Four Questions to Ask Yourself

by Cindi McMenamin

Is it your dream to write a book? We all have a story. We all have lessons learned that we’d love to pass on to others. But are you being called to write or is it just something you’d like to do? To begin, here are some questions to ask yourself to help you know if you are truly being called by God to write and publish a book: 

1.   Do you want to write a book simply because you have a great story to tell? Or is there a burning inside of you that won’t let up until you get your story or material down on paper and make it available to others for the glory of God? When the goal is for his renown, not your own, it’s possible that he’s putting that desire on your heart so he can accomplish it through you and be glorified in it. 

2.   Are you hoping to make some money through it? Then book-writing is probably not for you. A true writer writes because she must, whether she gets paid to do it or not. And while books don’t generate much money for authors, they do offer credibility and at times make you more requested as a speaker.

3.   Is there a topic you are truly passionate about that people end up talking to you about when they need advice, encouragement or direction? To be passionate about something is to be willing to suffer for it…to be so deeply convicted about it that you have to talk, or do something, about it. If so, that passion may be the subject of the book God is calling you to write.

4.   Does writing a book seem like something fun to do or does it feel more like a burden and responsibility? Although writers, for the most part, love to write, books do not always come easily. Authors, in a sense, cut themselves open and bleed onto the paper, making themselves vulnerable and therefore credible to their readers. That kind of vulnerability can bring unwanted attention and criticism, at times. So, a better description of your “calling” to write might be “an offering of sacrifice to the Lord” rather than merely a “hobby.”

If it sounds like you truly are being called to write, join us for the NEWIM Writers’ Getaway in Three Rivers, CA (just before The Springs event). Authors Cindi McMenamin and Kathy Collard Miller will guide you toward your next step in fulfilling God’s call on your heart to write.

Learn more and Register HERE.

Cindi McMenamin is a Bible teacher, national speaker, writing coach, and author of 17 books from Harvest House Publishers.

She was the founder of the NEWIM Inland Empire Chapter and its first president in the late 1990s and early 2000s.

She co-leads the NEWIM Writers’ Getaway with Kathy Collard Miller each Fall in Three Rivers, CA.

For more on Cindi’s ministry, see www.StrengthForTheSoul.com. To register or learn more about the Writers’ Getaway, see https://www.newim.org/writers-getaway