By Cara Putman, @cara_putman
It’s been an interesting two years. Publishing has been up and down, and up and down since I started writing in 2005. Since that time I’ve written multiple books a year, often for multiple publishers. If we were sitting across a table from each other drinking coffee or tea, I’d tell you that I firmly believe God placed me in publishing because it is one area where no matter how good I am, I can’t work my way into success.
That’s a hard lesson for a first-born to learn.
The last two years have shown all of us regardless of the industry we are in, that much of life is far beyond our paltry attempts to control and maneuver.
Why write about this?
Because as a new year is starting (Yeah!), we get to decide how to approach it. We get to pause and pray. Ask for fresh direction for our writing. So here’s how I’m approaching the new year and fresh calendar page.
- Behold I am doing a new thing (Isaiah 43:19). I like new things, but I like stability a whole lot more. This January I’m asking God for fresh vision for my writing to see what He has for me. It may be continuing in the way He has had me on, but I want to live with an open hand, prepared for whatever He has next. One thing I’ve learned, I don’t want to continue on a path that isn’t the right one for this season!
- Do not despise the day of small beginnings (Zechariah 4:10). For some of us that will mean getting back in the writing saddle with 500 words a day. There have been seasons where I would write 2000 words in two hours. Today, I would welcome 500 words consistently. That’s a small beginning. But the discipline of showing up and writing the next word, the next scene, the next chapter…that’s where endings happen. You can’t get to “The End” without “in the beginning.” So set a goal, no matter how small it may feel, and stick with it.
- Beautiful words stir my heart. (Psalm 45:1 NLT). Sometimes as a writer I lose the power of words in the drudgery of writing. For me, listening to audiobooks has helped me step back and fall in love with well-crafted words. If you’ve hit a slump, look for a new way to engage with words. Read a different genre. Pick a book that has 35,000 reviews and give it a try. Why has it caught on with so many readers? Listen to a book you’ve read. What do you catch with the forced slowdown of audio? Read the Psalms in the New Living Translation or the The Passion Translation for a fresh take on a familiar favorite. Rediscover the power of words to move you.
- And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus (Colossians 3:17). Don’t forget your why. It’s easy in a world that asks for more constantly. You aren’t on Tik-Tok? You must not be a serious author. You aren’t producing five books a year? You are wasting your time. Here’s the thing. No matter what you are called to do, you are called to do it for God first. So focus your attention there. Do that thing well. And then do the next. And then the next. But do it all with an eye that He is the one you are doing it for.
Whatever you write. Whatever audience God has called you to. My prayer is that you would be refreshed at the beginning of a new year. Go forth and write words that change hearts!
If they expected silence, they hired the wrong woman.
Caroline Bragg’s life has never been better. She and Brandon Lancaster are taking their relationship to the next level, and she has a new dream job as legal counsel for Praecursoria—a research lab that is making waves with its cutting-edge genetic therapies. The company’s leukemia treatments even promise to save desperately sick kids—kids like eleven-year-old Bethany, a critically ill foster child at Brandon’s foster home.
When Caroline’s enthusiastic boss wants to enroll Bethany in experimental trials prematurely, Caroline objects, putting her at odds with her colleagues. They claim the only goal at Praecursoria is to save lives. But does someone have another agenda?
Brandon faces his own crisis. As laws governing foster homes shift, he’s on the brink of losing the group home he’s worked so hard to build. When Caroline learns he’s a Praecursoria investor, it becomes legally impossible to confide in him. Will the secrets she keeps become a wedge that separates them forever? And can she save Bethany from the very treatments designed to heal her?
This latest romantic legal thriller by bestseller Cara Putman shines a light on the shadowy world of scientific secrets and corporate vendettas—and the ethical dilemmas that plague the place where science and commerce meet.
“Intriguing characters. Romantic tension. Edge-of-your-seat suspense. And a fast-paced ending that will leave you exhausted (in a good way!).” —Robert Whitlow, award-winning author of Promised Land
Since the time she could read Nancy Drew, Cara has wanted to write mysteries. In 2005 she attended a book signing at her local Christian bookstore. The rest, as they say, was history. There she met a fellow Indiana writer Colleen Coble. With prompting from her husband, Cara shared her dream with Colleen. Since those infamous words, Cara’s been writing award-winning books. She is currently marketing book 36 and dreaming up future books, not hard when she sees what-ifs everywhere.
Cara Putman is an active member of ACFW and gives back to the writing community through her service on Executive Board. She has also been the Indiana ACFW chapter president and served as the Area Coordinator for Indiana.
Cara is also an attorney, full-time lecturer at a Big Ten university, and all-around crazy woman. Crazy about God, her husband and her kids that is. She graduated with honors from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln (Go Huskers!), George Mason Law School, and Purdue University’s Krannert School of Management. You can learn more about Cara at www.caraputman.com.
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Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Cara-C-Putman/e/B001T2AM3I/