"If I can do it, you can do it": Encouraging words from 2023 SCWC leader Tracy Crump

The Southern Christian Writers Conference is blessed to have a collection of encouraging professionals acting as workshop leaders for the upcoming annual gathering on June 9-10. Attendees will benefit from their practical advice and inspiring stories.

One such leader is Tracy Crump. who will present a workshop on "Writing for Chicken Soup for the Soul." Crump is the author of the book Health, Healing, and Wholeness: Devotions of Hope in the Midst of Illness. A former ICU nurse, she is a writer, speaker, and editor best known for contributing more than thirty stories to Chicken Soup for the Soul® and other anthologies. She's also published more than one hundred devotions in The Upper Room, Light from the Word, Quiet Hour, Guideposts books, and other publications. Her articles have been featured in magazines such as Focus on the Family, ParentLife, Mature Living, and Woman’s World. She was a columnist for Southern Writers Magazine for more than four years and contributed articles to three newspapers. Tracy is a C.L.A.S.S. graduate and was named Writer of the Year at the Memphis ACW Conference.

We recently had a conversation with Tracy about her writing, and what she hopes to offer to this year's SCWC attendees.

Tell me a little bit about your writing journey. When did you know you wanted to be a writer and how did that progress?

To be honest, Cheryl, I never wanted to be a writer. In fact, I hated writing when I was in high school! It wasn't until my son graduated from homeschool that I felt God leading me to write about issues for parents. I wrote a book but had no idea what to do with it, so I just let it sit. Four years later, I received a card in the mail advertising a writers conference. (I still have no idea why I got that card.) I went, and six months later, I had two articles published in national magazines. They even paid me! I loved writing the short pieces, so I kept on writing.

You write for Chicken Soup for the Soul, and will do a workshop on that for us. How did you get into writing for that publication?

Shortly after publishing those first two articles, I joined a writers group. The group's president knew I had worked as an ICU nurse years before, and she emailed me one day to say that Chicken Soup for the Soul was doing a book for the nurse's soul. She suggested I submit a story. I thought "Chicken Soup's not going to publish anything I write," so I let the deadline pass. A few days later, she emailed again and said, "They extended the deadline for the nurse's soul book. Why don't you try submitting something?" I gave in and sent five stories. They published two, and that started a long line of acceptances over the years. 

How does faith factor into your writing?

Faith factors into everything I do, so it's just natural that it comes through in my writing. Most of my published writing has been for the Christian market, but even when writing for general markets such as Chicken Soup, I write about godly attributes such as courage, forgiveness, or love that point readers to Jesus. 

What would you tell writers who need some encouragement?

If I can do it, you can do it! I never thought I would be published in Chicken Soup for the Soul or do any of the other things I've done in in the publishing industry. None of it happened overnight, but God's plans are not our plans. As long as we are following Him, we can't help but be successful.

Learn more about Tracy Crump and her book at her page on the Independent Author Network. Check out her book on Amazon HERE.

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The 2023 Southern Christian Writers Conference will be held on June 9-10 at Valley View Baptist Church in Leeds (Birmingham), Alabama. Spaces for the in-person conference is limited, and there is also a virtual conference available. Learn more HERE. And you can also register now by filling out THIS registration form.

We can't wait to see you next month!