An Important Attitude for Every Writer

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Writers hear the word no a great deal. It maybe a submission or a pitch to a podcast or radio station or magazine. You may not even get a response to your pitch and hear only crickets.  How do you keep moving forward inspite of the rejection? 

From my experience, it takes persistence and consistency to find the right connection. Remember Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen were rejected 140 times before they published the first book Chicken Soup for the Soul. Mark tells that story in the foreword to my book, Jumpstart Your Publshing Dreams. You can follow this link to read the foreword and first chapter. It is free and no opt-in. 

 

It doesn't take much to find the negativity in our world. Just watch the news for a few minutes and you will hear the variety of challenges in our world. In this article I want to emphasize an important tool each of us have to shift our attitude: gratitude. Many people talk about gratitude in the month of November because of the Thanksgiving holiday but this attitude is something you can be exercising every day. As you express your gratitude, it can shift your focus to the positive. 

 

Bestselling author Joyce Meyer has released a book to help us understand the biblical attitude shift to gratitude with The Power of Thank You: Discover the Joy of Gratitude.  Meyer has written twelve, easy-to-read chapters with a combination of personal stories, Scriptures, and stories about others. As she writes in the introduction, “My goal in this book is to birth in you a fresh revelation of the power of being thankful and urge you to make a new and firm commitment to being more thankful than you have ever been. I truly believe that the words thank you contain power that will change your life.” (page viii)

 

As I read this book, I found it was filled with practical insights like about why we experience difficulties:  “I have come to believe that we would have no appreciation or gratitude for life’s good times if we never experienced difficulties. Many of us are extremely grateful for all that God has done for us in Christ because we did have difficult and painful lives.” (Page 31) The Power of Thank You is filled with ideas for every Christian to become more grateful.

 

In addition to this book, I want to give several more practical ideas to increase your gratitude:

 

1. Begin a gratitude journal. Several years ago in November, Darren Hardy suggested starting a gratitude journal. I began to daily write a number of things for which I am thankful. It is a habit which stuck and a daily part of each day when I read my Bible and pray. It doesn't have to be anything fancy or complicated but it is a simple way to add more gratitude into your every day life.

 

2. Get a box of thank you notes and use them regularly. Many years ago when my first book released, I was at a convention and interviewed bestselling author Richard Foster. I showed Richard my new book. To my surprise a few weeks later, I received a handwritten thank you note from him. I decided to incorporate this practice into my life. When authors send me a physical copy of their book, I will write a short thank you note and put it into the mail. It is a simple but powerful way to express gratitude.

 

How do you express gratitude on a regular basis? Let me know your ideas in the comments below.

 

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A Simple Expression of Appreciation

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

The key book which has guided my life in publishing has been the Bible. For many years, I've read a different version of the Bible from cover to cover each year. Reading the Scriptures is a key part of the beginning of each day.  I have been reading in The Passion Translation (Broadstreet). If you don't know about the Passion Translation, I encourage you to get a copy and read it. From my experience, often reading in a new translation will give you fresh insights and perspective. One of the final letters the Apostle Paul wrote was his second letter to Timothy. In 2 Timothy 3:1–5,  he includes a series of godless acts that will happen during the Last Days. tucked into some terrible things is a single word: ungrateful. (2 Timothy 3:1-5).

The opposite of ungrateful is gratitude. As a writer, how do you incorporate gratitude into your daily life?

How you express gratitude doesn't have to be complicated. A simple expression of appreciation can go a long way. My first book, When I Grow Up, I Can Go Anywhere for Jesus, was published in 1992. When the book first came out, I went to the booksellers convention and met with best-selling author Richard J. Foster. His classic book, Prayer: Finding the Heart's True Home had just released. I showed Richard my little 32–page book and gave him a copy. He celebrated with me and prayed with me about the book. Several weeks later, I got a surprise in the mail: a handwritten thank you note from Richard Foster. He was letting me know how much he appreciated the copy of my book.

This handwritten note from a bestselling author was amazing to me—and a practical example of something I've done now for years. I've been writing and reviewing books for many years—in print magazines and online. Almost every day authors and publishers will send me physical books. I appreciate it but to be honest, the volume is way more than anyone could read—even if that is all I did. I read these books in my free time and for fun then write my reviews and post them on Amazon, Goodreads and my social media.

If you can't read every book that comes into your mail box, what can you do? I can take a few minutes and handwrite a note to that author expressing my appreciation for their efforts. I have a box of thank you notes and pull one out, address the envelope and write my note often on the same day I get the book. It is a practice of appreciation that I've done for years—and something anyone can do.

What practices of appreciation do you incorporate into your daily life? Let me know in the comments below.

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