Blogger: Rachel Kent
This blog is similar to Wendy’s in that I’m going to talk about a project I’ve been pitching to editors. This post is less about the “perfect pitch” and more about how to entice editors to read a proposal. I’m hoping that you will see through this post that highlighting who you are and having an established, defined message will help you to catch those editors’ eyes. Each of you is unique and is writing for a reason–whether you write fiction or nonfiction–and being true to yourself and your message will help you to go far.
Amy Ford, my client, runs a ministry for young, single women at her church in Texas, and it’s expanding. The group is called Embrace Grace and is a nonprofit formed to offer support, friendship and spiritual guidance to women who find themselves facing an unplanned pregnancy. The work Amy and her friend Salina Duffy are doing is saving lives–both spiritually, through the message of Jesus, and literally, through showing young ladies alternatives to abortion. Embrace Grace goes beyond teaching these women. The group offers friendship and companionship. The women aren’t alone as they journey down the unfamiliar path of pregnancy. Along with weekly meetings, Embrace Grace throws each woman a baby shower or celebration party (if giving the baby up for adoption is the decision). They have a princess day to emphasize how each of these women is a child of God. The sense of community is beautiful.
Amy’s book, A Bump in Life: True Stories of Hope and Courage During an Unplanned Pregnancy, shares real-life stories to encourage women who might not have a group like Embrace Grace near them. It will help these young women to realize that there is hope even when they are facing overwhelming emotions and fear. It encourages the women to seek support in the right places.
Amy’s message is so strong and so necessary these days–in a world where more than 1 million abortions take place each year in the U.S. alone– that the book was instantly well-received by the publishers. They saw the book as a way that they could help to make a difference. This is what each of you should strive for with your books–a book that has a message that the publishers will want to align themselves with to help the world in one way or another.
Amy has also lived her message. She’s been the girl facing an unplanned pregnancy–scared and unsure of what to do–so she knows what these women are going through. Her story will be part of the book. I encourage each of you to write what you have lived. Your message will be stronger if you are not removed from it. Show in your book how God has worked in your life. You can do this with fiction too!
Amy and Salina have also put together a wonderful website and a blog that show the heart of the message of Amy’s book and the Embrace Grace ministry. Check it out here: http://www.iembracegrace.com/index2.php Be sure to watch the slideshow on the homepage. It’s amazing and even better with the music. I’m not an overly emotional person, but I found myself crying. A publisher looking at the website would see that the ministry is touching lives, and Amy’s heart for these women would be apparent. I hope each of you will take a closer look at your website and blog to make sure it’s sharing the message you want it to for potential publishers and your audience.
What is your unique message, and how are you showing it in your book?
Thank you for this reminder to intentionally write and design our writings and social media presence, Rachel.
Throughout my years of schooling and now in writing, I’ve had people comment when they can tell I’m passionate about a subject. Exuding encouraging, helpful passion about something seems to draw people in.
Exactly! Thanks for commenting today, Caroline.
Rachel,
Thanks for using me as an example today! I love how God can take our ashes and turn them into something so beautiful. Thanks for believing in me and this project. This whole publishing process has been fun so far!
Let’s save some babies!
If anyone is curious, I used WordPress.com for blog and http://www.BluDomain.com for website, both super easy and inexpensive to use.
<3, Amy
So excited to learn about your work and writing! Inspirational! I blog about placing yourself in the proximity of renewal. I’d love to feature your books and links for a post. I’ll look for your contact info on your website:)
Thanks for popping in, Amy, and for letting me use you as an example. 🙂 I am thrilled to be working with you.
Oh, what a beautiful ministry! I’ve always had a special place in my heart for pro-life ministries. In fact, my first book has a pro-life thread in it.
One of the biggest messages I want to convey with my work and my life is that God is faithful, no matter the circumstances…and He’s okay with us asking questions.
Another thing I’m passionate about is purity and for women to see themselves as God sees us: beautiful and untainted because of the blood of Jesus.
Thanks for sharing this today, Rachel! I’ll have to go check out that slideshow. I AM a bit emotional, so it’ll probably have me bawling. 😛
I love your message, Lindsay! Thanks.
