More often than not when we wonder what we should do or what decision we should make, we receive signs that help us make these decisions. Unfortunately, many of us aren’t looking for them and, therefore, we don’t see them. I know I’m at fault of not opening my eyes and noticing them.
That’s why we end up going for Tarot and psychic readings. We want someone else to show us the signs.
Recently I madeย decision to focus more intently on my writing. Yes, I’ll continue working as an editor, but I want to do what I do best and write. I also want to finish the many books I’ve started and not finished as I’ve helped others write and publish their books.
I started thinking about a book I own, called Damn! Why Didn’t I Write That? by Marc McCutcheon. I remember reading it and feeling amazed at how many books the author had written. I felt the same way two weekends ago when I had the honor of spending two days with self-publishing guru Dan Poynter, author of How to Write Nonfiction and over 100 other books. I know I have at least 10 books in me.
Then it struck me. Two years ago at the San Francisco Writer’s Conference I won a copy of Damn! Why Didn’t I Write That? I gave it away saying, “I never win anything, and the one time I do it’s something I already own.” In retrospect, I see the sign. The subtitle on that book reads “How Ordinary People are Raking in $100,00.00 or More Writig Nonfiction Books and How You Can Too!”
And here I am two years later trying to figure out how to make money with my writing…me with my journalism degree and tons of knowledge about how to write and publish books.
The day I decided to focus on my writing, I sold one of my e-books off my website. Dan Poynter had just told me to convert my e-books into a format that would make them accessible to all e-book readers–so I could make more money with them by selling more copies. Think it was a sign?
I wasn’t sure if I should go to a bi-annual Jewish conference; I haven’t missed it in years. I turned in a proposal to teach, just as I have every two years. They accepted my proposal–early no less. A sign that I should go–despite the cost? I took it as such. And the program they asked me to teach is the subject of oneย of the books I most want to write and publish. A sign? Hmmm. And I could write and self-publish the book, which exists in short form now, in time for the conference. A sign that I should work on that book? Someone contacted me recently asking if there were any updates to that book? Interesting…
I have a lot of book projects, I’ve been struggling with which one to take on first. I have an agent peddling a few, but this one I just mentioned has been tabled. Should I take it on by myself?
A friend told me how she self-published a very similar book–and sold 50,000 copies. A message to me? Maybe.
We tend to wait for big signs…God’s booming voice, lightning bolts and books falling off shelves. The signs tend to be small.
We can’t always see or feel God’s hand leading us through life, but it’s there all the same.
Do you see the signs in your life?
