Into the Fire

What blogs or websites would I visit and read? Probably very few. And certainly not the fairly long list I visit now. And it’s always cool to add one or two and drop others. Our interests change and grow, and we add or subtract accordingly.

As it is now, I don’t visit many of the author websites because they’re rarely kept current. Waste of time for most. Their blogs can be interesting if they post regularly but if they’re too busy to keep them up, they become lifeless. And if they spout the same structured commentary about writing, forget it. I’ve dropped a number of sites because of platitudes and predictability. I’m tired of the “Drink the Kool-Aid” publishing message.

I’ve said it before, and once again I will say there comes a time when you come to terms with yourself, your writing, your hopes, your dreams, and if it isn’t just repetition, you resubmit them to the Lord of all Creation and reiterate they belong to Him. His to conduct, to inspire, to “prosecute” if you will. We do what He says, He does the rest. We give it/them our all, our best, and more importantly: so does He. We are His. His to do with what He will. The objective is to bring Him glory: not ourselves.

And that’s the problem I have with the biz. I don’t hear that said much. Not from publishers, editors, agents, or authors. Believe me, I know some of each who are totally devoted to Jesus Christ and their jobs in publishing at whatever level. Beautiful people. And I’m somewhat convinced they have their own struggles with the biz—you know: how it’s conducted, what it’s become in some cases and places.

The bloom is off the rose as they say. It’s just another business trying not to drown in this ocean of irresponsible financial chaos by making a profit on what they predict people will like to read. Now if that isn’t up for grabs, what is?

There have been a few honest souls who admitted publishing success is a crap shoot. The odds are steep, the gigantic payoffs rare. And often totally unexpected.

Yes, there are patterns and formulas which will always have an audience. Same plot, different characters. Written with intrigue and a little style, those novels will sell again and again. But almost every sincere reader will veer off into a new direction once in awhile, their appetite for the same ol’, same ol’ temporarily sated. Some return to their old faithfuls. Others march boldly into new veins of the market. And who knows where they will decide to go?

If I wasn’t a writer, I probably wouldn’t care. I’d keep investigating new authors, different genres within my limited tastes, hoping for another favorite and being gratified when I found one.

But I am a writer. I am an author. And that changes things.

God, you have given me this to honor you. That’s all that matters. It really is. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.