Rachel, your post reminds me of what a journalism prof told us freshman in college. “Make your writing universal and unique.” Universal in that there are things that every human experiences: loss, betrayl, joy, unplanned events. The place to shine, he said, is to create a unique perspective and way to show it that captures people.
I like to think about that as I write. There is nothing new under the sun, however, there are a bazillion ways to be unique. Thanks for your post.
That’s a great way to put it. Thanks for sharing his quote.
That’s perfect. I’m going to write that down: universal AND unique.
What a beautiful story about Amy’s ministry, how her life situations led her into a place where God could use her so powerfully in the lives of other women. It sounds like Amy has taken some great steps inmoving her book toward publication with her website and blog. 🙂
You’ve got me thinking with your questions this morning. 🙂 After pondering for a few minutes, I’m seeing that my unique message is that God is faithful and loves people. He is able to heal broken people and relationships. In my current book, this message comes through as a husband and wife learn how to forgive and trust each other and, ultimately, God.
Thanks for your post today, Rachel. You gave me some great food for thought. 🙂
You have a lovely message, Jeanne. I pray your book will touch many lives and help lead those going through tough times to the One who can really help them.
Thanks for the encouragement. This is an area I’ve been thinking about often — writing from my own experiences. It’s actually the topic of my blog post today, although I was focusing on the idea of memoirs. I appreciate you sharing Amy’s story — great ministry!
Thanks! If you would like to put your blog link here, feel free to do that as well. Sounds like a relevant topic.
Thanks, Rachel, for this post and for saying the bit about encouraging us to write what we have lived.
I’ve read so many things about writing that say don’t write about you, don’t make it about your story, your life’s not that interesting… I understand the basis of these comments, but like you said and especially being Christians, I believe that to an extent we have to write about ourselves–how else can it believable.
In creating fiction, we must explore the journey that God has brought us on through our spiritual lives thus far and bring truth to our characters and situations. Readers can see through forced emotion/situations in an instant.
Looking back on the fiction manuscript I recently completed, I can see glimpses of my own story and convictions within the storyline. Sure, I haven’t been in the exact situations of my characters (thankfully I didn’t live in Nazi Germany), but at the heart of the situation is trusting God, being obedient, not ignoring conviction and standing firm in your faith.
Finding the heart of the story and connecting that to your heart for God and others is the key. Thanks for sharing, Morgan.
That’s exactly it, Rachel! Thanks for the encouragement!
What a great reminder to write what you know! Amy’s story is inspiring.
You’re welcome. And I find her story inspiring too! 🙂
I love this!I can sense His Sweet Spirit all over it!! Going to your site now, Amy.
Blessings,
Julie
Thanks, Julie. 🙂 God really is working through Amy and her ministry. I can’t wait to see what He does with the book!
Rachel, this is a beautiful post and it’s evident that you have a heart for Amy and for her project & ministry. I write fiction and I’m always thinking of ways to weave in my own life experiences. God has shown me His great faithfulness amidst doubt and fear and the victory He desires every Christian to walk in – I hope and pray that those attributes of Christ shine through in my words.
Thank you, Gabrielle. And I love that you are already consciously thinking of how you can weave your life into your stories to God’s glory. Awesome!
This is tough–especially when the story you have to share isn’t the one you envisioned. I began writing about our daughter, Ruth, who had CP and was deaf soon after we adopted her from Uganda. But when she unexpectedly died at the age of seven, I had a very different story–and a message of how every child is precious and deeply loved by God. While writing, I also discovered the condition that caused Ruth’s disabilities has been nearly eliminated in the U.S., yet remains a major problem in East Africa and the devleoping world. I hope to use Ruth’s story and the income from her book to educate parents and the medical community in Uganda to prevent other children from suffering the way she did.
Wow. That is tough. Sounds like you did exactly what I am suggesting in the post though. You let God use your unique story (even though it was a horrible experience) to touch lives and to help others.
Writing is a ministry and a big responsibility and God has used yours to make a difference!
Thank you for your ministry as well, Meadow.
Great ministry and wonderful slideshow.
Did you cry? 🙂
I didn’t, which is odd for me. Probably because the volume on the music was turned way down so I wouldn’t disturb others in the room.
