Writing

Articles on Websites: Published or Not?

By Lisa B on January 18, 2008

On Wednesday, Lysa TerKeurst posted on her blog A Chance for You to Get Published (which I think you can still comment and add your article link — just do it today because they are reading over the weekend!).

I wrote this in the comments to that post:

I’ve read in some writing groups that most publishers want first rights (or not reprints) of an article for their magazine. I’ve also read debates on whether posting an article on a blog or website is really publishing it or not.

I think you are going to get some great articles and maybe you’ll be able to pick more than 1 — or maybe not, but I was wondering how that might affect the ones who aren’t published in your magazine. Do you think other publishers would discount the article because it was published on a blog?

This is a great opportunity and I think it’s absolutely awesome that you’ve opened this up. That thought had just been nagging me though With the majority of us being new writers, I’d hope we wouldn’t do anything to hurt our options in being published in the future.

Sarah from Genesis Moments: A Writer’s Journey had left me a comment on Learning About Writing:

�I was very interested to read your comment on Lysa’s blog about putting things you want published on the web as blogs. What other feedback have you gotten about this? I just quit work to write and am looking for non-fiction avenues while I write children’s fiction. I debate whether to put pieces for feedback “out there.” But, enough about me. What did you find out? Thanks for your insights.

What Sarah and you may not have seen was Lysa’s response to my question later in her comment section:

Great Question Lisa B-

After consulting with some people, typically if you write something on a blog it is not considered “published” and most editors don’t have a problem with it. However, I’m sure there might be exceptions to this. so, the safest bet is to let your editor know that it has appeared on your blog. Then of course in the same breath you can add how many wonderful comments you got about it and it might actually help you and not hurt you-

Happy Writing Everyone- your ideas sound great.

I pulled this all together in a post because it’s easy to miss great information when a conversation starts in the comment section. I for one have been trying to remember where I comment and to go back to see if the author responded there.

I can see Lysa’s point and thank her for sharing that — it’s good to know especially how the P31 Magazine gang views this. I had many article ideas, but I went with one and tailored it to P31 the best I know how right now. [Don't forget to leave me feedback on that article if you have the time to read it -- I love any advice especially that which can make me a better writer.]

This week I got my copy of the 2008 Christian Writers Market Guide. I just flipped through it pretty quickly. It has a lot of great information in it and I can see why it’s highly recommended for new writers. In it though there’s a section for online publications. I would think that anything you submit to them would be considered publish. I can see where these online publications might have more weight added to that opinion versus a blog that family reads, yet it does add to some confusion on the published or not question.

I’ll continue to dig up some research on this and post here anything I find out. Please comment here with your opinions or what you’ve read/heard. Any experience shared is great!

| Filed Under: Bloggin', Writing

Thankful Thursday: Grinnin Ear to Ear

By Lisa B on January 17, 2008

It’s really fitting that today is Thankful Thursday! I have been extremely blessed just this day alone I am literally grinning from ear to ear — and Duck will take pictures when he gets home from work!

I had my top braces removed today. I have teeth They look huge since I was used to seeing them with braces and brackets on them, but they are straight and I literally can’t stop smiling!!
Duck found me a motorcycle! We went to see it today because really the deal was too good to pass up. The guy who was selling it was extremely nice and a Christian. We had lots of stuff in common, like he and his wife met shagging (dancing) and Duck and I met two-steppin’ and line dancin’. It’s a beautiful bike and I’ll maybe have pictures this weekend of me sitting on it — no, you’re not mistaken. I can’t ride it yet — the class is in March (good thing February’s a short month!). But if the weather clears up, Duck can take my picture on it
Of course I’m also thankful this week for Lysa TerKeurst and her ministry. I am learning lots by reading her blog and the other blogs I’ve found through her. Mary Beth Whalen, Lisa Writes …, Lisa Whittle, Glynnis Whitwer and Mary DeMuth. Lots of good stuff here! I’m also thankful Lysa is down to earth. She’s been here a few times and commented which has really brightened my day!
I’m excited because we have Upward Basketball practice tonight with the girls. I’m hoping the weather stays safe enough for every one to come. I love seeing the girls trying to learn new things, but the smiles on their face and the way their eyes light up when they get it — well, that’s just precious.

