Today is the kickoff of my new social media presence via this blog and Facebook/Twitter/Instagram posts. Not sure if I understand how to do it all yet, but I know one thing: I want this to be a place to learn, grow, and explore.

Learn: Gather information on the latest publishing news, details about writers’ conferences, instruction on the craft of writing from authors and editors, and how to navigate the writing life.

Grow: Expand your writing world via links to useful websites, discover the newest writing books and resources, challenge yourself with writing prompts and exercises, and practice what you learn so you can share with others.

Explore: Consider what it means to be a writer, learn how to stay relevant in today’s culture, review books that are meaningful and interesting, and discuss the struggles and triumphs of the writing life.

That’s a lot to do in two blog posts a week!

This summer is one of travel and conferences. St. David’s Christian Writers’ Conference in Grove City, PA, happened in late June, then I moved on to the International Christian Retail Show in Cincinnati.

ICRS is always interesting as the Christian publishing industry flexes and changes and grows and shrinks all at the same time. I’ll report on details on this blog soon.

In the meantime, I leave you with words from a discussion about rejection that occurred within my beloved Guild, a group of six women enmeshed in the writing life. We all experience rejection daily in one form or another. Sometimes it’s an editor’s rejection; sometimes it’s as mundane as a snide look from someone in the grocery story. Rejection is part of any writer’s life. Here are words to inspire and calm and stiffen our spines.

“Rejection stinks. But as a believer it should (eventually) bring us exactly to this place . . . of taking a step back to look at the huge panorama of our timeline. The truth is, some people sell big and some people sell small. It’s not the size of the dog in the fight, it’s the size of the fight in the dog.

“Truth sets me free to mind my own business and do what I’m supposed to do, and find contentment in that.”

Finally, “We are fragile. (We’re also strong.) I’m so glad that we can talk through all this together.”

May you find inspiration and encouragement on this blog. I welcome your comments, and look forward to getting to know you.