More than Writers

Do you ever get that feeling where you wish writing could simply be about writing? For most writers, especially in these times, writing seems to come with so much more attached to it. Writing a book, it seems, is the easy part. Then comes all the other stuff: editing; querying if going the traditional route; formatting, designing and uploading if self-publishing; then the word that sends sparks of dread flying at us - marketing.  Whether self publishing or traditionally publishing, usually authors must take an active and innovative role in marketing in order to be 'seen'. And there is so much information out there, so many voices shouting from every corner about how to do it, and what we should all be doing, and how we should all be trying harder. Acronyms like ARC, KDP, KU, POD, ASIN, ISBN, EPUB, PDF, SEO, and words and phrases like keywords, blurbs, hybrid, synopsis, advertising, reels, BookBub, NetGalley and so on get thrown around every author space on the internet until th...

Authors Katia Adams, Will van der Hart and Andy Croft. Do you ever feel a little overwhelmed by how many people there are out there writing similar books/poems/devotionals/articles/blogs to you? I have struggled with this from time to time, and, if I’m honest, particularly when I see social media posts that seem to reveal that they are more successful than I am.  And yet I had a reminder just last week that we should celebrate one another rather than be intimidated.  I was at a publisher’s showcase event and, during each of the authors’ talks and again during the Q&A session, the subject of authenticity, particularly being real with each other as Christians, cropped up again and again.  While I am an introvert and so would never have dreamt of actually doing this, in my head there were countless moments when I wanted to jump up and say: ‘That’s my biggest passion. And that’s what  my  book is about!’ But then, within the ongoing conv...