December 16, 2024 • 25 mins
Feeling called to write a book but overwhelmed by fear or uncertainty? Join us as we explore the inspiring journey of Wendy Melrose, a self-publishing facilitator dedicated to helping Christians answer God's call to share their stories. Wendy shares her transition from the insurance industry to publishing and emphasizes the importance of obedience to God’s call in creative ventures. Throughout the conversation, she offers valuable insights on overcoming fear and reclaiming self-worth through faith, while also dispelling common myths in the publishing industry. Discover how Wendy empowers authors to go from concept to completion, honoring their God-given gifts along the way.
Wendy Melrose's transition from the insurance sector to self-publishing serves as a remarkable testament to the power of faith and divine calling in pursuing one's passions. As she recounts her journey, listeners are invited to witness how a simple moment of inspiration during a prayer and worship revival catalyzed a profound change in her life. With a heartfelt dedication to helping fellow Christians navigate the often overwhelming world of publishing, Wendy's mission is to empower writers to embrace their stories and fulfill their calling. Her approach centers on equipping authors to overcome their fears and self-doubt, illustrating the importance of obedience to God's guidance in creative endeavors.
In a candid discussion, Wendy unravels the complexities of the publishing industry, shedding light on the misconceptions that can discourage aspiring authors. She boldly critiques the high costs associated with traditional publishing, advocating for a more accessible and supportive process that honors the writer’s vision. By sharing her experiences in self-publishing, including the creation of children's books, Wendy provides practical advice on taking a manuscript from concept to completion. Her insights encourage listeners to prioritize their heart’s message over commercial expectations, reaffirming that each story has the potential to inspire and impact lives.
The episode culminates in a powerful reflection on the true purpose of writing. Wendy emphasizes that the value of a book transcends sales figures; it lies in its ability to connect with readers and foster change. This insight serves as a rallying cry for anyone who feels called to write but is held back by doubts or fears. By sharing her journey and the lessons learned, Wendy inspires a new generation of authors to trust in their gifts and take the leap into their writing journey. This episode encourages listeners to honor their stories and fosters a community where faith and creativity can flourish hand in hand.
Takeaways:
- Obeying God's call in writing can lead to fulfilling creative ventures and personal growth.
- Fear often keeps us from pursuing our true calling in writing and storytelling.
- Wendy Melrose emphasizes the empowerment of Christian authors to reclaim their narratives and self-worth.
- The publishing industry has myths that need dispelling to support aspiring authors effectively.
- A journey through self-doubt can lead to a stronger relationship with God and personal discovery.
- Wendy encourages writers to focus on their books' impact rather than financial gain.
Wendy Melrose
Wendy Melrose is the founder of In The Zone, a faith-based writing community dedicated to helping aspiring authors turn their ideas into published works. With over 20 years of entrepreneurial experience and six books published in the last year, Wendy guides writers through the self-publishing process with authenticity, warmth, and a deep commitment to their success. Rooted in her faith and passion for storytelling, Wendy empowers authors to transform their pain into promise, creating books that inspire and make a lasting impact.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
Welcome to Grace in the Grind,the podcast where we dive deep into
the journeys of heart centeredand purpose driven leaders and entrepreneurs.
We're here to equip andencourage you on your journey. So
let's get started and find thegrace within the grind. This is Grace
in the Grind. And now yourhost, Jim Bergoon.
(00:22):
Welcome to Grace in the Grindwhere we're here to empower, to equip
and to encourage Christians inbusiness or as you may be considered,
Christian entrepreneurs. Andwe're here to do that so that you
can do all that God has calledyou to do. And today we have a very
good friend of the show that'scoming on. Wendy Melrose. Welcome
to the show. So we want you toDescribe and take 60 to 90 seconds
(00:43):
and let us know who you areand what you do since you're the
best expert of you.
So I am Wendy Melrose. I amthe facilitator and steward of in
the Zone. Yes, I own it, but Ilike to make sure God is in charge
so I try not to take thatownership back. And so I help people.
Right. And self publish as afacilitator. I not a publisher because
(01:06):
I don't want to use my ISBN, Idon't want to take the rights, I
want to leave the power inyour hands so I can help someone
anywhere from concept tocompletion. So if God's and you're
not being obedient in thatwriting, I can help you get that
done. Or if you have the book,you've not done anything with it
because of fear, we can getyou across that finish line.
Awesome. I love how youstarted that with if you God told
(01:27):
you to write a book and you'venot done it yet, like that is a great
opening because how many of usactually have that? I am is I is
one who is guilty of thatwhich we were rectifying. So thank
you for coming on the show.Look forward to having a great conversation
around your life as a selfpublisher and how you got into it
and things along those lines.So with that being said, let's just
(01:49):
start there. How did you getinto self publishing?
This is a funny story. I was afarmers insurance agency owner for
four years from 2019 to 2023and I loved it till I didn't. And
you know, we always know whenGod is calling us to pivot, when
he makes us very uncomfortablewith where we are. And some people
(02:11):
will be just like, you know,push through it. It's just fear.
But when you want to beobedient to the calling of what God
has on your life, you want topress into what he's trying to tell
you. Sometimes it can befearful to push you into your next
level where you're at. Orsometimes he's going to tell you
to pivot and go to somewhereelse. In the fall of 2020, he I was
(02:33):
led to this verse through theleader Doug sheets in his given 15
daily devotion. And it wasProverbs 16:3, which says, I commit
my works to you, Lord. I trustin you holy, that my thoughts would
be agreeable to your will,that these places plan to be established
and succeed. And that's in theAmplified Classic edition translation.
(02:57):
And when I started to really,it really, it was almost like a big
wake up moment. Aha. Startedto meditate down that daily and like
I started to notice, like mylife started to shift. I knew my
agency, what it was going tosell, but I wasn't sure when. Like
I thought it was going to belater that year. But instead God
had to use hearts and fixedpieces of my life and get me ready
(03:20):
to what he had next for me.And In January of 23, I went to a
prayer and worship revivalservice by Jennifer Martin. And I
saw a book and it was a poetrybook. And guys, I completely forgot
about this event evenhappening in my life until I picked
up that poetry book and out mymouth says I used to write poetry.
