I Couldn’t be an Elephant, so I Became a Writer
By: Jacquelyn Lynn
Tags: Inspiration, Christian, Creativity, Life Lessons, Writer

Meet Jacquelyn Lynn | Introduction

I Couldn’t be an Elephant, so I Became a Writer

When you love what you do, it’s still work — but it’s awesome work!

Photo by Jerry D. Clement; text added by Jacquelyn Lynn

When I was little, I wanted to grow up to be an elephant.

I loved those majestic creatures and didn’t understand why I couldn’t be one. I don’t recall the moment when I accepted that I couldn’t grow into another species (it must not have been terribly traumatic). Nor do I recall exactly when I realized that I wanted to be what I would eventually become: a writer.

It wasn’t a direct path.

Photo by Jerry D. Clement

After high school, I went to finishing school. Then joined the Army (yeah, I believed the recruiter who told me I’d have a private room in basic training). That was followed by a few years in miscellaneous jobs before I landed in the transportation industry, where I spent 10 years working for air and motor freight companies.

It was fun. It was interesting. It paid well.

It was not what I wanted to do.

I heard about a writer's conference and decided to go. In a session about freelancing for magazines, I listened carefully, took copious notes, went home, and did exactly what the workshop leader said to do.

Three weeks later, I had an assignment from a national magazine.

Lesson: Listen to the people who are successfully doing what you want to do.

I quit my corporate job and launched my career as a freelance business writer.

After decades of writing and ghostwriting, marveling that I was getting paid to learn interesting things and write about them, the publishing landscape began to change. Print publications were disappearing, and the ones that survived were shrinking. At the same time, technology had made it possible for anyone who wanted to write a book to get it published.

Indie publishing! What an opportunity!

I decided to figure it out by writing and publishing a book of my own before doing it for clients.

Image created by Jacquelyn Lynn using MockupShots

Another business book? Not exactly. God was tugging on my heart; in response, I wrote and produced Words to Work By: 31 devotions for the workplace based on the book of Proverbs. My husband/business partner/best friend did the cover design and interior photography.

Since then, we’ve helped our clients write and publish their books. In that capacity, we call ourselves self-publishing consultants.

I’ve written a few more inspirational books, including a novel. Choices is the first in the Joyful Cup Story series and is highly recommended by the author.

Maybe it’s because of my ADD, but I can’t manage to stay in a single niche. My titles under my Conversations series include How to Survive an Active Shooter: What You do Before, During and After an Attack Could Save Your Life and Work as Worship: How Your Labor Becomes Your Legacy.

And here I am on Medium.

Writing. Sharing. Praying my words will make a positive difference.

Thanks for reading and for giving me that opportunity.

More about me …

My novel, Choices, is a story of forgiveness and reconciliation.

I’d love to connect with you! May I send a brief inspirational message every Saturday morning? Visit CreateTeachInspire.com/saturday to receive messages like these: