Meet Lynda Young - Author of Cling to God

Lynda and I know each other from a long time, a few weeks after I started blogging in 2010, I met Lynda. I came to know of critique partners from Lynda’s blog: I won a 10 page critique on her blog, Lynda’s amazing feedback and suggestions set me on the road to finding a CP. And when I came to know that Lynda’s book Cling to God, A Daily Devotional was releasing on October 18, I wanted to be a part of her blog tour. Lynda was gracious enough to do a guest post telling us about her writing process.

The Writing Process for Cling to God
Lynda R Young

 A big thank you to Rachna for lending me her blog for today. She asked me to share a little about the writing process to get my debut devotional, Cling to God, to a ready state.


First up, it didn’t start with me saying, “I think I’ll write me a collection of devotionals with an inspirational thought for every day of the year.” If I’d done that, I doubt I would’ve finished. Even the sound of that makes the task seem far too daunting. No, it started as quick personal thoughts jotted down in a journal, triggered after reading the Bible.

I was a youth leader at the time, also the chairperson of Elders at my church. It was easy to share some of the thoughts during Bible study, or as a devotion before a meeting. It wasn’t until I’d filled my journal that an inkling of an idea blossomed: It might be possible to turn these into a book to share with even more people.

Once the book idea formed, the only changes I made to my writing process were that I became more diligent, writing more than one devotional thought when the occasion struck me, and perhaps more mindful of the audience I was writing toward. I also edited them multiple times and collated them into a meaningful sequence, some relating to specific days of the year. I even polished up my Excel skills and created a spreadsheet to keep track of the verses, themes and dates. I then sent the book off to my late aunt who was a professional editor, then addressed all those red marks the manuscript came back with. Then it was query time.

For a long time it sat in the proverbial drawer, collecting real dust. That “drawer” was a bookcase shelf next to my computer, and the manuscript with all the printed spreadsheets, along with all my scribbled notes, stared at me every day. And the stare got glarier the longer I let rejections conquer me.

Years later… (Yes, I let it sit there for years and watched it get buried by other notes for other projects) life changed. I was reminded about the shortness and preciousness of life. Rediscovering the manuscript, I dusted it off and read through it again. It was good. Good enough to share. It was wrong not to share it. Initially I thought self-publishing was the way to go, but quickly shied away from the steep learning curve. So after another update and edit (because I’d changed an awful lot as a writer) I sent it out again and to my shock it was accepted.

Did you ever start a project that changed over time? What’s your writing process like?

Cling to God: A Daily Devotional.

by Lynda R Young

Release date: October 18th, 2016
Published by Freedom Fox Press

Tagline: Cling to God in the chaos of life…

Blurb: Cling to God is a book of devotionals for every day of the year. The aim is to encourage Christians in their faith, to help them think about their beliefs and learn more about God. The devotions are short and inspirational so that people with busy lifestyles will still be able to spend time with the Lord each day. It will appeal to a wide Christian audience, to those new in their faith as well as those matured beyond milk and honey.

Author Bio: Lynda R Young writes devotionals, articles, and speculative short stories. In her spare time she is also an editor, game developer, artist, and dabbles in photography and all things creative. She lives in Australia with her sweetheart of a husband. You can find her here: Blog, Twitter, Facebook, Goodreads

Links:
Lynda's Blog 
Lynda on Twitter
Lynda's Author page on Face Book
Lynda on GoodReads

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Here is wishing Lynda loads of good luck from all of us.