The tussle By Claire Musters

In the run up to publication date for my book, I have, out of necessity, been looking to promote my product. I know that, this month especially, I'm not alone. There are quite a few ACW members with great new books about to come out!

That all-important question of how much profile an author has is always at the back of my mind, especially as it was the reason some publishers felt they couldn’t take my book. I know, too, that we each have that tussle between doing what we do because we feel called to, and having to promote ourselves out of necessity.

I was beginning to get swallowed up into the marketing frenzy, when a Bible study caught my attention. It was looking at Acts 18, when the seven sons of Sceva were overwhelmed by a demon, whereas Paul was able to cast out many evil spirits. The writer brought out the point that Paul was not focused on himself, and the amazing things he could do – rather he was simply focused on being obedient to the call from God on his life.

And that, I think, is a great reminder to us as writers. When we start being most concerned about how many radio and magazine interviews we’ve done, how many reviews we’ve got and how much our books and/or our faces have featured on social media, then I think we may have lost our way a little. But if we focus on doing what we believe God has called us to, simply telling our story (as Glen and Emma encouraged us to do so beautifully at the Writers’ Day), then I think those other elements that come our way can be dealt with in the right way, without them distracting or overwhelming us.

I was challenged yet again by another writer’s blog, in which she talked about the need to stop trying to get others to notice us, and point them to Jesus. I know we all write in different genres, and often our books are not explicitly about our faith, but surely our whole lives, and therefore our work, should be about making the name of Jesus known and sharing His Good News? That certainly left me with a lot of food for thought about how much of my own tussle is born out of self-interest rather than genuine humility and concern… Checking our motives regularly is certainly a good habit to get into.

Claire is a freelance writer, speaker and editor, mum to two gorgeous young children, pastor’s wife, worship leader and school governor. She is currently Premier Christianity magazine’s freelance news and features journalist. Claire’s desire is to help others draw closer to God through her writing, which focuses on authenticity, marriage, parenting, worship, discipleship, issues facing women today etc. Her books include Taking your Spiritual Pulse, CWR’s Insight Into Managing Conflict, Insight Into Self-acceptance, Cover to Cover: David A man after God’s own heart, Insight Into Burnout and BRF Foundations21 study guides on Prayer and Jesus. She also writes Bible study notes. She has two books being published in November: Taking off the mask: daring to be the person God created you to be, with Authentic Media, and Cover to Cover: 1–3 John Walking in the truth, with CWR. To find out more about her, please visit www.clairemusters.com and @CMusters on Twitter.