), we mourn as if we knew them.

But we didn’t.

me with burlap to cashmere
I got all fangirlish seeing a band I loved from way back. They were gracious enough to let me get my photo taken with them. (Thanks Burlap to Cashmere! You guys RAWK!). The fact is though, they gave me an hour of pleasure in watching them exercise their God-given gifts. Then I go back to my life and they go home. They don’t know me and won’t remember me and while I will always appreciate their music, I don’t really know them beyond what I can read on-line. I don’t know their favorite color or what makes them laugh or what their biggest fears are.

As I reflected on this it hit me that we do this to people whose gifts we appreciate. And while they share the gospel in song, they aren’t saving lives or fighting for our freedoms.

But no one is more important than anyone else. 

I’m nothing special. I suspect I would be missed more for what I do than for who I am when the time comes. Because much like the guys in a band, most of you really don’t know me. And maybe that’s good. I’m pretty open and honest about what I like and don’t so if you follow me here or my fan page on Facebook, you’ll get a pretty good clue. But even then you won’t know the deep hurts that resonate within me day after day. And in reality, you probably don’t care. You have your own hurts to hold. And social media is not the place to always share those darker corners of our souls.

Image courtesy of njaj / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Image courtesy of njaj / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

In some ways I resemble a skipping stone. Smooth on the outside. Maybe even flat (they skip better I hear). God tosses me out on the lake of humanity and I touch and leave ripples, skip and repeat and eventually, plop. Down I go to sink beneath the surface as if I never appeared. Maybe that skip was a blog post, or a one-on-one for counseling, a class I taught or sending a contract for a book. But then you move on with your life and I move on with mine, sinking under the water.

Blub. Blub. Blub.

And the only way I can resurface is when God reaches down to pull me back out again and cast me where he wants me to go. There for a moment and then gone, hopefully touching lives for the better but always sinking in the end.

Some people are blessed. God has gifted them with another human being, a spouse or a closer-than-a-brother friend to celebrate or commiserate with the skips. Someone who validates that even after the ripples fade, that yes, they had been there and made a wave. I hope that a band like Burlap to Cashmere have close relationships within that group to get them through the lonely moments of life. I hope you do too. In the meantime I’ll just keep letting God drag me up from the bottom of whatever lake he’s skipped me across and let him toss me again and trust that somehow, in the sea of time, I make a difference. Even if no one else notices. And that that difference pleased my Creator.

In the meantime, maybe you’ll be blessed by this band and their classic hit from 1998 performed at a live concert earlier this summer.

 

It’s a Wonderful Life Even When It Isn’t

Jun23
Reading Time: 3 minutes
A depressed George Bailey.

A depressed George Bailey.

Depression sucks.

So I referenced It’s A Wonderful Life in my title. Here’s why. I dislike that movie. Ironically when it first came out it did poorly at the box office. It didn’t even break even financially. In the film world, it was a dud.

I hate a movie that became a Christmas classic. The reason is that poor George had dreams and he gave them up. He had waited and saved and held a carrot out in front of him and it was snatched ruthlessly from his grip when he was on the cusp of reaching his dream.

This man’s suicide attempt didn’t just happen when money was lost and he was going to be arrested for a fraud he never committed. No. It came when he gave up his dreams.

Yes, he was noble and responsible and he sacrificed it all at the altar of everyone else’s dreams and needs and then ended up getting screwed in the end anyway. (Yes, I know it ends happily but come on, he got the raw end of a deal from Mr. Potter). So he did what he was supposed to do. All the right things. And it still left him empty.

Grab a tissue.

Maybe I relate too closely to George Bailey. Maybe the reason the movie is now a classic is that at some level, we all relate.

Who among us gets everything we dreamed of

and longed for out of this life?

Making a difference in the lives of others is the silver lining in this tale. Was George the richest man in town though because his friends came through for him? I mean, sure, he avoids prison, but does it really fill that hole deep inside?

At the heart of depression is a feeling of worthlessness. Even more than that is a sense of helplessness. George Bailey had, in many ways, let life make choices for him. Sometimes, when depressed, a person can’t even see the choices that might be out there. Yes, George made some good choices and impacted the lives of many. In the alternate universe only the negative was highlighted though. Does one person’s life really make that much of a difference?