(03:45):
But I literally threw mybinder of all my work from when I
was a child to in high schoolto early young adult and threw it
into the dumpster at SouthernIllinois University, Carbondale when
a guy I was dating told me hedidn't like my work. And the minister
looked at me and said, neverthrow away a gift God gave you. And
(04:08):
I didn't even know that's whatI had done 26 years prior. But this
was going to be the momentthat the Lord changed my life. I
sat at the foot of the Fatherand just worship and received whatever
it was he wanted to give me.And a couple days later a poem came
to my mind. Creative writingstarted to come back to me. A bear
from the St. Louis Zoo keptescaping his habitat in February
(04:31):
of 23. And I just felt movedand motivated to write and illustrated
a children's book called Ben'sGreat Escape. And I did that in a
day. Then he moved him to I literally.
I wrote it incredible.
And I was like so excited.Then they moved him to Brownsville,
(04:52):
Texas. And so then I wasencouraged and motivated to write.
And it took me a little bitlonger. It took Me like a week to
write and illustrate Ben's bigmove. And like, what do I do with
this? And that's when Iremembered a friend of mine helped
with self publishing or helpwith publishing. And I called him.
He's, I can charge you athousand dollars or I can use or
(05:14):
I can teach you how to do it.So he told me the steps on how to
format my book, how where toput it on Amazon. I found a local
printer that I was in anetworking group with and I wanted
some local copies. And Godtaught me through this friend and
through, like, just doing theaction. So I went from concept to
completion of two children'sbooks. And from February 26th of
(05:38):
23 to May 19th of 2023. Andthen I'm like, this is so fun. And
then people started tointroduce me to like, wow, that was
really fast. I'm like, was itlike, I don't know, how long did
these normally take? And sonow longer than that, apparently.
I got connected with a friendwho wanted to write his own book.
(06:00):
And so he. About the conceptof using peanut butter and jelly.
So we co authored and someoneelse illustrated it, the Peanut Butter
and Jesus book, which thenthis is all in May and June. This
one took from May to Octoberbecause we had someone else illustrating
it and all these differentthings. But I get a phone call in
June and it's, hey, you wantto sell your agency? And I like,
(06:22):
give me your number. And itwas a number I couldn't refuse. And
I'm just like. And I keptapplying for these jobs, like, thinking
this is what God wanted me todo. And God's just like, why do you
keep applying for jobs in anindustry you no longer like or have
a desire to work within? Doyou want to do this full time? And
I'm like, I'll do whatever youwant. You're just going to have to
tell me how it's going toprovide for the family. So I sold
(06:44):
the business that normallytakes six months. It took. It got
a. I got the offer in June, itwas approved in July, it was sold
end of August. I'm like, wow,oh my gosh. God's acceleration has
been like, on my life SinceJanuary of 23, when I'm just like,
restored. My gifts taught mehow. So I wrote, illustrated and
self published six books. Andnow God's teaching me how to help
(07:07):
others. And I just helped thefifth person this year from April
till now, months or whateverthat is.
So then this comes into acouple, two lines of questions which
I think One you glassed overthat I want to go back to because
you said it so fast. And onethat really comes into what the process
is. So let's do process first.Okay, so what was causing you to
(07:29):
try to go back and apply forother agencies and things like that
when clearly God had shown youover and over, like book one, book
two, and then almost the thirdbook, and then agency sells. Like
you were seeing the processplayed out, but yet you were running
back to something you alreadyknew was going to sell.
I can understand how it looksthat way, but I think it was more
(07:50):
in the middle because thetime, a timeline isn't really what
I laid out there. So I'mwriting the books in February and
March. And in March I go tothis like big territory meeting and
they announce this insurancecommercial underwriting job. And
I just really felt like theword said apply to that. So I'm like,
okay. So I applied to it. Theycompletely stopped the position and
(08:13):
restructured the company. Ireapplied for it like a month later.
And then there was somebodythat reached out to me on LinkedIn,
said, hey, how about this bigcommercial job of selling big commercial
insurance to like largecompanies? And I was, I went through
three different interviews andit wasn't that I was supposed to
switch. God was teaching mehow to listen to his voice and take
(08:36):
action. It didn't mean tochange. So that's what I've learned.
It's amazing what we canlearn. Hindsight. So sometimes God
asks you to do things and it'snot going to pan out. And it's not
because he didn't. He wantsyou to listen to his voice and take
action and get used tolistening to his voice and taking
action. It doesn't necessarilymean you're supposed to go that way.
(08:59):
That makes sense.
So unpack that because I'msure the listeners are going, huh?
So he tells me to apply forthis job. I applied for it, it falls
through, I they re list it, Iapply for it, I interview, I don't
get the job, another job, thebig commercial job. I apply, they
reach out to me, I schedulethe interviews. I go to three, realizing
(09:20):
it's going to be high pay, butalso very dedicated for five years.
And I just had a check in myspirit. I think sometimes God wants
us to understand who we are aswell. And I'm like making a decision
to rededicate 5 years of ahard hustle at age 45 with a 9 and
1211 year old. I had to figureout what was important to Me, was
(09:44):
that money or was it beingpresent with my kids? Was it building
something that I could use toretire later? Or was it being present
with my kids and my husband?So God, I think, was trying to help
me realize what is important.Not that he would have been mad if
I would have went that way,but he was trying to help me realize
what was my true heart'sdesire. Sometimes he asks those questions
(10:07):
based on. Because when. Okay,so let me unpack a minute. The whole
Proverbs 16:3. Commit my worksto you, Lord, trust in you fully
that my thoughts would beagreeable to your will, that these
plans would be established andsucceed. Sometimes we the people
are like, yeah, but God gaveus free will. He did. I could have
(10:27):
went that way. And would hehave been mad at me? No, he gives
us free will. But what was itthat I wanted? To be in his will
with his blessings, right inhis direction for his calling out
on my life that the enemysuccessfully stole in 1997 when I
threw that binder away and Godwas giving me the opportunity, hey,
(10:51):
you have two choices. Work inan industry that you no longer love,
or follow my will, my plan formy purpose for your life. So I think
he was teaching me.
