Book Hatchery Campus Radio: Your Window to Publishing

Have you ever known there was something in you that needed to be written—but you couldn’t quite name what it was yet?

Maybe you have a book idea. Maybe you don’t. Maybe you’re already writing, but you sense there’s something deeper happening in you as you do.

That’s why I wanted to have this conversation with Ann Griffiths.

We talk about what it means to be entrusted with something to write, why clarity doesn’t always come before you begin, why writers need other writers, and one of Ann’s central ideas: that God shapes the messenger as He shapes the message.

And I’ll tell you something that surprised me: after more than 20 years of helping other people bring their books into the world, working with Ann helped me get clear on a book idea of my own.

Wherever you are in your writing, listen for the part that sounds like you.

And keep this question in mind:

What have you been entrusted to write?

Maybe you already know. Or maybe you just know that there’s something there—a sense of calling that you haven’t quite put a finger on yet. Or maybe you’re already writing it, but you know there’s more to develop in the message, in your craft, or even in you as the writer.

If any of that sounds like you, I’d really love to hear about it. Leave a comment or send me a message and tell me: what do you keep feeling pulled to write?

If you’re listening to Ann and thinking, I wish I could spend more time with her, working through this, you can.

As you’ll hear in our interview, Ann is leading an eight-week Entrusted to Write course inside The Book Hatchery. It starts on October 7 and runs through November, every Wednesday at 6 pm PDT.

This is for Christian writers who want to clarify and faithfully steward what they’ve been given, strengthen their writing, develop sustainable practices, and do that work in community with Ann and other writers.

Visit The Book Hatchery to learn more and register.

Entrusted to Write

Whether you join the course or not, keep pondering this question:

What have you been entrusted to write?

You know when somebody says, “I’d love to write a book someday.” But the idea of a finished book is so huge that they don’t know where to start?

Sometimes the book isn’t the next step. Sometimes the next step is publishing one thing: One article. One reflection. One Substack post. One conversation.

Books often emerge gradually from a body of work.

You show up faithfully on your blog, your podcast, your magazine column, and one day you realize there’s enough to gather into a book.

Welcome back to Book Hatchery Campus Radio. I’m Colleen McCubbin, publisher, author coach, and founder of Siretona Creative and The Book Hatchery.

Over the last couple of weeks, I’ve been hosting a series of Clarity Sessions with writers, authors, entrepreneurs, and people who are trying to figure out what comes next.

As I’ve listened to those conversations, I’ve noticed some themes emerging. Not strategies, hacks, or quick fixes. Patterns. Things that show up over and over again whenever someone decides they want to create something meaningful and share it with the world.

Today I want to reflect on a few of those themes.

Possibilities vs Promises

I talked about this in Episode 1 of Book Hatchery Campus Radio: Possibilities are on the west side of the map, Promises are on the east, with a Readiness Review in the middle.

Many writers want to rush: announce the book, set a launch date, tell everyone it’s coming. Maybe because once we make a promise, it feels real. But we’ve discovered through working with authors that many projects need to spend more time in the realm of possibility. Exploring. Experimenting. Drafting. Changing your mind. Following a thread that turns out to be more important than the one you started with.

A promise says: “This is what it will be.” A possibility says: “I’m discovering what it wants to become.” This can be uncomfortable (to say the least). Some manuscripts need us to stay in possibilities longer than we’d like.

The Readiness Review

Hang in there. Eventually there's a moment when we need to stop asking what could be and start asking what’s ready.

That’s why I’m increasingly committed to the idea of a readiness review. Actually, at every checkpoint along the publishing path, we should stop to assess our readiness. But I’m talking specifically about an editorial assessment, where you’ve got a finished manuscript and you submit it for a professional opinion. Is this book ready to publish? Or, as a woman I talked to on the weekend said, “I know my book is delightful. I want to know how delightful!”

This is not gatekeeping or permission. It’s perspective.

Often, we’re so deep inside our projects that we lose all objectivity. We can’t tell whether a chapter is brilliant or confusing. We can’t tell whether we’re finished or just frustrated. So we need other eyes: beta readers, editors, trusted companions, people who can say, “Keep going” or “Yes, it’s ready.”

Both answers are valuable. One sends you back into the land of possibility, the other moves you forward into promises territory.

Winter Seasons

As we talked during Clarity Sessions, I noticed that a lot of authors identified with the season of winter.

• Spring is for discovery. Its challenge is to choose what to focus on.
• Summer is for creation. The priority is to finish something.
• Autumn is for harvest. You produce something to share.
• Winter is for stopping—a time to rest, reflect, recover, recalibrate.

