Tips from an Overrated, Talentless Author by Bethany Turner

I am my least favorite writer. I really am. I’m completely overrated. (Note: I’m not even all that highly rated, but that’s not the point. If anyone likes me, they really shouldn’t.) I don’t understand what my publisher was thinking when they offered me a contract. And do you want to know what else? I’m working on a romantic comedy manuscript right now that is about as romantic and comedic as my son’s Algebra 2 homework. (Note: I stopped being able to help my children with their math somewhere around the time we took the training wheels off their bikes.)

Now, Wooing Cadie McCaffrey? The one that comes out on May 21^st? Well…that one is a different story entirely. That book was a stroke of genius. I’m not sure what happened when I was writing that one, but every single word is gold.

But yeah…this new book I’m working on? Don’t get your hopes up, people. I stink. Seriously. I’m the worst. And I’ve been sure to tell that to as many people as possible recently. I’m not exactly sure why. Maybe I just want to prepare them and make sure expectations are kept in check. Everyone has been saying nice things, of course. “I’m sure it’s better than you think,” and stuff like that. But I’m quick to assure them that it is not, in fact, better than I think. It is exactly as awful as I think it is.

The thing is, I’m surrounded by people who are on the journey with me. Legitimately on the journey. They’ve been there with me through the ups and downs of writing and publishing, not to mention…life. And these people usually laugh at me when I say things like, “Whatever minuscule amount of talent I’ve ever had has been lost!” (Note: I say that every bit as dramatically as those words should be said.) Yeah. They laugh at me. (Note: I do mean at me. In such moments, I am never laughing.)

They laugh because they’ve heard it all before. Of course, I never remember that I said it before, because I’m living in the afterglow. I’m convinced that I always loved Wooing Cadie McCaffrey, and that from the very beginning I knew it was the best thing I’d ever written. I’m not thinking about my editor’s text message that said, “I’ll be honest…we have a lot of work to do.” I’m not thinking about how much I cried when the first round of edits required me to scrap a quarter of the manuscript. And I’m certainly not thinking about all the times I said, “The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck was a fluke, and the only decent novel I’ll ever write.”

So, writers…hang in there. Stick with it. Trust the process. Thank the Lord for editors. And surround yourself with people who will laugh at you. (Note: Somewhere between brilliance and stinkiness, you may even be able to laugh along.)

...surround yourself with people who will laugh at you. via @SeeBethanyWrite #SeriouslyWrite #writingtips

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Bethany Turner is the award-winning author of The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck, which was a finalist for The Christy Award. When she’s not writing (and even when she is), she serves as the director of administration for Rock Springs Church in Southwest Colorado. She lives with her husband and their two sons in Colorado, where she writes for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight.

For more, visit www.seebethanywrite.com.

When God Does a New Thing by Bethany Turner

Bethany Turner

Just when we think we have this writing gig under control, something can make us feel insecure all over again. But, that’s also when God often surprises us. Author Bethany Turner has experienced some of those unexpected situations, and she shares part of her personal journey with us today. ~ Dawn

When God Does 

a New Thing

I wonder what God thinks when He sees us down here on Earth, so sure we’ve got it all figured out. I’m sure He’s never surprised. After all, our attempts to pull together our own plans for our lives have literally been causing problems since the beginning of mankind.

When I was offered my first publishing contract, from Revell for The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck, it was a one book deal. When you’re an obsessive planner, as I am, and—let’s face it—a control freak (again, as I am), a one book deal is a mental challenge. What do I work on now? When you’re continually struggling with your confidence, and you’re oh-so-eager to please everyone (as I am), a one book deal also becomes an emotional blockade. Don’t they believe in me? Do they just think I had one good idea and that’s all I’ve got in me? Hang on…are they right?!

But eventually I had what I knew was another good idea. I began writing, and I wrote in communion with the Lord. I was able to see how I had grown as a writer, and I was pretty sure I was writing better than I ever had. So, when the time came to pitch the new book to my editor, I knew that a second contract with Revell was an inevitability.

And that pitch was rejected.

I felt as if the wind had been knocked out of me. In my overreacting heart and mind, all of my previous wondering and fears were confirmed, and I could suddenly be assured that I was indeed a talentless hack who had lucked into one decent thought for a book.

My editor has become a dear friend, so we wrestled through it together. In one of our exchanges, I said to her, “I don’t even know what to write, then! The only other thought I’ve had that even resembles a book idea is…” And I went on to tell her about three sentences of a half-hearted idea. To which she replied, “I like that. Let’s talk more about that one.” Soon we were in Dallas together at the ACFW Conference, and over dinner we fleshed out that idea. About two weeks later my agent called me and said, “There’s an offer in my inbox.”

Isaiah 43: 18-19a says, “Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing!”

Sometimes all I can do is shrug my shoulders. I don’t understand. I certainly don’t know the plan. But I’m determined to stop seeing that as a problem, and instead focus on the promise that exists. His way is always best, and that would be every bit as true if I never wrote or published another book. God is doing a new thing! And I’ll take His new thing over my former thing every time.

The Secret Life 

of Sarah Hollenbeck

The Secret Life of Sarah Hollenbeck

Becoming a Christian is the best—and worst—thing that has ever happened to Sarah Hollenbeck.

Up to now, Sarah Hollenbeck made her very comfortable living as a well-known, bestselling author of steamy romance novels that would leave the members of her new church blushing. Now she's trying to reconcile her past with the future she's chosen. She's still under contract with her publisher and on the hook with her enormous fan base for the kind of book she's not sure she can write anymore. She's discovering that the church might frown on her tithing on royalties from a "scandalous" book. And the fact that she's falling in love with her pastor . . . well, let's just say that doesn't make things any easier.

With a powerful voice, penetrating insight, and plenty of humor, novelist Bethany Turner explodes onto the scene with a witty debut that isn't afraid to deal with the thorny realities of living the Christian life.

Bethany Turner is the director of administration for Rock Springs Church in Southwest Colorado. A former VP/operations manager of a commercial bank and a three-time cancer survivor (all before she turned thirty-five), Bethany knows that when God has plans for your life, it doesn’t matter what anyone else has to say. Because of that, she’s chosen to follow his call to write. She lives with her husband and their two sons in Colorado, where she writes for a new generation of readers who crave fiction that tackles the thorny issues of life with humor and insight.

To learn more and connect with Bethany, please visit:

www.seebethanywrite.com

www.facebook.com/seebethanywrite   

www.instagram.com/seebethanywrite   

www.twitter.com/seebethanywrite