And that's powerful.Processing you through the process
to learn how to depend onthem. Like, I think that's powerful.
Now you've mentioned it. Youmentioned the binder again. So we're
gonna go to the glassed overthing. Okay. So I thought this was
(11:12):
like, it went so fast thatmaybe the listeners even missed it.
You said I threw my binderaway based on him not liking it.
Yeah, like I threw it awaybased on others opinions. Okay, we
have to talk about that for a minute.
Okay.
Because you gave up yourentire creative flair of someone's
(11:33):
opinion. What was goingthrough you? What were you. What
was your biggest challengethat caused those feelings and how
did you get through Those?
So in 1997, I was 19. So 697,97, 98. We this guy and I dated from
97 to 90 to 2 and 2001. It wasthree years. But my point is, at
the summer we had just starteddating, I was so proud of all of
(11:56):
my work and guys, I evenforgot. But I used to get awards
from my writing. I literallyforgot until I was going to look
for something, a picture of medrawing in architecture, because
I have a background ininterior design and architecture.
And I had a picture of me thedrafting contest, because we used
to do things by hand back inthe 1900s. And so I found these certificates
(12:20):
of my writing. And so that.That was more recently, but rewind
in 97. I wasn't reallyequipped to understand red flags.
To know that, hey, somebodydoesn't like something that you're
really good at, that thatmeans you are. That's a red flag.
That means that is not someoneyou want to spend your life with.
Didn't know this. I wasn'tequipped for it. So I. People had
(12:43):
asked me like, hey, are youmad about that? How can I be mad
at something that he probablydidn't even realize he did either?
He didn't tell me to throw mybook, a binder of stuff away. I did
that on my own accord. And howGod restored that was just as I shared
that it was something I neverreally realized. I didn't. That I
didn't even know I did that ina way where I threw God's gift away
(13:07):
until he restored it.
But even in that, like you'resaying I threw God's gift away, but
that was a product of a. Of alack of self worth.
Oh, totally. I'm 47. I'mstarting to figure this out.
So what is. Because you're abusiness owner. This podcast is for
business owners and I'm sure alot of them deal with the shame,
the self worth and the issueswhile trying to grow a successful
(13:27):
business. And a lot of themare trying to do it according to
what God wants them. How didGod restore you to a place of at
least in a process of healingyour self worth?
It took time. It wasn't. Iscrewed everything up in my 20s and
I necessarily in a superdramatic trauma way that some people
have experienced experience.I'm not trying to say I something
(13:48):
that happened to me thatdidn't. But when you no longer enjoy
who you are as a human and youstart to realize what it's like to
have a true relationship withJesus Christ at 30 years old, I'm
like, lord, I have had enoughof this. I, I doing this all on my
own because I'm. I'm a verymuch a control freak. I want to do
what I want to do. And sincetwo years old, I've been saying I
(14:11):
do it right. If anybody haschildren, they want to do things.
And I'm like, lord, pleasedon't let me wake up at 40 feeling
the same way. I surrender. Dowhatever you want. I want to do whatever
you want. My decade of my 30sdid not go according to how I wanted.
But he did do, he did answerthat prayer. I had two children.
(14:32):
I ended up going through adivorce, I, I don't know, held on
between the ages of 16 and 47.Guys I've done like 40 different
things for to provide incomefor my family. So I've always done
whatever God wants me to do toprovide at that time. But at 40,
all of a sudden everything Iknew how was in perfect alignment
(14:52):
with where he wanted me to go.And I had said to him in 2018, like,
Lord, I'm not going to doanything unless you told me to do
it right. So listen, I haven'tgotten it completely right. But that
he, you know, the redemption,the restoration, it takes time, it
takes surrender, it takespractice, it takes getting into God's
(15:13):
word, it is learned. One ofthe best books I ever read was a
friend of mine. She took meunder her wing. She taught me about
the true love of the Father,of the Heavenly Father for us and
how to really understand that.So it just, it takes going through
the pain of life, goingthrough the self esteem issues and
realizing who we are in Christby the love of the Father and just
(15:36):
I guess I'm not reallyanswering the question, but it just
take. It's an individualjourney for each person. Some people,
it might not take 10 years.And I believe the quicker you surrender
the Lord and what he wants todo, the faster it happens.
I don't think there's a rightor wrong way to answer this question.
And that's the thing is Idon't think there's a right or wrong
question. It's the more thefact is that we have to address the
question because I thinkthere's so many times so much people
(15:59):
out there, and myself includedthat deal with this level of stuff.
So I think it's less aboutwhat's right and what the right way
to answer about it and moreabout what is the process. And you've
been doing great with theprocess. I appreciate your answer
because of course. Good.
I said that's good. I saidthat's good. Keep going.
Yeah, everybody's process isdifferent. Okay. So I wrote this
(16:20):
down because I take activenotes while we talk because I'm always
listening and this is how Ilisten so my ADHD brain doesn't fly
all over the place.Architecture, insurance agency, publisher.
That is not the line of if Iwas going from one direction to another
that would not, I would notpass through those to go to publishing.
How did you land? Like I we'vegot to the publishing. Like I know
(16:42):
you were publishing books, buthow did you land so much on the publishing
coming from your backgroundinstead of just being like God wants
you to write a bunch of books.
Because in December of lastyear of 2023, God says I keep got,
I keep telling people, mypeople to write their story or to
write a book and they're notlistening. I need you to help them.
