Is it worth it to even keep going?

and others questions that come up in Office Hours

“This isn’t going the way I wanted it to. Is it worth it to keep going?”

It’s a question that has come up a few times in Office Hour with an Editor, and I’m always thankful when it does.

Because we are all thinking it.

Because it is hard to do creative work.

It is hard to keep working at a dream when it isn’t going the way we—well, dreamed.

What are Office Hours all about?

Office Hours are….

• coaching sessions

• collaborative conversations

• real-time feedback on writing & editing questions

• community networking

• open, casual, & flexible

Who are Office Hours for?

• Anyone who wants to grow their craft.

• Anyone who wants writerly community.

• Anyone who wonders whether it’s worth it to keep going.

• Anyone who has specific questions around writing, editing, publishing, platform.

• Anyone craving regular accountability in the form of friendly faces.

  

  Here is a completely non-exhaustive list of other real questions that have been asked in Office Hours with an Editor:

• I want to write, but I don’t have a platform. Where do I go from here? (Spoiler alert: You might have more of a platform than you think, with a little creativity.)

• How do you find books to use when researching your own writing project? (What a delightfully fun rabbit trail.)

• What does it look like to self-publish?

• How do you know what to publish on Substack and what to keep for your own writing project? (A delicate balance, let me tell you.)

• How do you organize all the little thoughts and quotes and interesting bits you pick up throughout the day? (Buckle up, friends. Let me show you my little teal notebook.)

• I want to write a poetry collection. Where do I start?

• How do I propose a collaboration with someone, especially if I have a “smaller” platform?

• How do I create a sustainable writing routine that doesn’t get pushed to the bottom of my priority list every week?

• I wrote this article. Will you give me some feedback on the final paragraph?

• How do you know if a book idea is any good?

• Can you show me an example of what that section of a book proposal would like?

• I’m not where I wanted to be. Is it worth it to keep going?

In case you have seen info coming through about Office Hour with an Editor, but haven’t been sure what it’s all about or if it’s for you, this is me extending a warm and hearty welcome and saying, JOIN US!

Details

• We meet the first and third Wednesday of every month from 1:30-2:30 PM (EST). (Yes—that means we will meet TOMORROW, Wednesday, March 18, 2026!)

• We meet via ZOOM.

• This offering is for paid subscribers.

I hope that you’ll become part of our regular crew. It’s one of my favorite times of the week. Drop by tomorrow with a question or just to listen. We’d love to have you.

Deidre Braley is an author, poet, editor, and writing coach. She is the founder of the Nonfiction Book Proposal Cohort, and works as the Editorial Content Director for The Truly Co. Magazine. She is also a freelance editor for books with publishers like Zondervan, Thomas Nelson, and Dayspring. Deidre is currently an M.Div student at Pillar Seminary.

To make it easy to remember & join, here’s an invitation to add the events to your Google Calendar (through May). The Zoom link is included in the invite, so it will be all in one place for you.