Encouragement for Aspiring and/or Frustrated Writers
Last week I filmed the curriculum for Sacred Pathways, a book that was first published 25 years ago. It was such a satisfying feeling to walk into the studio and see the lights set up, so let me provide the back story.
For “big name” authors, the curriculum for a new book is usually released simultaneously with the book, but at the time Sacred Pathways was published I had virtually no platform. Sacred Pathways was published with such a small advance ($3,000) that it received literally no marketing support. My acquisitions editor called me at the time to apologize: “It’s so well-written and creative, Gary,” she said. “There’s nothing else out there like it. But we paid a lot of advance money for this Fall’s new release, so Sacred Pathways got completely passed over.” She knew at the time (though I had hopes otherwise) that this marketing decision would crush any chance Sacred Pathways had to find an audience. And she was right—in the short term.
Predictably, Sacred Pathways went out of print after selling less than 10,000 copies. Zondervan re-released it when they published their first book of mine (Sacred Marriage), and Sacred Pathways slowly found its own platform. A hugely influential pastor taught out of it at the largest (at the time) pastor’s conference in the U.S. Rick Warren featured the book in one of his chapters for his mega-selling Purpose Driven Life. Other well-known pastors and writers discovered it and began referring to it.
Sacred Pathways was never a “best-seller” in the sense that it never sold quickly, but it did keep selling steadily. After 25 years it finally reached over 100,000 copies sold, a sales figure that less than one percent of books ever reach. And now it has a video curriculum to go with it. I’m carrying a bit more weight and a lot less hair than I had in 1996, so the messenger on film won’t look quite so appealing, but hey, at least the teaching will soon be out there for small groups to use!
Aspiring and frustrated writers, I want to encourage you. I know (trust me, I know) how excruciating and heartbreaking it is to watch a book (or manuscript that isn’t even published) go unnoticed. You pour so much of yourself into it and you have such high hopes. Don’t give up. You never know. Make your writing an act of worship and the release of your book an act of surrender.
I told one first-time writer that I view a book like a Father’s Day present to my heavenly Father. It might be an ugly tie or an unfashionable belt, but He’ll still appreciate the effort and gesture. No effort on God’s behalf is ever wasted. Even if no one ever reads it, God still receives it with a smile. And sometimes, that old tie or belt gets pulled out of the back of a drawer or closet and is actually worn, making the child smile all day long, as I did all last week.
“The Lord humbles and he exalts. He raises the poor from the dust and lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes and has them inherit a throne of honor.” 1 Samuel 2:7-8.
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