(17:03):
So I'm like, okay, Lauren,what does that look like? So then
I went into this whole processthe early of 2024 of going to do
an event. So in the Zone wasoriginally designed to be an events
business where I constantlyhad events, except let's just say
I wasn't guided properly. Ididn't have a following, I didn't
have an audience and I spent alot of money to have two attendees
(17:29):
plus five speakers. I wassuper upset about it. It wasn't until
September of this year thatsomeone had taught me in another
group, I'm a part of that. Donot focus on the result, focus on
showing up and having greatimpact. So then I was able to go
back in time and realize I didshow up and I had big impact. And
(17:50):
had I not gone that route, Iwould not have learned that. The
corruption in the publishingworld is extensive and people. And
God has told me my people arebeing stolen from. Help them, do
not steal from them. And hewasn't really telling me to not steal
from them because he knows I'mnot going to. But the point is that
people are charging 15, 25,30, 40, $50,000 to get a book published
(18:15):
is completely unnecessary.Yes, it takes time and I'm not saying
people shouldn't becompensated for the time it takes
to help someone go fromconcept to completion, but it shouldn't
be 15,000, 25,000. Do notpromise them crap. It's not real.
The New York experience, it'sgoing to bring a bunch of book sales.
(18:35):
It doesn't. Don't promise a 50state tour. It means nothing. It
means you're paying for thepublisher to do all these things
and you still have to pay yourown way. You still have to do the
marketing people. But I'mnever going to pay to have my book
published. I am. Someone'sgoing to pay me that. Not a thing.
Unless you are a big namealready and they have a sure win
(18:56):
opportunity that you're goingto kill it. So unless you massive
audience, you're a biginfluencer, you're famous in Hollywood
or in politics or pick acategory, it's just not going to
happen. I'm not saying thatGod isn't going to do big things
in your life. But that's oneof the things that God has taught
me is one to feel the dreamsis a lie. You build, it will come,
(19:18):
you write it doesn't mean it'sgoing to sell. But also know that
the number one bestseller saidit's a bunch of crap too because
it just means you've hackedthe categories you told everybody
to buy on that day. Woo. Youhit, you know, number one bestseller.
Get your stupid term.
It's a joke now. Yeah, it's ajoke now.
It is completely stupid. And Ihate it when people are like I've
(19:41):
always wanted to be a numberone bestseller. I'm not the person
for you. And if you want tomake a bunch of money on your books,
then find somebody else.Because that's not the purpose why
God has told me that you'resupposed to write your book. If God's
told you that the more thingis the impact. If we can save the
life of one human, that bookwas worth it.
That's it.
(20:01):
Not about the $3 royalty. It'sabout the impact and the changing
of lives.
That's it. And just for theaudience that are listening, she's
not saying that she's not,it's. You're not book isn't going
to make money. What she'ssaying is hire her to get it out
of you so that it's in theworld and it starts doing what God
told you it was going to doand leave the rest.
Up to God and think biggerthan the $3 a buck.
(20:22):
Yeah, I agree with you.
That's to me it's use it togrow your ministry, to grow your
business, to help others or touse it as a fundraiser. I'm not saying
God can do anything he wantsand then through all of us who are
willing to be obedient. Butdon't focus on the $2.
I know $2 ain't gonna get younowhere. And what's funny is you
(20:46):
bring up.
A lot of you gotta tell to paya mortgage.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I, yeah,about a thousand at least. If your
mortgage is about $2,000anyway. But you talk about a lot
of things interesting enough Ithink recently, last January I actually
was told because I'm writing,I have several books in the process
and you're helping me going tobe publishing some of them. And I
(21:09):
actually pitched one of mybooks to a, a pretty mid level, pretty
successful mid level companyand they came back to me, they love
the book, thinks I'm a greatwriter. But then he goes, but I want
you to pay to hire a coach tobe a better writer. And then you
got to pay for the studio timeto do the audio books of it. And
the total price came to$23,500. And I'm sitting there, no.
(21:32):
And there's we offer paymentplans. And I was like, no. So you
are definitely a godsend inthe industry because prices are very
high and not everybody canjust write a check for that. So I
want to just honor you andyour gift and all that. First and
foremost, as we start closingdown this episode, I want to first
and foremost, let's talk abouthow people can find you and work
(21:54):
with you.
So you can go to in the Zonelive as you see right here. If you
want to do everything all onyour own either if you're on your
desktop, there's a big areasays get my information. I've got
plenty of free content,everything from my event this past
April, in 2023, for whateveryear we're in, it's free. You can
(22:15):
watch all the speeches you canget. You can figure out how to write
your book, how to use it forcoaching, speaking, podcasting, all
the things free. If you'relike, oh, what I do about your by
yourself, you can learn how toconnect with me. We can work one
to one or we can put you in acommunity and you can be. There's
a way to do that way too awesome.
And then how so in the Zone,how do they find you on socials?
(22:37):
Oh, Wendy Melrose on Facebook,on LinkedIn, on Instagram, you can
also go to future authorsFacebook group and that's a free
group where you can askquestions or whatever. So just Google
me, you'll find me. You'llprobably find some other information
about my insurance life.
That's awesome. And so guysfor you guys are listening, we will
(22:59):
put those all in the shownotes because we want to make this
accessible and quick clickableand very quick access because you
do need to connect with Wendy.She's like I said, she's. I'm working
with her on my book. So youshould see that coming out at some
point on the podcast. It'sbeen a long time in the running,
but as we close the show out,we do the segment hashtag wisdom
bomb. And for the longtimelisteners of the show, that is for
(23:21):
if you're a first timelistener, it's just a portable cruise
where the guest gives a truththat you can take home and apply.
So if you were to give awisdom bomb, what would you say to
the audience?
So I just got off of a webinarwith Famous. I don't know if he's
famous or not. His name isJeff Barnes and he knows everything
about Disneyland and WaltDisney. And he had said how Tomorrowland
(23:44):
was a big flop. Like even Waltdidn't even like it. But one of his
biggest takeaways was isTomorrowland is not your friend.
Tomorrow. Quit leavingeverything off for tomorrow. If God
has called you to do it today,he will either give you, he'll keep
nagging you until you do it,or he'll find someone else to fulfill
(24:06):
his purpose. So do you want tobe the one that says well done, good
and faithful servant, or doyou want to be the one that finds
out that God chose you but youchose not to be obedient?
