10 Quick and Random Thoughts on Writing

Because I'm in the belly of the beast.

I’m deep, deep, deep into the book writing process right now, so it’s difficult for me to switch gears. So for the next few weeks, I’m going to give some lighter fare, starting this week with a few random insights I’ve had this year about writing, and the whole publishing process. These are in no particular order.

1. Smaller publishers need safe books. Here’s something I learned through this process. I’d always thought a smaller publisher would be easier to get in with. But the truth is, that’s only true if you are writing a book that is sure to please the exact audience of this publisher. It makes sense, when you think about it: smaller publishers can’t afford to take risks on books that would alienate their readership. So they tend to publish things that please a certain constituent of society, and stay away from books that would ruffle their feathers. This isn’t meant to be a strike against smaller publishers…I’d be very happy to work with a smaller publisher again someday. But I’d need to create something I thought would resonate with their particular crowd.

2. Choose words you use when you talk. If you’re starting to use a word in your writing that you’ve never used in a conversation, scrap it. It’s showy and probably ugly because it’s too clunky to use in conversation. To butcher a C.S. Lewis quote, “If you find in yourself a desire for a word that nothing in your normal vocabulary can satisfy, the only explanation is that there is another word.”

3. Always ask, “Can I make it a story?” One of the best things I’ve learned through this process is to ask this question. Say you want to include a great quote in your book. Is there a way you can turn that quote into a story? Is it from a novel? Maybe give some story context. Is it from someone’s autobiography? Maybe tell a bit of their story. Is it from an essay? Maybe talk about what was going on in your life when you read it, and why it landed with you.

4. Writing is like having a baby. Your brain forgets just how hard - how extremely, excruciatingly hard - it is to write one single good page. It takes every bit of your heart, mind and soul. And then nature teaches you to forget, so you’ll do it again.

5. Writing is like having a baby part 2. In my experience, most newer writers think they’re finished with something long, long before it’s finished. Although I won’t say it out loud, my first thought on seeing lots of newer writers’ aspiring stuff is, “This needs a few more years of work.” On the flip side of this, I think if you saw my project a few years ago, you would entirely lose trust in me as a writer. Anything can become beautiful and clear, but it takes an incredible amount of labor and time and passion.

6. Want-to-be writers need to be avid readers. One of the themes I heard from editors through this process is how struck they were that I was a pastor who actually read books. One even said most of the pastors they work with, who want to write, never read. “And,” they noted, “it comes across, clearer than they think.”

7. If you don’t have a platform, you need a network. I once read that the publishing industry was “over” platform. It’s not true. Editors might be over it, but marketing teams are not. But I have found, in speaking with a few authors, that there is one alternative to building a huge following: a good network. One writer I know simply met an acquisitions editor at a conference through a friend, and now he’s publishing with a great fit. My own agency (I came to learn later), typically only does acquisitions on referral. In fact, I’m the first non-referral acquisition they’d ever done! 99% of people won’t be that lucky. If you don’t have a huge platform, you need to start making connections with people who do. One simple way to do this? Just talk back to people you’re already reading! Tell them what you like about what they’re doing. Ask if they’d be willing to meet up, if they’re local. I’ve found most authors I’ve reached out to are incredibly generous people who can identify deeply with being an aspiring, struggling author.

8. Reading aloud is the best way to edit. Reading aloud usually helps me eliminate about 30% of the words I’m using, which makes it feel clean, direct and fresh. What I actually do, though, is choose an America voice narrator I love appropriate to my project, and “listen” to them read it in my head. I won’t tell you who mine is for this coming project. That’s between me and my editor.

9. Put your self on the page. When I first “beta tested” my book with some friends, I thought they would latch onto my best arguments. Instead, they latched onto the pieces of the book where I was sharing myself in raw, vulnerable ways. I was surprised by this. But as I read over the next few years, I realized I did the same: I most deeply appreciated pieces of nonfiction books where the author shared themselves, not simply their insights. So don’t just put thoughts on the page. Put yourself on the page, in as raw and real way as you can.

10. Your voice matters, even if no one “chooses” it. Finally, you need to know your voice matters. It doesn’t matter if a publisher picks it up or not. Your voice matters to God. Everything you write is seen and heard by Him. So keep writing, because even if no one cares but your Mom, your voice matters. And learning what, exactly, you want to say - to me - is one of the most satisfying parts of the writing process. As you write, you learn your own voice. Your own thoughts. Your own self. And that in itself is incredibly valuable. So keep writing, and do it sola deo gloria.

If you’re interested in hearing more about my book project with Multnomah about “deconstruction, hope and the evangelical future”, you can read the story here!