Thankful to be an Author

Earlier this week I shared how I am thankful to be a wife and mom. It’s not easy, but with each year we’ve all matured, grown in Christ, and are enjoying being around each other.

Today I thought I would blog about how I’m thankful to be an author. Growing up words were everything. I talked a lot, I read even more, and it wasn’t long before I was writing. In middle school that was the small way I stood apart from the others in a good way, and what a blessing, because there was much bullies found wrong about me they felt separated me from their cliques.

By high school, I was writing a romance with new chapters written each night for school bus hand out the next day. My friends were characters and we were living out our small town version of The Outsiders. It was awful writing to be sure, but I felt the most alive when I was writing.

It took decades to transition from hobbyist to author. I didn’t have great English teachers, and grammar is a weakness. After college I was working and story ideas just weren’t there. Once I became a Christian, things changed. All I wanted to do was write.

But it wasn’t time. God took me through a lot of life lessons, article writing, a course, and volunteer publicity work before I had the courage to start blogging. Then some of those posts were published in gift books and anthologies. I took an old story and re wrote it. That story took several complete re writes before I pitched it. That little story became my first published work, Entrusted.

Today I have a complete series under my belt that starred with that book. I have my own publishing business, Surrendered Scribe Media. I’ve published Entrusted (re-release,) Entangled, Engaged, Match Made in Heaven, Restoring Christmas, You’re Beautiful and You’re Amazing. My infertility story was featured in A Walk in the Valley. All of this since around 2014.

I’m thankful because I know I’m not the best. I’m grateful because in 2012 I broke my right wrist and had complications with it. I can type. I have no issues in pursuing this passion. The writing, edits, revisions, formatting, cover work, and marketing take hundreds of hours. We rely on reviews and word of mouth to get our names and titles out. It is hard. Time consuming. Lonely.

Julie Arduini

But I love what I do. I love the networking, the readers, the growth not so much in the reader base but in me and the craft.

I don’t know your job or career, but I pray it gives you a smile and good feeling.

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