That's powerful. And that'salso one of those ouch moments.
I like to do that to people.
So I like the hard truth. Soyou're in the good company with that
all being said, guys, like Isaid, everything will be in the show.
(24:28):
Notes make sure that youfollow and review the podcast, whether
it be on Apple, Spotify, soonto be iheartradio and things like
that. And then also you can goahead follow me on any of the socials
at Lead with Jim, particularlythis video will be up on YouTube.
With that being said, guys,you have been listening to Grace
in the Grind. We are soappreciated here and as always, we're
(24:50):
here to equip to a power andto encourage you to do all that God
has called you to do. AndWendy, thank you for hanging out
with us on the show today. Andwith that being said, we'll see you
on the next episode, a futureepisode or a past one. Either way,
we love you, we're praying foryou and we hope to see you soon.
This has been Grace in theGrind. Whether you're a Christian
leader looking for guidance oran entrepreneur seeking inspiration,
(25:13):
it's Jim's passion to equipand encourage you. Make sure to check
out Jim solo episodes where heshares practical leadership insights
grounded in a biblicalperspective. We hope you've enjoyed
the show. If you did, makesure to like, rate and review and
we'll be back soon. But in themeantime, find us on social media
(25:34):
at LeadWithJim and you canalso hit the website at www.leadwithjim.com.
take care of yourself andwe'll see you next time on Grace
in the Grind.
Welcome to Grace in the Grind,the podcast where we dive deep into
the journeys of heart centeredand purpose driven leaders and entrepreneurs.
We're here to equip andencourage you on your journey. So
let's get started and find thegrace within the grind. This is Grace
in the Grind. And now yourhost, Jim Bergoon.
(00:22):
Welcome to Grace in the Grindwhere we're here to empower, to equip
and to encourage Christians inbusiness or as you may be considered,
Christian entrepreneurs. Andwe're here to do that so that you
can do all that God has calledyou to do. And today we have a very
good friend of the show that'scoming on. Wendy Melrose. Welcome
to the show. So we want you toDescribe and take 60 to 90 seconds
(00:43):
and let us know who you areand what you do since you're the
best expert of you.
So I am Wendy Melrose. I amthe facilitator and steward of in
the Zone. Yes, I own it, but Ilike to make sure God is in charge
so I try not to take thatownership back. And so I help people.
Right. And self publish as afacilitator. I not a publisher because
(01:06):
I don't want to use my ISBN, Idon't want to take the rights, I
want to leave the power inyour hands so I can help someone
anywhere from concept tocompletion. So if God's and you're
not being obedient in thatwriting, I can help you get that
done. Or if you have the book,you've not done anything with it
because of fear, we can getyou across that finish line.
Awesome. I love how youstarted that with if you God told
(01:27):
you to write a book and you'venot done it yet, like that is a great
opening because how many of usactually have that? I am is I is
one who is guilty of thatwhich we were rectifying. So thank
you for coming on the show.Look forward to having a great conversation
around your life as a selfpublisher and how you got into it
and things along those lines.So with that being said, let's just
(01:49):
start there. How did you getinto self publishing?
This is a funny story. I was afarmers insurance agency owner for
four years from 2019 to 2023and I loved it till I didn't. And
you know, we always know whenGod is calling us to pivot, when
he makes us very uncomfortablewith where we are. And some people
(02:11):
will be just like, you know,push through it. It's just fear.
But when you want to beobedient to the calling of what God
has on your life, you want topress into what he's trying to tell
you. Sometimes it can befearful to push you into your next
level where you're at. Orsometimes he's going to tell you
to pivot and go to somewhereelse. In the fall of 2020, he I was
(02:33):
led to this verse through theleader Doug sheets in his given 15
daily devotion. And it wasProverbs 16:3, which says, I commit
my works to you, Lord. I trustin you holy, that my thoughts would
be agreeable to your will,that these places plan to be established
and succeed. And that's in theAmplified Classic edition translation.
(02:57):
And when I started to really,it really, it was almost like a big
wake up moment. Aha. Startedto meditate down that daily and like
I started to notice, like mylife started to shift. I knew my
agency, what it was going tosell, but I wasn't sure when. Like
I thought it was going to belater that year. But instead God
had to use hearts and fixedpieces of my life and get me ready
(03:20):
to what he had next for me.And In January of 23, I went to a
prayer and worship revivalservice by Jennifer Martin. And I
saw a book and it was a poetrybook. And guys, I completely forgot
about this event evenhappening in my life until I picked
up that poetry book and out mymouth says I used to write poetry.
(03:45):
But I literally threw mybinder of all my work from when I
was a child to in high schoolto early young adult and threw it
into the dumpster at SouthernIllinois University, Carbondale when
a guy I was dating told me hedidn't like my work. And the minister
looked at me and said, neverthrow away a gift God gave you. And
(04:08):
I didn't even know that's whatI had done 26 years prior. But this
was going to be the momentthat the Lord changed my life. I
sat at the foot of the Fatherand just worship and received whatever
it was he wanted to give me.And a couple days later a poem came
to my mind. Creative writingstarted to come back to me. A bear
from the St. Louis Zoo keptescaping his habitat in February
(04:31):
of 23. And I just felt movedand motivated to write and illustrated
a children's book called Ben'sGreat Escape. And I did that in a
day. Then he moved him to I literally.
I wrote it incredible.
And I was like so excited.Then they moved him to Brownsville,
(04:52):
Texas. And so then I wasencouraged and motivated to write.
And it took me a little bitlonger. It took Me like a week to
write and illustrate Ben's bigmove. And like, what do I do with
this? And that's when Iremembered a friend of mine helped
with self publishing or helpwith publishing. And I called him.
