by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author

Publication is one of the most challenging milestones you can achieve in your life as an author. Getting published means that a business sees enough worth and value in your work to invest in it and in you, and that’s a big deal.

Make no mistake about it: Publishing is an investment.

Whether you self-publish or whether you entrust your manuscript to a press to produce and distribute, it requires a vast amount of time, effort, and money. But there is something else that everyone involved in the process needs to have as well, and it’s not as easy to come by as money. Any idea what it is?

It’s discernment.

I’ve heard discernment called wisdom in action. As a teacher and a coach, I always hope to be able to model discernment for those around me, because I don’t know if there is a way to actually teach it. Frankly, the only way to get discernment is to learn it for yourself, after you spend years and years (and years) getting it wrong and learning how to do better the next time.

[tweet_box design=”default” float=”none” inject=”#Writing #Writinglife #BRMCWC”]How To Make Wise Choices As An Author by @ACW_Author on @BRMCWC[/tweet_box]

Discernment is the application of wisdom in your choices, your relationships, your business decisions, and in every other area of your life. You can get wisdom much more easily than you can get discernment. If you want wisdom, spend time in the Book of Proverbs and do what it says. If that isn’t enough, spend time in prayer and ask God to grow your wisdom (James 1:5), as He has promised to give us wisdom when we ask for it.

But having wisdom doesn’t mean you have discernment. As Jesus-followers, we are surrounded by a culture that values money, power, status, pleasure, and ambition above anything else, and we must learn how to tell the difference between those who are following God’s path and those who are not. But more than that, we need to learn first how to apply discernment in our own lives.

As always, the first step in following Jesus is to check your own heart before you point fingers at your neighbor.

Do you know your goals as a author? Have you submitted your plans for your manuscript to the Lord? Many of us are holding our stories so tightly that we won’t surrender them for anyone or anything, not even the Lord. How can God use something that you won’t give to Him?

Your vision for your life and career may not match up to what God has for you. Are you okay with that? Are you willing to forgo your own dreams and walk the path He has laid out for you?

Don’t rush past that question. It’s important.

God’s path rarely looks like what we expect, and it never moves as fast as we want. That is, until it starts moving faster than we can keep up with! Then we’d give anything to slow it down. (We’re never happy.)

If you are truly willing to submit to God’s plans no matter how crazy it sounds, you’re ahead of the curve. But that’s still not the end of your need for discernment. No, it’s just the start.

Maybe you’ve dreamed all your life of being traditionally published. Perhaps that has been the goal you’ve worked toward for longer than you can remember. But no matter what you do or what you try or where you go or how many conferences you attend, it hasn’t happened.

What would your discernment tell you to do next in that situation?

Does your dream need to change? Does your story need to change? Does your approach to agents and editors need to change? Or do you need to stop pushing so hard and try writing something else?

There’s no one-size-fits-all answer. Every situation is different, just like every author’s journey is different.

Yes, self-publishing is always an option (and it’s becoming more and more preferred in many ways), but do you know how difficult it is to self-publish? Have you done that research? Have you studied and researched the upfront costs of indie publishing? They are quite high, and just having one book can be overwhelming. What if you have two? What if you have five?

What about hybrid publishing, though? Isn’t that an option? Of course! Many hybrid publishers serve a large audience and support authors who want freedom and control over their stories. But not every hybrid publisher is the same. They don’t all ask for the same things. Do you know what they are actually offering to do for you? Do you know how much control you’ll actually have over the finished product? Have you asked how much support they will provide and what that support will cost you? Because, yes, you have to pay them to publish your books.

The most important aspect of discernment, in my opinion, is refusing to make assumptions. Don’t just assume that because a publisher claims to be Christian that they follow godly business practices. Don’t just assume that a publisher that promotes to the general market is underhanded and obsessed with money.

Don’t assume anything. Do your research. Know what people are offering you. Then evaluate your options by the standards of Scripture. Ask questions. Know what you’re getting.

You can’t know everything, and you can’t protect yourself from going the wrong way at times. It’s going to happen. But do your due diligence up front. Don’t just blindly commit to a business relationship with anyone until you know what they stand for and who is on the throne of their hearts.

Wisdom means making the space to learn the things you don’t know. Discernment is knowing when that wisdom ought to direct your decisions. Which one do you need most today?

A.C. Williams is a coffee-drinking, sushi-eating, story-telling nerd who loves cats, country living, and all things Japanese. Author of more than 20 books, she keeps her fiction readers laughing with wildly imaginative adventures about samurai superheroes, clumsy church secretaries, and goofy malfunctioning androids; her non-fiction readers just laugh at her and the hysterical life experiences she’s survived. If that’s your cup of tea (or coffee), join the fun at www.amycwilliams.com.