The Purposeful Pen - Clarity for Christian Writers

If you’re feeling depleted and drained this Christmas season, both spiritually and creatively, then this episode is for you.

Journaling is a great way to refresh our souls. Playing with different types of artistic pursuits can rejuvenate our creativity. In this episode, I offer a way to do both while participating in the celebration of Advent.

To download the journaling prompts and creative ideas, click here.

Let me know how it goes for you!

Don’t forget to register for the free live webinar this Thursday, November 16 to learn a 3 step framework to launch your writing platform. Www.mywritersbloc.com/launch-lab

Have you considered traditional publishing but are overwhelmed by all the questions you have about it? Do you wonder how it’s different from the other types of publishing?

This week, I talked with Ariel Curry to answer some of your basic questions about traditional publishing. We talked about:

* The differences between the types of publishing

* The pros and cons to traditional publishing

* Why traditional publishing might be (or might not be) right for you

* What steps are involved in becoming traditionally published

* What is ghostwriting

Ariel has generously shared a free webinar she hosted with further information about traditional publishing vs. self-publishing.

You can watch that here: "Traditional Publishing or Self-Publishing: What's Right for You?"

Ariel Curry is a ghostwriter, editor, and book coach at Ariel Curry Editorial with over 10 years of experience in traditional publishing. As an editor, she enjoys brainstorming and outlining new book ideas, bringing clarity and purpose to prose, and helping authors find resilience in their writing journey. When she’s not working on books, you can find Ariel doing yoga, playing piano, or reading with a glass of wine. She lives in Chattanooga, TN, with her husband, two rescue dogs, a kitten, and a beehive. www.arielcurry.com

Are you overwhelmed trying to sift through all the information about

- how to launch a writing platform?

- how to create a God-honoring writing life?

In this episode, I talk with Cara Ray and Jana Carlson about the important role that mentors play in the life of a writer. We also share more about a unique new 6 month mentorship program for Christian writers that will begin in January.

We are hosting a free webinar on Thursday, November 16 to talk more about the mentorship and to give you a taste of what members will learn.

Learn more about the mentorship and register for the webinar here:

Www.mywritersbloc.com/launch-lab

We’d love to see you there!

What will your writing look like for November and December?

In this episode, I look at some simple considerations for how to manage our writing lives during the busy holiday season.

I offer some questions to consider and ideas to try, depending on what you and your readers need.

Listen in and share your ideas below in the comments!

How is your relationship with social media going? In this episode, I talk about ways to evaluate how effective social media is for you as a writer, but also how it affects you as a consumer.

Here’s an article on the same topic, including comments from the author’s readers about why they are silent on Instagram:

A great podcast on how to create a writing life that doesn’t include social media: Writing Off Social

How about you? How is your relationship with social media these days? Do you no longer comment on posts that you once used to? Is social media working for you as a writer?

Do you look at the multitude of writing related things that you could be doing and have no idea where to start? Then this episode is for you.

You’ll also learn:

* Two questions to ask yourself to help you decide where to focus your limited time and energy.

* How to decide if social media is working for you.

* What two things you can focus on to reduce the overwhelm.

Are you looking for a Christian writing community where you’ll grow in both the art and heart of writing? The Writers’ Bloc doors are open now! Www.mywritersbloc.com

Starting Wednesday, October 18, I’m offering once a month free drop in group coaching only for Substack subscribers. Subscribe here to learn more:

Https://amylynnsimon.substack.com

What do you call your writing? Is it a career? A hobby? A ministry? A business?

In this episode, we look at the preconceived ideas we might have about those terms and what they might reveal about our attitudes toward our writing.

Other episodes referenced in this one:

If you’re struggling with whether it’s “OK” as a Christian to charge money for your writing, listen to episode 9.

If some of those labels bring out impostor syndrome, listen to episode 3.

If you’re not already a Substack subscriber, I encourage you sign up at https://amylynnsimon.substack.com. Subscribers have access to additional discussion questions and weekly journaling prompts that relate to each episode.

I hope you like the new music! Lol!

If you’re a Substack subscriber, take a look at the chat section of my page. You’ll find discussion questions and downloadable journaling prompts posted each Thursday to help you go deeper into each episode.

If you’re not a subscriber, go to https://amylynnsimon.substack.com

This week, I talk about which comes first: the reader or the message. Some other takeaways:

* It’s helpful to have an umbrella topic and then a few “buckets” of content that all fall under that umbrella.

* Your reader and message should be the overlap of what you are passionate about with the need that a reader has.

* How you serve that reader also has to be the overlap of how you’re wired with where that reader goes to meet that need.

If you’d like to schedule a free 30 minute discovery call to see if coaching with me would be a good fit, you can make your appointment here: https://calendly.com/amylynnsimon/30min

We know that we’re supposed to write for a specific reader, right? But is there a point where it goes beyond serving your reader to succumbing to people pleasing?

Maybe you want to land a traditional publishing contract, but you’ve been told that your platform isn’t big enough. How do you raise those numbers without becoming a slave to them?

In this episode, I talk about

* the perspective shift that changes everything

* how thinking outside the box can bring you freedom

* that a traditional book deal isn’t the only path to a fulfilling writing life

Tell me in the comments what your next steps are.

The Purposeful Pen is now on Substack! Subscribe to be notified when a new episode comes out.

In this episode, I talk with Kristin Vanderlip about her journey to clarity. Some highlights…

* Our message frequently comes from what we’ve lived through.

* At what does point does “writing for your audience” or trying to get an agent cause us to lean toward people-pleasing?

* It’s easy to become a slave to the numbers and lose the joy of creating.

Kristin Vanderlip is a writer and writing coach who is passionate about spreading the love of writing as a source of healing and hope. She is the author of Rest: A Journal for Lament and the founder of the Pen & Mend Collective. Kristin, her husband, and two sons currently call California’s Bay Area home. When she’s not writing or journaling, Kristin enjoys creating oil pastel paintings and spending time with her family outdoors.

You can find her at www.kristinvanderlip.com