The Writing Life: January 2026

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Sunday, January 25, 2026

Don't Quit Your Day Job

From time to time through the years, I’ve met authors who lean in and confide to me, “I’m all in on writing my book. In fact, I’ve quit my day job so I can write full-time.” When I hear this information, I appreciate this author’s commitment but also worry about the wisdom of such a decision. Maybe your dream job is to write fulltime. It’s something I want to address in this article with some ideas for you.

Several times, I have been working at a terrific job and to my surprise, I was fired. My past experience in these positions has been useful to me. We can grow from these experiences in our past (something I’ve tried to do) and none of us know what will happen in our future. Each of us have today to take action. Often at writer’s conferences, I hear this conventional wisdom: don’t quit your day job.

Through the years, I’ve met many authors who have written bestselling books and kept their day job. Over 40 years ago I met bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins at an Evangelical Press Association meeting. Late one night three of us as magazine editors were playing scrabble against Jerry--and we lost. He is a world-class scrabble player. At the time I was a missionary magazine editor with Wycliffe Bible Translators. Jerry was an editor at Moody magazine, part of the Moody Bible Institute.

In his books and teaching, Jerry talks about working a day job, coming home and spending focused time with his wife and children. Then after they went to bed, late at night Jerry devoted several hours to his writing. Many people assume this 21-Time New York Times bestselling author was an overnight success with his books. As he writes in the foreword of 10 Publishing Myths,the mega-bestselling series Left Behind was his 125th book. For many years, Jerry kept his day job and was not an overnight success.

As I’ve met and interviewed various bestselling authors, I learned about a number of authors who have a day job and wrote their books outside of their work. Sarah Sundin is another example. For many years she was a pharmacist and wrote historical novels.

I encourage you to read this article about Famous Authors Who Also Had Full-Time Professions. You will be surprised at some of the well-known people who wrote while keeping their full-time job.

Is writing full-time your dream job? It could happen. I’m writing this article to encourage you to take several actions in this process:

1. Without thinking about it long and hard, don’t quit your day job. As I mentioned, no one knows the future and you want to make wise decisions in this area.

2. Begin to develop multiple streams of income such as editing, coaching, and other sources outside of your writing. There are many different ways to make money with books. Follow this link to a free webinar where I list the details about a dozen different ways.

3. Learn to mix and match the different activities in your life (day job, writing, marketing, newsletter creation along with sending it on a regular basis plus many other tasks).

Each of us are on this journey called The Writing Life. Your path will be different than mine. To discover it, you will have to try many different things. Some of them will fail while others will succeed. You will be able to lean in and continue the ones which succeed.

What have you learned about quiting your day job? Let me know in the comments below and I look forward to hearing from you.

Tweetable:

What is behind the writing conventional wisdom: don’t quit your day job? This prolific author and editor gives his insights and possible actions in this article. (ClickToTweet)

New Podcasts:

In these articles, I’ve encouraged you to use PodMatch or some similar tool to book and record podcasts. Last week one more podcast recording launched:

Joe Rooz (@JoeRooz) and I spoke LIVE on the Joe Rooz Podcast about 10 Publishing Myths Busted: What Authors Must Know. Listen and watch at: https://bit.ly/4pXO8gN

Daniel Lucas (@dsl_lucas) and I spoke LIVE on the sixth season of the Abstract Essay Podcast. Listen at: https://bit.ly/45qLwRv

Currently I’m working with my third publisher as an acquisitions editor. During these years, I’ve spoken with many authors about their expectations, dreams and desires for their books. I find many unrealistic expectations. Many aspects of the publishing process are outside of anything an author can control. 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: betselling authors, diversity, Don't Quit Your Day Job, drdeam job, Jerry B. Jenkins, Left Behind, Sarah Sundin, Terry Whalin, The Writing Life, wisdom, writing, writing conferences

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Sunday, January 18, 2026

Keep Up With Publishing

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

The publishing world is in constant motion or change. How do you keep up? One of the best ways to monitor and learn about the changes is through online newsletters. Since 2001, I’ve been a part of an online group called The Writer’s View. It has an amazing resource of the various topics behind the scenes. (Read this post and follow the links to join this free group. Each week we change the topic and several times a year, I am one of their leaders. Last week I guided an online conversation on keeping up in the publishing world. For this article, I’ve compiled some of what I posted and the various links as a resource for you. These resources are in no particular order and for each one, I’ve included the link where if it is interesting to you, you can subscribe.

As background, some of these publications are once a week while others are daily. If they are not right for your writing life, then you can unsubscribe. I do not study every line of these publications. Some of them I skim for the information but each of them are resources that I use to keep up on the world of publishing.

