Solving the Pressure Problem Once and For All by Emily Conrad

I’ve spent approximately eight hours working on a 45-second video you probably won’t see.

The lost time and wasted effort sadden me.

The trouble is, I tend toward perfectionism unless I’m consciously warding it off, so when I set out to make a video talking about my debut novel, Justice, it turned into this big scripted ordeal that didn’t appeal to the few people I showed it to.

When I’d hoped they say, “Yeah, this is fine,” instead they came back with suggestions that would mean redoing it from the start.

More work to look less scripted.

I cut my losses. If looking unscripted was going to take even more time, I was out.

Instead of the video, I posted a picture of the real-life setting that inspired the Main Street in Justice, a picture that took all of ten seconds to snap. I’m calling it good.

I can’t do everything. Or rather, I could do a video, but that’s clearly not where my strengths are. As sad as I am about the whole fiasco, I don’t see myself ever being comfortable with anything I produced, so I think I’ve recognized what is, for me, for now, a healthy limit.

Healthy limits don’t come easily for me in Book Launch Land.

Let me just say that I’m super-happy to be launching a book. But even good responsibilities need to be handled correctly, and I’ve found that after working toward publication for years, I now feel years’ worth of pressure to make this book a success. I feel compelled to take advantage of as many opportunities to promote my work as I can find.

So, if I share something on my Facebook page, I should probably also post it to all kinds of groups. In fact, why am I only doing free posts? Why not sponsor some ads? And while I’m at it, I ought to spruce up my site for when readers visit. Oh, and I should figure out how to make a book trailer. And why haven’t I done a Facebook book launch party?

Honestly, it’s not because of healthy limits that I avoided most of these things. I avoided them because of the ugly feeling that grew as I considered taking on yet another task. And still, I had a lot on my plate. This is the way it goes, and having a book out there is an honor. But…

After a couple of intense weeks of promotion, I was fading as I went into the weekend. Instead of continuing full-speed-ahead, I took a break and read a book for the fun of it.

That was more refreshing than I can say.

But the break wasn’t really a solution of the pressure. After the weekend, it was back into the fray, prepping for a Facebook group takeover that will be history by the time you read this post. And once again, compulsion and pressure had their way with me. I complained to a friend about how stressed I was, and her reply put things back into perspective.

God makes things happen, not you.

Can we all breathe a collective sigh of relief at that?

Pressure lurks at every step of the writing life, whether you’re drafting your first novel, rewriting your fifth, approaching agents and editors, or publicizing a book. And though I haven’t gotten further than this yet, I’m sure there are tons of pressure still in store.

But there’s a solution for that pressure. There’s Someone strong enough to take it off my shoulders and yours: Jesus.

We can do our work with excellence and then rest assured the final result is in God’s hands.

It’s time to send perfectionism, compulsion, and self-reliance packing.

A weekend break isn’t enough to fix the mindset that leads to perfectionism and unhealthy striving. We can only be saved from this I-must-do-it-all compulsion by faith.

After all, the Bible doesn’t say the righteous will live by effort.

We live by faith. 

About the Author

Emily Conrad lives in Wisconsin with her husband and two rescue dogs. She loves Jesus and enjoys road trips to the mountains, crafting stories, and drinking coffee. (It’s no coincidence her debut novel is set mostly in a coffee shop!) She offers free short stories on her website and loves to connect with readers on social media.
www.emilyconradauthor.com

facebook.com/emilyconradauthor

Instagram.com/emilyrconrad

Twitter.com/emilyrconrad 

Amazon https://www.amazon.com/Justice-Emily-Conrad-ebook/dp/B0792HGXQN/
Barnes and Noble https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/justice-emily-conrad/1127841580

Justice

Jake thought he was meant to marry Brooklyn, but now she's pregnant, and he had nothing to do with it. Brooklyn can’t bring herself to name the father as she wrestles with questions about what her pregnancy means and how it will affect her relationship with Jake. If Harold Keen, the man who owns the bookstore across from Jake's coffee shop, has anything to do with it, the baby will ruin them both. Can Jake and Brooklyn overcome the obstacles thrown in their path, and finally find the truth in God's love and in each other?

