Category: Katie Ganshert

The Unexpected

Posted on 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 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?
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I mean, “Don’t quit your day job!” is probably the most commonly dispensed piece of advice given to newly contracted authors.
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So what am I thinking? Why am I doing the very thing professionals advise not to do?
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Because.
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My son can put on his shoes.
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How did this happen?
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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.
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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.
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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.
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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:
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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.
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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.
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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…..
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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.
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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.
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Let’s Talk: Have you ever had to make a BIG decision? How did you do it?

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I Never Finaled in the Genesis Contest

Posted on by Katie Ganshert

The semi-finalist results for the annual Genesis contest came out on Friday. Which means two things: Some people were super excited. Some people were feeling pretty deflated.

It also means there are going to be lots of posts flying around the blogosphere congratulating the semi-finalists. And there absolutely should be. Semi-finaling in the Genesis is a great accomplishment. One worthy of celebration.
 
But I also know reading those posts will be hard on the people who didn’t final.

So as happy as I am for those who got a phone call on Friday (one being my fabulous critique partner, Jeannie Campbell, who is an incredibly talented writer and an all-around amazing woman), I want to speak to the second group today.
 
I want to offer some encouragement.
 
Some hope.
 
A silver lining.
 
Last year, I read an email on the ACFW loop from a contestant who didn’t final. It went something like this: I hear a lot of stories about people who final in the Genesis contest and go to be published. I’d like to know if there’s anybody who has NOT finaled in the Genesis contest but went on to get published.
 
I could hear this woman’s desperation. She didn’t final and she wanted to know. Can this still happen for me?
 
At the time, I couldn’t answer. Because I wasn’t that person.
 
But this year is different. This year, I get to respond to that woman. And I have good news to share.
 
Here’s my story.
 
I entered the Genesis contest in 2009. Okay, let me clarify. I didn’t just enter. I entered three manuscripts. Yes, three. I remember secretly hoping all three would final. But May rolled around and I didn’t get a phone call. Not a single one.
 
I went to the 2009 ACFW conference, surrounded by people wearing those shiny Genesis Finalist badges on their name tags. I remember feeling inadequate. How would I ever snag an agent or editor’s attention without one of those shiny badges?
 
But two months later, I got a phone call from Rachelle Gardner and all of a sudden, I had an agent. I didn’t final, but I had an agent.
 
I decided to enter the Genesis again in 2010. This time, with incredible trepidation. Because this time, I had an agent. I don’t know if you know this or not, but a very real fear by most agented authors who don’t have a contract is losing their agent because their work won’t sell. Not finaling in the contest would do nothing but exacerbate that fear.
 
Guess what?
 
I didn’t final.
 
Enter humiliation.
 
Lots and lots of humiliation.
 
And an exacerbated fear.
 
I went to the 2010 ACFW conference. I still didn’t get to wear one of those fancy badges.
 
But two months later, I got another phone call from Rachelle. With news I desperately wanted to hear. Waterbrook Multnomah offered me a two-book deal.
 
My first book is scheduled for release in May, 2012. It’s a book I entered twice in the Genesis. It’s a book that never finaled.
 
So for those of you out there wondering. Can this can still happen for me?
 
It can.
 
I’m proof.
 
Take the feedback. Use the good stuff. Ditch the crazy stuff. Improve your manuscript. Keep learning. Keep growing. Keep putting yourself out there. And trust that God has a plan and a purpose for your words.
 
Let’s Talk: How are you feeling post-Genesis results?

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