What a wonderful project. Our family has been personally touched by 2 wonderful ministries very similary to Amy’s through the blessing of adoption, so I can’t wait to pick up this book and have it ready to share with others! Thanks for the reminder of the importance of heart behind writing, Rachel.
Yay! Thanks, Amanda.
Quite a wonderful ministry, and much needed. It’s a situation I will never fully understand, but am sympathetic to. I’ve known and spoken with women who’ve had an unexpected pregnancy, and they are so torn up spiritually, not to mention the physiology involved, that they hardly know what to do. These women need support in a big way. Unfortunately, many don’t receive it. Snide looks and whispers behind their backs are what they get, instead. I applaud your client and wish her all the success she can stand.
The message in my writing isn’t unique. My hope is that I can deliver it in a unique way, though. I write crime fiction, dabble in some horror, but not a lot. In my writing, I show a lot of bad things about the world, some things I’ve seen and heard as an addiction counselor and suicide prevention specialist. My stories aren’t appropriate for the Christian market, but the message is there. The world is full of horror and tragedy, but it can be overcome, no matter how hard or dark the journey is. It doesn’t always end with living happily ever after, but the point is that even though this world can kill you, it can’t defeat you unless you let it. Like I said, not original by any means, but it’s honest and I hope I can convey that to my readers.
Ah, but who you are is influencing the stories you write in a good way. You are an addiction counselor, suicide prevention specialist and a Christian and you are writing books that appeal to those you might counsel to try to help them while providing an entertaining story. Sounds like you are tapping into your unique gifts to make your stories the strongest they can be.
I love the message and heart all the frequent posters on this blog write with.
I find myself inspired by the posts and their amazing authors, agents that take time to encourage and teach us!
I equally find myself inspired by those who comment, I’ve learned so much checking out your blogs and work!
Thank you, Lisa. I also learn so much from the blog and all of our readers who post comments. We have an amazing community of people here!
As a fiction writer, it always seems to be harder to write in a way that makes a publisher want to join with us because fiction is about story, not a message.
But this post really helped me pin this down. I write contemporary women’s fiction about urban/suburban women struggling to live out their faith in a compromising world. And ironically this fits into my everyday life too.
My husband is a pastor which makes me–wait for it–a pastor’s wife. Shocking, I know. Part of our ministry has been working with people dealing with spiritual baggage. Again, no surprise. Recently I got to talk to a friend who was saved from a very wild, immoral background, and it hit me that what she was dealing with in real life was similar to what I want to cover in fiction.
I’m not sure I’m explaining it well, but this post helped me see how my love for fiction and the kind of stories I write is really about helping struggling Christian women. And that’s something I can build into my website which I need to do sometime soon.
Amy, thanks for being the example for us. Your ministry sounds wonderful! Wish you could be everywhere. 🙂
I understand what you are saying. I’m glad my post helped you see how your life as a pastor’s wife and your writing connect. 🙂
And have fun starting your website!
Oh wow, that’s an amazing ministry! Thank you for sharing this on your blog today. What a blessing!
I am going to keep this post in mind while tweaking my website, and really try to make sure I have a firm grasp on my message and making sure it’s coming through. Thanks again!
What a beautiful project! I especially love the title–both of the ministry and of the book. Can’t wait to see the finished product!
What a great ministry! How wonderful that Amy took her own hardships and turned them to help someone else.
If I took your advice I’d write about adopting foster children. It’s still a little to close to home (the youngest is now 18), so I’ll wait a bit for that one. I might use Amy’s example, though, because I’ve thought other parents like me could use a support group. DCFS tries, but are seriously underfunded and the caseworkers don’t know what it’s like to be in the trenches with these kids.
My latest book is “The Freedom of Letting Go” which talks letting go of grief, success, failure, children, material things, people who have hurt you, etc. I give talks on this subject and to help promote, a friend designed a beautiful brochure for me describing this talk and others I give, and I sent it to 135 local churches as they’re just now setting up their luncheon/senior groups, etc., for next year.
Especially like the part about writing something you’ve lived. So much stronger than having that curtain of separation. Love this!
What an affecting point of view on this subject. I am happy you shared your thoughts and I find that I agree. I enjoy your clear writing and the effort you have spent on this post. Many thanks for the good work and good luck with your site, I look forward to future updates.