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This is the Year to Write Your Book

January 22, 2019 by Ann 1 Comment

Do you have a book inside of you?
Do you have a plan to make that book a reality?
To move from ideas and drafts to chapters and cover design?

If you’re writing a book, or if you want to write a book, I know what it takes to make that happen, and I also know that the road ahead is going to be both thrilling and overwhelming.

But how do you get from here to there? From idea to reality?

Personally and professionally, I know that crafting a powerful book proposal is the BEST tool for clarifying your book’s core message, solidifying your book’s structure, and moving forward to make your book a reality.

So how do you start?

You learn from others who know what you need to do.

Book proposals are huge undertakings. After having written four proposals, I know how intensive–and confusing–the process can feel. I remember trying to shuffle through multiple resources, and I kept hoping that I was doing things the right way. It became frustrating at times, but I knew that if I didn’t have a strong book proposal, my book idea would never actually become a reality. The proposal is necessary–and central to the process of writing a book.

If you know you're meant to write a book, this is for you. #amwriting Share on X

That’s why I’m teaching a Writing with Grace Book Proposal Workshop in just a few weeks! This will be a one-day, three-hour workshop in which we’ll cover the nonnegotiable elements of a powerful proposal AND how to execute those elements. Plus, we will hear from a Senior Editor in the Christian publishing industry.

If you’re aiming to write a book, you must write a book proposal, and this workshop is going to give you the tools that you need to make your proposal shine!

Registration is open now (for only a short time), and you can use the code WRITEMYBOOK10 to save 10% on the cost of the course!

We’re going to have a wonderful time together in February, and if you can’t come live, don’t worry–the recording will be available immediately afterwards for you to watch on your own time.

So, do you have a book inside of you? If you do, this is your next step.

Come join me over at Writing with Grace for all the details–I can’t wait to see you there!

Filed Under: God, Life, Teaching, Writing Tagged With: Ann Swindell, Christian writing class, Christian writing course, writing class, writing course, Writing with grace

Saying Yes Out of Fear

October 29, 2018 by Ann Leave a Comment

This is the start of my newest article for (in)courage.

We had just moved cross-country with a kindergartener and an infant, and I was overextended. I could feel it in my body, tense and tight. I could feel it in my mind, stressed and flighty. For the past three years, I had been running my own business to help support our family while my husband was in seminary. Now, we had moved because he had taken a pastoral position, and while I had taken on the new role of being a pastor’s wife, I hadn’t slowed down with anything in my own work. In fact, I had picked up a few more responsibilities.

Why? Well, when you’ve worked at a dream for a while and the door starts to crack open, it’s a good idea to say yes to everything that’s behind the door, right? Because you’re never sure how long that door will stay open or if anyone will let you in ever again, so you should go for it, right?

Wrong.

Why? Well, for those of us who are pursuing a dream — whether it’s creative in nature, as mine is, or business-based, or something else entirely — it can be tempting to say yes to anything and everything that might help us move toward the passions we carry in our hearts. But are we saying yes to opportunities out of faith or out of fear?

Are we saying yes to opportunities out of faith or out of fear? Share on X

When I’m not walking in God’s peace, I find that fear often takes its place as a big motivator for me. Sadly, I’ve said yes to some writing opportunities because I was afraid the chance wouldn’t come around again. I was afraid of missing out. I’ve overextended myself because I thought the opportunity “out there” was more important than the opportunities I already had right in front of me.

I say yes out of fear. I say yes because I’m afraid of being left behind.

Read the rest of the article here, at (in)courage!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Ann Swindell, Christian, Christian writer, faith over fear, freelance writing, God, incourage, Jesus, marriage, motherhood, my soul is tired, saying yes out of fear

Do You Have a Story to Tell?

September 12, 2018 by Ann Leave a Comment

I started writing my story years ago; long before I was anywhere near a book contract or a marketing team, I felt that the Lord was inviting me into a process of writing my story down and–in the process–meeting him in the middle of it. I’m not sure I’ve done anything more powerful in my personal spiritual journey than write my memoir.

Memoir is the genre that I love the most, because it’s the genre that allows us–even gently forces us–to re-examine the lives that we have been living as we write them down on the page. A good memoir isn’t autobiography, and it isn’t a personal journal. It’s the true story of our lives written in such a way that others can understand, access, and be changed by it.

I’m not sure there’s a more dynamic form of the written word.

Our God is the God of story, and he loves making himself known through our stories; it’s how he’s wired us. We start loving stories as children, and we inherently know when a story has a satisfying or unacceptable ending, because we were made to long for resolution, peace, and hope.

Our God is the God of story, and he loves making himself known through our stories. Share on X

If you’ve always wanted to write your story, or if you’ve been wondering how you can tell your story in a meaningful way, I’m going to suggest that writing your memoir might be one of the most powerful things you can do in your personal journey with Jesus. Down the road, might your story impact hundreds or thousands of people? I hope so! But in these days and months, writing your story will transform you most of all. I know that it has transformed me; I got to see Jesus at work all over again as I’ve written my memoir over the past years.

I just opened registration for the Writing with Grace Memoir course that I’ll be teaching this October. To say that I’m thrilled about this class is an understatement; I’m practically jumping out of my chair!

You can use the code WORTHIT to save 10% on the cost of the class.

Registration is open for Writing with Grace: Memoir! www.writingwithgrace.com #amwriting Share on X

I’d love for you to join me over at Writing with Grace–you can even see the video that we created just for this course.

If you’ve been aching to write your story, this is your time. I can’t wait to see you there!

