The Unknown Impact of Our Writing
By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin
I understand my work in publishing often has a bit of mystery. I work hard at each of my published works: magazine or book or online yet it’s rare to get much feedback from readers about the impact of my writing on their lives.
Some of the feedback for my books will be tucked into the reviews from readers. Other times it will come from a face to face conversation with another professional at a writer’s conference. It is rare to receive it with your submissions to publishers. Giving feedback for improvement is not my task with a submission. As an editor, I’m looking at the author and their submission to see if it is a fit for my publishing company or not. If it is a possibility that we would publish, I work for a publishing house and don’t make the final decision about what gets published and what does not. Yes, my view is considered but it is only one of a number of people involved in the decision process of which books get published and which ones do not.
At Morgan James Publishing, we receive many submissions and only publish about 200 books. We are considered a medium size New York publishing house with a lengthy and positive reputation in the marketplace. Every publisher has online complaints (whether they are true or not) which stick around forever. If you google the name of a publisher plus the word “complaint” or “scam” and find pages of results, that search turned up a red flag that as an author you should pay attention.
Recently I received a submission for a possible children’s book for Morgan James. Each year, we only publish about 10 to 15 of these types of books but I’m always looking. I loved the words and illustrations from this writer. As I read her pitch, I was surprised to read:
“I hope also that you will find it most encouraging to know that I have had a book on my children’s bookshelf for more than 30 years that I read to all of my kids and grandkids and continue to use when I teach children about missions! Guess who wrote it??! Somebody by the name of W. Terry Whalin! 😊 “When I Grow Up.” It’s been a great tool over the years and I’m overjoyed that our daughter is a surgeon and is headed back to East Africa next month to help serve the Lord in a remote area in Uganda. Thank you for sharing your talent with our family so many years ago.”
I was stunned to learn the impact of something I wrote as my first book published in 1992. As a writer, I know the impact of my work is something that will not be known this side of heaven.
Also I met with another author who recalled our meeting at a long-ago writer’s conference. Then I met with another author who recalled my magazine work that I published during the 80s. Each of these situations gave me a small glimpse at the impact of my writing. I’ve written this article about the impact of our writing to show how little it happens. How do you respond to this information?
I want to encourage you with several things:
*Keep growing as a writer
*Keep writing even when rejected
*Keep trying new forms of writing
*Keep meeting new people and making new connections
*Keep listening and looking for opportunities
*Keep on moving forward
As a writer, there is only one person who can stop you: You. Don’t give up the journey. Each of us are on this journey with our writing lives. Many times the work is hard or routine and we have doubts about whether to continue or not. When you face these situations (which will come), keep moving forward. Your steps may be small but continue. Each of us are on the journey and if I can help you, don’t hesitate to reach out to me and ask. My personal email address is in the profile of my X/Twitter account. In general, I’m easy to reach.
Are there other ways to get feedback on your writing? Let me know your stories and ideas in the comments below.
New Podcasts:
In these articles, I’ve encouraged you to use PodMatch or some similar tool to book and record podcasts. Last week several of my podcast recordings were launched.
Bestselling author and podcaster Amberly Lago (@AmberlyLago) and I talked on her podcast about writing, publishing and the power of storytelling at: https://amberlylago.com/46/
Sherrie L. Prince and I spoke about Book Marketing Mastery: How Authors Really Succeed on The Play Big Faster Podcast at: https://bit.ly/41yflxQ
Get to a Writer’s Conference
Throughout my years in publishing, writer’s conferences have been life-changing events to learn, meet new people and find new opportunities. Last week, I added a fourth event to my schedule in Oregon. I’d love to help you at one of these events:
Tweetable:
A great deal of the publishing process is outside of our control as writers. When I speak with authors, I find many of these authors have unrealistic expectations. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors practical help. You can get decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses.
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Labels: books, consistency, In Other Words, persistence, Terry Whalin, The Unknown Impact of Our Writing, The Writing Life, When I Grow Up, writing, Wycliffe
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