Supporting one another well by Claire Musters

 

Liz Carter's new book, published today!

I am so appreciative of ACW. We are such a fun, eclectic group, and it is wonderful to be able to interact via the Facebook page on days when I am finding writing hard or are lacking motivation. It is great when someone posts a thought-provoking question, or provides tips for marketing etc – thank you to those that do, and please keep doing so! Here are a few ideas of other ways we can support one another more fully:

 

Buy each other’s books!

This is the most obvious way we can show our support, but I recognise that we are a prolific group and we can’t buy everything that is produced! But if we all made an effort to choose titles we are interested in ourselves, or know would make great presents for a friend or family member, then we can show our support very practically. As thoughts turn to Christmas present buying, why not think about purchasing books by our members?

 

Share social media posts

While we are all connected via ACW, each of us has many other individual connections that are far more wide-reaching. If we believe in the quality of a book written by another member, it is great to help them promote it. It doesn’t take more than a few seconds to repost something they share on social media.

 

Host blog posts

Many of us have our own websites. I know that they can be very specific, and so it isn’t always appropriate to do so, but if your site has the capacity for guest blogs from other writers (or you are up for interviewing someone) then hosting a blog about a new book from another member is helpful for them. It should be beneficial for you to, as it will hopefully generate new readers to your site (as no doubt the author will share the post via their social media too). If you have a podcast, do consider if any ACW members could feature on it as guests (thank you to Wendy Jones, who does this so well).

 

As today is launch day for Liz Carter’s beautiful new book Treasure in Dark Places, I have a guest blog from her on my website. Please do take a look. You can ask the author to concentrate on an aspect that is pertinent for your site – for instance, I asked Liz about her journey of lament while writing her new book. It is a subject I am interested in, have written about before, and am planning a book on – so I know there will be many more blog posts on the subject in the future!

 

Flag up other author’s work in your own mailings

Many of us also have mailing lists that we send regular newsletters out to. I have recently started including details of books from others that I think might interest my readers too.

 

Write engaging endorsements

This is something that I am being asked to do increasingly, and it is a real honour. However, I would say it is never a good idea to agree to endorse a book unless you have the time to read it through properly. And then you need to be honest – only endorse something if you feel you can do so wholeheartedly.

 

Form a small support group

I know that there are regional writers’ groups within ACW, and others have created their own regular smaller groups for accountability, shared knowledge, prayer and feedback on writing. It was during lockdown that I decide to search out three others from ACW and I have to say it has added such a richness to my writing life – I am so glad to know I can reach out to them and they to me, that we champion one another, and that we make it a priority to meet up remotely whenever we can. 

 

Why not try one or two of these out this coming week?

Claire is a freelance writer, speaker and editor, mum to two gorgeous children, pastor’s wife and worship leader. Her books include Taking off the mask: daring to be the person God created you to be, Cover to Cover: Ezekiel A prophet for all times, Cover to Cover: 1–3 John Walking in the truth, Cover to Cover: David: A man after God's own heart, Insight Into Managing Conflict, Insight Into Self-acceptance and Insight Into Burnout. Her latest addition to the Insight Guides series, An Insight into Shame, was published in May 2019 and her latest Cover to Cover: Exodus God’s epic rescue was published in April 2020. She has also written a devotional on disappointment and loss (available as an eBook and coming soon as a physical book) and is writing a book on marriage alongside her husband (due to be published May 2021). She also writes Bible study notes and magazine articles. To find out more about her, please visit www.clairemusters.com  and @CMusters on Twitter.