7 Ways To Support Christian Writers And Authors
Many thousands of Christians believe writing is their primary gifting and calling.
This calling can be very lonely and painful. Christian writers often suffer from feelings of rejection, discouragement, and despair. They need support from the rest of the body.
Here are the top 7 ways to support Christian writers and authors.
7. Encourage them. Be intentional about finding the positive aspects of their work and offer praise. If someone’s writing seems so terrible that you can’t think of anything good to say, commend them for trying to find God’s will for their life.
6. Give them constructive feedback. Do not, under any circumstances, jump to number six without doing number seven first. Be very loving and gentle but say what needs to be said. If you see a lot of problems, just name the top three. Otherwise you will overwhelm the person.
5. Like and share their social media posts. Most writers I’ve met abhor social media. That may seem strange, but it is not conducive to most writers’ natural gifts. Social media success is much more of a learned skill and many writers do not have it. Plus, there are few things more awkward than sharing your own blog post on social media. But, Christian writers do it anyway. Make it easy on them.
4. Word of mouth. If their books or blogs are good, tell people. Don’t say, “A guy at my church wrote a book and he asked me to tell people about it.” Instead, just tell people about the awesome book you read. Tell people about the great new blog you found.
3. Pray. Writing is a ministry for Christian writers. Even those who write fiction try to witness and impart spiritual lessons through their stories. Like all ministries, Christian writing often comes under attack. We need your prayers for spiritual, physical, legal, commercial, and financial protection. We also need you to pray for God’s favor and blessing.
2. Buy their books. Buy extra copies for your friends. If their book is good enough, lead a book club or group study based on their book. Such direct support also has indirect benefits, especially if their books are available through online retailers like Amazon. They get bumped up in the rankings which makes the retailer show their books to more people.
And the number one way you can help Christian authors…
1. Reviews, reviews, and more reviews! These are huge, especially on Amazon. Reviews need to be honest. The best thing about honest reviews is that they help the right books get into the hands of the right people. Basically, they help customers make better decisions about whether or not a book is right for them. Doing a review normally only costs a little time. Just read the book and write a review. Authors often give books away during promotions and are encouraged by Amazon to ask readers for honest reviews. However, be aware that you can’t post reviews for members of your household or close friends (see here for Amazon’s book review guidelines). But you could review for someone who attends your church as long as you aren’t close friends. You could also give a family member’s or close friend’s book to others and ask them if they will consider reading and reviewing it.
Many writers find it difficult to get reviews.
One Christian writer estimates that she has given away over 200 books and received only two reviews after doing so.
We can do a better job of supporting Christian writers.
Start today. You probably know someone in your circle who is blogging or writing books for the Lord. View this as an opportunity to bless someone who might be hurting.
Don’t wait.
Reach out and do three of the things on this list right now.
Do you need a Christian book editor? If so, just click on the previous link and let us see how we can help. Don’t go out into the marketplace alone!
- How An Evangelist Almost Turned Billy Graham Away From His Faith - October 22, 2021
- Sometimes Giving Up Is the Right Thing - October 18, 2021
- Dealing with Anxiety and Stress Realistically and Biblically - October 5, 2021
Very good advice! Thank you for sharing this. It is all so true and helpful.
Great read and great advice! Thank you for sharing.
I endorse every word that is written here. Jesus faced rejection from His brethren and family who were close to Him. He was chased out of town. The same devil is doing the same thing to us. The road of a Christian author is very lonely. But we can stick together and support each other by sharing each other’s posts and purchasing our books. There are enough of us to make each of us become popular. I will start by sharing this post on my Facebook page, Twitter and Google. Let us support each other. Thank you for this timely post.
Love this article Chris!
Every Christian Authors should know to create a Godly and successful book.
You may also read my blog on Writing Advice for Christian Authors
Hope this will also help.