Does Christmas Bring You Joy? by Linda Glaz

Ribbons, bows, packages, and lights. Stars, snowflakes, and downtown Santas. That’s right; we’re in the Christmas season. And I love it. I admit to being a Cmasaholic! Of the absolute worst kind. I love it. I smile more, laugh more. I’m simply happier at Christmas time.

But writing scenarios tend to slow down this time of year. Way down.

And when I do hear from an editor, it’s generally a big no. Not always, but for the most part. Needless to say, I don’t care for negative outcomes to invade my Christmas cheer.

Still, I have to keep working, have to keep getting the word out on fabulous clients or my newest release. It isn’t easy. I want to be able to call a client and give them the best Christmas present ever. A contract! Or to read my sales numbers and find them through the roof.

So what’s a girl to do?

I guess it’s time to remember the actual reason for the season. Jesus. Time to reflect on His birth and the actual reason for the smiles, ornaments, and pine trees.

Time not to worry about books and contracts. Not check my email every five minutes in case an offer comes in. It’s time to remember why I smile more, laugh more, and feel happier than I have a right to be.

How about you? 

Does Christmas bring you joy for all the right reasons?

Writers, Ask Yourself the Hard Questions by Diana Flegal

With the permission of my Pastor, Nick Honerkamp, I want to share points I gleaned from a message he gave us at New Covenant Church a while back titled, The Meaning of Work.

Consider the key principles in Acts 7:13 Key that tie our work to our calling.

Every human has a 1) vertical calling (intimacy with God), 2) a common calling (love one another), and a 3) specific calling (work). Unfortunately, you cannot turn to a specific verse that says you are called to be a plumber, mechanic or artist. Number 3 is dependent upon fulfilling numbers 1 and 2.

If you submit to communion with God (vertical) and communion with your fellow human beings (common or horizontal) you will then find your identity (work). It is impossible to find this without the Holy Spirit illuminating it.

As they fasted and prayed, the Holy Spirit told them to separate Paul and Barnabas out for a specific purpose.

When God calls us, it is by name and specific (unique). God put in us a need to eat, which forces us to work. We then discover our value.  Note: Age never disqualifies us. Till our last breath we can be useful.




Work: provides us with meaningful activity, shows us what we are good at, and gives us clues to our calling. All of our struggles with work are good.

My struggles showed me a lot of things about myself. I now know; for me to enjoy my work there must be a mission attached to it. I am a ‘helper’ and ‘reformer’.  (A recent personality test I took confirmed that for me.)

In the past I was determined to please others with my work.  And in that determined effort I lost, to a large degree, the quirky unique person God made me. It was hard to deny who I was ,and there certainly was no joy in it. I am now in the process of regaining what the enemy has stolen. Perfectly positioned in Asheville, N.C. to do that. 

As with most helper/ reformers, I also want you to find your sweet spot, your unique gifting that will take your writing to a higher level, or lead you into your specific unique calling.

As a writer, that struggle might be placing your WIP (work in progress) in the night stand drawer and writing the story you know you are meant to write. Regardless of what others tell you will sell. Then rewrite it, and rewrite it, until it is polished.

For someone else it means you need to acknowledge you are a reader and not a writer. Like myself. I am an appreciator of words. And I have found a way to work with that.  An agent helps writers find a publishing home for their polished work. Another one like me might become a professional book reviewer, or a social media expert who promotes writers in the market place.

Struggle. Listen to the constructive criticism.

You desire to tell/write your personal story. After several failed attempts, it could be you are to hire a ghost writer. Same desire, better outcome.  

Bottom line. If something is not working, try something else. Bob Newhart keeps it simple here with his advice: Stop it! PLEASE take a moment to watch this entertaining video. It might change your life’s path.

Your square peg was never meant to be pounded into a round hole.

If you know you are a writer, then keep at it regardless of the rejections or what your Uncle Louie says. But if you are not succeeding, allow yourself to ask the tough questions. Maybe it is a misplaced desire or perhaps you are in the infancy of your writing journey and have much to learn before you will be ready to publish.   

You can view and listen to Pastor Nick’s complete message here. I highly recommend it.

 

 

Shiny Paper Clips by Jim Hart

One of my previous jobs required strong organizational skills, the practice of constantly setting (and communicating) priorities, and the ability to track thousands of pieces of work to meet tight deadlines. I had to really pay attention.  And my co-workers were convinced that all it took to distract me was a shiny paper clip.

Sometimes that shiny paper clip took the form of phone calls, endless cups of coffee, quoting from last night’s sitcom, a really good song on the radio, or a knock-knock joke.

Businesses, churches, and other organizations have long understood that to pay attention and keep on track that they need to work from clear vision and mission statements. Everything that is done is looked at through the lens of those statements. When deciding what direction, program or activity to expend resources on, if it doesn’t fit with their vision and mission, they won’t pursue it. It keeps them focused and on track with what they want to accomplish.

Here are some quick definitions:  “A vision statement is a picture of your organization in the future. It is your inspiration and the framework for all your strategic planning. A vision statement articulates your dreams and hopes for your business. It reminds you of what you are trying to build.”

“A mission statement is a brief description of a company's fundamental purpose. It answers the question, "Why do we exist?" The mission statement articulates the company's purpose both for those in the organization and for the public.” (http://sbinfocanada.about.com/od/businessplanning/g/visionstatement.htm)

I tend to look at the vision as ‘what’ and the mission as ‘how’.

Amazon’s vision is "to be earth's most customer centric company; to build a place where people can come to find and discover anything they might want to buy online."

Apple’s CEO Tim Cook said that their vision is "We believe that we are on the face of the earth to make great products.” (Read his complete statement at http://features.blogs.fortune.cnn.com/2009/01/22/the-cook-doctrine-at-apple/)

Our vision at Hartline Literary Agency is “to find the finest in new and established authors. Our common goal is to help authors grow and develop their careers.” (You can see our entire statement at http://www.hartlineliterary.com/statement.html)

The concept of creating and working from a vision statement and a mission statement is a concept that can be put into practice by every person with a goal or something that they are trying to accomplish in life. When I was in youth ministry I had a personal vision and mission statement.

As a writer, have you thought much about your vision and mission? Have you articulated it in your proposals? Look at the two definitions above and substitute the words ‘organization, business and company’ with ‘I, my, me, and mine’.

I began to think again about vision and mission statements when reading through manuscripts that did not live up to the proposals. Especially non-fiction. They wandered and got off track. There were too many detours into territory that did not strongly support the message of the book. There were distractions.  

Staying on course with a personal vision and mission statement helps to filter out the activities and content that will hinder us from the effective and efficient delivery of our message.  It can be a good weapon in the fight against the shiny paper clips.

What’s your shiny paper clip?