As I write this post, my publishing dream has yet again been delayed. Three weeks before my first children’s book was supposed to release, I received word that shipping issues would keep us from hitting the original release date. Hateful Covid. For the past month I’ve gathered an amazing group of people who have agreed to be on my launch team, I’ve alerted friends and family—basically everyone who has been walking this journey with me since I signed the contract two years ago—and I’ve even planned a huge launch party for the day of my book’s presumed launch. Now, the book is not expected to hit the market until a month later … maybe.
When you’re running a marathon, and the finish line finally comes into view, the last thing you want is for some unknown force to pick you up and place you a mile or two back on the track. When that happens, and at some point in your writing career a setback will happen, here are some things to keep in mind.
1) Remember and trust that your writing journey, all of it, is in God’s capable hands. Before I ever began writing, and every day since, I’ve asked God to take the words He has given me and use them for His plans and purposes. Shipping delays, Covid, and a host of other complications may be able to stop little ole me in my tracks, but nothing can or will ever stop the plans of our great God. If this work is His—and it is because I surrendered it to Him—then this delay is part of His sovereign plan. And I can trust that He will see to completion the plan for it.
2) Don’t allow yourself to crumble beneath the weight of disappointment. Yes, it stings. Yes, it doesn’t seem fair. Yes, you are allowed a small meltdown. But after you’ve had your pity party, and cried if you wanted to, pick yourself back up and get back to work. Don’t give yourself permission to throw in the towel. Continue to write through the frustration. Adulting is hard, especially when you choose to call yourself a professional. But professionals are able to press on, even when their emotions try to take control. I’m learning to take the setbacks and spin them into positive energy—while I wait for God to make them into something beautiful.
3) View the setback in the right perspective. In the whole scheme of things, my irritation over my book’s delay, and your disappointing writing obstacles, are not the end of the world. No matter how important and painful these experiences may be to us, they are first world problems. All over the planet people are suffering through dire hardships that threaten to take not only their dreams but their livelihoods and even their lives. I’ve found that one surefire way to avoid becoming too consumed with my own disappointments is to focus on the things I have to be thankful for, and to choose to care for and pray for those who have it much worse. When we take our focus off our problems, it gives God a free hand to work things out for good.
Scripture: Proverbs 16:9, Psalm 121:4-5, Philippians 2:3-4, 1 Thessalonians 5:18
Fun Fact or Helpful Resource: I realize that my setback is so miniscule to what some of you may be experiencing. And if I’m honest, it’s miniscule compared to other disappointments I’ve experienced in the past. But this song has gotten me through some very rough patches. The lyrics express perfectly my hope for what trials may produce in my life … and yours.
Annette Marie Griffin is a award-winning writer who speaks at local women’s group meetings and women’s retreats on the topic of biblical womanhood and finding our identity in Christ. She is the Operations and Events Coordinator at a private school for special needs students and is the editor of their quarterly newsletter. She has written custom curriculum for women’s retreats and children’s church curriculum for Gateway Church in San Antonio, Texas where she served as Children’s Ministry Director and Family Program Director for over twenty years. She and her husband John have five amazing children and two adorable grands. She’s a member of Word Weavers International, ACFW, SCBWI, and serves on the Board of Directors for The Creative Writing Institute.
We love helping your growing in your writing career.
No Comments