by Delores Topliff, @DeloresTopliff
Many posts mention staying encouraged after receiving rejection notices, surviving burnout, decreasing writing time to increase paid work to pay the bills. Today I’m writing about success.
Most of us would be dead starving artists if we depended on royalties and sales from our published writings alone. After years of trips to Israel, taking extensive travel notes to make my own repeat trips better plus answering questions for friends asking my help in planning theirs, I departed from my historical novels to write A Traveling Grandma’s Guide to Israel: Adventures, Wit, and Wisdom. It was released in Kindle and print in August, and later will be in Audio.
Most writers are good at networking and supporting each other. I had wonderful help for the publishing questions I didn’t have answers to. A day after Amazon released my Kindle version, the publisher of my historical novels sent an email saying I should check that site because my book had their #1 new release banner in three travel categories. What?
That joy ride with the banner staying in the top ten new releases lasted two weeks. My book isn’t doing badly now, and I’m enjoying the ride. Will I become wealthy? Probably not, unless Hallmark films things to do and NOT do on international trips, but am I having fun? YES! Am I grateful and more closely connected to friends and the LORD? YES!
One secret to success is to carefully hear the suggestions of others. It’s important to realize what we don’t know and listen.
A key point is to relinquish control of book details, even if they stretch beyond our normal image and comfort zones.
Another important factor for Amazon rankings is to choose our identifying book categories well. Mine focuses on Israel and Budget travel, with most tips applicable to international travel as well.
Face it—others’ ideas for cover art, titles, and more are often better than ours. Gratefully accept help. Then plan a thank you party or find other ways to show thanks. Be sure to turn around and help fellow writers in similar ways.
The Bible includes many verses on gratitude, being grateful, and gratefulness. Many praise songs do, too.
In August, 1940, England’s Prime Minister, Winston Churchill, thanked Britain’s military forces and the public by saying, “Never in the field of human conflict was so much owed by so many to so few.” As writers, as we brainstorm and pray together, and critique and encourage each other, we can similarly enjoy and share every success that comes.
A Traveling Grandma’s Guide to Israel: Adventures, Wit, and Wisdom
Embark on an extraordinary journey alongside a trail-blazing grandma …
A Traveling Grandma’s Guide to Israel: Adventures, Wit, and Wisdom is an inspiring and heartwarming account of a grandma’s many journeys throughout Israel for nearly forty years.
From Joppa/Tel Aviv through Galilee, Jerusalem, the Negev, the Red Sea, and most points in between, Topliff presents a tapestry of Israel’s history and culture with insight and humor. Each chapter introduces unforgettable people and hidden gems revealing the beauty and complexity of this ancient land.
Whether you’re a seasoned traveler or an armchair adventurer, A Traveling Grandma’s Guide to Israel is your ticket to exploring Israel as few have seen it.
Delores Topliff writes and teaches online for the Univ. of Northwestern-St. Paul Minnesota near her two doctor sons and five grandchildren. She lives on a Minnesota family farm half of each year and spends fall and winter months in Northeastern Mississippi. Besides teach and speaking, many of her stories appear in Revell, Bethany House, and Guideposts compilation books, and she has four published historical novels. Travel is her favorite means of learning. Delores is a world traveler taking mission and personal trips plus guiding small groups to Israel. This informative, fun book gives tips for safe, economical travel, even in grandma years, plus many gleaned gems and insights from her travels there for thirty-nine years.