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A Christian Writer’s Struggle

I began writing at school, just silly stuff about pop stars and dreaming of marrying one of the Osmond brothers. The kids at school were really interested and loved reading my stories. But my parents, mostly my mother was not keen on my writing career. There are no jobs in writing. You couldn’t earn a living from it anyway…unless you were Steven Speilberg or C.S.Lewis.

But how does a small freelance writer get to that level. Its not easy, not even in the publishing world. Rejections after rejections are an endless battle, even when your work is at the top level. You begin to feel like no one cares for your work and you give up. Musicians, Actors, and Sports people get more Sponsorship support than a writer does, even with writers workshops, support groups, and friends you are interested in your work.

But God has given me a gift for writing. I write letters to papers, as well as books. But, when you tell people that you love to write, they look at you funny as if you are some kind of hippy. Getting your book into a local bookshop is virtually impossible, due to cost and whether your book will be a risky adventure. Why would it be risky? Because no one has read it yet. No one knows you. So how can a writer get known.

I found a Christian e-authors group which is a great support for my work. I also found a POD site where i can upload my books to the public and the site print and ship on demand. God has given me the internet where i can become known. I can now say to myself “who needs publishers?”

I still get looks from people when I tell them I am a freelance writer. People, even your own church, don’t know how to relate to you as as writer. I’m a normal person. I still eat takeaway food and sleep and struggle to make ends meet. I’m not a hippy on valium. But, the world see writers as a freak out group.

Why?

Writing is just an art form, like painting and music and cartooning and acting. It’s just another way that God talks to His children and to the world, not just in Christian books, but also in other forms of literature.

It’s another witnessing tool.

My mother used to bag and verbally abuse me for my writing, but now I’m published, she is pleased about it. If I had of had more support from her earlier on, I would have been published a long way back. What did she think it took for me to get published. Not out of thin air.

Roo

19 Comments

  1. Marie Seltenrych 6/19/2005
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