Spring Is Just Ahead by Laura V. Hilton

Laura V. Hilton

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ.” Ephesians 1:3

Where I live, spring is struggling to make an appearance. Jonquils, the very first lovely flowers of spring are blooming. The trees are still brown and leafless, the grass is still dead, leaves still cover the ground in the woods, but the beautiful jonquils brighten the dull, dark landscape with the promise of new life.

Spring is coming! The birds are even singing this message as they return to our woods and build nests for their babies The bright red cardinals, the beautiful black and white chickadees, the bluebirds all come to sit on our deck and eat the birdseed that we put out for them.

I just finished writing a story (releasing in the fall of 2016) that started out rather dark. Much darker than most of my books. Both the hero and heroine had gone through some major issues and were struggling as a result. Was there any hope? Would the darkness go on forever? Would the sun ever shine? But then toward the middle of the book, tiny glimmers of hope began to break through. Yes, spring is just ahead! The darkness is just for a season! Come to the light…

The theme of the book is Romans 8:38-39: “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” The characters of the story went through it all, but ultimately discover that truly, nothing is able to separate us from the love of God.

We are in the middle of the Lent season, for those who observe that. The church I attend doesn’t give it much attention, but Lent focuses on the days leading up to the crucifixion, death, burial, and ultimately the resurrection of Jesus. Jesus went through a literal hell as He prepared the way for our sins to be forgiven and for us to spend eternity with Him, someday. The dark days of Lent are still tempered with the glimmer of light, of hope, that the Lord will triumph over the darkness.

There’s a song the youth group used to sing when I was a teen. I don’t know the name of it. But the lyrics went something like: “It’s cold outside, rain coming down; trouble it seems is all around… Summer its seems was long ago, the sunny days have turned to snow, but don’t dismay, on this winter day, because you know spring is just ahead, things come alive that once were dead, and that’s the way it is with the spiritual man. You can come alive in the way of the Lord…”

He will see you through, too, no matter how grim your situation looks. Keep your eyes on Him and see the blessings He is pouring out. The Redeemer lives, my friend, no matter how out-of-control your life may be. Holy, holy, holy, is the Lord God Almighty, who was, and is, and is to come.

Thank you, Lord, that You offer a glimmer of light in the darkness. A promise that spring – and Your kingdom – are just ahead if we persevere.

About the Author

The Bird House
by Laura V. Hilton

Award winning author, Laura Hilton, her husband, Steve, and three of their children make their home in Arkansas. She is a pastor’s wife, a stay-at-home mom and home-schools. Laura is also a breast cancer survivor. Laura also has two adult children.

Her publishing credits include three books in the Amish of Seymour series from Whitaker House: Patchwork Dreams, A Harvest of Hearts (winner of the 2012 Clash of the Titles Award in two categories), and Promised to Another. The Amish of Webster County series, Healing Love (finalist for the 2013 Christian Retail Awards). Surrendered Love and Awakened Love followed by her first Christmas novel, A White Christmas in Webster County, as well as a three book Amish series with Whitaker House, The Amish of Jamesport series, The Snow Globe, The Postcard, and The Bird House in September 2015. Other credits include Swept Away from Abingdon Press. Laura is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers and a professional book reviewer.

Connect with Laura
http://www.amazon.com/Laura-V.-Hilton/e/B004IRSM5Q
visit her blogs: http://lighthouse-academy.blogspot.com/ & http://lauravhilton.blogspot.com/
Twitter: @Laura_V_Hilton
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Laura-V-Hilton/161478847242512
Pinterest: http://www.pinterest.com/vernetlh/

The Bird House

Twenty–year–old Greta Miller's daed has been injured in a farming accident during the summer. The supportive Amish community tries to help out, but Greta and her sister must work outside the home to make ends meet, and so Greta rents a booth at the farmers' market. Because Greta is still in her rumspringa and free to explore the world, her family selects her to sell her homemade jams, jellies, and preserves to Englischers. Josh Yoder wants to court Greta, but years ago, he made the mistake of rejecting her during a seemingly innocent game; which resulted in him leaving the Amish. Three years later, he's back, but Greta wants nothing to do with him. Josh struggles to fit in and rebuild relationships he destroyed. Knowing Greta's family needs help, he steps in, hoping to win her back. When Greta admires one of his birdhouses, he gives it to her, hoping that it will open the door to more. But as their friendship begins to grow, a series of unfortunate events pull Greta away from the Amish, leaving her rejected by those she loves. Will Greta get beyond her family's distrust and return home? Will she prove her innocence? Or will she remain outside her Amish community?