Rush to Press is the weekly newsletter from the Evangelical Christian Publisher Association. For example, a week or so ago the issue included a release about The Quest Study Bible (Zondervan) which has sold two million copies worldwide. Many years ago I worked the study notes on a ten-chapter segment in Chronicles with a professor from Fuller Theological Seminary. As a contributor, my name is in the tiny print in the front of this Bible. It was fun to see this information in Rush to Press.

Evangelical Press Association. This is the group of Evangelical magazines like Christianity Today and many others.

Shelf Awareness published five days a week and is targeted to Bookstores. Last week, they sent a special issue with different stories tied to Jesus Calling, a devotional from Thomas Nelson which has sold millions of copies. Follow this link to read this newsletter.

Editor and publishing expert Jane Friedman has a newsletter called The Bottom-line with a free version. Here’s just one reason to subscribe to The Bottom Line. I’m quoting a couple of paragraphs from her WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 2026 newsletter:

“Nonfiction decline deepens

I love nonfiction, so it gives me no pleasure to say this, but I think the declining sales of nonfiction will continue in 2026. Of the top nonfiction bestsellers in 2025, only one of them (Kamala Harris’s campaign memoir) was published in 2025. Mel Robbins’s self-help book The Let Them Theory performed best and released in 2024; Circana BookScan’s Brenna Connor told the New York Times that Robbins is “essentially carrying the entire self-help category right now.” The bright spot for nonfiction is in the Christian market: sales of Bibles, Bible studies, and other religious titles have been growing in the double digits.

Why the nonfiction decline? Most agents and publishers cite escapism, given the current sociopolitical environment. But more than that, I think it’s the increasing competition of other information sources that are right at your fingertips when you need them; they may require less time and even provide more clarity. Pick your favorite: newsletters, podcasts, information-rich social media posts, short-form video, long-form video, online education of all kinds. People can get the insight they need without buying or spending time on a book. The bright side: Audiobook sales are increasing, and that includes nonfiction.” I hope these trends are helpful to you. Like Jane, I love nonfiction and the decline shows me once again the need for everyone (including nonfiction authors like me) to include have great storytelling.

Publishers Lunch. I used to be on the free version but I’ve been on their paid version for years and find a lot of value in this subscription--beyond the newsletter.

Publishers Weekly has a number of free newsletters (use the link).

Newsletter specialist Kate Huff has a free Newsletters Made Simple newsletter with tips at: https://bit.ly/49A8A1o

Midwest Book Review. Each month, I get an email from editor Jim Cox. They are a respected publication and especially among libraries. I could not easily find where to subscribe but it is a publication you should know about and monitor.

As a journalist, I also take a publication called The Muck Rack and it has connections to journalists and other media resources. I often skim it and find something of interest. Here’s where you can subscibe.

WildFire Marketing expert and author Rob Eagar has a weekly newsletter.

Also I subscribe to Author Marketing Experts from Penny Sansevieri Founder and CEO Author Marketing Experts, Inc., bestselling author and internationally recognized.

Another marketing expert is Thomas Umstattd Jr. and his Author Media website. Last week, Thomas sent out his interview with Jerry B. Jenkins. You can catch the audio or the transcript at: https://bit.ly/49zSDYK

I also read the substack called Writerly Things from Brooke Warner who is a publisher, writing coach, podcaster, and author advocate.

Also I read Ilise Benun the marketing mentor, who is a wise marketing person. Scroll down on her site and the pop up menu to subscribe will appear on your screen.

Phil Cooke is a media expert and Christian author who has valuable insights.

Media expert Brian Feinblum writes the Book Marketing Buzz Blog with thousands of articles.

Finally my long-time friend and mentor Robert Bly (Bob) sends a daily email. Subscribe here.

There are probably more newsletters and resources that I use to keep up with publishing but these will get you started. I understand this article is different from my normal articles on The Writing Life. What tools do you use to keep up with publishing? Let me know in the comments below.

Tweetable:

The publishing world is constantly changing. This prolific author and editor provides details about how he keeps up with these changes in this article. (ClickToTweet)

New Podcasts:

In these articles, I’ve encouraged you to use PodMatch or some similar tool to book and record podcasts. Last week one more podcast recording launched:

Barry LaBov, author and CEO of LABOV and I spoke about author secrets for writing and promoting books on the Difference Talks Podcast. Listen and watch at: https://bit.ly/49Wx8mo or you can watch a short reel here.

Subscribe to Terry’s Newsletter:

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Labels: change, connections, Keep Up With Publishing, newsletters, opportunity, Terry Whalin, The Writing Life

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Sunday, January 11, 2026

Get Diversity in Your Communication Skills

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Persistence and perserverance are important skills for every writer to develop and use. As writers we need to reach the right person (an editor or a literary agent) to move our book forward and get it into the bookstores. This process involves using a variety of communication skills.

