Being an author is hard. It is considerably different to being a blogger. It’s a bit like being a contestant on a singing competition show, where contestants compete against each other to win a recording contract prize at the end.
Some singers have a pleasant voice and can carry a tune, but they struggle to hit the high notes and have no breath control whatsoever. Others have the quivery, vibrato thing occurring in their voice box, but can’t keep the melody going. They have to train. They need a vocal coach to teach them the finer points and an agent to show them how to present themselves on stage.
Thus, being able to sing and being a successful singer are two different things entirely. When somebody walks into the audition room and looks over at the judges with a desperate glare, I often wonder if they realise that becoming a famous singer means being a performer who is emotionally and physically fit enough to go on tour for a whole year, belting out multiple songs a night to an audience that has given up a large proportion of their hard-earned money to purchase a ticket and be enthralled by their presence. Okay, you can sing, but can you entertain?
I love reading blogs and I’m always encouraging my favourite writers to gather a collecton of their posts and turn them into books. But this can be a scary venture, especilaly when most people have to go down the route of self-publishing.
Robbie Williams is a great example of somebody who proved that he can not only be part of a cute pop band, but be a star in his own right. Gary Barlow also found his own niche very quickly. Who knows if the other members could have had the same success? Maybe they expected it to be as easy as it was for the first two and gave up when disillusionment took its toll.
Secondly, there are a few singers who are so gifted that they haven’t had to do much training in order to wow the public. Jackie Evancho and Bianca Ryan come to mind. They opened their mouths as children, and sounded like they’d been warbling perfectly for decades. Those of you who are old enough will remember how amazing it was when the petite Lena Zavaroni made her debut on Opportunity Knocks back in the 70s. But most people are not like that. They have to work very diligently to get their voice, image and status on point.
Writing blogs and articles is a great way for a potential author to begin, and it helps refine their skills, but this isn’t a guarantee that their first book will be perfect. When I first started churning out books, I thought they were the finished article. It was not until I arranged to have a physical copy of each title sent to my home, that I realised there was much to be edited in each. Some books have been republished 4 times – others, about 12. Yes, my friends, it can take that long before an author is truly happy with their work.
I have learnt that writing a book is a longer process than just editing a manuscript, proofreading it, correcting grammatical errors and choosing an eye-catching image for the front cover.
Verbosity
Firstly, one has to ensure that one does not fall into the trap of become too verbose. Nobody wants to plough through the next edition of, ‘War and Peace’. As difficult as it can be, I try to stick to my motto:
“Get to the point, and quickly.”
My favourite non-fiction books are the ones that have short, concise chapters and are written in a way that is easy to read, put down, and pick up again without losing the thread of where you were. This is what I try to do, because I am my worst critic. As an author, you have to be.
Who still reads?
Connected to this, is the importance of making your work visual. What I mean is, draw the reader in so that they can visualise what you are describing, whether it’s an emotion, an interaction between two people or an environment. We live in an age where humans prefer to be entertained by what they can see moving in front of them, not by what they are reading. You have to ask yourself, “Why would I buy this book?” “Why would I put down my phone to read it?” “Why would I be proud to give it to somebody as a gift?”
Emotional technicalities
What I mean by this is, I have to constantly ask myself, “How am I wanting my reader to feel?” If I am trying to make them laugh, is it because I want them to think I am funny, or because I want them to relax, unwind and learn to see that life can still be fun amidst the chaos? And am I really being funny or just silly? Are the serious bits boring? Confusing? A book that makes me feel condemned or judged, is going to remain at the back of my bookshelf, or find its way to the chairty shop pile. The same is true of one that doesn’t flow right, or where the author is trying too hard to be amusing.
Is this biblical?
Being an author is difficult enough, but what is even more complex is when you are penning Christian material – writing books to encourage others in their walk with God and to glorify Jesus. There is a constant checking and rechecking that everything you say is biblically sound, ties-in with scripture, not heretic or dishonouring to the very God you are trying to bless.
Mixed in with that, is the other side of the coin: one cannot get so bogged-down with the dread of being seen as flaky, that one comprises by falling into ‘fear of man’. One has to be firm in their convictions and not be terrified of offending. Expert evangelist, Ray Comfort says that many Christians are so scared of talking about Hell and repentance that they are actually doing unregenerate people a disservice. He states that by only telling people that God loves them, it is like giving a blind man headphones that he turns up so loud that he cannot hear the shouts of warning as he edges towards the cliff face. Yes, people need encouragement, yes, people need to feel good about themselves and inspirational books are wonderful, but somewhere along the line, if you want to do these lost souls justice, you have to quit fearing their anger and tell them the full truth. Hell is real and repentance is an unavoidable necessity of life.
Empathy
The interlocking difficulties continue as one realises that one cannot just shout at people in their books and make them feel like everything is wrong with their life. There are reasons why people do stupid things, make foolish choices, clock up failures by the dozen, and wallow in self-hate and depression. The last thing a Christian writer wants to do, is wound the wounded. Empathy plays such an important part in the world of Christian literature. So, while we mustn’t be sycophantic with our readers, we also mustn’t be too harsh.
Prayer
Thankfully, with much prayer and waiting on the Lord, the Christian author can be happy with the end results of their work. But as you can see from everything described above, this does not happen as fast as one imagines. Writers always have ideas going around their heads, especially ones like me who find people fascinating and see God in so many ordinary situations. But humility is the key. Of course, I am not saying that I am humble, for as soon as one considers themselves to be so, they have fallen back into pride.
All I am saying is, that like with every other type of gift, as a Christian, one has to make sure they stay grounded. Another one of my favourite mottos is:
“Don’t become full of yourself and don’t think you are anything special just because you have items in print. Your name is on the front cover of catchy titles – so what!”
God has given each and every one of us gifts to use and share with others and success is only reached when we acknowledge that we cannot do anything by ourselves. People need people – that is how God made the system.
Teamwork
And so, I end by declaring that I am very grateful for all the people who made my books possible – from the people who made me cry, to the hilarious characters I have bumped into on the London Underground. They are the reason I put pen to paper in the first place, and of course, Jesus Christ, who has done, and still continues to be, the most amazing person that has ever been worth writing about.
I have this notion that everyone has at least one book inside of them. I encourage you to release yours. Despite the frustrations and complexities of being an author – it’s worth it. It has brought me so much joy.