Some people arrive at winter depleted from the activity and energy expended in previous seasons. Some people become so burned out, they wonder if they’ll ever see springtime again.

Our culture tends to celebrate summer, with its productivity, output, growth, and momentum. Even beach holidays and cottage vacations imply activity and/or destinations—always going somewhere, doing something. But sometimes the right work is restoration, and winter is a time for that, even in July.

One participant said, “Slow progress is not no progress.”

I think a lot of us need to hear that. 

Building a Body of Work

One frequently asked question is whether someone should write a book. More and more, my answer is maybe. Or maybe not. At least, not yet.

Maybe the next step is simply building a body of work: publishing articles, writing reflections, posting on Substack, recording thoughts, sharing ideas.

A book isn’t the only way to publish. A book is just one outfit that your message will wear.

Books can emerge gradually from a body of work. Sometimes a book emerges after years of paying attention.

Working in Public

This leads to another idea that loops in my head: Work in public. Show your work.

So many writers feel they need to disappear into a cave until everything is finished. But, what if the community forms while you’re creating? What if readers meet you before the book arrives? What if sharing the journey is part of the journey?

You don’t have to share every draft or every private thought. Share enough for people to walk alongside you.

The Fog

Once upon a time, I studied Greek, and our textbook had a note that I repeat a lot: “You are now entering the fog.” I think many writers live in a fog.

I want to tell them, the fog isn’t failure. The fog isn’t a sign you’re doing it wrong. The fog is often evidence that you are learning. The textbook note promised that it would get better: 

"You will have read this chapter and think you understand it--and perhaps you do--but it will seem foggy. That is okay. That's what we call 'the fog' If this gets discouraging, just look two chapters back and you should understand that chapter clearly. And in two more chapters, this chapter will be clear, assuming of course you keep studying" (Mounce, Basics of Biblical Greek). 

You're not just reading a textbook, you're writing a book. But maybe you can’t see your way to the next chapter. You can barely see the next line, but that’s enough. The next line is enough for now. (See Annie Dillard, The Writing Life.)

Sometimes in the fog we need a guide or experienced companion. I needed a teacher and study partners for Greek. Someone who knows the next step is safe, who can hold our hand, lead us forward.

That’s what we do in Nestbuilder Commons. We gather authors for weekly conversations. We ask three questions: What have you learned? What do you need? What are you celebrating? 

Yhe answers to the questions shape our conversations. Needs go first—we help each other troubleshoot. We teach each other from our learning. We cheer for finished chapters, finished books, and books sold! Sometimes the need is not solutions but commiseration and encouragement: keep going, don’t stop, take the next step in your fog.

Join Nestbuilder Commons

Patience

Another word that came up again and again in the Clarity Sessions was patience. I like to say patience is the ground we walk on. Not inspiration, motivation, or certainty. Patience, because producing a book takes longer than we expect, writing takes longer than we expect, healing takes longer, building readership takes longer, learning who we are takes longer.

That’s okay. Don’t give up. 

Community and Support

Perhaps the strongest theme of all was community. People need different things: an editor, a coach, a sounding board, a writing partner, a body double, a place to ask questions, a place to celebrate progress, a place to admit stuckness.

People rarely said: “I need more information.” Most already had that. What they needed was companionship; people walking the same trail.

The Next Courageous Step

So, where does clarity come from? From knowing enough? From doing enough?

Maybe clarity comes from taking the next courageous step. It’s not about a five-year plan or certainty or a perfect roadmap. Just the next courageous step.

One participant said they needed to publish one article. Another wanted to start a Substack. Another needed to get some ideas out of their head and onto paper. Not one of these are dramatic, but all of them move the journey forward.

You take the next courageous step and eventually look back and  see where you came from, even if you can’t see clearly where you’re going.

So ... 

What’s the smallest meaningful action you can take in the next seven days?

Not someday or next year. This week. 

If you’ve been listening and finding yourself somewhere in this conversation, maybe you don’t need another course.

Maybe what you need is a home base.

A place to have conversations that help you find clarity. A place to ask questions, get encouragement, show your work, and keep moving forward. A place where other voices will help you find your way in the fog.

That’s why we created Nestbuilder Commons: a supportive writing community built around curious conversations, generous collaboration, co-writing sessions, coaching cafés, and creative momentum.

If you’re looking for companions for your journey through writing and publishing, I invite you to join us.

Learn more at thebookhatchery.com. (Note: it seems to work best on Chrome.)

Join Nestbuilder Commons

Until next time, don’t worry about the whole path.

