Some Day I’ll Write a Book

“You inspired me.” I was surprised by the comment. It came from someone I spoke with recently who I had not seen in a few years. He told me that when I self published my book Islands of Deception last year, it motivated him to pursue his own desire to write a book. It wasn’t the first time I heard someone tell me that. At book talks and online several people shared with me their interest in writing a book.

Publishing my first book was the fulfillment of a dream I had for decades. When I retired in 2019, I dusted off a manuscript I wrote 30 years ago and decided to self publish it. After editing and rewriting for a couple years, I was just glad to finally cross the finish line. It never occurred to me that realizing a dream could motivate others. People wanted to know how I made my dream a reality.

While I still have a lot to learn about writing and publishing books, I am realizing that I can offer advice to those who want to publish their first book. They can learn from my mistakes. This is one part of becoming an author that I did not anticipate. It’s a good feeling to be able to encourage others to pursue their dreams.

We all have experiences and abilities we can share with others. You may feel like Moses who basically told God to ask someone else to go to Egypt because he was “not eloquent in speech (Exodus 4:10, NASB).” Trust that God has placed you at this moment in time for a specific purpose to use the skills you have to help others (Esther 4:16).

This post originally appeared on chrisgthelen.com and was revised for this blog.