by Lorilyn Roberts
.jpg)
In my
advanced writing class at Perelandra College, Professor Ken Kuhlken wrote, “When
we have preconceptions, we need to let go of them if we hope to find new
answers.”
Preconceptions
can set us up for failure if we are rigid. But what if we use our
preconceptions to catapult us to a level of excellence not limited by our
finite vision?
A couple of
years ago, I wrote my memoir about the adoption of my two daughters as creative
nonfiction. I meticulously researched facts and details I had forgotten. I
scoured the Internet to verify locations, names, dates, and chronological order
of events. I pulled out every document I had saved from both adoptions and
poured my heart and soul into my writing.
I asked
many friends, professional acquaintances, and editor-journalism-communication
types to read Children of Dreams and
offer suggestions on how I could make it better. I listened and made revisions
that created an almost unbelievable story.
Two weeks
before the Florida Christian Writer’s Conference in 2009, I sent off my
completed manuscript to be reviewed by an editor attending the conference. I spent
$50 and downloaded a file to prepare me for the right attitude while at the
conference. I had attended this conference twice before and came away both
times disillusioned. This time I was determined not to let that happened.
I couldn’t
think of anything that an editor could say to me for which I would not have an
answer. I launched my website before the conference and signed up for the
marketing class with Randy Ingermanson. I was ready to dive in and market my
book if an editor or agent offered me a contract on Children of Dreams. I did not feel like I was setting myself up for
failure. I always set lofty goals and then leave the outcome in God’s hands.
The
conference arrived and I was excited to be there. I couldn’t wait to share the
joy of my book with others. But when I showed my manuscript around, I was
surprised by comments.
“No one is
publishing memoirs right now,” one person said. “Oh, a memoir,” another stated.
People stepped back from me like I had bad breath. Nobody would read one line
and acted like I had written something “C” rated at best. But I remained
positive. I was certain when I received my manuscript back from the reviewing
editor the next day, he would be interested.
The moment
arrived when all the reviews were handed out to the attendees. When mine wasn’t,
I went up and inquired. Despite the volunteers looking everywhere, they didn’t
have mine. While my book was “lost,” all the remaining slots to meet with other
editors filled up. Nobody knew where my book was. If the editor who had received
my manuscript didn’t like it, I would have no opportunity to present my book to
someone else.
To say I
was disillusioned is an understatement, but it didn’t come close to what I felt
when my manuscript was found. I read the note the editor wrote. “You might consider
submitting this to a magazine.”
If the
editor had read one paragraph of that 235-page manuscript, he would have known
the story couldn’t be condensed into an article. I had presented part of it to a
“Focus on the Family” editor a year earlier, and her comment was, “It’s too
long. If you can shorten it, we would love to take another look.” I was
unwilling to cut it down any more, and it was that comment that made me realize
I needed to write the whole story. It took 235 pages to do the story justice.
I did meet later
with a couple of editors at the conference and was told by them—as well as an
agent, “When you have one thousand people on an opt-in list, come back and talk
to us.” While I was nice to them, I thought to myself, if I had one thousand
people on an opt-in list, why do I need you?
As a result
of that experience, my “gumption” kicked in. I reassessed what I really wanted.
What was important to me? Sometimes “no’s” become wonderful opportunities to
think “outside the box.” We are free to pursue goals we never would have considered
if we had been given what our preconceived ideas told us we wanted.
The key is
to be open to change, to give up something to receive something better. Since
God controls the outcome, we should focus on the process and what we can do to enhance
our chance to achieve our goal.
I have
never met an author who didn’t have a lot of gumption to become published. Good
writing and successful marketing are key, and money helps the process to go
faster as far as exposure, but without the seed within us never to give up, the
chances are we won’t go anywhere with our writing.
Today I
have 132 reviews with 4.6 stars on Amazon of Children of Dreams. I thank all my friends and professional
contacts every time a new five-star review goes up, knowing without their honest
input—and yes, some of it hurt—Children
of Dreams wouldn’t have all those wonderful reviews.
My gumption
not to give up is still intact, and I am more determined than ever to share my
writing with others. Preconceived ideas have long gone out the window. I am
setting a new path into the unknown with my Seventh Dimension Christian Fantasy Series.
God gives
us a cup overflowing with opportunity when we commit our way to Him. Gumption
is the human quality He endears us with to get us started. If God is for us,
who can be against us?
No comments:
Post a Comment