Just take the next courageous step.

A lot of authors think publishing begins when the manuscript is finished.

Or that the next question is, “Who’s going to publish this?”

But actually, the first question is often: Where am I in the process?

Then: What does this season require of me ?

And then: What is my next meaningful step?

You’re listening to Book Hatchery Campus Radio and I’m Colleen McCubbin, founder of Siretona Creative, a boutique publishing company, and The Book Hatchery, an educational author community.

When I think about publishing, I use a map with two large territories on it:

Possibilities to the West and Promises to the East, with a Readiness Review in between them.

Possibilities: this is real publishing work, too

Let’s study the map, starting with Possibilities on the left. Some people might think this is not real publishing work.

Possibilities territory is where writers explore, create, develop, edit, rewrite. You explore ideas, create new things, develop and craft your work, write, rewrite, edit, rewrite again … sometimes it seems like the revisions will never end!

One of our authors, Connie Mae Inglis, revised her manuscript at least 7 times before publication. Some people revise less, some more. You do what your manuscript needs.

Because there’s so much stopping and starting in Possibilities territory, many people need Permission stay for as long as it takes—and Patience. 

Another of our authors realized that she was in a season where she needed Permission to be Prolific. Love it! She released any pressure to produce or perform and just showed up to write. Possibilities is the region where you build your body of work. Don’t rush it.

This is a good time to mention the pathway that winds across this map. It has 6 checkpoints: Prepare > Polish > Review > Produce > Promote > Profit

We’ll explain these checkpoints a bit more in this episode and dig into them in future episodes. For now it’s enough to note where they are on the path.

The first two checkpoints, Prepare and Polish, are on the lefthand side of the map in Possibilities territory. Review is in the middle. Produce, Promote, and Profit are in Promises territory.

Prepare and Polish can take a long time, or they can feel like they’re taking longer than they should, but I want to assure you, that is not failure of momentum. It’s part of the author journey.

We’ll talk more about editing in future episodes. For now, remember that patience is a key virtue in publishing.

Don’t Rush

Rushing can cause trouble when authors want dates too early. They just want to know when the book will be out. (Many people want a book by Christmas!) They may assume production should already be underway.

Until the manuscript is sufficiently developed, any specific dates can be misleading or unrealistic. Set dates too early and they change? Big feelings!

Better to know you’re still in the region of Possibilities.

At Siretona, we’ve learned not to begin with a publication date. We begin by developing the manuscript.

We believe a public project should be the best quality we can responsibly bring forward. We want good and enough, not merely good enough. Good and enough takes time and team.

We also believe it’s important to work in public, to build a body of work, and attract an audience before the book is ready. You have a message long before you have a book, so start sharing it early—maybe before you feel ready! Test your ideas on real people before you lock them into a book.

Readiness Review: the door

At the center of our map there’s a hobbit-style door. This is the Readiness Review, an inflection point, a moment of decision about your book and its future. Here we stop and ask two questions:

1. Is the manuscript ready to move out of development? If no, we recommend the author spend more time in the land of Possibilities.
2. If yes, what publishing path is right for this book and this author?

Note: the door doesn't automatically open into publishing with Siretona. At this point, the path branches and you decide how you want to bring the book into the world:

• boutique publishing with Siretona (or another publisher)
• self-publishing, where the author says, “I’ll take it from here.”
• self-publishing with guidance through our Publishing Pathway program
• added support through our Nestbuilder group coaching or private consulting

The right path is decided at readiness, not assumed at the beginning. You may think you want one kind of publishing, and you may be right—but you might also find that it changes by the time to get to the readiness door. The publishing world is vast and quickly changing, so we don’t want to assume anything and we don’t want to lock anyone in prematurely. We do want to walk with you and support you as far as you want to go.

Promises: after you cross the threshold

Now we move to the right side: Promises. Remember the pathway? 

Prepare > Polish > Review > Produce > Promote > Profit

Prepare work is never really done, but you accomplish a good chunk of it in Possibilities territory. You arrive at the Readiness Review with confidence that you and your editor have Polished the manuscript to just the right shine.

You step through the door from Possibilities to Promises. In this region, we produce your book. It’s a more technical and predictable space. Possibilities is a garden, Promises is a studio where:

• We copyedit the manuscript, cleaning up the grammar and punctuation. We do NOT want to make any major changes at this point. If we discover whole paragraphs to move, chapters to rearrange, or characters that need to die, something went wrong with the developmental editing in Possibilities territory.
• we design the cover and the interior
• we set up sales and distribution to get your book to the right readers
• you start promoting the book more widely and specifically

None of this happens in a perfectly straight line. Many things happen simultaneously.

