Everyday Miracles

I lunched with an aspiring writer friend today and her personal story really resonated with me. I bet it will with you, too.

Anna's (name changed) husband has been out of work for four long years, forcing Anna, previously a stay-at-home-mom of two, to return to the work force. Thus her longtime writing dream was necessarily shelved for the time being and Anna began cutting cost corners wherever she could.

During this "faith journey" as Anna refers to the last four years, she has been astounded how God took care of the needs of her family when solutions seemed out of reach. Human reach!

Like the time she had just finished pulling together tuna helper for dinner again, wondering aloud to God when it would ever end. Just as they sat down to eat, the doorbell rang. Standing there holding a huge roast and platter of potatoes was an acquaintaince - not really a friend - whom Anna barely knew.

"Just brought you a little something," she said. No explanation. No harp arpeggios. No rustle of angel wings.

Or when Anna's son wore a hole through his sneakers. "Let's try to make them last just a little longer," Anna whispered, knowing the monthly budget was already stretched to the breaking point.

The next day, a neighbor boy two years older appeared at the kitchen door holding a brand new pair of sneakers just the right size. "We're packing up to move and I found these in my closet. They hurt my feet so I never wore them - do you want them?"

Coincidences? Of course not. Everyday miracles from a Heavenly Father who cares.

I think similar everyday miracles occur in our writing lives as well. During those l-o-n-g waits for editors to respond to submitted manuscripts, when that book title just won't materialize in our brains, after receiving a royalty check for $4.36 ...

Papa God finds innovative ways to encourage us through everyday miracles. What everyday miracles have you seen?

Wonder What They're Praying About?

Today's the Day!

I'm thrilled and excited about today's debut program for my "Amish Wisdom" radio show!

Please join me Thursday March 11th at 4:00 pm CST for my first guest, Erik Wesner. Erik is the author of the popular blog "Amish America." We'll be chatting about all things Amish and about Erik's new book coming out about Amish businesses. Have a question about the Amish? Call into the show with your questions 1-877-864-4869.

A bit about Erik: Since 2004, he has visited 20 Amish communities in five states, and met roughly 5,000 Amish families in total.

As the 2008 Snowden Fellow at the Young Center at Elizabethtown College, Erik delivered a lecture entitled “Is Success a Four-Letter Word? The Amish Approach to Business Achievement.”

Erik has contributed to Amish-themed articles featured in Entrepreneur Magazine, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, and other print media. He's have also served as a consultant for numerous authors of Amish fiction and non-fiction.

His book Success Made Simple: An Inside Look at Why Amish Businesses Thrive will be published by John Wiley and Sons under the Jossey-Bass imprint on March 29, 2010.

Success Made Simple is based on his 60 interviews with Amish business owners as well as experiences living and working in Amish communities from Pennsylvania to Iowa.

He's also finishing a general-information book on the Amish, Who are the Amish?, to be published in Poland in 2009.

In his previous nine-year career with a Nashville publisher and bookseller, he worked in management and set an international record as a salesperson.

If not in Amish America, you can likely find Erik in Krakow, Poland, where he teaches, translates, and trains for marathons.

Win a copy of Erik's fascinating book by leaving a comment on his segment post at Amish Wisdom here!

How do I know a Publisher is Ethical?

This is a very prudent question and one I've often heard voiced by nervous authors ready to take the step of entrusting their newborn literary baby to an adoptive parent (publisher) who promises to transform their precious offspring into a rock star (bestseller).

Or at least something close.

Can we believe all those payment clauses in the contract? Will hidden fees show up later and threaten to break the bank? Is this just a fly-by-night company out to make a buck and leave me stranded?

Although the majority are aboveboard, sadly, there are a few book publishers out there that cast fear and negativity on the rest - the legitimate businesses who treat the author fairly - and the bad guys are not all self-publishing and subsidy publishing companies (albeit the most notorious).

As savvy business people, we authors must take it upon ourselves to do our homework before signing our life's work away on the dotted line.

Besides first thoroughly revieiwing the track records of your prospective publsher (I recommend contacting a few authors listed on their website and politely request their candid opinions of the company), here are some research suggestions:

1. Peruse www.PredatorsandEditors (a list of those in the publishing industry with complaints lodged against them).
2. Contact the Authors Guild (an author advocate group).
3. Check the website of your genre's national support organization - many have a "writers beware" section. Also, talk to experienced writers in your genre via conferences, blogs and online support groups; authors are usually willing to share their negative or positive publishing experiences.
4. Contact the Publisher Standards Board (supports ethical publishing standards).
5. Look for websites warning potential authors (victims). Example: Airleaf, before disappearing, scammed unsuspecting authors out of tens of thousands of dollars. A proactive website has been established with details and contact sources.

Radio Interview--Book Club style

A week or so ago, I had a fun and quick radio interview with CHRI, a Canadian station. The interviewer was named Ali and was...just so good at her job! She read the book and was well prepared to ask relevant questions. I love the station's concept...each Wednesday afternoon, an author is interviewed for ten minutes on a segment called "Wednesday's Bookmark." The segment is sponsored by a local Christian bookstore that provides 20% off that book for the week. Creative and effective marketing!

Click to listen.

In other book news...The Choice is on the ECPA fiction bestseller list for the second straight month! I'm so excited...I thought I'd be on the list for about 5 minutes. And happy for those 5 minutes!

American Idol's Life Lessons on Rejection

Are you watching American Idol? I DVD it and then zoom through it. A few weeks ago, as the judges whittled the hopefuls down to twenty-four, there was something Ellen DeGeneres said that stuck with me. She was talking to the annoying girl-with-glasses who wouldn't go home.

