For most first-time Christian nonfiction authors, I believe self-publishing on Amazon KDP is the better path today. You keep control. You generally keep a much larger share of each sale. And your book can be in readers’ hands in weeks instead of years. I say that as someone who published most of my 30+ books with traditional houses. And loved … Read More
How to Find Your Ideal Reader
(Hint: She Has a Name) Your ideal reader is not “everyone.” She is one specific person in a particular season, role or struggle who wants something to change. Picture her. Name her if that helps. Then write as if you are talking directly to her. I hear the opposite every year: “My book is for anyone with any problem or … Read More
How to Self-Publish a Christian Book on Amazon
Self-publishing on Amazon isn’t complicated. Publishing a book that is genuinely ready for readers is another matter. Kindle Direct Publishing can show you where to click. It can accept your files, assign your book a product page and make it available for sale. What KDP cannot tell you is whether the book is ready, whether the positioning is clear, whether … Read More
Do You Need to Be an Expert to Write a Christian Book?
You Can Be a Sage, Sherpa or Fellow Struggler No, you don’t need to be an expert to write a book. You need to be honest about which kind of author you are. Successful nonfiction is written from three positions: the Sage, the Sherpa and the Fellow Struggler. Only one of them requires expert credentials. The other two require something … Read More
Why Most Christian Nonfiction Books Don’t Sell
Readers Want Solutions, Not Sermons Many Christian books struggle because they read more like sermons than solutions. They offer broad spiritual encouragement the reader may have heard many times before, without making it immediately clear what will be different in her life after she reads the book. If your book could just as easily be preached on Sunday morning, you … Read More