Advice from a Christian Self-Publishing Company

Do you have a story you’re yearning to tell the world? Do you want to share lessons from your life story? Have you overcome an obstacle many others face and want to provide encouragement in the middle of their darkest night? Whatever story you want to share, God has put it on your heart. Our Christian self-publishing company is here to help share our story with the world! However, the daunting process of self-publishing your book can make even the most determined authors hide away from sharing their light. If you’re struggling with getting started or finishing your books, poems, or devotionals, here are some powerful strategies to elevate your writing so you can get published quickly!

Purposeful Clarity: Define Your Core Message

Your book’s success hinges on a clear and compelling message. Define your core purpose early on by identifying what knowledge, idea, or solution you want to convey. This clarity will guide your writing, helping you craft a focused, impactful narrative that resonates with your readers.

To develop your story’s core message, consider the following questions:

● What insights do you want to leave your readers with?

● What lessons do you want to teach?

● What does your story say about the world or society as a whole?

● How does your story reflect on the past so readers can learn for the future?

● What is the overall message or theme of your book?

Once you’ve answered these questions, outline them in a written mission statement. The mission statement should include an action verb that compels your audience to feel or do something after they read your story. Just like the centuries-old fairy tales, which each taught a moral, you’ll want to define what you want your readers to think or feel after reading your story before you begin writing it. Once you’ve developed this statement, print it out and post it where you can easily see it while writing. This will allow you to never lose sight of your purpose. Also, don’t hide your mission in the details of your book—ensure it’s clear and easy to understand.

Structured Brilliance: Create a Strategic Outline

Now that you have the core messaging of your story and understand your book’s purpose, the next step is to create a strategic outline of your book. An outline streamlines your writing process, banishing overwhelm and ensuring your ideas and message unfold seamlessly. Think of your outline as the roadmap to your book, a guide you’ll often reference during drafting.

Your strategic outline should include:

● Major plot points

● The purpose and dynamic of subplots

● A breakdown of chapters and sections within the book

● Themes and highlights

● Tone and message

While there are many ways to format your outline, choose a style that works best for you. Whether you bullet point your entire book chapter by chapter or free-write large sections and stitch them together during drafting, there’s no right or wrong way to outline your book. The goal of creating an outline is to help turn your idea into a tangible story.

How to Create a Book Outline

The first step in creating your book outline is to start with your core message. Once you know the purpose of your book, all the ideas you want to focus on will fall into place. Next, brainstorm all the aspects, plot points, and messages you want in the book. This includes specific characters, major conflicts and resolutions, and important settings. Once you have these established, you can fill in the story gaps and determine whether more research is needed. In addition to creating an outline for your entire book, you’ll also want to structure each chapter and section with outlines.

Engaging Authenticity: Develop Your Unique Voice

Your voice is your writing signature, a bridge connecting you with readers. Infuse your personality and authenticity into your work. Whether you’re educating, analyzing, or recounting, let your voice shine through. Relatable, genuine writing fosters a deeper connection, making your book an enriching experience for readers. This comes from stories, sharing experiences, and connecting challenging concepts into simple terms. Discovering your unique voice sets the tone for the personality of your book. You’ll want to consider your author’s voice and how it may contrast with your characters’ voice. This will become especially important depending on the point of view from which you tell your story.

You can do many exercises to help discover and develop your author’s voice. These include free writing and reading other authors’ work. Analyze what you like and what you’d change about their style. You can also do writing exercises where you write sections of your book in different author styles and see which one you like best.

View more author voice writing exercises here.

A developmental editor can also help you find and refine your author’s voice during the editing process. Our Christian self-publishing company offers various types of editing as part of our publishing packages. During a developmental edit, we’ll help you get unstuck and partner with you to help finish your manuscript and publish your book.

Ask for Help

The best way to get unstuck in your writing is to ask for help. You aren’t alone; many people want to help you reach your goals. Asking for help can be as simple as getting coffee with a writer friend to learn more about the publishing process. Or, you can join a writing group in your hometown, which will provide advice and accountability. You can also work with a Christian self-publishing company, like EABooks Publishing, to help you through the self-publishing process, from editing to marketing.

Get Unstuck —EABooks Christian Self-Publishing Company Can Help

With purposeful clarity, structured brilliance, and engaging authenticity, you’re well on your way to crafting a book that leaves a lasting impact. Don’t go through the self-publishing process alone. Have a Christian self-publishing company like EA Books Publishing help you tell the story God has laid on your heart. View our publishing packages and read our self-publishing resources on our blog.

Contact us today to get started.