Can you share a little about your recent book?
My book 50 Life Lessons for Grads: Surprising Advice for Recent Graduates (Worthy/Hachette) was a Christian bookstore bestseller. It shares what recent college graduates learned through real struggles, opportunities, and the fears they faced.
Why do you write? Do you have a theme, message, or goal for your books?
I write to teach others how to have a rich, purposeful life through the study of God’s Word and prayer.
How long have you been writing?
God called me to write for him in 1986. I began writing articles for Christian magazines, then started writing books a few years later. I wrote while also working full-time as a high school English teacher and raising four kids.
And how long did it take you to get your first major book contract? Or are you published non-traditionally? How did that come about?
I wrote 13 children’s books for David C. Cook, then got my first major book contract in 2000 for PrayerWalk, which became a bestseller. My agent challenged me to “write about that prayerwalking thing you’re doing.” My first response was, “I don’t think that’s a book. It’s five words: ‘You walk and you pray.’” Clearly, since it’s been in print for 20 years (WaterBrook/RandomHouse), it was indeed a good book idea.
Which of your books is your favorite?
My favorite is The Complete Guide to the Prayers of Jesus: What Jesus Prayed and How It Will Change Your Life Today (Bethany House). When I started prayerwalking in 1998, I went on a journey to read everything I could about prayer, including reading the Bible all the way through each year to note textual references to prayer—centering on what Jesus taught about prayer, his prayer practices, and his actual prayers. I wanted people to have a resource that had everything in one volume about his prayer life.
How long does it take you to write a book?
I’ve written a complete book in as short as three weeks.
What’s your writing work schedule like?
I work on marketing and social media tasks in the morning (including my daily blog), then shift to writing.
Do you have an interesting writing quirk? If so, what is it?
I’ve learned that when I’m a bit blocked, that mowing the lawn or doing the laundry or going for a prayerwalk will help my left and right brains make friends again, so the words can find themselves dropping onto the page. Also, popcorn and Coke Zero can help.
What has been your greatest joy(s) in your writing career?
(1) Meeting a reader I had not known who tells me my book changed her life (typically the book PrayerWalk).
(2) A few awards: Mt. Hermon Christian Writers Conference Writer of the Year (1993), 2020 Jennifer Kennedy Dean Award (AWSA), and AWSA Member of the Year (2004)
What has been your darkest moment(s)?
My darkest moment was the day my husband Craig was falsely convicted of six felony animal abuse charges related to the deaths of six young calves in a two-day snowstorm; we took on the appeal ourselves, and the case was overturned in the California Court of Appeals two years later in 2007. We had 5-1/2 years of struggle related to that criminal case that should never have gone to trial. I am planning on writing a memoir related to that unjust experience. I didn’t have a published book from the 2006 to 2015; the experience really was tough, and it still hurts.
How many times in your career have you experienced rejection? How did they shape you?
Good grief, I have no idea. Hundreds, probably—compared to the 24 books I wrote under contract with traditional publishers.
Where do you get your ideas?
Titles just come to me. I wrote headlines for a daily newspaper for years. A whole book concept will come to me as a title first.
Who is your favorite author to read?
Fiction: Cynthia Ruchti and Jan Karon Nonfiction: the late Jennifer Kennedy Dean, who wrote books on prayer that will become classics some day
What advice can you give aspiring writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wished you would have heeded?
Learn how to study the form of the genre you wish to write. While I heard that expression many times when I was beginning, I really didn’t know how to do that. I taught myself, and I now teach that analysis skill for writers conferences and my own Sierra Valley Writers Retreat.
What are common mistakes you see aspiring writers make?
I often see aspiring writers just sit down and start writing. They really need to create a proposal first, even if they’re going to self-publish the book. My agent, Janet Grant, says a proposal is basically a business plan, but it also is a vehicle for creating a much better book. It will focus the content, better meet the needs of the potential audience, and create a product that is unique.
Where/How do you recommend writers try to break into the market?
Beginning writers should find their tribe so as to have a ready-made audience for their book. They should also attend as many different writers conferences as they can—so as to make connections in the industry and to learn the craft. I attended THREE major Christian writers conferences within that first year after God called me to write for him, and I kept going to one (Mt. Hermon) nearly every year thereafter.
A national speaker, Janet McHenry is the author of 24 books–six on prayer, including the bestselling PrayerWalk and her newest, The Complete Guide to the Prayers of Jesus. She is also the creator of the masterclass Prayer School, a certified writing and life coach, and the host of the Sierra Valley Writers Retreat. Janet and her husband Craig raised four children in the Sierra Valley in northern California, where he is a rancher and where she taught high school English and served as an academic advisor. She loves connecting with readers and writers: janetmchenry.com.
Where to buy books:Amazon.com, Christianbook.com, Barnesandnoble.com, janetmchenry.com
Social media and web links:
- Facebook profile: janet.mchenry.9
- Facebook author: JanetMcHenryAuthor
- Instagram: janetmchenry
- Twitter: LookingUpFirst
- Pinterest: janetmchenry
- LinkedIn: janet-mchenry
- Website and blog: janetmchenry.com
- Prayer School
- Sierra Valley Writers Retreat
- Janet McHenry Coaching
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