How To Support Fellow Writers

 By Cathy Baker

 

It’s easy to become consumed with our own list of to-dos as writers. There are platforms to build, blog posts to write, books to edit, and caffeine to pour. If we’re not looking out for ourselves, who is?

 

Truth is, we’re to be looking out for each other. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others (Philippians 2:3 ESV.)

 

Below are practical but powerful ideas for putting this truth into practice:

 

• Choose 1-3 authors each week or month and share their promotions. It’s as easy as a simple click.

• Leave a book review on Amazon and Goodreads.

• Private message and offer words of encouragement.

• See fellow writers as collaborators, not competitors.

• Follow them on Amazon.

• Subscribe to their podcast and leave a review.

• Subscribe to their blog and encourage others to do the same.

• Mark their book as one you “want to read” in Goodreads.

• Meet up with them at writers’ conferences.

 

Praying for another writer’s work to be blessed is the most powerful, selfless, and loving gift we can offer for God’s ultimate glory.

 

“Our” Prayer prompts:

 

• Search our heart, O Lord. Do selfish motivations hide behind good intentions? Is our deepest desire to have Your message shared – whether by us or another? Flesh pinches the tenderest of places, tempting us to put the spotlight on our name, our brand, and ourselves.

• Help us to find our validation in You alone, not an agent, publisher, or contract. None were created to fill this role. 

• Keep our priorities properly aligned. What do we gain if our name is on the cover of a book but we no longer find it written on the hearts of those we love?

• Infuse our writing with words, sentences, and paragraphs that sing for Your glory alone.  

• Help us do our best, and release the results to You. Some are called to plant, and some to water, but God alone brings the growth, landing our work in the places of His choosing. We don’t need to manipulate, beg, or sulk. Help us to embrace and rest in truth—that You are for us, not against us, even when we cannot see, hear, or feel You at work.

 

 

So, what’s one way you plan to support a fellow writer this week?

 

 (Photo courtesy of FreeDigitalPhotos.net and Stuart Miles.) 

 

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Cathy Baker gives us practical ideas for supporting our fellow writers. (Click to tweet.)

 

Cathy Baker is an award-winning writer and author of Pauses for the Vacationing Soul: A Sensory-Based Devotional Guide for the Beach as well as Pauses for the Vacationing Soul: A Sensory-Based Devotional Guide for the Mountains. Cathy is a Hope*Writer, a member of the Advanced Writer and Speaker Association, and Bible teacher who has taught numerous studies and workshops over the past twenty-five years. Her work has been published in Chicken Soup for the Soul, The Upper Room, and Focus on the Family’s Thriving Family. She and her husband, Brian, live in the Blue Ridge Foothills where she writes from a space lovingly known as the Tiny House on the Hill. Connect with Cathy @ Creative Pauses from the Tiny House on the Hill @ https://www.cathybaker.org, or visit her Facebook Group, Creative Pauses