I get asked this question a lot, and I realized I’d never shared the answer here. So if you’re interested, here’s the story.

I never dreamed of being a writer. Never fantasized about writing the Great American Novel, never dreamed of living in a garret and suffering for the sake of my Art. I’m a practical person, more focused on the nuts and bolts of things than the whys and wherefores. But apparently I’ve always had a natural aptitude for words and I’ve always been a reader. So when a friend suggested that I change my college major from music to English, the idea of working with words appealed more than singing on the road for the rest of my life. I’d been doing that, you see, and my voice was tired and my suitcase worn out. Duct tape could only patch things up for so long . . .

But while I was traveling and singing (doing my best to make a long story short), my group, the Re’Generation, got stuck in a north-eastern Colorado blizzard. After four days of literally being snowed-in in a family’s house, we trudged back out to our cars and continued on our way. All of us recorded our adventure in our journals.

Because our director, Derric Johnson, hadn’t been with us, we let him read our journals. Fast-forward about a month, and on an all-night drive, Pastor Derric asked me what I wanted to do when I finished my time with Re’Gen. “I don’t know,” I said. “I guess I’ll finish my music degree and teach music.”

And then he looked at me and said, “You have a way with words. Singers are a dime a dozen, but you ought to be a writer.” And because I believe that God speaks to us through the voices of our spiritual authorities, I listened. And believed.

So I graduated from Liberty with a degree in English Lit, taught high school English for a year, then worked at a large church writing curriculum. I kept telling myself that when the time was right, I’d quit my job and actually become a writer.

And then I did.

Photo: traveling with my college chorale on a bus, writing my English paper . . .

I quit the day job (and I’m NOT recommending you do this unless you have a spouse who can take up the slack) and had stationery and business cards printed up–freelance writer for hire. I mailed those cards and a brief letter to every advertising agency and magazine in my mid-sized town, then I was amazed at the responses. A great many business people, apparently, were happy to hire someone else to write their letters, brochures, advertising copy, etc. (Clearly, this was before AI could write those things for them.)

I bought and studied books on how to write effective letters, brochures, advertising copy, etc., and set about establishing a reputation for being fast and dependable. I figured I might not be the most talented fish in the sea, but at least I could be prompt, professional, and diligent.

And I learned . . . from my employers and from my mistakes. For five years I worked for magazines and businesses, and I learned as I went along. I also earned as I went along—not a lot, but a wee bit more than I’d made working 9-5.

I read and relentlessly studied books on the craft of writing. I rewrote and polished and rewrote again. In 1988, an artist friend and I entered a contest for unpublished children’s book authors. I wrote a manuscript after studying a book on how to write children’s picture books (what else?) and then forgot about it. A few months later, I learned that out of 500 entries, our manuscript won first place–and first prize was publication. If I Had Long, Long Hair was my first published book.

At the same time, I was writing about our experience with adoption and sold a nonfiction manuscript to a book publisher. Those first books gradually moved me out of magazine work and into book publishing–after years of learning and writing and reading and studying. I am still learning and reading and studying because each genre requires that a writer master certain requirements.

Over the years I’ve written a little of almost everything—picture books, middle grade books, nonfiction for kids, fiction for adults, nonfiction for adults, a romance, a devotional, collaborations, series, historical fiction, contemporary fiction, thrillers, mysteries, biblical fiction, speculative fiction, women’s fiction . . . I get bored easily. :-/ The experts say that a writer should choose a genre and stick with it, but that’d drive me crazy. So I’m really grateful for readers who come along for all kinds of stories.

So if you or someone you know wants to be a writer . . .

So when aspiring writers ask me for advice, I tell them to go to the library and find a copy of Writer’s Market. Study the periodicals market; study book publishers. Find out what they want to buy and concentrate on writing that–if you want to sell your writing. If you want to write for yourself or for your loved ones, go ahead, write what is on your heart. Create a substack and write away! But if you want to write to sell, you have to learn how to write and behave professionally.

Another wonderful place to learn is at a writer’s conference. There are many wonderful conferences around the country and throughout the year. Find one, go, and learn before you try to submit something to a publisher.

My philosophy is that a writer is like a builder–if you know how to use the construction tools and if you are familiar with the blueprints for various jobs/genres, you can master the work.

But being a professional writer requires study and basic know-how. If you’re interested, I’ve written a series of lessons–booklets, really–designed to get you writing with definite tools. They are called “Writing Lessons from the Front,” and they are available on Amazon. And don’t forget Write Well, my newsletter for writers.

Well, that’s it for me today . . . and I have to say, I LIKE this new format. So much easier to navigate (for me, anyway). Hope it’s easy for you, too.

Have you ever felt God speaking to you through the voice of a pastor, parent, or friend? He does, you know. He can even use a donkey. 🙂

Have a lovely week ahead! Please feel free to comment below. I love hearing from you.

~Angie