Recently I was trying to reconnect with a long-time editor friend. We had not spoken or emailed in many years. I tried to reach this friend on email (bounced) and phone (didn’t connect). Then I looked at LinkedIN and her contact information there didn’t help me to connect. As a last resort, I turned to something I rarely use: Facebook Messenger. I was still connected with this friend on Facebook and used the messenger feature to send her a personal note. It turned out that worked and I revived my connection with this friend.

As an acqusitions editor at Morgan James Publishing, I’m in touch with a number of authors and their agents. I need to reach them in a timely manner and don’t always use email but other methods as well. If I have not connected with this person in a long time (read years), my first action is to look at the contact area their LinkedIN profile. Here’s where my LinkedIN profile is located. If you and I are not connected, let’s get connected on LinkedIN. Often people will put an email on that form which will be active even if they have changed companies. There is a lot of movement and transition in the publishing world.

Also through the years, I’ve collected a lot of information in my own address book. I will use this information (in particular email and phone numbers--including their cell phone) to reach out to this person. Sometimes they bounce or do not work.

When you need to reach someone, I encourage you to use different forms of communication but match your response with the one you got from the person. For example, I received a text from an author where I sent them a new contract. They were asking for a phone call to go over next steps. Ironically to me, one of the items I sent them as an attachment with the contract was called “next steps.” None-the-less, I responded to this text with a text giving some options to this author.

Are you showing your diversity in the types of writing? Do you only write books? How about magazine articles? How abouts short stories or guest blog posts or devotions or many other things. There are many different ways and places to publish our writing. In the opening chapter of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams, I created a detailed list (follow this link to download this chapter if you need some ideas).

In the publishing community, there are also multiple ways to communicate with each other. Some people prefer a phone call. As I’ve often written in these articles, the phone is probably the last option to use with an unknown publishing professional like an editor or literary agent. Others use email or text. I'm not the best at texting but because I know some people will respond and view their text before an email, I will use this form of communication. The key action from my perspective is to use various forms and find the one which will work for you to communicate what you need to commuicate.

Many people downplay email but that is one of the most effective and consistent communication tools every writer needs to use. If you do not have an email list, I encourage you to start one--then use it on a consistent and persistent basis. If you are not one of my newsletter subscribers, I encourage you to follow this link. When you subscribe, with my gratitude, you will receive a free 87-page Ebook.

Are you diverse in your communication skills? If not, what steps can you take to grow in this area and become better. Let me know in the comments what skills you are working on or if I am missing something. I look forward to hearing from you.

Tweetable:

It is important to have diverse communication skills according to this prolific author and editor. Read the details here. (ClickToTweet)

New Podcasts:

In these articles, I’ve encouraged you to use PodMatch or some similar tool to book and record podcasts. Last week I recorded a second podcast with Lou and Teresa from the Earrings Off Podcast. Here’s my first conversation with them where we spoke about publishing myths at: https://bit.ly/4iFaP6z:

Whatever type of writing you do, I know that writing contains its own complexity. Many aspects of the publishing process are outside of anything that an author can control. Through the years, I’ve spoken with many authors, I find many of them have unrealistic expectations about publishing. I wrote 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS to give authors practical help. Get my decades of insights in 10 PUBLISHING MYTHS for only $10, free shipping and over $200 of bonuses.

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Labels: email, Get Diversity in Your Communication Skills, phone, publishing, Terry Whalin, text, The Writing Life

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Sunday, January 04, 2026

Critical Author Habits

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

While it was many years ago, I recall my first sip of coffee and the horrible taste.I wondered how or why people drank it. Many people around me were drinking coffee so I continued trying it and developed the habit of loving the taste of coffee. As a young writer, I leaned into the caffiene from my coffee drinking. In my early days of writing, I was drinking a full pot or two of coffee every day. Now many years later, I only drink a couple of cups of coffee but I still love the taste of it.

If you want to learn more about habit formation, I recommend reading or hearing Atomic Habits by James Clear. In 2019, I listened to the audiobook and wrote in my review, “Clear contends to make a new effective habit means developing a system. This audiobook is loaded with insights for every reader. I listened to this audiobook cover to cover and highly recommend ATOMIC HABITS.”

Often in these entries, I’ve written in detail about the various personal systems that I use in my critical author habits. I have over 1800 articles in The Writing Life and encourage you to search for a particular topic if I don’t include what you need in this article.

Today I want to pull out several of these habits with stories and my encouragement for you to incorporate them into your writing life.