He's, I can charge you athousand dollars or I can use or
(05:14):
I can teach you how to do it.So he told me the steps on how to
format my book, how where toput it on Amazon. I found a local
printer that I was in anetworking group with and I wanted
some local copies. And Godtaught me through this friend and
through, like, just doing theaction. So I went from concept to
completion of two children'sbooks. And from February 26th of
(05:38):
23 to May 19th of 2023. Andthen I'm like, this is so fun. And
then people started tointroduce me to like, wow, that was
really fast. I'm like, was itlike, I don't know, how long did
these normally take? And sonow longer than that, apparently.
I got connected with a friendwho wanted to write his own book.
(06:00):
And so he. About the conceptof using peanut butter and jelly.
So we co authored and someoneelse illustrated it, the Peanut Butter
and Jesus book, which thenthis is all in May and June. This
one took from May to Octoberbecause we had someone else illustrating
it and all these differentthings. But I get a phone call in
June and it's, hey, you wantto sell your agency? And I like,
(06:22):
give me your number. And itwas a number I couldn't refuse. And
I'm just like. And I keptapplying for these jobs, like, thinking
this is what God wanted me todo. And God's just like, why do you
keep applying for jobs in anindustry you no longer like or have
a desire to work within? Doyou want to do this full time? And
I'm like, I'll do whatever youwant. You're just going to have to
tell me how it's going toprovide for the family. So I sold
(06:44):
the business that normallytakes six months. It took. It got
a. I got the offer in June, itwas approved in July, it was sold
end of August. I'm like, wow,oh my gosh. God's acceleration has
been like, on my life SinceJanuary of 23, when I'm just like,
restored. My gifts taught mehow. So I wrote, illustrated and
self published six books. Andnow God's teaching me how to help
(07:07):
others. And I just helped thefifth person this year from April
till now, months or whateverthat is.
So then this comes into acouple, two lines of questions which
I think One you glassed overthat I want to go back to because
you said it so fast. And onethat really comes into what the process
is. So let's do process first.Okay, so what was causing you to
(07:29):
try to go back and apply forother agencies and things like that
when clearly God had shown youover and over, like book one, book
two, and then almost the thirdbook, and then agency sells. Like
you were seeing the processplayed out, but yet you were running
back to something you alreadyknew was going to sell.
I can understand how it looksthat way, but I think it was more
(07:50):
in the middle because thetime, a timeline isn't really what
I laid out there. So I'mwriting the books in February and
March. And in March I go tothis like big territory meeting and
they announce this insurancecommercial underwriting job. And
I just really felt like theword said apply to that. So I'm like,
okay. So I applied to it. Theycompletely stopped the position and
(08:13):
restructured the company. Ireapplied for it like a month later.
And then there was somebodythat reached out to me on LinkedIn,
said, hey, how about this bigcommercial job of selling big commercial
insurance to like largecompanies? And I was, I went through
three different interviews andit wasn't that I was supposed to
switch. God was teaching mehow to listen to his voice and take
(08:36):
action. It didn't mean tochange. So that's what I've learned.
It's amazing what we canlearn. Hindsight. So sometimes God
asks you to do things and it'snot going to pan out. And it's not
because he didn't. He wantsyou to listen to his voice and take
action and get used tolistening to his voice and taking
action. It doesn't necessarilymean you're supposed to go that way.
(08:59):
That makes sense.
So unpack that because I'msure the listeners are going, huh?
So he tells me to apply forthis job. I applied for it, it falls
through, I they re list it, Iapply for it, I interview, I don't
get the job, another job, thebig commercial job. I apply, they
reach out to me, I schedulethe interviews. I go to three, realizing
(09:20):
it's going to be high pay, butalso very dedicated for five years.
And I just had a check in myspirit. I think sometimes God wants
us to understand who we are aswell. And I'm like making a decision
to rededicate 5 years of ahard hustle at age 45 with a 9 and
1211 year old. I had to figureout what was important to Me, was
(09:44):
that money or was it beingpresent with my kids? Was it building
something that I could use toretire later? Or was it being present
with my kids and my husband?So God, I think, was trying to help
me realize what is important.Not that he would have been mad if
I would have went that way,but he was trying to help me realize
what was my true heart'sdesire. Sometimes he asks those questions
(10:07):
based on. Because when. Okay,so let me unpack a minute. The whole
Proverbs 16:3. Commit my worksto you, Lord, trust in you fully
that my thoughts would beagreeable to your will, that these
plans would be established andsucceed. Sometimes we the people
are like, yeah, but God gaveus free will. He did. I could have
(10:27):
went that way. And would hehave been mad at me? No, he gives
us free will. But what was itthat I wanted? To be in his will
with his blessings, right inhis direction for his calling out
on my life that the enemysuccessfully stole in 1997 when I
threw that binder away and Godwas giving me the opportunity, hey,
(10:51):
you have two choices. Work inan industry that you no longer love,
or follow my will, my plan formy purpose for your life. So I think
he was teaching me.
And that's powerful.Processing you through the process
to learn how to depend onthem. Like, I think that's powerful.
Now you've mentioned it. Youmentioned the binder again. So we're
gonna go to the glassed overthing. Okay. So I thought this was
(11:12):
like, it went so fast thatmaybe the listeners even missed it.
You said I threw my binderaway based on him not liking it.
Yeah, like I threw it awaybased on others opinions. Okay, we
have to talk about that for a minute.
Okay.
Because you gave up yourentire creative flair of someone's
(11:33):
opinion. What was goingthrough you? What were you. What
was your biggest challengethat caused those feelings and how
did you get through Those?
So in 1997, I was 19. So 697,97, 98. We this guy and I dated from
97 to 90 to 2 and 2001. It wasthree years. But my point is, at
the summer we had just starteddating, I was so proud of all of
(11:56):
my work and guys, I evenforgot. But I used to get awards
from my writing. I literallyforgot until I was going to look
for something, a picture of medrawing in architecture, because
I have a background ininterior design and architecture.
And I had a picture of me thedrafting contest, because we used
to do things by hand back inthe 1900s. And so I found these certificates
(12:20):
of my writing. And so that.That was more recently, but rewind
in 97. I wasn't reallyequipped to understand red flags.
