March 12, 2025 Three things to consider as or before you begin writing: 1. Expectations Manage your expectations. Is your goal in writing and making a book to make money? If so, you may be disappointed. Most people don’t get rich writing and making books. You may, and that is great if you do, but if your goal is financially driven, you are putting the result before the process. The process of creativity is what is formative to you. The process is the creative act. Prioritize the process and you will never be disappointed by the results. It is difficult not to fall into the money-mindset, and there are publishers and programs out there that will take advantage of that (more on this in the future section on “vanity publishing.” Keep your expectations in mind from the start and make sure you are comfortable with the process. If something is causing you discomfort about the publishing process it is either 1) because something about the situation is off and your instincts are there to protect you, or 2) you are pushing up against an element of publishing that is a blind spot and it is a chance to learn. Learning is rarely fast. If you are feeling pressured into something, it is probably the first. Go at your own pace, know your goals, don’t be afraid to ask questions or to acknowledge what you don’t know, and keep your expectations realistic. If anyone is promising you something that sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Having the proper mindset, expectations, and clear goals before you begin your publishing journey will help you avoid disappointment down the line. 2. Vocation What are you good at? What do you find joy doing? These are not always the same thing. If they are, great! “When you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life,” as they say. The creative act can stem from something you are good at, something you aspire to be good at, or something you find joy in. Find your calling—your vocation. You will not write well if you are trying to write for someone else. You will not write well if you are writing about something you know nothing about. Write and create something you know, enjoy, and love. 3. Skill If you plan on writing a book, you’ll need skill in writing. Assuming you are interested in writing a book, you probably already have some skill. There are ways to develop skill in writing. Reading books is a great start. Writing as often as possible gives you practice, even if you are writing things that nobody will ever see. Focus on perfecting your everyday communication skills in writing—like text or email—if you are finding it difficult to write creatively. Get outside eyes and input on your work. Whether that means paying an editor or asking friends, family, and colleagues to read your work, the more eyes on something and feedback you get, the more polished your writing will become, the more likely you will be to catch mistakes, and the easier it will become to tell when something you’ve written is good or not. Writing is communal, not solo. Don’t isolate yourself or your writing will suffer. Writing, above all, is communication.
March 5, 2025 “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep.” —Genesis 1:1–2a Humans create things. We’re made for it. In a world that is chaotic and crazy, the creative impulse pushes us to bring order to chaos. The law of entropy when applied on a universal level means that disorder and randomness is gradually increasing all around us. Everything skews toward chaos. On a universal scale, this is gradual, almost imperceptible during a human lifetime, but taken to a micro level of the human life, we feel this entropy daily. Our lives are gradually becoming more chaotic and disordered each day. Creativity is how we put a halt to that. Creativity is how we bring back a little order to the chaos. Every day, our bodies deteriorate a little bit. Our heart beats away and will one day run out of beats. Our muscles start to atrophy. The food and drink we had yesterday pass through us and leave us hungry all over again. If we don’t continue to eat, we will end up in diminished health. The process of disorder and decay doesn’t take long. What do we do to stop it? We exercise to build up our muscles. We eat nutrition-dense foods and stay hydrated with water while avoiding certain foods and drinks that will adversely affect our lives and health. We sleep. We do these routines and rhythms of life that build our bodies and help slow or stop the process of decay and disorder, and when we fail to do so, we feel it. Stay up all night, feel exhausted and have a headache the next day. Skip eating for a day and you’ll feel hungry. Take a week, month, year off from working out and you’ll begin to slowly notice that you feel weaker and may get winded walking up stairs or performing tasks once considered “normal.” These are external things we do. But what about creativity? This is an internal process first. It is how we nourish our lives, because life is not just about staying alive, but truly living. We create relationships, marriages, families, homes, gardens, music, movies, paintings, photographs, drawings, and writings. These external creations all start with internal intentions of creativity. Now, in our modern culture, these things are seen as luxuries or hobbies. They are extras. Nice things, but not the stuff of life and existence. What we do to afford and have the luxury of those things is our life: the jobs we work, the money we make and save, our gender, religion, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. These “identities” are what make up and influence our lives and creativity. Being a creative is not a valued identity. Unless somebody becomes wealthy, famous, and successful in a creative industry, you would be hard pressed to find someone who willingly identifies themselves with a creative act. If you meet someone who writes, they don’t often call themselves an “author” or “writer” unless they make money doing so. We do not value creativity for the sake of creativity. We value results. And the result of this kind of thinking… Creativity is stifled. Entropy kicks into gear. That part of us atrophies and slowly dies until all that is left is chaos and disorder. This is not how we were designed to live. The creative act is ingrained in us. So, while you may never get rich being a “creative,” the first step to creativity is to change your mindset. I am made to create things. If nobody else ever sees, reads, or acknowledges what I create, that doesn’t diminish the creative act. Creativity is not about results. Creativity in and of itself is a result, a mind pushing back against chaos to make something good in a world that often seems formless, empty, and dark. What we are doing here is encouraging the expression of creativity in books. Join us to learn more and follow along. We hope this sparks your creativity and brings some good to your life. And if you are interested in writing and publishing, I hope this helps in your journey. Subscribe to our website (andersonhousepublishing.com) to get updates on blog drops, or follow us on Instagram @anderson_house_pub.
