The Idea

The blog posts have been few and far between lately. Partly because, for me, writing requires solitude. And my children require...the opposite of solitude. My oldest demands it (the opposite of solitude, that is), and my youngest needs it (you know, to survive and everything).

But what doesn't require solitude is researching. That just requires neglecting my children - tuning them out. Or multitasking - bouncing Allie on one knee while typing with one hand while poorly upholding my end of the conversation with Lexi.

Either way, I'm cautiously putting my feelers out with publishing companies, trying to learn what it takes and what my options are when it comes to the publishing process. I'm also reading lots of professional bloggers, like Heather Armstrong, Donald Miller, and Seth Godin, with the hopes of learning more about expanding my readership. These are all folks who blog professionally and write books that people actually buy, so they've got tips for how to get your material "out there".

The most important thing I'm doing, though, is nailing down my focus. It's been hard to pick an idea and run with it. It's been hard to figure out how to serve God with writing outside the traditional genres of devotionals and Bible studies. I am not against writing these types of books, but I'm not excited about it either. All that to say I struggled picking an idea that would both honor God and allow me to retain my "style", which I am loosely defining as honest humor. So, after praying and waiting, I've decided on an idea for a book: a collection of humorous essays about my children and the truths God has taught me through said children. Since I am at the very beginning of the process that is creating a book, I am leaving the door wide open for changing my idea. As I learn more about this process, and as God utilizes His right to give me different marching orders at any time, I could find myself going in a completely different direction. But, for now, this is my focus.