To know that, hey, somebodydoesn't like something that you're
really good at, that thatmeans you are. That's a red flag.
That means that is not someoneyou want to spend your life with.
Didn't know this. I wasn'tequipped for it. So I. People had
(12:43):
asked me like, hey, are youmad about that? How can I be mad
at something that he probablydidn't even realize he did either?
He didn't tell me to throw mybook, a binder of stuff away. I did
that on my own accord. And howGod restored that was just as I shared
that it was something I neverreally realized. I didn't. That I
didn't even know I did that ina way where I threw God's gift away
(13:07):
until he restored it.
But even in that, like you'resaying I threw God's gift away, but
that was a product of a. Of alack of self worth.
Oh, totally. I'm 47. I'mstarting to figure this out.
So what is. Because you're abusiness owner. This podcast is for
business owners and I'm sure alot of them deal with the shame,
the self worth and the issueswhile trying to grow a successful
(13:27):
business. And a lot of themare trying to do it according to
what God wants them. How didGod restore you to a place of at
least in a process of healingyour self worth?
It took time. It wasn't. Iscrewed everything up in my 20s and
I necessarily in a superdramatic trauma way that some people
have experienced experience.I'm not trying to say I something
(13:48):
that happened to me thatdidn't. But when you no longer enjoy
who you are as a human and youstart to realize what it's like to
have a true relationship withJesus Christ at 30 years old, I'm
like, lord, I have had enoughof this. I, I doing this all on my
own because I'm. I'm a verymuch a control freak. I want to do
what I want to do. And sincetwo years old, I've been saying I
(14:11):
do it right. If anybody haschildren, they want to do things.
And I'm like, lord, pleasedon't let me wake up at 40 feeling
the same way. I surrender. Dowhatever you want. I want to do whatever
you want. My decade of my 30sdid not go according to how I wanted.
But he did do, he did answerthat prayer. I had two children.
(14:32):
I ended up going through adivorce, I, I don't know, held on
between the ages of 16 and 47.Guys I've done like 40 different
things for to provide incomefor my family. So I've always done
whatever God wants me to do toprovide at that time. But at 40,
all of a sudden everything Iknew how was in perfect alignment
(14:52):
with where he wanted me to go.And I had said to him in 2018, like,
Lord, I'm not going to doanything unless you told me to do
it right. So listen, I haven'tgotten it completely right. But that
he, you know, the redemption,the restoration, it takes time, it
takes surrender, it takespractice, it takes getting into God's
(15:13):
word, it is learned. One ofthe best books I ever read was a
friend of mine. She took meunder her wing. She taught me about
the true love of the Father,of the Heavenly Father for us and
how to really understand that.So it just, it takes going through
the pain of life, goingthrough the self esteem issues and
realizing who we are in Christby the love of the Father and just
(15:36):
I guess I'm not reallyanswering the question, but it just
take. It's an individualjourney for each person. Some people,
it might not take 10 years.And I believe the quicker you surrender
the Lord and what he wants todo, the faster it happens.
I don't think there's a rightor wrong way to answer this question.
And that's the thing is Idon't think there's a right or wrong
question. It's the more thefact is that we have to address the
question because I thinkthere's so many times so much people
(15:59):
out there, and myself includedthat deal with this level of stuff.
So I think it's less aboutwhat's right and what the right way
to answer about it and moreabout what is the process. And you've
been doing great with theprocess. I appreciate your answer
because of course. Good.
I said that's good. I saidthat's good. Keep going.
Yeah, everybody's process isdifferent. Okay. So I wrote this
(16:20):
down because I take activenotes while we talk because I'm always
listening and this is how Ilisten so my ADHD brain doesn't fly
all over the place.Architecture, insurance agency, publisher.
That is not the line of if Iwas going from one direction to another
that would not, I would notpass through those to go to publishing.
How did you land? Like I we'vegot to the publishing. Like I know
(16:42):
you were publishing books, buthow did you land so much on the publishing
coming from your backgroundinstead of just being like God wants
you to write a bunch of books.
Because in December of lastyear of 2023, God says I keep got,
I keep telling people, mypeople to write their story or to
write a book and they're notlistening. I need you to help them.
(17:03):
So I'm like, okay, Lauren,what does that look like? So then
I went into this whole processthe early of 2024 of going to do
an event. So in the Zone wasoriginally designed to be an events
business where I constantlyhad events, except let's just say
I wasn't guided properly. Ididn't have a following, I didn't
have an audience and I spent alot of money to have two attendees
(17:29):
plus five speakers. I wassuper upset about it. It wasn't until
September of this year thatsomeone had taught me in another
group, I'm a part of that. Donot focus on the result, focus on
showing up and having greatimpact. So then I was able to go
back in time and realize I didshow up and I had big impact. And
(17:50):
had I not gone that route, Iwould not have learned that. The
corruption in the publishingworld is extensive and people. And
God has told me my people arebeing stolen from. Help them, do
not steal from them. And hewasn't really telling me to not steal
from them because he knows I'mnot going to. But the point is that
people are charging 15, 25,30, 40, $50,000 to get a book published
(18:15):
is completely unnecessary.Yes, it takes time and I'm not saying
people shouldn't becompensated for the time it takes
to help someone go fromconcept to completion, but it shouldn't
be 15,000, 25,000. Do notpromise them crap. It's not real.
The New York experience, it'sgoing to bring a bunch of book sales.
(18:35):
It doesn't. Don't promise a 50state tour. It means nothing. It
means you're paying for thepublisher to do all these things
and you still have to pay yourown way. You still have to do the
marketing people. But I'mnever going to pay to have my book
published. I am. Someone'sgoing to pay me that. Not a thing.
