このエピソードについて
Janet McHenry is back for Part 2 of our conversation, and this time we get practical. After 40 years and 24 books, Janet has learned a few things about keeping a writing life going through hard seasons, busy seasons, and a publishing world that has changed around her.
Janet shares about the biggest challenge of her career: a season about 20 years ago that pulled her away from writing for five or six years. She shares how small assignments, work-for-hire projects, and devotional writing helped her find her way back. We also talk about how she juggles deadlines, speaking, teaching, and coaching (and still makes time to go kayaking), and why she doesn’t believe in writer’s block.
Then Janet offers bold, loving advice for writers just starting. If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed by everything an author has to do today, this conversation will help you breathe.
In This Episode
- The season that set Janet’s writing aside for five or six years, and how she found her way back
- How work-for-hire projects and devotional writing rebuilt her writing credits and her confidence
- How Janet manages deadlines, speaking, teaching, coaching, and marketing
- Why rest, like a day of kayaking on a mountain lake, can be part of what drives the work
- Knowing your mission and vision so you can say no to what doesn’t fit
- Why Janet doesn’t believe in writer’s block, and her “reservoir” image for how writers stay filled
- A fresh insight from the story of Hannah and Eli in 1 Samuel about praying together
- Advice for new writers
- Why readers have to feel the need before they’ll pick up your book
- The Walking Club, Janet’s Facebook group
📒 Key Takeaways for Heart-Led Authors 📒
A hard season doesn’t end your writing life. When Janet couldn’t write the way she used to, she took small assignments. They kept her writing, built her credits, and brought her confidence back.
Calendar the work, then protect your rest. Janet maps her deadlines, aims to finish early, and lets a planned day off motivate her to get the work done.
Know your slice of the pie. When you understand your mission and vision, saying no to everything else gets easier.
Fill the reservoir. Janet doesn’t wait for inspiration. She clears distractions, sets aside the time, and fills herself with deep study so she has something to say.
Learn the form before you finish the book. Know what a book like yours looks like in the market so you aren’t trying to fit it into a place in publishing that doesn’t exist.
Meet the felt need first. Readers pick up books for what they know they need, like help with grief or anxiety. Meet them there before you offer the deeper answer.
About Janet McHenry
Janet McHenry is a national speaker and the author of 24 books, including the bestselling PrayerWalk, The Complete Guide to the Prayers of Jesus, and Praying Personalities: Finding Your Natural Prayer Style. Through her ministry, Looking Up, she encourages others to look up in prayer. An avid prayer walker, Janet has been featured in magazines including Health and Woman’s Day. A former newspaper reporter and high school English teacher, she and her husband raised four children in California’s Sierra Valley. This year she celebrates 40 years as a published author.
📚 Books Mentioned 📚
PrayerWalk by Janet McHenry
The Complete Guide to the Prayers of Jesus by Janet McHenry
Praying Personalities: Finding Your Natural Prayer Style by Janet McHenry (includes the Praying Personalities Quiz, also available at https://prayingpersonalities.com/)
The Walking Club on Facebook: “Walking for Our Health, Praying for Our Communities”
Connect with Janet
Website: janetmchenry.com
Facebook: @JanetMcHenryAuthor
Instagram: @janetmchenry
Twitter: @LookingUpFirst
Books: Amazon, other online retailers, and your local bookstore
🟧 Go Deeper 🟧
Work with me one-on-one: Inquire about coaching at alicecrider.com.
Resources: Energy Journal to help you discover when you have the best energy to do your best writing.