Consistent Writing

No one sits down and writes a novel or a nonfiction book manuscript. The manuscript is written with a consistent and persistent gameplan. The majority of writers use a word count as their benchmark. For example, they decide to write 500 words (which is about two pages) every day or four times a week or whatever pattern. They select a pattern then do that pattern over and over to get a draft of their manuscript. There are many different types of writing. In the first chapter of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dream, I have an extensive list (follow this link to see it).

Also professional writers learn how to pitch their work to editors and literary agents. They learn how to write a query letter and a book proposal (no matter what type of book they are writing). Your book proposal is your business plan for your book and will include many important details which is not in your manuscript. The consistent use of these tools is an important habit to develop. If you want to know more about these tools, follow the links that I include. I’ve been using these tools for many years to be published in magazines and publishing houses.

Last month in an email, Mike Salisbury literary agent at Yates & Yates wrote about Beth Adams who I met years ago at a Seattle Writers Conference. Mike introduced Beth saying:

“Beth Adams is the Editorial Director for FaithWords and Worthy Books, imprints of the Hachette Book Group, where she’s worked on numerous bestselling and award-winning books. She also writes books as a side-hustle and has published over eighty books to date. Every day at 5 am, you can find her on the couch with her laptop and a strong cup of coffee, making up stories. An introverted book lover/cat lady at heart, she lives in Brooklyn with her husband and two daughters.”

Also Mike included Beth’s advice to writer saying: “Beth: Do it every day. You need to carve out consistent time in your schedule, even if it’s at 5 am, to work every single day. If you write only when you feel like it, you’ll never do it, and if you go more than a day or two without returning to your story, it becomes too hard to get back into it. You have to spend too much time getting back up to speed. But setting a regular rhythm allows you to stay in your work and also forces you to treat it like work, which it is.”

Expanded Connections

Your connections to the publishing world is an important one and should be a part of your habits. Who you know is as important as what you know. Are you continually expanding and using your connections? For example, are we connected on LinkedIN? If not, follow this link and send me a connection invitation. Publishing professionals move around a great deal and LinkedIN is a great place to begin if you want to connect or reconnect with someone. Often when they move they will take their LinkedIN account with them and their LinkedIN contact information will have this email address. I say “often” because I’ve had several recent situations where I know someone has left their publishing role and not left a non-publishing email address in LinkedIN.

Grow Readers

Every author needs to be growing readers for their writing. One of the critical elements is in a consistent newsletter. Everyone begins with a small list but the key habit is to consistently use and grow these connections. I’ve had a newsletter for many years and my downfall has been the lack of consistency. Over a year ago, I changed this pattern and have een sending my newsletter each week to subscribers. Here’s the link to subscribe and with my gratitude you will receive an 87-page ebook.

I spoke with one of my Morgan James Publishing authors who has done multiple books with us. This author knows about the importance of a newsletter but hasn’t started one. If you fall into this category, I encourage you to start a newsletter then send it consistently and grow your readership. I understand a newsletter takes continued time and effor. It is another critical author habit.

Continual Learning

For decades I’ve been studying and reading about different aspects of publishing. I continue to learn and experiment with differeent areas. In these articles I’ve mentioned doing guest podcasting. In several articles, I’ve detailed my process. As new podcasts launch, I’ve included the links and the details. During the last year, I’ve recorded or booked over 60 podcasts using PodMatch which is connected to over 90,000 podcasts. I encourage you to continue to experiment and learn new skills. At least once a year, get to a writer’s conference and take a class to open a different type of writing for you. The world is full of opportunity but you have to take continued action for it to happen.

Consistency and Persistence

Reading these words is a good first step but what actions are you going to take for your writing life? How can you develop a system where you consistently move forward? Let me know in the comments.

Tweetable:

According to this prolific author and editor, there are a series of critical author habits. You can read the details in this article. (ClickToTweet)

Start Your Writing Year with a Bang

I’m speaking at the Publicity Club on Tuesday, January 6th from 5 pm to 6 pm Pacific. I’m teaching on Seven Simple Actions to Boost Your Publishing This Year. The first meeting is free and here’s the Facebook event link with the details. I will be telling some stories but also including an action-packed handout. I hope many of you will attend and get my free resource.

When I’ve worked with different publishers on a variety of books, I’ve learned the hard way that much of the publishing process is outside of anything an author can control. As an editor, I’ve spoken with different authors about their books, I’ve found many unrealistic expectations. There are actions every author can take with their books. 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: Atomic Habits, Beth Adams, book proposals, Critical Author Habits, discipline, Faith Words, James Clear, Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams, newsletter, query, Terry Whalin, The Writing Life, writers conferences