Seeking clarity

Seeking clarity

Rejection. Lacklustre progress. Few subscribers. Fewer readers. How do we navigate the disheartening nature of most writing careers? Especially when failure is the rule rather than the exception. How do we press on when each step of the journey sometimes feels futile?

Sales figures

Looking at the reality of sales figures, the bleakness is warranted. Let me list a few, gleaned from The Weekend Australian newspaper1:

  • Publishers spend almost all their money trying to land books by celebrities (eg, the Obamas).
  • They spend the rest of their money on “repeat sellers” (eg, Stephen King).
  • The spend almost nothing on debut writers, most of whom will sell a few hundred books (in Australia, even the most hyped will sell less than 400 copies).
  • The big publishers make most of their money from Bibles, “repeat sellers”, and children’s books like the Very Hungry Caterpillar.
  • Around 95% of books make no money.
  • In a typical year where 58,000 books were published, 90% sold fewer than 2000 copies, and 50% sold less than 12 copies.2

Sobering reading, but not the reason this subject entered my mind.

What got me thinking about the nature of the writers life was a catch up with some friends who are all published authors, but each are experiencing various cross roads and lulls in their careers. When I asked what I could pray for them, they each asked for clarity. They were at the stage they couldn’t see what God had planned for them.

God’s perspective

By providence I had just read a passage from a bible study related to looking at our confusing or difficult circumstances from God’s perspective rather than our own. That’s right, from God’s perspective. What do I mean by that? Let me give you an example.

Do you remember the story of Lazarus? The man who Jesus brought back from the dead? I believe this account offers two standout examples of faithful people only seeing their own perspectives. Firstly, Thomas, who is absolutely sure that if Jesus goes back to Judea to heal Lazarus, they’re all going to be killed—but he puts on a brave face and goes anyway. Secondly, Mary and Martha, who were absolutely sure that if only Jesus had come earlier Lazarus wouldn’t have died.

Of course, with the benefit of hindsight, we know that Thomas is in no danger, and that Mary and Martha will get their brother back. But it is not in any way apparent to them when they’re in the middle of their distress. What they have in common, though, is a mustard seed of faith. Thomas doesn’t refuse to follow Jesus to his expected death. Mary and Martha don’t admonish Jesus. Indeed, Martha immediately greets him, saying, “But I know that even now God will give you whatever you ask.”

That mustard seed of faith is rewarded when Jesus reveals God’s purpose. He says, “Father, I thank you that you have heard me. I knew that you always hear me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that you sent me.” He raises Lazarus from the dead, and more people believed in him as a result. That was God’s purpose—Jesus allowed Lazarus to die so that he could perform the miracle of raising him from the dead, thereby glorifying God and revealing his power.

Seeking God’s purpose

When we’re in the middle of our writing journey, slogging through seemingly endless rejections and disappointments—looking at those sobering figures above!—it’s difficult to see outside that perspective. Rejections and lacklustre sales can feel very personal, especially when we see another celebrity seemingly flounce their way into a book deal overnight. However, when we are working toward God’s purpose, we are not reliant on our own resources or abilities. If we are doing the work God has revealed to us, we can rest assured that His purposes will come to pass.

Imagine if that purpose is for the handful of people who read your work to come to Christ! And those handful go on to serve God’s good purposes! That’s what happened to George MacDonald. Fifty six years after it was published, C.S. Lewis read Phantastes and ultimately credited the work for his conversion. Phantastes was not a success when it was first published. It has been the subject of some scathing reviews. But what fruit C.S. Lewis produced as a result of that inspiration!

Finding clarity

So when we seek clarity surrounding our work, it is critical to first seek God through prayer, bible study, and fellowship with our church. Seeking a love relationship foremost will naturally flow through to work that succeeds, because we are doing what God wants us to do, and His purpose is coming to pass. Even if that success does not measure up to our worldly standards.

If you would like more guidance on seeking God when He appears to be silent, I also recommend this recent article, The Dark Night of the Soul, which goes into more depth on the purpose of these silences, as well as this podcast, Patience, which explores the self-defeating nature of impatience.

  1. Chapter & Verse, my word by Caroline Overington, The Weekend Australian, May 11-12, 2024, p 15. ↩︎
  2. The disclaimer on this line of figures is that the 58,000 figure includes all books published, not just new releases. Some of those books may have sold more in an earlier year when they were a new release. ↩︎