Unless you are a big namealready and they have a sure win
(18:56):
opportunity that you're goingto kill it. So unless you massive
audience, you're a biginfluencer, you're famous in Hollywood
or in politics or pick acategory, it's just not going to
happen. I'm not saying thatGod isn't going to do big things
in your life. But that's oneof the things that God has taught
me is one to feel the dreamsis a lie. You build, it will come,
(19:18):
you write it doesn't mean it'sgoing to sell. But also know that
the number one bestseller saidit's a bunch of crap too because
it just means you've hackedthe categories you told everybody
to buy on that day. Woo. Youhit, you know, number one bestseller.
Get your stupid term.
It's a joke now. Yeah, it's ajoke now.
It is completely stupid. And Ihate it when people are like I've
(19:41):
always wanted to be a numberone bestseller. I'm not the person
for you. And if you want tomake a bunch of money on your books,
then find somebody else.Because that's not the purpose why
God has told me that you'resupposed to write your book. If God's
told you that the more thingis the impact. If we can save the
life of one human, that bookwas worth it.
That's it.
(20:01):
Not about the $3 royalty. It'sabout the impact and the changing
of lives.
That's it. And just for theaudience that are listening, she's
not saying that she's not,it's. You're not book isn't going
to make money. What she'ssaying is hire her to get it out
of you so that it's in theworld and it starts doing what God
told you it was going to doand leave the rest.
Up to God and think biggerthan the $3 a buck.
(20:22):
Yeah, I agree with you.
That's to me it's use it togrow your ministry, to grow your
business, to help others or touse it as a fundraiser. I'm not saying
God can do anything he wantsand then through all of us who are
willing to be obedient. Butdon't focus on the $2.
I know $2 ain't gonna get younowhere. And what's funny is you
(20:46):
bring up.
A lot of you gotta tell to paya mortgage.
Yeah, yeah, yeah. So I, yeah,about a thousand at least. If your
mortgage is about $2,000anyway. But you talk about a lot
of things interesting enough Ithink recently, last January I actually
was told because I'm writing,I have several books in the process
and you're helping me going tobe publishing some of them. And I
(21:09):
actually pitched one of mybooks to a, a pretty mid level, pretty
successful mid level companyand they came back to me, they love
the book, thinks I'm a greatwriter. But then he goes, but I want
you to pay to hire a coach tobe a better writer. And then you
got to pay for the studio timeto do the audio books of it. And
the total price came to$23,500. And I'm sitting there, no.
(21:32):
And there's we offer paymentplans. And I was like, no. So you
are definitely a godsend inthe industry because prices are very
high and not everybody canjust write a check for that. So I
want to just honor you andyour gift and all that. First and
foremost, as we start closingdown this episode, I want to first
and foremost, let's talk abouthow people can find you and work
(21:54):
with you.
So you can go to in the Zonelive as you see right here. If you
want to do everything all onyour own either if you're on your
desktop, there's a big areasays get my information. I've got
plenty of free content,everything from my event this past
April, in 2023, for whateveryear we're in, it's free. You can
(22:15):
watch all the speeches you canget. You can figure out how to write
your book, how to use it forcoaching, speaking, podcasting, all
the things free. If you'relike, oh, what I do about your by
yourself, you can learn how toconnect with me. We can work one
to one or we can put you in acommunity and you can be. There's
a way to do that way too awesome.
And then how so in the Zone,how do they find you on socials?
(22:37):
Oh, Wendy Melrose on Facebook,on LinkedIn, on Instagram, you can
also go to future authorsFacebook group and that's a free
group where you can askquestions or whatever. So just Google
me, you'll find me. You'llprobably find some other information
about my insurance life.
That's awesome. And so guysfor you guys are listening, we will
(22:59):
put those all in the shownotes because we want to make this
accessible and quick clickableand very quick access because you
do need to connect with Wendy.She's like I said, she's. I'm working
with her on my book. So youshould see that coming out at some
point on the podcast. It'sbeen a long time in the running,
but as we close the show out,we do the segment hashtag wisdom
bomb. And for the longtimelisteners of the show, that is for
(23:21):
if you're a first timelistener, it's just a portable cruise
where the guest gives a truththat you can take home and apply.
So if you were to give awisdom bomb, what would you say to
the audience?
So I just got off of a webinarwith Famous. I don't know if he's
famous or not. His name isJeff Barnes and he knows everything
about Disneyland and WaltDisney. And he had said how Tomorrowland
(23:44):
was a big flop. Like even Waltdidn't even like it. But one of his
biggest takeaways was isTomorrowland is not your friend.
Tomorrow. Quit leavingeverything off for tomorrow. If God
has called you to do it today,he will either give you, he'll keep
nagging you until you do it,or he'll find someone else to fulfill
(24:06):
his purpose. So do you want tobe the one that says well done, good
and faithful servant, or doyou want to be the one that finds
out that God chose you but youchose not to be obedient?
That's powerful. And that'salso one of those ouch moments.
I like to do that to people.
So I like the hard truth. Soyou're in the good company with that
all being said, guys, like Isaid, everything will be in the show.
(24:28):
Notes make sure that youfollow and review the podcast, whether
it be on Apple, Spotify, soonto be iheartradio and things like
that. And then also you can goahead follow me on any of the socials
at Lead with Jim, particularlythis video will be up on YouTube.
With that being said, guys,you have been listening to Grace
in the Grind. We are soappreciated here and as always, we're
(24:50):
here to equip to a power andto encourage you to do all that God
has called you to do. AndWendy, thank you for hanging out
with us on the show today. Andwith that being said, we'll see you
on the next episode, a futureepisode or a past one. Either way,
we love you, we're praying foryou and we hope to see you soon.
This has been Grace in theGrind. Whether you're a Christian
leader looking for guidance oran entrepreneur seeking inspiration,
(25:13):
it's Jim's passion to equipand encourage you. Make sure to check
out Jim solo episodes where heshares practical leadership insights
grounded in a biblicalperspective. We hope you've enjoyed
the show. If you did, makesure to like, rate and review and
we'll be back soon. But in themeantime, find us on social media
(25:34):
at LeadWithJim and you canalso hit the website at www.leadwithjim.com.
take care of yourself andwe'll see you next time on Grace
in the Grind.
Host
Jim Burgoon
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