Into the Fire

Over on a “Novel Journey” post by Jessica Dotta, she contemplated the wise words of a missionary with whom she’d had the opportunity to discuss writing and publishing. There seemed to be some eye-opening discrepancies in the definitions of success vs. failure.

So, given the choice between success and failure, I would assume most of us would choose success. But then those of us who’ve sampled both in various ways would probably insert the necessary, “Define success” or “Define failure”. Nowhere is there a better need for the clarifications than in the publishing world of a Christian.

I have been forced to learn that publishing success must be redefined in my life. I will not defy the logic of the business end of selling books. If you’re a publishing house and plan to stay that way, the more books you sell, the longer you’ll remain “successful”. However, as an individual writer who is compelled to compose words on a page or a screen, I arrived at the place where, like everything else in my life, whatever I write belongs to God and is done for His glory: not my own. This simple declaration changes . . . everything.

Timing is normally a factor when considering success. The release of the perfect book for the perfect time isn’t always something that can be plotted and executed by publishers. When the initially self-published The Shack hit the reading public, the novel took off like a California wildfire. I doubt anyone could’ve predicted its “success”. The book started more conversations about who God is than a preacher in a mega-church. These discussions didn’t include talking about the weakness of the writing. Nope. They had bigger concepts to address. The fans certainly outnumbered the detractors, although there were some critics who came at the story with wicked weapons in the form of accusations of utter heresy. Which only led to more sales. And more commentary. And more “success”. Author Paul (William P.) Young attributes the whole endeavor to God’s ability, not his own.

So why does God choose to “appoint” some stories to great sales while others end up out of print? I cannot offer a single reason that satisfies. It’s His call.

I’ve bemoaned the lack of success for John Robinson’s trilogy about a 50-ish old-school P.I., written in a clever voice with true suspenseful plots. These were good stories for men and women who like the genre. I’ve read novels in the category that didn’t measure up to these. Why weren’t these “successful”?

If you measure success by sales as publishers are forced to do to stay in business, then you know all the self-promotion and marketing that’s required to sell not only the book but yourself. You also learn the more accomplishments you achieve before you even solicit an agent or editor with your novel, the better chance you have of getting “noticed” amidst the massive quantities of submitted proposals.

Here’s my position on success vs. failure. If God asks you to do something and you do it to the best of your ability, consulting with Him all along the way, you have not failed. Regardless of what happens to the final product, after all your efforts, if you kept the Lord in the forefront of your focus, you have not failed. If you truly have yielded your life to Jesus Christ and committed to the belief that God knows the best path for you, then you will accept His ways—even when you fail to understand them.

On the flip side, if you pursue a career and push every obstacle from your path, ignore every caution, reject every warning, and embrace “success” as the ultimate accomplishment, the only goal worth gaining, and once attained attribute it all to your perseverance, then your definition of failure will no doubt encompass all of those writers who accepted the road God chose for them—the road which did not include huge sales and a form of fame in publishing circles. It’s the common mindset but not the most admirable.

Each writer has to make a choice. Will I write because of the Lord, for His glory, and in spite of what sometimes feels like failure? Will I write toward publishing as the only measure of my success and not accept anything that even suggests failure? Will I trust what God has ordained for me? Will I trust my “dreams and goals” for myself above all others? Bottom line: it’s a choice we have to make.

Father, I have yet to complete my journey, but I am learning to trust in your leading. You are the One who is trustworthy. You are the One with the answers, the path, the plan. Help me to yield my life to you every single moment of every single day. And remain thankful throughout. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.