Self-Publishing Success: Two Keys to Effective Marketing as a Self-Published Author

From Edie: Learn how to market your self-published book with confidence. Discover relational, authentic ways to share your stories without feeling pushy.

Self-Publishing Success: Two Keys to Effective Marketing as a Self-Published Author 

by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author

When was the last time you got excited about something? 

I mean, really excited. Maybe it was about a movie or a television show or a new restaurant or even maybe a recipe you prepared at home. We can get excited about all sorts of things, can’t we? And when you are excited, what’s the first thing you do?

I guess it’s different for everyone, but for me, when I’m really excited about something, I tell people. 

That, in its most basic sense, is marketing. Marketing is sharing what you’re excited about with someone else who might benefit from it too. 

Why Every Writer Needs a Creative Hobby (And How It Protects Your Writing Life)

From Edie: Discover why creative hobbies outside of writing help prevent burnout, spark fresh ideas, and sustain long-term creativity. Learn how play, rest, and non-writing pursuits can strengthen your writing life and keep your imagination thriving.

Why Every Writer Needs a Creative Hobby (And How It Protects Your Writing Life)

by Lynn H. Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn

Y’all…I’m in my sourdough era.

I know. I know. 

I do not have time to babysit a starter or schedule my life around dough. I don’t. 

But … I do love fresh bread. 

And … I have this little quirk that means I really love learning new things. 

And … did I mention fresh bread? 

And really, having a hobby that involves entire days where you do nothing but wait for the dough to ferment? I mean, come on. That’s a rather perfect hobby for an author. Right? 

Emotional DNA for Writers: How to Write Characters Unlike Yourself

From Edie: Learn how to write believable characters whose experiences differ from your own by tapping into emotional DNA—your internal library of feelings, instincts, and empathy. This practical guide helps writers create authentic emotional depth, avoid stereotypes, and bring every character to life with honesty and nuance.

Emotional DNA for Writers: How to Write Characters Unlike Yourself

by Sarah Sally Hamer @SarahSallyHamer

One of the biggest challenges we as writers, both fiction and non-fiction, face is how to write characters whose lives, choices, or personalities are completely different from our own. We create characters, both “good” and “bad” who act in ways we never would. How do you write a serial killer if you’re not one? Or a grieving father if you’ve never lost a child? Or a jealous friend, a corrupt politician, a runaway teen?

It’s not about searching your soul every time you want to put a real villain in your story, since the chances are that you’ve never killed anyone. (And, if you have, I don’t want to know!) It’s about understanding the emotions that drive the bad guys —and recognizing that you’ve felt versions of those emotions yourself, even if you’ve never acted on them. In so many words, you’re lending your emotional DNA to your character.

Publishing Paths for Writers: Understanding Your Options with Traditional Publishing (Part 1)

From Edie: Discover what it really takes to secure a traditional book deal. This practical guide for writers explains agents, proposals, advances, royalties, platform expectations, and how to know if traditional publishing is the right path for your writing career.

Publishing Paths for Writers: Understanding Your Options with Traditional Publishing (Part 1)

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

Authors have more choices about how to feature their work than ever before. 

Essentially, the three most common tracks are traditional publishing, hybrid publishing, or independent publishing.

Traditional Publishing

When God Is Your Writing Guide: Trusting Him With Your Creative Journey

From Edie: Discover how to trust God as the true guide for your writing journey. Learn practical ways to surrender your plans, listen for His direction, and find joy and purpose in the creative process—even when the path feels unclear.

When God Is Your Writing Guide: Trusting Him With Your Creative Journey

by Ginny Cruz, MPA, PT

Have you ever assumed a role in life where you longed for a guide to show you the way? When I became a mother to my first child, that’s how I felt. Questions came to mind, such as, “What should I be doing with my baby all day?” “What toys or activities are best?” I longed for guidance. Those feelings of lostness fueled the passion for my latest book, The New Mom’s Guide: Help and Hope for Baby’s First Year. It’s my gift to new mothers who also long for advice. In it are the answers to many common questions, background information on their child’s development, and encouragement, which all moms crave.

When God called me to write, I also longed for a guide to show me the way forward. Unfortunately, there was no guidebook to direct my next steps. The only choice, it seemed, was to be like Abraham when God told him to pack up everything, leave home, and trust that God would show him the way. 

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Thanksgiving

From Edie: Discover how cultivating gratitude can transform your writing life. In Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Thanksgiving, learn how giving thanks reduces anxiety, renews creativity, and deepens your connection with God as you create.

Spiritual Practices for Writers: The Practice of Thanksgiving

by Audrey Frank @AudreyCFrank

For Mom, with love.

Now on his way to Jerusalem, Jesus traveled along the border between Samaria and Galilee. As he was going into a village, ten men who had leprosy met him. They stood at a distance and called out in a loud voice, “Jesus, Master, have pity on us!” When he saw them, he said, “Go, show yourselves to the priests.” And as they went, they were cleansed. One of them, when he saw he was healed, came back, praising God in a loud voice. He threw himself at Jesus’ feet and thanked him—and he was a Samaritan. Jesus asked, “Were not all ten cleansed? Where are the other nine? Has no one returned to give praise to God except this foreigner?” Then he said to him, “Rise and go; your faith has made you well.”(Luke 17:1-19, NIV)

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (Philippians 4:6-7, NIV).

I have practiced making my mother’s pumpkin pie squares for thirty years. I’ve literally driven through African rivers to find a grocer who had imported pumpkins from the rich red soil of the Ngong Hills (hello, Meryl Streep and Robert Redford). I’ve prepared Mom’s delightful dish in a mud hut and baked it inside a Kenyan pot over an open fire. I’ve practiced making her legacy Thanksgiving dish in Morocco, where pumpkins grow beside lakes the color of aquamarine gemstones. I’ve shortcut the process in England, bouncing a baby on my hip while steaming pumpkin mercifully pre-peeled and chopped by a local farmer. This year, I’m practicing the craft of pumpkin pie squares in Italy, despite the skeptical comments of my pumpkin-connoisseur Italian chef friend, who makes the best pumpkin ravioli this side of the Atlantic Ocean.

How Successful Writers Actually Work: Finding a Writing Routine That Fits Your Life

From Edie: Discover how successful writers create writing routines that fit real life. Learn practical strategies to write consistently without waiting for the perfect moment.

How Successful Writers Actually Work: Finding a Writing Routine That Fits Your Life

by Tim Suddeth @TimSuddeth

Don’t you wish you could discover how ‘famous’ writers do it? The popular writers. Those they talk to on TV and whose books are in the windows at Barnes and Noble.

I think most of us feel this way. In every interview I’ve heard with a writer, the question of how they write soon comes up. And you can see every listener lean up in their seat, hoping that this time, this time, they will hear those keywords that will make a difference in their own writing.