🗝️ Once you move into Promises, the work becomes public-facing in a whole new way. You're no longer testing ideas and shaping the book. You're making promises to your readers.

A Bird's-Eye-View of the Map

• Possibilities in the West on the left, Readiness Review in the middle, Promises on the right.
• In Possibilities, you write, explore, create, develop, edit, and rewrite.
• When you and your manuscript are ready, you stop for a Review.
• If everyone agrees that it’s ready, you step through the door to Promises, where you produce the book—copyedit, design, distribute, promote, and sell.

So, where are you on this map?

• Still writing and exploring what your book is?
• Finished the first draft?
• Revising?
• Polishing?
• Found a trusted editor?
• Ready to make publishing decisions?

Or … have you already published a book and now need clarity about what project comes next?

Your place on the map is not the whole story. The season you’re in matters. Your capacity matters. Your support matters. Your obstacles matter.

Your Companions

Up to this point we’ve been talking about you.

Your work. Your manuscript. Your book. Your publishing pathway.

There will be many stretches of the journey when you travel alone.

I want you to know that writing is solitary, but it does not have to be isolating.

Authors need:

• conversation
• perspective
• encouragement
• accountability
• guidance
• companionship

That’s why we founded The Book Hatchery—a place where authors could gather to learn together, support each other, celebrate one another’s wins, and find collaborators. We’ve seen all of this happen and more. We’ve had authors show up and say, “You are my people. You get me.” You need people who understand why you do what you’re doing and why you keep going.

Clarity Sessions

So I’ll ask you …

• Where are you on this map right now?
• What actually needs your attention next?
• And what kind of support would help you move forward well?

If you can answer those questions clearly, wonderful.

But if you’re realizing, “I’m not actually sure where I am, or I know where I am but I’m not sure what comes next,” that is exactly what Clarity Sessions is designed to help you work through.

When you join, you’ll receive the workbook, access to the live session, and the replay from previous session, plus the replay from any future sessions when they're ready.

This is not about giving you another publishing to-do list. It’s about helping you understand where you are, what is helping or hindering you, and what your next meaningful step should be.

Join Clarity Sessions

Look at the map. Where are you?

If any of this resonates, come join us.

You do not need to rush into production. You need enough clarity to make the next good decision.

Book Hatchery Campus Radio is an open window into our author community. Eavesdrop with the podcast or come in and join us!

If you’ve been holding your breath about your writing … wondering if it’s good enough, wondering how to move it forward, wondering whether anyone will ever read it—you’re not alone.

• You’ve started three manuscripts and finished none.
• Your draft has been sitting on your hard drive for ten years.
• You’ve spent months researching publishing and feel more confused than when you started.
• You know your book matters, but you don’t know what the next step is.

A lot of writers feel a quiet pressure in their work. Pressure to get it done, to get it right, to figure it out on their own. But publishing doesn’t flourish under that kind of pressure. It was never meant to be a solo effort.

Writing is solitary, but it doesn’t need to be isolated.

Some of the most meaningful work we’ve seen has emerged when the author has slowed down, taken time to think, to ask questions, to build a body of work instead of simply finishing a book, and to find the right companions along the way.

You need companions who want to hear what you’ve been learning, help you find solutions to your needs, and celebrate your wins with you.

We do this work in The Book Hatchery author community.

I’m Colleen McCubbin.

I gather writers and help them move from uncertainty and isolation to confident authorship, so they can bring meaningful work to readers who need it. Not by rushing ahead, and not by retreating, but by staying with the work long enough for something true to emerge.

Publishing isn’t just about finishing a book. It’s about learning how your work moves in the world and discovering that you don’t have to carry it there alone.

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If you've been longing for this kind of companionship, I want to invite you into Summer School for Authors. Now Enrolling

A 7-week guided experience for writers becoming authors — with gentle structure, wise encouragement, and good company as you discern your next faithful step.

Summer School is for you if …

• You have a book idea, manuscript, writing dream, or publishing question you’ve been carrying alone.
• You want structure and encouragement, but not pressure or hype.
• You want wise publishing guidance without rushing into decisions you’re not ready to make.
• You miss thoughtful rooms with other writers.
• You want to keep becoming an author in good company.

By the end of Summer School

By August 29, you’ll have a steadier writing rhythm, a clearer sense of your next faithful step, a better understanding of the questions you need to ask, and a few more companions for the road ahead.

You may not have everything figured out. That is not the promise.

But you will not be standing in the same place alone.

Join Summer School for Authors