(Just to quality that...I didn't mean girl-with-glasses was annoying because she wears glasses. I wear glasses. She was just annoying.)

It's a little long...you can click it off when you're tired of listening to her begging.



Anyway...Ellen said to her, "This is just one 'no' in your life. You will get many 'no's. It doesn't mean it's 'the' no."

Those words just resonated with me. That's a writers' life! Lots and lots of no's. I'm heading over to a writers' conference tonight and teaching a workshop tomorrow. I'm going to reference Ellen's wise lesson about getting no's. Rejection is part of the package when you are trying a creative endeavor.

By contrast, look at this young woman's attitude about rejection. AWESOME!!!





I worry about people like girl-with-glasses. She may be incredibly talented, but there's an extra quality that she is going to need if she ever wants to get anywhere with her music. It's called: perseverance.

Interview with Philip Yancey by Amy Sondova

This interview was written by Amy Sondova and originally posted on her blog, Backseat Writer. Amy graciously gave us permission to re-post this.


Philip Yancey is a lot of things—a “writer’s writer” who has received awards, accolades, and praise for his books. He is also the editor-at-large for Christianity Today. His vulnerable and personal writings have touched the lives of over 15 million people. To be sure, Philip Yancey is gargantuan in the writing world.



But that’s not why I asked Philip Yancey to do a Take 5. I asked him to do a Take 5 because I am one of the 15 million whose lives have been touched. Yes, I remember the moment I first laid my eyes on a Philip Yancey book.

It was 1997 and I was a troubled 17 year-old girl struggling with depression, anxiety, cutting, and of course, issues of faith. The Jesus I Never Knew stared at me from our living room coffee table. Literally, stared at me! Intrigued by the cover (who says you can’t judge a book by its cover?), I picked up the book and began reading.

The Jesus I never knew became the Jesus I started to know in a whole new way. So I read more of Yancey’s books—Soul Survivor, What’s So Amazing About Grace?, Disappointment With God, and many more including another favorite, Reaching For the Invisible God.

Yancey managed to reach into the heart of a very confused teenage girl. His honest reflections on faith helped a young woman cling to her own faith in the midst of heartache. And the fact he answered my e-mail and agreed to do this Take 5 made my dream of interviewing Philip Yancey a reality. Thank you, Philip—for everything!

On Backseat Writer, we write a lot about music and books. So what music are you currently listening to and/or what books are you currently reading?

My music answer is always the same: old fogy that I am, I only listen to classical music. I did a three-year project of digitizing all my albums and (yes) reel-to-reel tapes, so I can order up “Symphonies” or “String Quartets” or any individual composer and then music plays all day in the background. I’m afraid that when I hear about the GRAMMY Awards I haven’t heard of two-thirds of contemporary musicians. Oh well, somebody’s got to support the classics.

My next book is a kind of memoir, so I’ve been reading almost nothing but memoirs for the last year or so. I must have read at least 100, simply to study the form and see how it’s done. Some are juicy, some are boring. I’m gradually preparing to make the transition from an essay writer to one who works with narrative and dialog–that’s my hope anyway.

On average, how long does it talk for you to write a book? How much research goes into a Philip Yancey book?

It would take about a year if I did nothing else. I travel quite a bit, and do other projects on the side, so it ends up taking 1.5 or two years. I figure the ratio breaks down like this: 40% preparation (including research, interviewing, outlining, all those writing-avoidance tactics); 20% composing (all the paranoia and psychosis occur here); 40% cleaning up what I wrote (I began my career as an editor, so I truly value this editing process.) While doing my book on Prayer, for example, I spent about six months in libraries before writing a word.

With all your success, how do you keep stay humble?

I play golf. Seriously, though, nothing that happens on the outside helps when you face that blank page or blank computer screen. Writing is the most humbling act I know. Nothing that has happened with prior books offers any guarantee that my current or next book will work, will connect with anyone, will show that I’ve lost whatever spark I may have had. Writing is a lonely, demanding craft, and the longer I do it the worse I feel, in a way, because I recognize more mistakes as I make them. My job is to produce the best book I can; the publisher and readers determine what happens to that book, and that world seems very far apart from how I spend my time.

Young writers often make foolish mistakes. What is a mistake I should avoid?

Writing should come with a label, “Do not practice this alone.” Starting out with an ideal of self-expression is suicidal. Writing is communication, connection. And when you begin, it’s best to find a supportive community, or writers’ group, who can point out what you’re doing wrong (feedback you need) while encouraging you to keep going (feedback you need more). Otherwise, you’ll likely give up.

How does your writing affect your relationship with God? (The reason I ask is this—I feel so close to God when I’m writing or taking pictures, the act itself turns into worship.)

God doesn’t seem to give me great words or great thoughts. Rather, prayer helps remove the distractions that interfere with mental focus–the most crucial ingredient in writing. “Cast all your anxieties upon him, because he cares for you,” the Bible says. That takes on stark reality in the composing process. I have anxieties bubbling up–over deadlines, creativity, finances, a million other things–and they can prove paralyzing. I bundle them up and present them to God. Then I trust God with the result. I hear later from people who have touched by my words, but in the process I simply commit them to God as an act of faith. God knows better how to use my words than I do, and I trust God with that part of the process.

For more information on Philip Yancey, visit him online at PhilipYancey.com. Also, I recommend you buy every book he’s ever written, but that’s merely my opinion.