Anxiety Contained Between the Covers

How best-selling author Amy Tan described one of her books

Welcome to Writing and Other Acts of Faith, where I seek to encourage you by sharing my writing journey. I submitted my book manuscript in December, worked through the developmental edits in January, and have just finished with the copy editor’s comments. Whew! It’s all been rather daunting, but I’m grateful for your presence along the way. Thank you for joining me!

Author Amy Tan (Library of Congress Life, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons)

When best-selling author Amy Tan received the bound galley of one of her books delivered to her in Paris, she described it as “anxiety contained between beautiful covers.”

Perhaps she meant that her new novel told a story of anxiety—the anxiety of characters caught up in cultural change, the anxiety of a family, the anxiety of generations.

But her comment made me think immediately of the anxiety that can come with publishing any book. Not that Amy Tan should have any reason to be anxious. From her first novel, The Joy Luck Club, to her most recent The Backyard Bird Chronicles that she wrote and illustrated herself, she is a wonderfully gifted and prolific writer of novels, children’s books, and more.

The only thing is, I’m not Amy Tan, and her comment made me think of all the anxiety contained between the covers of my forthcoming book:

• What if someone I know or like or admire hates it?

• What if I hate it, after having worked on it for so long?

• What if I no longer agree with myself?

• What if no one reads it?

• What if it’s hugely misunderstood?

• What if there’s a typo on page 47 that no one noticed until it was too late?

• What if . . . ? What if . . . ?

I find that some of the strategies for dealing with writer’s block can be helpful for dealing with writer’s anxiety after the fact—writing through the anxiety, talking it out, listening to music, turning my attention to other things. Especially as I consider what’s happening in the world today, my book anxiety recedes.

So what if the things I fear come to pass after all? So what if I’m disappointed in the response or misunderstood, or if I re-read what I’ve written and wish I had done it differently? It’s not the end of the world or even the end of my writing. I can write something new. I can try again.

And in the meantime, I can cast all my anxiety on God. Whatever our concerns might be for writing or in life, in our personal lives and for the world at large, we can all cast our anxieties on God.

If you have any kind of trouble in your mind, give it to God.
God has promised to take care of you.
—1 Peter 5:7

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Are you anxious about a writing project, about your personal life, or the world at large? What does it mean for you to give your anxieties to God?

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Beyond Substack

In his sermon on the mount, Jesus discusses many practical questions, including how to handle worry. His solution? Don’t do it! But is it really that simple? Read more at AprilYamasaki.com: Stop Worrying About Tomorrow, Seek God’s Kingdom Today.

And whether you know it or not, you are uniquely positioned to be a spiritual formation mentor—if you’re active on Substack, if you’re involved in your church or community, if you’re a parent, aunt, older sibling, or grandparent. Here’s what I’m learning about mentoring and pray it will encourage you: Are You Ready to Be a Spiritual Formation Mentor?