She Speaks

*This is the second in a two-part post. Click to start from The Beginnings.

The thought of writing a book sounds nice, but immediately my emotions betrayed me. I feared loneliness; I feared loss of efficiency; I feared the beast called publishing; I feared rejection. None the less, God downloaded an outline and three chapters. I committed my heart and way to writing.

To my surprise, writing the book was anything but what I feared. I felt loved and adored because God was with me in a tangible way, feeding me the words to write. My mother-in-law, Cindy, came along beside me and did the first edits on every chapter. Distraction and procrastination weren’t really issues as God drew me into our work together. It was such a sweet time.

Last year I learned about the conference, She Speaks, and laughed after realizing the cost. However, as I dipped my toes into the writer’s world, I began to understand conferences were seemingly essential to the journey. I set aside the budget God was calling me to set aside, and signed up for publisher appointments. At the time, I thought I was attending to “get” a publisher.

About two months before the conference, as I was wrapping up the book, God began to prepare my heart. When I started writing, I didn’t think self-publishing was an option. There wasn’t a breath of entrepreneurial spirit in me, and the thought of marketing my own book felt hopeless. Then one little bit of information caused me to reconsider: publishers rely on authors to market their book. Uh-Oh!

As the beautiful ladies of She Speaks prepared us for what to expect at the conference and our publishing appointments, I began to learn the details. What publishers are looking for doesn’t seem to be what God has placed on my heart at this time. I started to see God’s purpose for the conference not to find a publisher, but to teach and equip, and hopefully realize the next step for the book.

Monday before the conference, one of the pastors from our church expressed his excitement about the book. I had given him the manuscript and he agreed to read it. He is an author and has published both traditionally and self published. He suggested self-publishing, even expressing his desire to use the book in his ministry. The conversation gave me hope that God had a place for the book.

I was assigned two appointments, one with a self-publisher and one with a publishing house. I was surprised by the price of self-publishing and thankful the pastor had shared there were many different options. When I met with the publisher, she explained their house had a couple books on the same topic coming up, but recommended self-publishing! 

God doesn't speak much more clearly than that! I’m thankful for such clear directions, and will begin the journey to self-publishing!