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| Melinda Viergever Inman |
The
Dreaded XLS File
Never in my life did I ever want to have anything to do with
XLS files. My idea of an Excel spreadsheet was entirely aesthetic. I liked the
neat and tidy rows of information. I had no idea of the inner workings,
calculations, possible glitches, or formatting.
Little did I know, but the XLS file would become part of my
life as an author. Had I known this beforehand, I might have bailed.
There are numerous people training us how to market as indie
authors, or how to more effectively market alongside our publishers. The steps
are the same. We promote our books, often teaming up with other authors for
more impact in a joint promo. In some of these, we receive back a list of
people who have either downloaded our freebie, signed up for our newsletter, or
some other combination.
In short, we’ve gained a “subscriber.”
We now have a list of people to inform of our next release
or other great deals. We must also protect and guard them from spam. I’m so
paranoid about spamming my list that I absolutely do not communicate unless
it's a tremendous deal that simply can't be missed.
When I started my blog in 2011, I didn’t want anything to do
with this sort of thing. I would write, and, because I’m a good writer, people
would flock to read my quiet little blog. Go ahead and snicker. I’m now
snickering at my naiveté, too.
Instead, a torrential flood of writers also started writing
blogs. No one has time for that! Additionally, unedited rough drafts were
slapped onto Amazon posing as novels. Millions of books. Not even Amazon knows
how many. The pile teetered at 12,000,000 in recent years, but then they quit
reporting anything over a million.
On top of this, writers now have to do something else, too,
rather than merely writing. Currently there's a podcast craze. Also, we must
sell our course about how we write or
how we market and you can, too, etc.,
etc., ad nauseum.
The clamor is never ending. Most of us hate this. We want to
be left alone, so we can write fiction. We want to leave our readers alone. To
maintain our sense of self in this maelstrom, we each set our own careful
limits. But, within those limits, we must incorporate marketing. This is the
price of doing business, and writing is a business.
Dickens knew this. He pounded the pavement. He begged,
cajoled, and pled. He finagled the system, so he could be paid by the word. Ah! You now understand his tangents. He
lived on the edge. The man had ten children. He had to be paid.
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| Things We Never Knew About Writer Life |
I think of Dickens when I approach the dreaded XLS file
after a promotion. I have gained more subscribers, but getting that file into
my Mail Chimp list the first time resulted in tears and assaults on my sanity.
Why was I torturing myself, so?
Here is why: God has given me stories to tell. He has an
audience for those stories, but like Jonah I have to get off the boat going the
opposite direction or pray from the pit of the fish’s stomach at ocean bottom,
so that I can be vomited onto the beach to do my job. Like Jeremiah, I may need
to spend time in a muddy cistern dangling by a rope digging into my armpits to
keep me from getting sucked under entirely.
Proclaiming the Good News always comes at great cost, even
when it’s encased within a story. As followers of Jesus and readers of the
Bible, we should know this. We remember it as our guts clench when we see the
attached Excel spreadsheet arriving from Ryan Zee. Broadcasting the Good News
came at great cost to Jesus and to all His disciples. Why would it be any
different for us?
Therefore, pray for strength, dear writers, and step into the
fray.
Love
takes action: The Creator God establishes the cosmos and shapes a man. Adam
rises from the dust. Envious, the powerful angel Lucifer despises him.
Oblivious to the threat, Adam is captivated by his strong, intuitive wife Eve.
In the Garden of Eden, they enjoy abundant food, gorgeous vistas, and
intriguing challenges, including their budding love and passion. They have it
all!
But
Lucifer’s deceptive brilliance tricks them into disobeying God. They eat the
one forbidden fruit. Their innocence is shattered. Their unity with one another
and with God is destroyed. Death will follow. Lucifer’s jealousy threatens
mankind’s tenuous beginning. But God is merciful. What astonishing promise does
He make? How will Adam and Eve survive—broken, shattered, and separated from God?
Melinda Viergever Inman was
raised in a storytelling family. There her roots were sunk. During years of
relocation, tragedy struck. Wounded and heartbroken, Melinda forsook her roots
and ran from herself and from God. A journey of trial and heartache brought her
home again. A prodigal now returned, she writes with passion, illustrating
God's love for wounded people as He makes beauty from ashes. Fallen is her second novel; Refuge, the sequel, is her first.
Melinda shepherds women in prison ministry and writes inspirational material at
http://melindainman.com/blog/. With her family she is involved with Mission
India/RIMI, rescuing orphans and providing theological and job training for
impoverished students.
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