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 I’m
not usually very impressed with my own writing. (Put that in the column
of things that a professional author is never supposed to say . . .) I
love reading books and at the same time hate it. Love that I get to
read how other people tell stories and craft words, and hate that I’m,
sometimes, just not that good.
So when the perfect illustration
presented itself to me, I was a little more than excited.
You see, my mom passed down a
little silver box to me that was once owned by a great-grandaunt from
Germany. It was in perfect condition (obviously it had not spent any
time around my kids). The box had a rich history and had been handed
down through several generations, all of whom had taken beautiful care
of the box. And then it dawned on me: what a perfect illustration for
Proverbs 4:23 and the value of protecting ourselves from destructive
influences. “Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring
of life” (NIV).
And I thought, “I can’t wait to
use that in a book.”
A couple days later, a fellow
author asked if I could write a blog post for her site. She wanted
something about how to live a fuller life.
Gulp.
Well, I would just have to come
up with another illustration. Of course I wasn’t going to waste my
perfect illustration on a blog post―especially a guest
post.
Have you ever had that thought?
I’ll save the “good stuff” for my professional self, and for marketing,
blogs, Facebook, and guest posts I’ll use the “other stuff.” You know,
the words that aren’t quite good enough for your book.
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My
advice? Waste the good stuff.
When we save the good, we work
in fear. We don’t trust that our brains, or the Holy Spirit, will ever
give us anything good again. When we work in fear, we don’t do our best
work. Writing with freedom produces our best work.
Besides,
how are
you going to gain new readers, find your Twitter tribe, or add friends
on Facebook if all you’re giving them is sloppy seconds?
Here are a few ways to “waste”
your best words to find more readers and followers:
•
Find a great recipe that you know one of your characters would drool
over. Post it on your blog and then share the link on Pinterest.com
(take a picture of the completed crepes or the Death by Chocolate cake
to tempt people to click on your link).
• Create a list of your favorite quotes from the time period you write
about. Offer them as a free download for anyone who “Likes” your
Facebook Author Page.
• Use your best stuff for guest posts on other authors’ blogs. That way
you will be compelling enough for their readers to check out your blog
and subscribe to you.
Waste your words. That’s the
great thing about being an author, you get to make up new ones.
Kathi Lipp is a national speaker
and the author of four books published by Harvest House, including The
Husband Project and The Me Project, with
five more books coming out in the next two years. Kathi’s articles have
appeared in dozens of magazines, and she is a frequent guest on Focus
on the Family radio and TV. Find out more at http://www.kathilipp.com.
She and her husband Roger are
the owners of http://www.ThePlatformBuilder.com,
helping authors develop platforms that a publisher can’t help but love.
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