A depressed person can’t see that their life makes a difference. No matter what anyone tells them, the message is blocked by the words and lies of others planted early on that say otherwise. After all, shouldn’t those people closest to us and have known us the best speak truth when they tell us no one will ever love us? Or that we aren’t pretty enough? Or smart enough? Or important enough?

“In 900 years of time and space

I’ve never met anyone who wasn’t important.”

Doctor Who

Yeah, I’m quoting a fictional character. Get over it. The fact of the matter is, even the shyest among us wants to be considered important. That’s why we want to the object of someone’s love. Or have a BFF. Or be the best at whatever it is we do. Because somehow that means our existence is validated.

Andy Andrews wrote a book called The Butterfly Effect that illustrates the importance of one life and the millions of lives one person can impact over generations.

It’s hard to see with that kind of vision when one is in a deep pit smothered in a thick woolen blanket. And the world around is farting in your face.

The real tightrope is our identity in Christ. I am his favorite child. The favorite of all the people He created like me . . . because there is only one me. But He has other favorites too. You are His favorite you. With a unique fingerprint, DNA, gifts, personality and life experiences, no one else is like you.

And God didn’t put us here to wander. He’s given us a purpose and a unique identity in Him. So I am the best. Whether the world around me wants to acknowledge that or not. I am the best me there is. I’m not perfect, but I’m growing and changing and sometimes that is painful.

But even if the world around me cannot convince me of my worth, this should: Jesus died so I could have a relationship with Him. He is my best friend and the only one who can really validate my existence. I may not see the impact or have a Clarence to show me, but I can trust the keeper of the stars to let me know when the time is right, that my life, even the low points, were still used by Him for His glory.

 

 

 

Fact or Fiction? Coy: Out to Change the World

Oct27
Reading Time: 3 minutes

This story is a work of fiction.  Any likeness to a real person is intended and only for fun.

Coy was not young anymore but she was thin and fit and her straight blonde hair shimmered with health. Her eyes sparkled as she logged into her laptop from her home office.  What seemed like a dreary thing, checking in on her students, today seemed to take on more significance.

She looked at her computer screen and felt herself sucked into Facebook.  Yes, it was a time waster and Farmville definitely was an addiction for her, but helped her pass the time when she couldn’t sleep at night. The shifting lights as she seemed to become absorbed into her laptop and travel the World Wide Web was a bit confusing and overwhelming all at the same time.

Maybe there was something strange in her coffee?  Or was she in some bizarre dream?  Coy seemed suddenly able to travel into the pages and enter the worlds of some of her students in class and found herself amazed at what she discovered.  First of all, it was no longer 2010 – but many years in the future if the profile pics and information on the pages were any indication.

For instance, there was Andy.  The paper he had just submitted showed a sharp mind.  Coy often pondered his insecurities when he talked in class.  She had been seeking to encourage him. She was surprised to he had graduated with honors and was now a father of two and held a good job at a promising company.  Had she possibly helped him toward that?  Something in her spirit said, Yes!  She smiled.

She was sucked into another page and saw Sharon. In class this woman was young and full of energy and ideas, but a bit scattered.  Coy wondered what this young woman would do with her passion if it were a bit more focused.  Looking at her information page, Coy discovered that since graduating, Sharon had started her own not-for-profit company and was having an impact on the poor in her community.  According to the comments posted on her page it looked like Sharon had managed to corral some of those ideas and was quite successful and even recently engaged to be married.  Did anything that Coy had taught or invested in this woman help her to get to where she was today?  Most likely.

Coy was sucked back to the present and shook her head, a little dizzy, and sighed as her puppy came to lick her hand, begging to be petted. Maybe she was making a difference in the lives of those she was teaching and through them impacting the world in a positive way.  Maybe, just maybe she was modeling and encouraging her students just enough to make that mild shift that took them on a course they might have otherwise missed if they had not walked into her classroom.

It was then that her dog spoke up to chide her in her feelings of insignificance: “Hey!”

Coy was startled, “Who is that?”

“It’s me, your dog.  You would make a difference in my life if you let me go out to use the yard to do my ‘job’.” 

Coy smiled and rose to let her dog out, and gazing into the sunshine felt encouraged that every little thing she did, as a mom, a wife, a friend and a teacher, (and a pet owner) really truly could be used for things far greater than what she could see right now. 

Time to get back to emailing those students who were late turning in their assignments last night.  Coy had a job to do and she wasn’t going to let them down.