Tell a writer. Tell the world.

With easy-to-do yourself book publishing through Amazon Kindle and easy-to-do blogs via Google’s Blogger aka Blogspot, poets and writers have become more and more likely to publish their own work. Equally enticing, both forms of self-publishing are free!

A big obstacle arises though in getting out the word about the words written. With none of the advertising or publicity help that traditionally published poets and writers can rely on, the self-published author counts on you the reader to let friends, fellow readers, and social media followers know which books and blogs might be worth their reading time.

You don’t have to be a writer yourself to help the publishing community or literary world! Just tell people what you like as though you’re talking to them in person. Be specific about the unique aspects you found especially appealing or why you’re drawn to the work of a particular poet or writer.

If, however, you run across a “bad read” you wouldn’t recommend to anyone, don’t say a word – at least not in public! Instead send a note to the poet or writer if there’s something you feel strongly about; otherwise, let it go. It could be that the work hit a nerve or that whatever bothered you simply conflicts with the personal preferences or beliefs to which you’re both entitled.

As you review and laud 5-star books on Amazon and other sites, you add your voice to the literary community. You influence other readers, and your show appreciation for work well done. You may never know for sure, but your reviews can encourage a poet or writer enough to give momentum for the next book. At least, that’s what happened to me.

After decades of researching what the Bible says and shows about prayer, I “suddenly” knew I wanted a book that collected Bible prayers into a contemporary prayer book we can use to refresh, deepen, and empower our prayer lives. The immediate responses to the Book of Bible Prayers were so positive, I began the next book right away before my enthusiasm waned.

Maybe that’s why I’m up, writing this appeal before daybreak! Of necessity, poets and writers spend much of their time in solitude in order to get any work done, so your encouraging words matter a lot! And, who knows? Your positive review might give the momentum needed for the next manuscript that inspires and encourages you!

Mary Harwell Sayler, ©2019

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Did Jesus read poems, quote poetry, and pray printed prayers?

Jesus prayed spontaneously as shown in the Lord’s Prayer or Our Father and in the High Priestly Prayer in Chapter 17 of the Gospel of John. However, as a regular worshipper in the synagogue and one who often stood up to read aloud “as was His custom” (Luke 4:16), Jesus undoubtedly read the printed prayers and poems scrolled into the book of Psalms.

Then and now, Jesus and other Jewish people drew from Psalms for many reasons. Then and now, Christians rely on Psalms, too, as shown in Acts 1:20, Ephesians 5:19, Colossians 3:16 and many other Bible verses. Why? Christians and Jews love the book of Psalms as:

Written prayers

Songbook

Anthology of poetry

Source of godly wisdom

Examples of heartfelt prayer

Outlet for genuine emotion

Devotion and meditation

Inspired writings

Prophetic word

Apparently Jesus also memorized at least some of the psalms because, from the cross, He quoted Psalm 22 not only to express the agony He felt but to encourage His followers who knew, as Jesus did, how the psalm ends. In addition, this fulfilled the word of prophecy recorded in that poem and printed prayer.

What does this have to do with us today as Christian writers, editors, and poets? Hopefully, a lot! For example:

Written prayers are preserved prayers, private prayers, public prayers, proven prayers, and prayers that immediately connect us with one another and with God. Whenever and wherever you pray a psalm or other Bible prayer, countless prayer partners stand with you in all times and places.

Psalms provide long-loved examples of beautifully written songs, poems, instructional teachings, and wisdom writings. Studying and reading aloud each psalm can help us to attune our ear and improve the poetic quality of our writing in all genres.

Psalms give us insight into the spiritual life and also the life of faith realistically lived and written in all genres.

Psalms draw us closer to God, not only with praise and thanksgiving but, more often, with laments! Thankfully, those laments typically end on an encouraging word of faith, helping us to cry out with true feelings and draw on faith that has been tested as we, too, write prayers, poems, and writings in all genres.

Psalms remind us of the ongoing timeliness of the Bible and the redemptive work of Jesus Christ as the fulfillment of God’s Word, written into our lives as Christian poets, editors, and writers in all genres, all places, and all times.

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If you would like to discover prayers in the Bible that enliven your faith and guide your prayers and writings today, follow the Bible Prayers blog. May blessings abound on all who enter that space.

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© 2011, Mary Harwell Sayler, all rights reserved.
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Writers Write. Writers Learn. Writers Work.

Writers need to write.

“Real writers” have to write, but getting published is not the starting place if you want to become established as a freelance or assignment writer. The first step comes, plainly and simply, in writing. However, publication is a natural step toward improving your work.

That might not be what you expected to hear, so I will say what I just said in another way in hopes of being clear:

Getting published can help you to improve your writing.

Notice that I did not say writing for publication brings you closer to the fame-and-fortune fantasy that distracts many writers from the real adventures of the writing life. Thanks to everyone’s overnight Internet potential for renown, writers may be more likely to become poor and famous!

So, at first anyway, forget about money. Forget about a celebrity life. Forget about marketing and developing a platform, and simply focus on what it takes, realistically and professionally speaking, to get really, really good at your job:

Writers write. Writers learn. Writers work.

If you keep on writing and revising, your work will improve with practice, and getting published will help. How? Why? Besides activating, energizing, and employing your writing skills, publication encourages you to:

Thoroughly investigate topics that actually interest you.

Develop resources you can count on to be accurate, update, and precise.

Develop the discipline of a regular working schedule.

Research “the other side” of almost anything.

Find a balanced perspective beyond beliefs or unsubstantiated opinions.

Find your voice.

Find your preferred genre – the one in which you’re “a natural.”

Find out what’s being published and still needed in your field.

Become more aware of what publishers, editors, and readers seem to like.

Become acquainted with print and Internet markets for your chosen genre.

Follow writers guidelines with no amateurish demands to be the exception.

Meet deadlines with the same professionalism people usually show in being on time for an important engagement or business appointment.

Get input, including constructive criticism, from potential editors.

Get feedback from readers.

Get the encouragement you need to keep on writing.

Give your writing career the respect you'd show for any worthwhile endeavor.

Give yourself specific, manageable goals adjusted to fit you first as a person, then as a writer.


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(c) 2010, Mary Harwell Sayler