Authors Together - by Liz Carter

We couldn't do this thing on our own, could we?

Writing can be a lonely business, especially when writing is our full-time gig. It can be easy to become introspective and shut the world out as we lose ourselves in new worlds. But that's exactly why we need one another - we need to remind each other to reach out, to stay grounded, to stay accountable. And we need to help one another, to.

One of the great joys of the Association of Christian Writers for me has been the community. I've made new friends and got to know so many gifted writers. I've been part of blog tours, reviewed books, shared work and had so many people support me, too. It's been a new world for me, since I joined back in 2018 - a world where I don't feel so alone.

Authors supporting one another is a bedrock to both success and just being able to continue. I'm delighted to be a part of a brand new author collective, Resolute Books, which springs in part from ACW in that a few of us got together and decided to start our own small press, as it were - ie to publish under one banner and to join in marketing one another's work. I'm mentioning this today because Resolute goes live on May 20th, with our first two books - Wheel of Fortune by Claire Dunn and Local Killer by Paul Trembling. These books don't have a whole lot in common - one is historical suspense, the other a modern crime thriller - but they're both superb books, tightly plotted and written, and we're excited that they will be published with our new collective. I will be bringing out my own first novel, Repression Ground, a dystopian thriller, this winter with Resolute Books - watch this space!

This kind of thing is something that could be replicated, if authors decided to. It takes some tech know-how and general industry knowledge, but we think it's one way to amplify voices that are often not heard. It's a sad fact that it's incredibly difficult to get traditionally published these days, and, even if you are, it doesn't always mean success - many publishers still expect authors to do the lion's share of marketing around their books. Perhaps collectives like Resolute will become more common as authors come together to think creatively about ways in which to get their work out there and to pool their expertise. I hope so!

Even if you don't go down that kind of road, though, there's something really special about authors coming together for mutual support and encouragement. ACW runs many groups up and down the country and I hear great things about how helpful they are - and how much fun they are! Many ACW members have also formed smaller online author support and prayer groups, too, which have become crucial to those group members in keeping up the motivation for their writing. Even the ACW Facebook page is such a great resource and a place to go for support.

If you are feeling alone in your writing, or not sure how to proceed, or just a bit weary of it all, consider getting out there and finding out what's on offer - or why not start something new up? There are so many ACW members there's sure to be someone fairly local to you, or people online who want to connect. Doing this life on your own can be hard, so I encourage you to reach out.

I'm so grateful for the support of everyone at ACW, especially as my new book, Valuable: why your worth is not defined by how useful you feel releases in two weeks. It's been an especially tough year for me with my health, as covid hit my lungs further, but one of my mainstays has been the support of authors around me, from ACW in particular. One of the areas I reflect on in Valuable is how we often just don't feel quite enough, and how we are prone to comparison with others around us - and this is never more true than in the writing world. It's so easy to look at our author peers and feel lacking, and even useless. Yet God has given us the gift of one another in order to build up rather than destroy, and when we do that it is a beautiful thing. We must remember that each one of us is infinitely valuable - not because of our success, or how good our writing is, or how many books we sell - but simply because we are loved by God. And if we can keep on reminding one another of that, then we can make things just a little bit easier for one another.

I pray that you will find friendship and fellowship with the authors you know, too, and that it will be sustaining for you. And I pray above all that you will remember your true value lies in who you are, and not what you do.

If you want to know more about Resolute Books, do ask!

Liz Carter is an author, poet and editor from Shropshire. She loves to write about the difficult and painful times in life, and how we can find gold in the mess. Her books Catching Contentment and Treasure in Dark Places are available in online bookstores.  Her new non-fiction book with The Good Book Company, Valuable, is coming in June 2023. She is poet-in-residence of her local town and works freelance to proofread, format and design books.

You can find her at www.greatadventure.carterclan.me.uk