How Deep Does Your Passion Run?

I remember when I started out writing. I had a story line running through my head and it wouldn’t leave. So, I sat down at the computer. Four months later, after abandoning my children to the likes of hamburger helper and frozen pizza, I had written a full length novel. Writing the book was the easy part. Doing something with it was much more difficult.

We had our local copy shop print and bind the manuscript. We promptly rested it on our bookshelf and every now and again, we dusted it off.

For several years the 95K word document did nothing but take up space. I sent out one query letter. I had a few friends read it. I submitted it to ChristianManuscriptSubmissions.com and then I waited. We received one offer from a subsidy publisher who wanted us to buy 1000 copies of my paperback at $10 bucks a pop. Whew. That’s a lot of cash. My imaginary book publishing balloon quickly deflated and once again, the manuscript took up residence on that book shelf.

Several years later, after my husband’s company was laying everyone off, we looked at one another and said…are we going to do this thing or aren’t we? 

We decided then and there that we believed in what I wrote and we were in it for the long haul—come what may.

We began doing everything we could do to see that book published. We knew nothing about the publishing industry. I did end up with three offers to publish, one from a traditional publisher and two from subsidy publishers. We ended up going with a subsidy publisher. Handing over intellectually property rights didn’t sit well with my husband and we decided to maintain control of the publishing process.

After paying nearly $4000 and a year and a quarter of being published, we knew it was time to get our rights back and publish the book ourselves. We did just that. In one week we saw more sales and the message reach more people than we had the entire time the book was with the publisher.

Since then I have written and published 11 more books. My husband has published four. We have made thousands of dollars from our writing. Sometimes thousands in a single month.

We must live like kings, right?

Wrong. We live in the ghetto. We drive older vehicles. We invest everything we make into our business. In fact, my daughter just chastised me for hoarding my good lotion for dry skin. Why do we do this? Because God has placed a calling on us and in order to see it fully come to pass our passion to do His will must be stronger than our fleshly desire for comfort and appeasement.

This means we do what it takes to get where we’re going. Even if it means a little dry skin.

This is why I’ll see you on September 23 and 24^th, ready to teach, ready to learn, and ready to be used as God sees fit. What are you willing to do to see God’s calling in your life come to fruition? Are you willing to do what it takes? No matter the cost? Perhaps it’s time to measure just how deep your passion runs.

                                                                                Darlene Shortridge

What Can a Writer's Conference Do for Me?

I attended my first writer’s conference on May 19, 2012 at the invitation of my writer friend.  At the time I did not consider myself a writer, but it sounded like fun. It was a one day conference held at a Church in Cushing, Oklahoma. Donna Goodrich was the only speaker. I learned many things that would come in handy

If I was a writer, that is.

Soon I began attending a group for writers in Tulsa. I learned many things that would be helpful

If I ever did decide to become a writer.

Speakers kept talking about being called to write, but I wasn’t comfortable applying that tag to myself.

I had many things I wanted to share with my children and the children I taught in Vacation Bible School and others with whom I associated.  I home-schooled my daughter from preschool until she graduated high school except for a year and a half in the middle. I even taught my grandsons for two years. 

So you see, I was a teacher, not a writer.

I found myself writing daily. I wrote school lessons and Bible lessons and plays. I wrote a program for a three day home-school history learning activity called “Wagon Train Camp”. I wrote pages of notes every morning as I read my Bible and studied. I often thought how great it would be if I could share what I had learned with others.

But I was still just a teacher, not a writer.

One day as I browsed through my Facebook feed, I noticed there were many posts complaining about the condition of our economy and talking about what our government officials should be doing and not doing. That day I began writing a post of my own. The subject of my post was that we as Christians need to quit griping to each other and start praying. The only way for our nation to remain Christian, is for us to be truly Christian and spend time on our knees praying for our nation and its leaders.

As I wrote, I realized what a small audience my post would have with my barely more than one hundred Facebook friends. It needed a bigger audience to have the impact I had planned for it, so I created a blog on which to post it. A blog still had limits, I realized, but it was a start in the right direction. The more I thought about the thousands I wanted to reach with this message,

the more inadequate I felt as 

“just a teacher”. 

I wanted the message God had given me to impact the world, not just those who were within the sound of my voice or who would read my measly Facebook page.

It was then that I felt the gentle whispering of the Holy Spirit, “How many more people do you think you can teach through writing?”

 You can reach the world through writing!

Then I understood. God had been preparing me all along to write for Him. I am still teaching, but I am doing it through writing. I have the opportunity to share what God has given me with the whole world.

Because… I AM a Writer.

Martha Jane Curtis
Director - Successful Writer Conference 

The Countdown has Begun!

It's 12 weeks until the Successful Writer Conference. Have you registered? If not, there is no time like the present. The early bird special ends August 8, 2016.

While you are here, browse through the speakers page and get to know the conference faculty. The schedule page will let you know the subject of each session.

The add-ons page describes special services offered at the conference. 

The information page answers specific questions about the time and place of the conference.

The link on the registration page will take you to Paypal where you can pay by credit or debit card. 

Contact page us via e-mail from the contact page if you can't find the answers to your questions on the above pages.

Hope to see you at the conference in September.

Martha Curtis

Conference coordinator

The 2016 Successful Writer Conference

The 3rd annual Successful Writer Conference is scheduled for September 23-24, 2016. See the information page for details.

Martha Curtis
SWC director