Filed Under: Book Writing, God, Life Tagged With: Ann Swindell, how to write a book, i have a book inside of me, memoir, writing your story

Messy Homes and Open Hearts: An Article For Deeply Rooted

September 11, 2018 by Ann Leave a Comment

We were new to the area, and I was getting desperate for some friends. After the proverbial dust had settled from our move back to my hometown, I found myself more displaced than I expected to be. Sure, I hadn’t lived here in over 15 years, but it was my hometown. Why did it feel so hard to connect with other women? Why did settling in feel suddenly foreign?

Well, for one thing, I had changed—I was returning to my hometown now as a wife and a mom, and the unspoken rules for friendships had drastically shifted. In high school, friendship had been based off of mutual passions and pastimes (mine had been volleyball and poetry). We had weekends and weeknights to spend together, studying and laughing and driving around our mid-size town until we made it to Steak N Shake.

But here in these early years of motherhood, friendship was much more opaque. There might be other women in town who loved writing, but where would I find them? There might be other moms who loved to discuss books and theology, but how would I discover them? No, friendship in these years, I knew, was probably going to stem from being in similar stages of life. I needed some other moms who were on the same steep learning curve of figuring out how to care for the little ones at our feet.

But I needed someone to let me in. Although I was back in my own town, I was the new girl, and for the first time in years I felt unsure about how to start friendships.

Read the rest of the article over at the Deeply Rooted blog!

Filed Under: Baby, God, Guest Post, Motherhood, Parenting Tagged With: Ann Swindell, church, Church life, Deeply Rooted Magazine, How do I find friends, I need friends, Messy Home, motherhood

Still Waiting Is Turning One!

April 9, 2018 by Ann Leave a Comment

I can hardly believe it, but Still Waiting just had its first birthday. WOW!

It’s been an incredible year of hearing from readers about how the book has encouraged and impacted them in their own journeys with the Lord. I’ve heard from women and men, adults and teens, students and professionals. And the feedback has been the same: It’s so good to be reminded that God is still faithful even when my circumstances don’t seem to be changing. It’s so good to be offered hope.

I know, without a doubt, that this hope doesn’t come from me. There’s one source of true hope, and his name is Jesus. But it’s been an immense honor to get to partner with him through sharing my story and pointing readers to the hope that he gives. It’s been a deep joy to get to remind readers that they’re not alone as they wait on the Lord for breakthrough–in any area of their lives.

There's one source of true hope, and his name is Jesus. Share on X

If you haven’t read Still Waiting yet, I want to encourage you to pick up a copy this week! You can get it wherever books are sold, and maybe–like this reader who just emailed me–you’ll find yourself with more courage and trust as you wait on Jesus. I’ll leave you with her words–they humbled me and reminded me of how much God can do when we entrust our stories to him and others:

Just so you know, your story continues to encourage others by pointing us to the hope Jesus offers. I’m re-reading it now after what has quite possibly been the hardest year of my life, finding more hope than I thought possible in your vulnerability and grace-filled trust of God’s power to redeem even the hardest parts of our stories. Thank you for obeying Him and being brave enough to put your heart on paper for the glory of God. Your courage is contagious, and it makes me want to trust God more with my broken places. His version of our stories is the best one—thanks for using your words to remind me that He’s not done with mine yet. –J.H.

Thank you, Lord, for Still Waiting. The story–and the glory–is all yours.

P.S. To celebrate Still Waiting’s birthday, we’re offering giveaways ALL WEEK LONG! Find me over at Instagram to join in the fun!

Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged With: Ann Swindell, Ann Swindell Still Waiting, author, Christian, God, Jesus, Still Waiting, Still Waiting Book, trusting God, Writer

What’s Your Biblical Enneagram Doppleganger?

February 20, 2018 by Ann Leave a Comment

This is the start of my newest piece for RELEVANT Magazine.

The Enneagram—a personality assessment tool—has gotten a lot of press lately. People are interested in it; they’re taking online tests, listening to podcasts and buying books (For example, The Road Back to You: An Enneagram Journey to Self-Discovery, released at the end of 2016 and sold over 100,000 copies in just a little over a year).

The enneagram is based on a numbering system—one through nine—and your number helps to uncover your unique personality traits. No system is perfect, but here at RELEVANT, we thought it would be fun to comb through the Bible and try to determine where some of our spiritual ancestors might land on the enneagram—and determine our biblical doppelgangers that way.

What's your Biblical #Enneagram doppleganger? Share on X

1: THE REFORMER

You’re strong-willed and justice-oriented, and you’re willing to make a stand for what you care about.

Your doppelganger is the Apostle Paul, who turned from being a (literal) judgmental Pharisee (judgment is an achilles heel of this personality type) to being a man willing to suffer extremely for the cause of Christ.

2: THE HELPER

“Service” is your middle name; you love giving to others and, as long as you’re healthy, don’t need attention to do so. (If you’re unhealthy, you’re probably looking for affirmation from others when you serve.)

Mary, the Mother of Jesus, is your doppelganger—willing to serve God at a large cost to herself but to the ultimate glory of God. Some think John the Apostle is also a 2.

3: THE ACHIEVER

You’re driven and success-oriented, sometimes to the point of caring more about how you appear to others than you should. But you’re faithful and focused—a lot like Moses.

Although he cared too much about how he looked to others (see Numbers 20:8-13), he ultimately obeyed the Lord and led his people well. Jacob may also be a 3.

4: THE INDIVIDUALIST

You feel deeply and emotions are central to your experience—as is being unique. King David could be your enneagram doppelganger—a man after God’s heart who expressed his feelings openly and wholeheartedly to God in the book of Psalms. Like him, work to focus your attention back on the Lord when you feel tempted to focus on yourself and your pains above anything else.

Read the rest of the numbers–and article–here, at RELEVANT Magazine!

Filed Under: God, Guest Post, Writing