Three Things Writing Has Taught Me by Kimberly Rose Johnson

Kimberly Rose Johnson

When I began my writing journey in 2006, I knew I needed to learn the craft of writing, but I didn’t expect some of the other lessons I’ve learned along the way. Here are three things writing has taught me.

1. Patience

There have been many lessons learned over the past eight years, but the biggest lesson for me was patience. By nature I am not a patient person, but I had to change or lose my mind because the publishing industry’s philosophy seems to be hurry up and wait and wait and wait. LOL

When my first book, The Christmas Promise, was contracted in the summer of 2012, I had to wait until November of 2013 to see it in print. It seemed like an eternity. In reality it was relatively quick compared to what some writers experience.

2. God is in Control

I learned that God is in control—not me. That lesson took me too many years to grasp.

I am a take-charge kind of person and I have to hold myself back often. I tend to run ahead of the Lord if I’m not careful. I wonder if that has anything to do with patience. Anyway, once I finally grasped that God is my manager and nothing is going to happen unless He says so, then I finally let go and stopped stressing over my lack of a contract.

The funny thing was once I stopped trying to do it on my own, I was offered that elusive contract and not just for one book, but three.

3. It’s not about me

I write because I love the process, and I am happiest when writing. I judge whether a day was good by how much writing I accomplished, but when all is said and done it’s not about me. It’s about the story, the craft, and for me, the ministry.

Remembering that it’s not about me is key to all the other things I’ve learned. I cannot focus on me, but I must focus on Him. When I do that everything else falls into place.

In conclusion, my journey has been one of ups and downs. There were times when I wondered if I was wasting my time, even though there was nothing else I’d rather be doing than write. I’ve developed wonderful friendships through this process and have expanded my world considerably.
I’m not the same person I was eight years ago when as a stay-at-home-mom/piano teacher I started writing. I’ve traveled to several states for writer’s conferences, learned to use the Internet and email, learned a craft I was clueless about, became bold in my faith, and I’m more open to people and new experiences than I used to be.

I’m thankful that I didn’t receive a book contract soon after I started writing, but instead had small successes I could hold onto that encouraged me to keep growing and learning. The process gave me time to be molded into a person who can handle the stresses of writing professionally. God knew what He was doing.

I’m still on the journey and look forward to what ever the Lord has for me.

What lessons have you learned on your writing journey? Share with us by leaving a comment below.

About the Author

MEGHAN BLACK HAS FINALLY MET HER MATCH

A Match for Meghan
by Kimberly Rose Johnson

The veterinary assistant never backs down from a dare…and what greater challenge than finding die-hard bachelor Ben Young his ideal mate? But what's an incurable Cupid to do when the handsome vet turns the tables and asks her out?

Ben is perfectly content with his single life. And he figures there's only one way to get the petite dynamo to quit her matchmaking—date her himself! But his plan backfires when he realizes that Meghan could be The One. Can he convince a woman who believes in happy endings for everyone but herself that he's her Mr. Right?

Kimberly Rose Johnson holds a degree in Behavioral Science from Northwest University. She lives in the Pacific Northwest with her husband, teenage son, and their yellow lab. She writes heartwarming Christian romance for Heartsong Presents and is a member of American Christian Fiction Writers. She enjoys taking long walks with her husband and dog, reading, dark chocolate and time with friends.

You may contact Kimberly via her website at http://kimberlyrjohnson.com/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/KimberlyRoseJohnson

Twitter: https://twitter.com/kimberlyrosejoh

Available at: Amazon, Christianbooks.com and Barnes and Noble