Who Gets The Glory? (Or the Pit Lifter)

Lately, I have been feeling like I am in the pit as described in Psalms 40:1  and 2 " I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me out of the horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon the rock and established my steps."
After my second book was published, I felt good! I had high hopes it will sell well, but unfortunately one person bought one.  I was told my book was good and I got several reviews(from those who download them on free days). However, the pit was dug for me the day I allowed another author to review it. Instead of giving me  five star review  he gave me 3 and a half. Nothing wrong with that, but it was what he said: "This book should not be published." It became my undoing and it almost destroyed my confidence to write another book.
  Before my manuscript went into publication, I did let another author proofread it. After making changes, I was ready to submit for publication. If only I would have known before I went through all that trouble to get it self published through Createspace.com, maybe my confidence would still be in tact.  Grant that I can't afford to hire an editor to go through my manuscript and make corrections. Everyone tells me that I need one.
But who gets the glory?
 If I hire an editor, she or he would use their training and knowledge they gained to help you improve your manuscript. I am talking about Worldly editors. They use their own knowledge, wisdom and experiences to edit your manuscript. I am sure Christian ones will acknowledge God when it comes to editing people's manuscripts and will give him Glory for a  job well done.

Recently I let someone who is NOT an editor who I know very little about edit my manuscript because she said she would do it for free. However, I have regretted that decision.  Although I have found her suggestions helpful, her comments were not. They literally had put me into the pit and I had to cry out to God for help!  I told him how these comments made me feel and that I became discouraged. I had to wait on him to lift me out of the pit. And he has.

After the changes in my manuscript has been made, I had peace about who I wanted to proofread my manuscript. I know that she is a Christian and I trust her. Yes, I know she is not an editor, but neither was the last person who edited my manuscript.  As Jesus told me, it is my story, not hers. He assured me if I listen to His voice and not the voice of the world, I will do well.  He lifted me out of the pit.

God will get the glory because I am trusting Him to help my Christian friend to proofread The Past Hunter. I am reminded of Gideon. When God called Gideon to fight against the Midianites, he didn't let Gideon enlist a great number of fighting men. After the test, only 300 were selected and yet Gideon won the battle. God does this so he can get the glory.

Writing is Not Easy

I would like to say that it is a piece of cake to write. I have being doing it for many years and get great story ideas, but over the years I never had anyone  tell me that I need help. My mother and sister knows I have the  gift of story telling  and they encourage me to not give up.  I never dream of becoming an author before I become a teacher, but it has happened and I have had my share struggles and very little success.
I have great friends who bought my book and give me a good review, but I also have friends who will be honest and tell me: You need help.
I am torn between giving up and pressing on. If anyone ever said, that you can make money writing books, they are wrong. Not unless you happen to be a best seller which is my dream. I never wanted to self publish my books.  There have been times when I wanted to throw in the towel.  My friends  writes about how well their books are selling, getting  rewards and all kinds of great things that has happened while I feel like I get pushed in the mud. Don't get me wrong. If I need to improve, I will, but it is not easy.  Did I ever say my books don't need help? Maybe once.
 One of my biggest challenge and obstacles is getting descriptive. I have a an author friend who had  told me countless of times   "add description" or "Show how they feel"  I  try! This is where I want to give up.
Writing is a passion, but teaching is my calling. Write is what I do when I  am waiting to teach. Just a note: I am not sure I would even be a great school teacher because I have been outside of education for too long, but that doesn't mean I will give up on my calling an dream of teaching. I have to believe in myself because God believes in me. The same goes for writing.