Donna Partow

Tell us about yourself and how many books you have written.
From the time I was a little girl, I dreamed of being a writer. When the economy collapsed back in 1987, I lost my banking job with one hour notice.

My first reaction was to cry…but by the time I boarded the train home, I was smiling from ear to ear. I had made the decision to finally pursue a writing career.

I wrote my first book, standing at the keyboard with a colicky baby in a snugly pouch. And that was before stand-up desks were all the rage.

People might hate me for this, but it was accepted by the first publisher I proposed it to (Focus on the Family) and became an instant best-seller. Of course, my life hasn’t been all sunshine and lollipops.

Quite the opposite. And I think part of the reason women resonate with my writing is because I’m honest about my journey. From being sexually abused as a child to ending up in an extremely violent marriage to a man from the Middle East.

Plenty of things have come to shake my confidence. But I keep returning to the One who can never be shaken.

Through all the drama in my private life, God has truly blessed my 30 books, which have now sold more than 1.5 million copies around the world.

That’s honestly just mind-boggling to me.

What is the name of your latest book and what inspired it?
My latest book is called God-Confidence: The Courage You Need for the Life You Want.

It’s a 21-Day Devotional that’s an easy read…but also, I hope, thought-provoking and encouraging at the same time.

I was the Queen of Insecurity. Coming out of a background of abuse and addiction, I had zero self-confidence. So, really for my own healing, I wanted to see if the Bible had answers for someone like me.

And of course, it did.

I think women will be greatly encouraged by the many insecure people God used in the Bible, even though they didn’t have a great track record or reason to be self-confident.

He takes us as He finds us.

Do you have any unusual writing habits?
Actually, I do. This will sound crazy, but I write super-fast. Like lightning speed. Half the time, I don’t even think about what I’m writing, that’s how quickly my hands are flying across the keyboard.

I often tell young people the story of how I learned to type 120 words per minute. All of my dreams had come crashing down around me. I was forced to drop out of college, walk away from all of my scholarships, and settle for a job as a part-time temporary typist.

I thought my life was over. But actually, I learned a vital skill that has served me incredibly well for the past three decades.

I wrote an international bestseller, Becoming a Vessel God Can Use, in 4-5 days. Most of my books take me two weeks or less.

So whatever job you have, give it all you’ve got! You never know what skill you might learn that God will use later.

What authors, or books have influenced you?
I adore anything by Andrew Murray. His book, Humility, absolutely rocked my world. Interesting side note: I found it on a sale table for $1…so bargain books have the power to change lives.

Right now, I’m reading anything I can get my hands on by Derek Prince.

So basically, I love to read dead British men who were born outside of England…go figure!

What are you working on now?
My next book is called What To Do When You Don’t Know What God Is Doing. It grew out of my experiences living on the mission field.

My books have opened doors for me to live and work in 40 nations, often among refugees or internally-displaced people. Usually, I’m in places were easy answers don’t work.

I think there are lessons I’ve learned that can apply to anyone who’s left wondering, “Where is God and what on earth is He doing?”

What is your best method or website when it comes to promoting your books?
I think Dave Chesson at Kindlepreneur is super-smart, so I follow him closely. Actually, he’s the one who led me to the Awesome Gang, which is pretty awesome, right?

Do you have any advice for new authors?
For sure. WRITE.

Seriously, just wake your precious little self up an hour earlier than everyone else in your household and write. It doesn’t matter if you publish those morning scribbles. Frankly, I don’t. But writers write, so if you want to be a writer, do a lot of writing.

When it’s time to write a book, I beg you — in the name of all that is good and holy — write from a solid, well-structured outline. That way, each chapter is about one thing and one thing only. Your English teacher was right.

I’m amazed how many authors — especially self-published ones who fail to hire a serious editor — just keep saying the same thing over and over again in every chapter.

The smartest thing you’ll ever do for your career is to attend writers’ conferences. First of all, the air is electric. You’ll walk around mumbling, “My peeps, my peeps, I finally found my peeps.” It’s glorious.

And the networking is amazing. I met an acquisitions editor at a writer’s conference almost twenty years ago and we still work together.

I do offer a free guide, 10 Steps to Write Your Book…in Just a Matter of Days. It’s available at www.donnapartow.com/write-fast

What is the best advice you have ever heard?
The opening words to Rick Warren’s Purpose-Driven Life spring to mind: “It’s not about you.”

Find out why you are on this planet and live your life for something larger than yourself. I truly believe we are never fully alive until we are walking out our purpose.

I think each of us was put on the planet, at this exact moment in human history, for a very specific reason. What could be more important than finding out what that is?

What are you reading now?
Time for true confessions?

I’m always reading about a dozen books at any given time. I’m studying Geobasics in the Land of the Bible in preparation for a Masters Degree in Middle Eastern Studies. I’m devouring Russell Brunson’s newest, Traffic Secrets. Don’t Burn This Book by Dave Rubin is a slightly-irreverent hoot. And I just downloaded Derek Prince’s Self-Study Bible Course.

Is that eclectic enough?

If not, I can mention that I’m listening to The Success Principles on Audible!

What’s next for you as a writer?
I haven’t done a lot of writing over the past decade. I’ve been busy teaching online classes and developing my annual Lifestyle Freedom Event (now in its 8th year). And really, most of my time — my heart — is on the mission field. I was overseas for 9 months last year.

COVID suddenly has me grounded. And I’m taking the hint and have made it my goal to write at least two books in 2020.

If you were going to be stranded on a desert island and allowed to take 3 or 4 books with you what books would you bring?
The Bible is a given, of course. Then the Complete Works of Andrew Murray and E.M. Bounds’ On Prayer. Then maybe a book to help me finally learn Spanish!

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