Iris @ Sting My Heart is back hosting Thankful Thursdays. I encourage you to read and comment on other blogs but also to join in with your own Thankful Thursday post. God is doing great and wondrous things. Share that with the world

| Filed Under: Blessings, Bloggin', Motorcycle, Thankful Thursdays, Writing

Potty Prayers: A Mother’s Saving Grace

By Lisa B on January 16, 2008

Lysa TerKeurst has stirred up some creative juices with her blog post “A Chance for You to Get Published.” If you have an article you would like to submit for consideration, hop over there and leave a comment. Here’s my article (never been published). Please leave me a comment sharing your thoughts on it — good, bad or indifferent

Potty Prayers: A Mother’s Saving Grace

As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent it. � Isaiah 55:10-11 (NIV)

�I have got so much to do. I have got to go to 4 ball games this week. My daughter has gymnastics and dance. The house is a mess. We eat fast food every night. My husband is working late. I’m trying to do this work from home stuff to help with the bills, but everything is driving me crazy!� I confided in my Children�s Pastor.

�How’s your quiet time?� He snickered because he knew the answer.

�You’re kidding right? Quiet time is non-existent for me.� I was on the verge of tears. Yet another thing to add to my ever-growing to do list?

As he walked out of the office, I wondered if he’d given up on me. I figured I was a hopeless case. When he came back, he handed me this little booklet called �Open Windows.�

Yeah right! This is not going to help me! It’s going to take a lot more than this little book. I need to be reading my Bible at least an hour every morning; spend another hour in prayer; be at church every time the door is open … �Um…what’s this?� was all I could verbalize.

�Will you promise me you’ll read one devotion a day? I’ll be checking in with you every time I see you to make sure you’ve kept up with it.� He was serious.

�I guess I can do that. It’s a small book. Yeah, I’ll read one a day.�

As I left the church, I struggled with more of the same thoughts. I need more help than this little book can give. Things are out of control. When am I going to even get 2 minutes to read this? When I got home, I thought of the perfect place for this little book (moms will appreciate this) � the bathroom! One thing I know, I will go to the bathroom every day. It’s literally the only peace and quiet I get sometimes, but at least it would give me time to read that one devotion.

�Have you been reading 1 devotion a day?� The Children’s Pastor said even before hello.

�Yes, I have.� I would tell him, although I didn’t see that it was doing any good! I was still running all over the place and stressed beyond measure.

I began to notice a change in me around the 3-week mark. Suddenly, one devotion wasn’t enough � I had to read more! There were days when I would read ahead 3-4 days just because I could not get enough of God’s Word!

My circumstances did not change. I still had all those things to do, all those pressures of running a home. I changed on the inside. My attitude � my view of my circumstances changed and I was calmer inside. Only then could I look at what I needed to eliminate from my schedule. Only then could I see I had unreasonable expectations of myself � instead of looking to God for who I am and His purpose for me.

Through my potty prayers and reading time, I learned a very valuable lesson. God has told us His Word will not return empty and it will not. No matter where you read it � as long as you read a little bit each day � you will be blessed beyond measure!

| Filed Under: Articles, Blessings, Devotions, Writing

Learning About Writing

By Lisa B on January 14, 2008

I have been starting my days off in prayer and journaling — asking God for direction in my day. I do have to say He’s blessing my attempts to seek Him first (Matthew 6:33).

Last week I got Jerry Jenkins’ Writing for the Soul. I devoured it in a few days. I couldn’t put it down. It was that good. I highly recommend it to anyone who has thought of writing whether it be a devotion, an article or a book.

Lysa TerKeurst of Proverbs 31 Ministry fame, has started posting answers to common writer questions. Writing a Book – answers part one has some great tips in it. [Side note: I feel all giddy because Lysa actually commented on another post here, but I know I sound like a lunatic for telling you!] Lysa sounds like a really nice, down to earth person. I kinda wish we lived closer to her so I could just go to her church and soak up all her wisdom But we’re about 2.5 hours away and that would make for a very, very long Sunday morning drive!

In my quest to learn more about writing and the whole publishing industry, please keep me in your prayers. I am trying to overcome some negative thoughts that come in my head. For instance, it seems like every writer I’ve been reading about has a journalism degree. Ugh. I went to school for commercial art and web design. Another tip is to start small – like writing for your church’s newsletter. Well, we’re kinda in between churches, but even when we do find one, I know there will be some time there getting to know people before we start to really serve. I am trying to focus on the fact that Jesus called fishermen (not college educated men) to be disciples, and that all I need to know I can learn from God and the others He places in my path.

| Filed Under: Blessings, Books, Writing

Don’t miss the point

By Lisa B on January 4, 2008

Yesterday I posted a confession of sorts. Last night Doodle spent the night at Grandma’s so this morning I had some “me” time. I really didn’t know what to do with it. I was stressing about all the stuff around the house that I could be working on, but I sat down with my Bible.

Not having a specific passage to read, I just let it fall open and read where ever my eyes landed. Here’s the verses I read:

²⁰ Then Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following, who also had leaned on His breast at the supper, and said, “Lord, who is the one who betrays you?”

²¹ Peter, seeing him, said to Jesus, “But Lord, what about this man?”

²² Jesus said to him, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you? You follow Me.”

