© 2018 Kristi Woods

Have you ever dipped a toe in the ocean or a pool? It’s the perfect thermometer, isn’t it? We test the waters to see if it’s safe to go all in or if we’d simply prefer to turn back. Sometimes we find ourselves dipping a virtual toe in the writing world, too.

That’s my story. The whole writing journey proved new three years ago. Submissions were unfamiliar, too. I began the search for how and where to submit pieces. I dipped a toe.

Some web pages offered writing tips. Others sent weekly opportunities. I plastered my email on a slew of their handy little subscriber boxes until my inbox began spilling advice all over the keyboard and desk. The power of those little subscriber boxes!

With the wealth of new information, I found myself nearly underwater with emails, submission guidelines—and confusion! Many deadlines passed without the click of a submission. I didn’t know where to start. The waves of too much information and varying opportunities crashed hard. I found myself doggie paddling in survival mode versus swimming in progress.

Then one day, it hit. “It” was a question followed by direction. To whom are you writing? What is your message? Keep both in focus and submit accordingly.

Many opportunities await in the writing world. However, good opportunities aren’t always God occasions. Not all submission openings fit His will for our writing’s purpose. Neither do all those voices offering input. Things become clearer when we revisit why our Father has called us to write.

For instance, I write and speak to encourage women to walk deeper with God. Females in their 20s–50s comprise my target audience. Christianity Today and iBelieve.comare both oceans in which that target audience swims.

We may be turning page after page of The Christian Writer’s Market Guide, uncertain how to proceed. Or we may be experienced writers, standing with publications underfoot. Wherever our steps currently take us on the writing journey, it’s wise to keep “it” in view: To whom are we writing? What is our message?

Keep both in focus and submit accordingly, faithful writer.
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Kristi Woods, a writer and speaker encouraging women to walk deeper with God, clicks words of encouragement at www.KristiWoods.net. The regular contributor to iBelieve.com and Crosswalk.com is also published in three Chicken Soup for the Soul anthologies as well as on Proverbs 31 Encouragement for Today. Kristi, her retired-from-the-military husband, and their three children survived a nomadic, military lifestyle, setting roots in Oklahoma. Connect with Kristi here: Facebook, Instagram, or Pinterest.