Blog - Page 138 of 207 - Katie Ganshert

Two Tips and a Story

Posted on April 29, 2011November 7, 2011 by Katie Ganshert

Since I always used to wonder what kinds of things an author did in the long wait before their book release, I thought I’d share what I’ve been up to these past couple weeks (besides writing, of course).

I received a nine-page author questionnaire.

The questions ran the gamut and many required some serious thought and reflection, especially since my responses will help my publisher market and sell my book.

After filling out the questionnaire, I have one “I’m glad I did this” and one “I wish I would have done this” tip to share:

I’m glad I established myself online before I got a book deal. You never want people to think you’re using them for a connection or an endorsement. I connect with people because I’m interested in the person. Period.

I wish I would have saved alternative titles for my story! I know I had other ideas for a title, only I didn’t save them. So I had to start from scratch, which wasn’t easy. Especially since I’ve had my working title stuck in my head for two years now. It was like trying to change my two-year old son’s name. What other names might fit him? I don’t know. I’ve always called him Brogan.

I got book plates in the mail.

Have you heard of book plates? I never had until a couple months ago. Anyway, they are basically these stickers you sign and send back to your publisher so they can put them on books for promotional purposes.

I felt silly.

For two reasons.

First, the idea that my signature means something is highly-amusing. But I shall go with it.

Second, my signature is ugly. Which leads to a story about why my in-laws call me Kate, when everybody else in the world calls me Katie.

If somebody turned the way my husband and I met into a story, it would be cliche. He was the hot delivery guy. I was the enamored receptionist. He would bring me packages and I would sign for them.

So one day, he walks in while I’m getting ready to leave for lunch. We’re riding down the elevator together and he asks me out.

What words escape my mouth but, “Do you even know my name?”

Smooth, huh?

Anyway, he says, “Yeah. I see your signature every day. It’s Kate.”

Close enough.

So I write the name Kate (because this is no time for correction) and my phone number on a gum wrapper (which he still has in his dresser drawer). And ever since, he’s called me Kate. That’s how he introduced me to his family. I actually think it sounds weird when he or his family calls me Katie.

Not too much later I found out he thought my last name was McGowan. It was actually McGivern.

So. Yeah. My signature isn’t the neatest.

Time to practice.

Let’s Talk: Do you have any “I wish I would have” or “I’m glad I did this” tips to share? And be honest. Do you ever practice your signature?

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The Unexpected

Posted on April 25, 2011November 7, 2011 by Katie Ganshert

Sometimes, the writing journey feels like a never-ending slab of cement. Cold. Hard. Monotonous. You send out queries. Nothing happens. You get a request for a partial or a full. Nothing happens. You write and you write and you write and you wait and you wait and you wait. And you wonder.

What if this is it?

What if this never happens?

What if I stand on this cement for ever and ever?

I know those questions. Because I asked them many times. While I stood on my own personal slab of cement, not-knowing if I’d ever get off. Wondering if anything was happening.

But I also learned something. Not once I got a contract. But before. In the midst of the waiting.

God is working.

Maybe in the way we want Him to work. Maybe not. Either way, He’s working. Until eventually you look down and there, growing up from the cracks, is something unexpected. Something that doesn’t belong. Something you didn’t think you’d see until you hopped off your cement onto the green-covered hills of publication.

Maybe it’s a friend you didn’t think you would make. Or a piece of writing that revealed a truth you didn’t grasp until you wrote it. Or that person at work who asked to read your story and when you let her, it left a mark. Maybe it’s simply finding peace in the midst of the unknown. Or the joy that comes when we let go and trust.

That He’s working. He has a purpose for why you are where you are. He has things He wants to show you. Ways He wants to use you. Things He wants to give you. You just have to be willing to look past your expectations and see them.

Let’s Talk: What unexpected gifts have you found on your journey?removetweetmeme

Quiting the Day Job

Posted on April 15, 2011November 7, 2011 by Katie Ganshert

It’s official. I put in my letter of resignation. When the 2011-2012 school year rolls around, I won’t be returning to the classroom.

Crazy, right?

I mean, “Don’t quit your day job!” is probably the most commonly dispensed piece of advice given to newly contracted authors.

So what am I thinking? Why am I doing the very thing professionals advise not to do?

Because.

My son can put on his shoes.

How did this happen?

Just yesterday, he was this:

And now, he’s this:

How did he go from being this tiny, helpless baby to this little person who tears down the steps and sings the ABC’s? Time is traveling at this ever-increasing speed and I’m completely freaked out that one day, I’m going to blink and all of a sudden he’ll be packing for college.

For the past two and a half years, I’ve been a wife, and a mother, and a teacher, and a writer. And I’ve done an okay job. But when it comes to my family and writing – I don’t want to just do okay. I don’t want to wake up when I’m sixty and regret the decisions I’m making now.

So after a lot (and I mean A LOT) of praying, and a lot of budgeting, and a lot of counsel (some of which came from my amazing, amazing agent), Ryan and I decided we’re going to do it. I’m going to stay home next year. It’s a giant step of faith. But it’s the best decision for our family right now.

So how do you know when it’s okay to set aside the, “Don’t quit your day job!” advice? That’s going to be different for everyone, but here’s why I’m confident I’m doing the right thing:

We didn’t make the decision based on my writing income.

We did not factor in ANY of my writing income when making this decision. Because writing income is incredibly unpredictable and often nonexistent. Any money I make through writing will be a bonus.

We gave it a test drive before making the decision.

For the past few months, ever since Ryan and I felt God laying this on our hearts, we’ve dumped my paycheck into our savings and lived strictly off his income. I’m not going to lie. It’s been tight. We’ve had to make sacrifices and change the way we do things. But we can make it work and the sacrifices are worth it.

We’ve thought about ways I could supplement our income.

I’m in a great position to tutor and if money gets super tight, I can always sub here and there.

But the biggest factor was this…..

We both felt God calling us in this direction and we needed to obey.

I’ve felt the tug to stay home ever since Brogan was born. But I always ignored it because I was afraid of losing the safety and the security that comes with my paycheck. I said I trusted God, but I wasn’t acting as if I trusted Him.

I’m reading this amazing book right now called Experiencing God. There’s this part where the author talks about the difference between knowing something about God, and experiencing something about God. I know God as my provider. But I’ve never let myself experience God as my provider. It’s time for me to let go of my fear and trust that where He leads, His provision will follow.

Let’s Talk: Have you ever had to make a BIG decision? How did you do it?

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