Our annual San Diego Christian Writer’s Guild conference was just held. It was a day for aspiring writers to talk to an editor, an agent or if they are newbies, a seasoned writer for advice on how to get started. Publishing can be an overwhelming wall to climb over. I know that well, as I spent years in workshops, pitching to editors and listening to speakers on writing to no avail. It took years to get my first book published, and then to my surprise, it was like a waterfall of writing.
The one thing I tell beginning writers is that they need to learn their craft! You don’t pick up a violin for the first time and play a concerto. There are no limits to the genres that are available in spite of market trends. It is the skill of the writer that attracts the editor.
This year we deviated from the usual question and answer panel on Friday night, to have our faculty/staff dinner. It was a chance for those of us working on the conference to talk to the faculty ourselves in a relaxed atmosphere of a private home. Usually we have no more time to talk to them than the conferees. Change is good, and sometimes we get in a rut, in how we do something or our writing. Take a moment to consider what you really want to write about. What do you have on your heart that you feel strongly about? Then sit down at your computer and get to work!
