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| Linnette's novel. Don't you love the cover? |
“Writers must pay their dues.”
“If you’re serious about writing,
you’ll work hard to prove yourself. Eventually, people will sit up and take
notice.” As a new writer, these words needled me. While it sounds like an
excuse to ignore newbie writers, it rings of truth. However, I’ve since learned
a more comforting truth:
You aren’t a writer because you write. You
write because you are a writer.
Don’t let the need to prove
yourself discourage you. Even in seasons of life where you have to lay aside
the pen, know that if you’re truly a writer you will write. The delay is simply
part of your journey.
My own journey is rather abnormal,
but then what is normal in this age of publishing?
While I haven’t been writing
since I could hold a pencil and I wasn’t an avid reader in my early years, stories
have always swam in my head. I can’t remember a time when I wasn’t a people
watcher - an observer of life. If you ever received letters from me in my
youth, you can attest to page after page of detailed accountings of my life. My
brother once teased, saying I couldn’t sign a card without writing a book. So in
my own way I’ve always been a story-teller.
I became chronically ill after
the birth of my third son. While my body was broken, my mind remained active. I
picked up the pen to preserve my sanity. I finished my first manuscript and
then realized I didn’t know what to do with it. Thus began my foray into the
world of search engines where I found an inexpensive on-line character building
class with DiAnn Mills. She gave me encouraging feedback throughout the class, and
guided me to Mark Littleton and HACWN where I officially became part of the
writing jungle!
Due to certain providences, however,
I set aside my manuscript. In an effort to continue honing my writing
December of 2011, Mark Littleton
mentioned that writer friend Pamela Sonnenmoser was somehow connected to a small
but growing traditional publisher. He encouraged me to contact her, so (still
agent-less) I emailed a request for information. She in turn requested information
about my novel. Little did I know she was the acquisitions editor! I sent her
the information she wanted and continued my self-publishing research. Months
passed and, forgetting about the publisher, I decided to self-publish.
One week in July 2012, I was preparing
to set up a Kickstarter to raise funds for my endeavor when I received an email
from CrossRiver Media Group. They wanted to see the full manuscript as well as
the rest of my book proposal.
“God, what are you doing?”
I thought he wanted me to self-publish,
yet I felt compelled to at least explore the CrossRiver option. So I sent them
my proposal and full manuscript. After many questions back and forth, and much
praying on both
God dropped my publisher in my lap –
incomplete book proposal and all.
It floored me! Getting a
publisher just doesn’t happen this way. Yet, as I reflect back I see how God guided
the publication of “Finding Beth”. The three years I spent searching, my
publisher was getting established and I was gaining necessary insight to make
“Finding Beth” exactly what God wanted it to be. As I still struggle with my
health, I remind myself that book two will also be completed and published in
God’s timing. That brings me such sweet comfort.
LINNETTE R. MULLIN is an author of life-changing romance. She has been married to her hubby - Johnathan, for over twenty years, and they've been blessed with four sons. Some of her writing credits include Charles Stanley's "In Touch" magazine, "101 Facets of Faith", Guidepost's "Extraordinary Answers to Prayer", and "Public Health Alert" - a nationally distributed newspaper for the chronically ill. She is the founder and coordinator of Palmetto Christian Writer’s Network in Lexington, South Carolina and she runs the “We Are Writers” group on Facebook. Her favorite things in life are her family, her church, reading and writing, and her Savior most of all.
Linnette would love to hear from you. For more information
about “Finding Beth”, Linnette or how to connect with her, please visit
LinnetteRMullin.com.
