by Josie Siler @josie_siler

The Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference may be in the rear view mirror, but the impact of the week will remain in signposts along the road ahead for quite some time. If you attended the conference, you probably remember Linda Goldfarb’s question. She asked attendees to think about a word that describes their conference experience.

I thought of my word immediately. Favor. If your experience felt like everything but God’s favor in your writing life, please keep reading. This is for you too. Feel free to skip the next paragraph and cut to the heart of the matter. 

Amazing things happened for me during BRMCWC. I had my first book in the conference bookstore. I got to dress up as Howie on Genre Night and share his special bray from the stage. I won an award for a poem I wrote about the last time I saw my grandma before she met Jesus. My book got its first #1 Best Seller banner on Amazon. People were interested in my pitches for new books. I met with agents who wanted to represent me. I (shhh, don’t tell anyone) skipped all of the classes and focused on connecting with people in person. (Yes, I ordered the recordings so I can learn too.) I had coffee dates, meetings, and impromptu chats where I was encouraged and got to encourage others. I talked the entire conference and had a blast. This introvert extroverted hard and it felt a little like an out of body experience. Who was this person?! 

God’s favor was evident and it was an easy word to pick. Yet the more I think about it, I see God’s favor in my writing life all along the way, even in the hard days when I wanted nothing more than to quit. I see His favor in all of the rejections and disappointments. If your experience was disappointing, I want to encourage you to step back and look at the big picture because I promise you, God’s favor is in your writing life too. 

How could rejection be God’s favor? Every rejection leads us closer to finding that one person who will believe in our story, believe in us, and say yes. You see, it only takes one. One agent to catch our vision, one editor to love our story, one publishing house to believe in us. I’ve learned through all the nos that I’m not just looking for a yes, I’m looking for the right yes. Writing is a partnership and we want to partner with people who will believe in us and love our story as much as we do. 

God blessed me with a pulisher who believes in me and my story and it has been an incredible experience. Just yesterday I looked at my list of all the places I received rejections from and I was incredibly thankful those places said no. If they hadn’t, I wouldn’t have been able to say yes to the perfect fit. 

Over the years I have pitched a lot of agents and every single one said no. Even after I had a two-book contract and it should have been easier to find an agent, they all said no. Honestly, it confused me. But when I met the perfect agent for me at the conference this year, I knew all of those previous rejections were God’s favor in my writing life. Because of all the nos, I was able to say yes to the perfect fit. 

This conference was different for me. I finally accepted the anointing of the Lord in my writing life and stepped into the future He has for me. I don’t know where it will lead, but I know He will never leave me or forsake me. I wasn’t ready before. All of those rejections kept me from getting ahead of God’s plan for my life. They were a blessing. 

Maybe your rejections are a blessing too. Maybe they’re the favor of God in your writing life. Writing is a journey. We’re in it for the long haul and God is right there with us every step of the way. His timing is perfect and if we’re willing to wait on Him, we’ll see Him do far more than we could ever ask or imagine.

Passionate about helping people find joy for their journey, Josie Siler, a small-town Wisconsin girl, has big dreams. As an award-winning author and photographer, Josie shares God’s gifts of beauty, hope, and adventure with people who are overwhelmed by life’s circumstances, encouraging them to walk in the freedom and joy found in Jesus. Josie’s debut picture book, Howie’s Broken Hee-Haw, released with End Game Press this spring. She’s a contributing writer for Salem Web Network, a field editor for Our Wisconsin Magazine, and a chronic illness warrior who believes every day is a gift that should be celebrated. She encourages others with chronic illness, as well as their caregivers, through Broken but Priceless Ministries and Broken but Priceless: The Magazine.