by Beth K. Vogt, @bethvogt

How would you like to be known as “Mr. Irrelevant”?

Brock Purdy, who played college football at Iowa State University, earned that nickname when he was selected by the San Francisco 49ers football team with the final pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Yes, this is another football themed post that I’ll relate to our writing lives. Stay with me, friends. Even if you don’t watch pro football, you’ve likely heard about Purdy because the guy’s been in the news a lot lately. And for good reason. 

You’re no big deal when you’re picked dead last in the NFL draft. Purdy became the 49ers third string quarterback, behind Trey Lance and Jimmy Garoppolo. Then Lance went down with an ankle injury last September that required not one, but two surgeries. Jimmy Garoppolo? He went out with a fractured foot last December. 

Mr. Irrelevant became the starting quarterback for the 49ers. Very relevant, indeed. (Sorry, I had to say it.) Purdy then went on to lead his team to the playoffs and he won all those games too. Nice, right?

Time to apply this football success story to our writing lives.

As a writer, can you relate with Brock Purdy’s professional journey? Does it seem like every other writer is living the dream except you? Are your writer friends getting “the call” while you’re waiting for your phone to ring? Is someone else is signing on the dotted line again and you’re praying for an agent or editor to request your book proposal?

Let me tell you the rest of Purdy’s story. He got to the NFC title game – one step away from going to the Super Bowl – and got injured. Couldn’t throw the football farther than five feet. Not the Cinderella ending to the season he, his coach, or his team hoped for.

But Purdy made it clear in every interview he had, including the day of the NFC title game, that his hope and confidence was in God. While I know he’s disappointed he’s facing surgery and a long recovery, he’s not quitting.

Don’t quit, my friends. Keep writing. Keep showing up. Keep cheering on others as they play their writing game. You be you and keep believing God has a plan for you. Always be ready.

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The Thatcher Sisters Series

The award-winning Thatcher Sister Series by Beth K. Vogt, published by Tyndale House, is described as a “Little Women gone wrong” collection of novels highlighting complicated sister relationships in the style of This is Us. NYT bestselling author Lisa Wingate said, “With tenderness and skill, Beth Vogt examines the price of secrets, the weight of tragic loss, and the soul-deep poison of things left unsaid.” The series includes Things I Never Told You, Moments We Forget, and The Best We’ve Been. Unpacking Christmas: A Thatchers Sisters Novella, was released in November 2022 by Never Door Press.

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” She’s authored 14 novels and novellas, both romance and women’s fiction. Beth is a Christy Award winner, an ACFW Carol Award winner, and a RITA® finalist. Her novel Things I Never Told You, book one in her Thatcher Sisters Series by Tyndale House Publishers, won the 2109 AWSA Golden Scroll Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. She lives in Colorado with her husband Rob, who has adjusted to discussing the lives of imaginary people. Connect with Beth at bethvogt.com.