Writing for the Soul conference

Wow! That about sums up the Writing for the Soul conference. There were about 400 people in attendance and we were all so encouraged by the wonderful speakers. Before I even begin to tell of all the Lord did in me, I must commend the speakers. Each one, regardless of their level of success (and they are very successful), all credited the Lord with their gifts, all established that their writing was a platform from the Lord to tell others about the gospel. I had gone to the conference not knowing what manner of people I would encounter. I have to say, I didn't meet one person with ego issues. All were humble and grateful. I would strongly encourage other writers to attend a Christian writing conference if possible.

The writers and editors I met were wonderful. New friends were instantly made. And each time I shared with either another writer or an editor what I felt led to write about, the response was incredibly positive. Each one would say something about how important it is right now for us to support not only the military personnel, but their families as well.

Now as to the contacts I made: the day before the conference I met my writing mentor and she was so encouraging and told me which publisher I should approach. She introduced me to that editor on Thursday night and gave a strong recommendation for both the project and me. On Friday I met with that editor from Moody and she wants to see a proposal from me. That is very positive since they don't always ask to see a proposal.

I also met with Focus on the Family and MomSense magazines to discuss writing for their publications. Both were very encouraging and not only gave me the standard cards, but passed along direct contacts for the editors with whom I would be working. The Editorial Director from Focus actually encouraged me to call and meet with the editor in person. That is almost unheard of in the publishing world.

At lunch on Saturday, I was at a table with the CBN.com representative. After hearing the Hidden Heroes book idea, he told me to stop by after lunch. I did so and he opened him Palm and cell phone to pass along personal contact information for a woman who has a son who has been deployed three times to Iraq. She runs a speaker training service and has written some articles on this topic. The doors that were opened to me were incredible. Contacts are normally more closely guarded, but here everyone was freely sharing.

At Saturday night's dinner a group of us ended up sitting with the Moody editor. A gentleman at the table was asking each of us about our writing. I was able to share the concept again about our military families and the editor was able to see for herself the avid attention everyone gave to the idea. I had tried to communicate this to her when we met, but what an opportunity the Lord provided for her to see how the public responds to it.

On Sunday evening, I had the blessing visiting with my sister who was in town overnight. I drove to pick her up from a friend's house. When her friend asked about my writing, she eagerly jumped in saying she had some families she knew who would be excited to talk with me.

The doors which are opening are wide. I just have to walk through them. I stand in awe of the Lord and what He is doing. The next few weeks will be filled with writing a book proposal and contacting the magazines. When the Lord opens a door, no one can shut it. I pray that I will be attentive and faithful to follow His leading in all of this.

Blessings.