Guest Georgiana Daniels: Wait Like A Winner!

True confession #1: I stink at waiting, and my patience level isn't thin--it's see-through. Maye that's why I always seem to be in the perfect position to learn, whether it's obsessively checking email for the "I-love-this-I'm-dying-to-see-the-full-manuscript" letter, or forever picking the wrong line at the grocery store.  And let's face it, waiting for THE CALL is, without exaggeration, excrutiating.

.

Be honest--you’ve been there too. If you haven’t, please skip to the end and simply leave a smiley face in the comments section. I want to know who you are! For the rest of us, we’re all in good company, looking for ways to wait for the fruition of our dreams that don’t involve obsession, depression, or chocolate.

.

Fortunately, I’ve got plenty of experience and I’m ready to walk you through the long, dry seasons. But first, let’s identify what kind of “waiter” you are, and then you’ll know where to go from there. As an expert “waiter,” I’ve vacillated between all three types.

.

The Wishy-Washy Waiter: A writer who gives it their all, but when situations don’t happen quickly enough they decide that God must not have called them after all. They swing between periods of gung-ho writing marathons and staying away from the keyboard because they’re uncertain the journey will be worth it in the end.

.

The Worried Waiter: They obsessively check email for a response from their dream agent or editor and wonder what’s taking so long. They bemoan the fact that their dream may never come true, and they might even have a touch of jealousy when contracts appear to go to everyone but them.

.

The Winning Waiter: A writer who is confident that they are following God’s plan for their life whether they land a book deal or not. They have peace even when their in-box is empty, and may even spend their down-time pursuing outside interests.

.

True confession #2: I only recently learned the secret to waiting like a winner. I spent several years bouncing between wishy-washy and worried, allowing the dry seasons to rob me of the joy God wanted me to have regardless of my writing projects. The revelation changed me, and it can change you too, whether you’re waiting for your first book contract, or trying to take your career to the next level. You can have peace in the process! Ultimately, the peace comes from your personal connection to God, but there are also practical steps you can take to wait like a winner.

.

First, get a new hobby. Now I’m not telling you to chuck the keyboard forever, but I am encouraging you to develop new interests. For years I was guilty of being solely focused on writing to the point that each rejection and set-back left me utterly deflated. I learned the hard way how important it is to have extra-curricular activities—preferably ones that are only for FUN and where you can achieve a measure of success. Just think, even a 500 piece puzzle will give you a feeling of triumph 500 times!

.

The more outside interests you have—gardening, rock climbing, taking a class, joining a small group at church—the more you’ll have to look forward to. There’s no sense in busyness for the sake of busyness, but there’s something to be said for having enough on your agenda that you don’t obsess about the fact you haven’t heard back on your latest submission.

.

Second, do the next thing next. A busy writer is a happy writer! Your fingers will be flying over the keyboard drafting a query for magazine, and writing a blog post. Sending off one-liners to greeting card companies, and generating more book ideas. Reading a craft book, and attending a meeting of your local group. Of course we want to stay focused on our primary goal, but a primary goal should never be our only goal.

.

Third, stay hopeful. In case you’re thinking this isn’t a practical step, trek with me here. The most important thing you can do to keep hope alive is to surround yourself with people who inspire you. Attitudes rub off—make sure you’re absorbing the right ones! Who you connect with will have an impact on your future.

.

For years I watched as my friends earned contracts and started building their writing careers, and I wondered why God surrounded me with people who were living the dream that I was convinced I would never experience. You see, I had the wrong perspective. In His love, God surrounded me with people who would help me grow to the next level. I thought I was being left behind, when really I was being helped along by writer buds who were blazing the trail. (If you are the last in your group of friends to get a contract, take heart—you’ll never be in want of endorsers!)

.

In addition to hanging out with hope-filled friends, meditate on verses that fuel you. Scripture isn’t just words on a page—these words give life and should be ingested daily! One of my favorite verses is:

.

“But if we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.” Romans 8:25~ (NLT)

.

We are instructed to be patient AND confident, and if we’re instructed to do so then we know it’s possible! The nice thing is, if we blow it we’ll have myriad chances throughout life to get it right. Trust me, I’ve been tested to the max with recent life events. At some points I failed tremendously, but sometimes I was a winner.

.

So maybe--just maybe--waiting and patience aren’t the evil twins they’re made out to be. After all, the most growth comes when we’re stretched beyond what we can bear on our own, and it leaves us more connected with God than we were when we started.

.

How about you? Are you in a season of waiting? How do you handle the “in-between” times?

.

Georgiana

.

If you’d like to be entered in a drawing for Georgiana’s “A Daughter’s Redemption,” please mention it in the comments section, then check our Weekend Edition for the winner announcement! If you win, don’t forget to contact our Seekerville email to claim your prize.

.

Her Unexpected Homecoming. Inheriting her estranged father’s property isn’t the reason Robyn Warner wanted to come back to Pine Hollow.  She thought she’d make amends with her father—but his sudden death made that impossible.  And when she learns the identity of the handyman fixing the run-down cabins, Robyn is ready to flee Pine Hollow again.  Caleb Sloan, the copy responsible for her father’s accident, just wants to uphold his promise and then return to the force. But he can’t seem to walk away. After all, he understands about guilt and regret.  And he’ll do everything he can to help Robyn find healing, happiness and—just maybe—a lifetime of love.

.

ABOUT GEORGIANA: Georgiana Daniels resides in the beautiful mountains of Arizona with her super-generous husband and three talented daughters. She graduated from Northern Arizona University with a bachelor’s degree in public relations and now has the privilege of homeschooling by day and wrestling with the keyboard by night. She enjoys sharing God’s love through fiction, and is exceedingly thankful for her own happily ever after.