When Your Calling Flatlines

with guest Jill Kemerer.

The alarm goes off, and you mentally calculate how many cups of coffee it will take for you to get through the day. The email you opened last night weighs on your heart.

Rejected.

Again.

Every agent you’ve queried over the past three months has complimented your writing but ultimately passed on offering you representation. You’ve been writing and submitting for years. Your writing skills are solid. Your ideas are good. So why can’t you find an agent, let alone break into traditional publishing?

You seriously wonder if it’s time to quit.

On the other hand, a published author you admire just woke up, too. She’s trying to figure out how many cups of tea it will take for her to get through the day. The email she opened last night weighs on her heart.

Rejected.

Again.

She’s written several novels for her current publisher, but the proposals she’s been submitting keep getting turned down. She’s talked to her agent and understands how difficult the publishing market is, but her peers keep announcing new contracts.

She seriously wonders if it’s time to quit.

It’s confusing when we hit roadblock after roadblock.

It feels as if our calling has flatlined.

I’ve been there. Very few aspects of my writing journey have come quickly or easily. I hit rock bottom as an aspiring writer on three separate occasions. I spent my fortieth birthday crying in the O’Hare airport on the way home from an ACFW conference because I literally had no hope left for my non-existent career. But God comforted me in that airport, and I continued to pursue my dream of becoming a published author.

As a published author, I still hit roadblocks. Not all of my book ideas work for the publishing house I write for, and when I’m between contracts, my insecurities thrive. As an aspiring writer, I fought the three Ds—discouragement, dejection and depression. As a published author, I fight the three Fs—fear, familiarity and failure.

Let’s look at the three Ds.

Discouragement. Rejections, even the most complimentary ones, are a closed door. When we submit to agents and editors, our hope is alive—maybe our book will be published and our dream will finally come true! It’s discouraging to watch our opportunities narrow as rejections come in. Rejections aren’t the only things that discourage us—we’re disappointed by lousy contest results, tough critiques, financial issues or lack of emotional support from our loved ones.

Dejection. Dejection sets in when we struggle to believe in our journey anymore. Maybe you had a lousy conference with rough pitches and negative feedback. Maybe you’ve gotten rejections from every editor who requested your manuscript. You might be functioning in your real life, but writing? You no longer cling to the hope your book will be published, and it’s excruciating watching other writers announce their good news.

Depression. I’m not referring to clinical depression here. I’m talking about periods where you show symptoms of depression (feeling hopeless, sad, empty, losing interest in life, sleep problems, appetite changes, headaches and so on). In early 2013, I had been trying to get published for five years. In a one week period, I received rejections from every editor who requested my full-length book, a rejection on a category-length book, and I found out my dad had dementia. I had already been rejected on several other books over the years, so this was a really rough period for me. Thankfully, I was able to avoid depression, but I struggled emotionally for a while. If you suspect you might be sliding into depression, please see a doctor.

Let’s move on to published authors. A contract means everything becomes glittery and rainbows and butterflies, right? Uh…no.

Publishing a book is a dream come true, but it does not make all your dreams come true.

Publishing is a highly competitive business. I’m thankful every day to be a part of it, but my life didn’t become perfect when I finally sold a book. I continue to doubt my writing, I worry about keeping my stories fresh, I get rejections, I have to overhaul story ideas, and I work hard to promote my books.

For many published writers, the three Fs knock regularly.

Fear. Fear exists at every level of a writer’s life, but it intensifies when you get something you want and don’t want to lose it. I fear growing complacent and losing loyal readers. I fear never getting another contract with a publisher I truly enjoy working for. I fear some of my writing dreams will never come true.

Familiarity. Publishers want fresh ideas, but the books must fit into a marketable model. This can be tough on genre writers. How do we continue to write unique stories that will sell? I worry about familiarity—writing the same story over and over. I think this F is the easiest to overcome. If I gave everyone here an assignment to write a short story about a single dad who hires a nanny for his two-year-old daughter, everyone’s take on it would be different. The key to fighting familiarity is to create memorable characters—real, believable individuals for each book—and to push harder to make a common theme memorable.

Failure. So your publishing house closed its fiction line last year, you can’t get another contract to save your life and you would rather lick dirt than go on Facebook and see yet another writer announcing her marvelous research trip overseas for her multi-book series, which may or may not be optioned to be made into a movie? Yep. You feel like a failure. Your dream has died, and your career is over. No, it isn’t! Sometimes we enter an uncomfortable period when we’re writing new stories with no idea if we’ll ever be published again. We have options. We can hold out for a traditional publisher, we can venture into indie publishing or we can do both. The dream is never over until we say it is.

I’m convinced if you feel called to write, you need to write. The three Ds and three Fs are not indications your calling has flatlined. The calling is still there. It’s our expectations that have been shattered. We say we’re called to write, but in our hearts, we want more. We want the book deal, loyal readers, royalty checks, respect from our peers and contest wins.

God does not put callings in our hearts to let us down.

1 John 1:5 “This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.”

Those years I was submitting only to get rejections? They forced me to rely on God. I have a better understanding of His love because of the hard times. When doubts creep in now, I’m able to give my fear to God and trust that He’ll work it out, even if it isn’t the way I’d hoped.

If your journey is all uphill and full of setbacks, don’t quit. The ease of the journey is no indication of the worthiness of it. Stay humble. Do the tasks before you. And never give up.

How do you press forward when you feel like quitting?

Thank you, Seekerville, for hosting me today. I’m offering a copy of my new release, Yuletide Redemption, to one commenter! Winner announced in the Weekend Edition.

Stop by the virtual party! Eleven Love Inspired (all lines) authors are hosting a Facebook party on December 6, 2016, from 4pm-9pm (EST). We’d love for you to join us. The event is linked here, “December Love Inspired Christmas Party.” 

Yuletide Redemption

A Mother's Christmas Wish

After an accident leaves Celeste Monroe to raise her baby nephew, all she wants is to provide one-year-old Parker with a happy life. She hopes taking a job caring for injured Sam Sheffield will help fulfill that goal. But Sam's determination to avoid the world throws a wrench in her plans. Despite his best efforts, Sam can't take his eyes off the pretty caretaker. Her strength and her loving nature has him falling for her—and her baby. But he refuses to burden them with a man who's not whole. Can Celeste convince Sam he's daddy—and husband—material in time for them to celebrate Christmas together?

Yuletide Redemption is available in retail stores such as Walmart, Barnes & Noble and grocery stores. Or buy now on Kindle!

Jill Kemerer writes Christian romance novels with love, humor and faith for Love Inspired. Jill loves coffee, M&Ms, fluffy animals, magazines and her hilarious family. Visit her website, jillkemerer.com, and connect with Jill on Facebook, Twitter and sign up for her newsletter.








🎄🎄🎄Not only does Jill Kemerer have a holiday release, but you can read her online novella A Cradle for Christmas on Harlequin.com Read a chapter each Monday through December 26th. http://bit.ly/2fVB2RB

🙌This just in from Publishers Marketplace:

Jill Kemerer's first book of a Wyoming-set miniseries, a wedding planner inherits the family ranch, but when, over Christmas, she falls for the quiet cowboy she hires to manage it, his secret could cause her to lose it all, to Shana Asaro at Harlequin Love Inspired, in a nice deal, in a four-book deal, for publication in October 2017, by Rachel Kent at Books & Such Literary Agency (World).

Congratulations, Jill!