²³ Then this saying went out among the brethren that this disciple would not die. Yet Jesus did not say to him that he would not die, but, “If I will that he remain till I come, what is that to you?”

²⁴ This is the disciple who testifies of these things, and wrote these things; and we know that his testimony is true.

²⁵ And there are also many other things that Jesus did, which if they were written one by one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that would be written. Amen.

– John 21:20-25 (NKJV)

I have been acting like Peter. I’ve been looking at other people — at other ministries feeling like maybe Jesus loves them more than me. Like maybe they are more special because they are working in their ministries and bringing glory to God. Maybe they are worth more than I am. What crazy thoughts! The Bible clearly states that all have sinned (Romans 3:23) — not some, not most, not a few — but all have sinned. We are all equal. Only listening to Jesus, word for word, will help us grow in God’s will and love, but that doesn’t raise us any higher than anyone else.

Peter thought Jesus was saying that John was going to live forever — until Jesus came back for us. There were even rumors running around about that very thing. All because Peter didn’t listen closely. He missed a simple little word — “if”. We are so often caught up in what others are doing — at work, at church, at home. When we should be so focused on Jesus that we don’t miss the simple little words like if.

God confirmed in me that I’m at least headed in the right direction now — reading my Bible and writing what’s on my heart instead of worrying about who else is writing what. I pray you are not missing the point God is trying to make to you. You’ve got to listen closely. Don’t miss it.

| Filed Under: Blessings, Devotions, Writing

A Giddy Confession: Lysa TerKeurst actually commented here!

By Lisa B on January 3, 2008

First let me set the stage for you. Before Christmas I did little writing of my own. I was cruising the net and reading blog after blog after blog. I actually had worked myself into a negative state (or slight depression I guess depending on how you look at it). I am a writer. I need to repeat that to myself daily as I lost focus on that. I kept looking at how many women out there are writers — good ones, published ones, Christian ones. I started wondering what made me different? Why should I write when they are out there probably writing anything I could say?

During this pity party for myself, I found out that Proverbs 31 Ministries founder Lysa TerKeurst had recently started a blog. It seemed that all the blogs I was reading were of the women who have everything together — you know, the kind who don’t walk out the door without makeup on, or the kind who’s house is decorated so cozy and comfy. I figured Lysa’s blog was going to be just another reminder of everything I’m not. I’ve always envied the ministry that she has developed — and yes, I try to remind myself to rejoice in what God’s doing through that ministry instead of being jealous, but honestly human emotions were winning out over logic.

But then, Lysa had to go and bust my bubble. In her “My Not So Pretty Side of Christmas” post, she revealed that she is a real person to whom I can relate amidst piles of stuff. And when she posted her Christmas wishes and asked for comments (links) to our blogs, I submitted a comment with mine. Never in a million years did I think she’d actually comment on my blog. Star struck I think would be the only way I can explain it.

So I was giddy beyond explanation. I got nervous wondering if what I had written was going to be good enough for the famous company I had attracted to my blog. Would she think I was some crazy woman?

God woke me up in more ways than one when he sent the power outage my way. He let me know that I was focusing on the wrong things when I was reading all these other blogs. I should be focused on Him and what He would have me to write. If I would just keep my eyes on Him, He would use me to reach the people that maybe Lysa TerKeurst can’t reach — or maybe He will use me to be a part of her ministry. Only God knows. But if I get into a slump, not writing, and focusing on worldly things — God will not use me for anything.

With renewed focus, I’m starting this year off getting back into God’s will for my life. I’m going to work hard to stay there all year, but please let me know if you see me getting off track. I need great help in the accountability department!

Visit Proverbs 31 Ministries as well as Lysa’s blog. God is sharing some great things through her and the other speakers and writers involved in that ministry. As for me, I’m going to learn more about writing for God

| Filed Under: Blessings, Bloggin', Writing

WordPress Wonders

By Lisa B on November 26, 2007

Some of you know I’m working on an ebook about WordPress. I have many people ask me questions about WordPress. It blows me away that people have not written more information about this, or if they have they just haven’t made it understandable. So while I’m gathering ammunition for my ebook, what are the sorts of questions you have about WordPress? If you don’t use it (using something like Blogger), have you ever considered using WordPress? If so, what’s stopped you? I’d love to have your feedback.

One of the cool things about WordPress is you can actually use it for a content management system (meaning the front page doesn’t have to be a list of recent posts). This makes it almost perfect for churches and non-profits since WordPress is open source (meaning free as in no cost to you for the software). I’ve gone to many churches’ websites and cringed at what I see. Something that hasn’t been updated in several years, and we will not discuss the overall design of it right now. I know people are doing the best they can for their churches, and hopefully my ebook will help them do the websites even better!