I enjoyed chatting to people as I sold my books, but just as
I was packing up, a rather intimidating lady approached me.
‘When you have a moment, I’d like to ask you something.’
I hurried to finish what I was doing, wondering what her
question would be. Had she objected to something I had said in my interview?
Did she not like the idea of Christians writing novels? I was ready for just
about anything.
Eventually, she drew me to one side.
‘I’d like to ask you—how do you write a book?’
Just a simple little question! I tried not to look too shocked
and hoped my mouth wasn’t hanging open. I have been asked this question before, especially during bookstore
appearances, but this time I couldn’t think how
to respond. You see, this lady seemed well educated and very articulate. Was
she really expecting me to give her a
comprehensive response then and there?
In the end, I decided to ask a question of my own—several,
in fact. Was she interested in writing a book herself? If so, what sort? Would
it be for her family or for a wider audience? Had she begun to write already? Did
she enjoy writing?
As we talked, I discovered she wanted to write her own life
story. I offered to give her some notes I have available on topics such as
getting started in writing and getting published. I recommended a couple of
books on the subject. I suggested she write letters, journal entries, brief
articles—anything to stretch her creative writing abilities. I told her about a
Christian writers’ group nearby, but she did not seem interested. On top of
that, she does not use a computer and was not keen to learn.
Then came another abrupt question.
‘Well, I actually wondered if you’d write it for me.’
Hmm. Was this her real
question all along? Was she hoping I would jump at the opportunity? Perhaps you
have received similar requests and, like me, have had to turn them down. I have
too many books of my own waiting to be written at present—and, apart from that,
I am in the middle of a very busy period of promoting my new novel. I could see
this lady did not appreciate all this, however, and I felt mean disappointing
her.
How would you have responded to this lady’s first question? Had
I been less busy, I could perhaps have offered to meet with her and talk more
about it. After all, many authors have answered my inept questions about writing
over the years. Is there a better or more gracious way to help such people? What
do you think?
Jo-Anne Berthelsen lives
in Sydney but grew up in Brisbane. She holds degrees in Arts and
Theology and has worked as a high school teacher, editor and secretary, as well
as in local church ministry. Jo-Anne is passionate about touching hearts and
lives through both the written and spoken word. She is the author of six
published novels and one non-fiction work, Soul Friend: the story of a shared
spiritual journey. Jo-Anne is married to a retired minister and has three
grown-up children and three grandchildren. For more information, please visit www.jo-anneberthelsen.com or www.soulfriend.com.au.
