If You Want To Write A Book…A Guide To Self-Publishing

Writing a book is something I truly have always dreamed of doing. The idea fascinated me. To put to pen my own heart’s thoughts, on whatever topic I was to write a book about, inspired me.

And then it became clear to me that I was to write a book about my personal story. My story of God’s astounding grace and love in my life. A story I just couldn’t keep silent and wanted to put in book form so others could see the whole picture as well. God thinks big picture and my desire was to help my readers see all of the pieces of the puzzle fit together – unlike what a blog post can do.

Since publishing “A Heartbeat of Grace,” I’ve had a few people mention to me that they too, would like to write a book. YES, YES, YES!

One thing I told Dan was that after I was done writing “A Heartbeat of Grace,” that I wanted to help others accomplish their dreams of writing a book too. And then Dan had the genius idea to do a blog series on the how-tos of self-publishing a book! Ha! What a grand idea!

It will take a few blog posts to say everything I want to say, but if you are looking to publish a book, THIS series is for you! I hold NO secrets when it comes to the process – I have no hidden secrets on how I did it. If you want to write a book someday, I want to help you accomplish that very dream and goal!

So…Why write a book?

• The call. Yup, I’m going to go all spiritual on this one! I think one of the biggest reasons someone should write a book is because they feel a nudge from God. A call that they just can’t deny. You can keep pushing and pushing it off, but it keeps resurfacing, again and again. That’s THE call. Do it!
• You have something to say. I wouldn’t say you need something “unique” to say, though I always used to think that. Of course any marketing guru would ask “what sets your book apart from the rest…” but I’m a firm believer that if you feel the call to say something in a book, God will bless that effort, in however HE sees fit. Maybe you have a lot of thoughts about a various topic. Maybe you have some wisdom to impart. Maybe you have that unique thought too! Whatever it is, maybe now is the time to “say it” via a book.
• To make a difference. One thing that is unique, is YOU. God has given us all unique minds and ideas, thanks to His creativity. He has also called us to be ambassadors for Him, which to me, is a license to make a difference in this world. A call to step out in faith and make a difference!

Now let me share why you shouldn’t write a book from my perspective:

• To become famous. You already are famous in God’s eyes. Our job is to make HIM famous (as Lecrae says)!
• To become a millionaire. Unless you are already famous, you’re not going to become rich writing a book. At least the odds aren’t very high. My thought is, don’t go into deep debt writing a book, but if you can break even, that’s worth it in my eyes! We sure aren’t in it for the money!
• For your own glory. Not even worth it! Anytime we try to do something for the flesh, the enemy gets the best of us and we falter, end up unhappy, and discontent. Do it for God’s glory and for His alone – from the get-go. It’ll just make the process that much easier!

In this series, I plan to cover: why I chose to self-publish, who to self-publish with, prices, editing, the cover, the various pieces of a book, formatting, selling, and miscellaneous thoughts. Each of these won’t be it’s own post, but I want to cover as much as I can, so that if you are thinking of writing a book, you have all the info you need right here!

So do you feel that nudge to write a book? If so, I’d LOVE to hear from you! If you have some ideas running through your head, send me an email at kristin.sterk@gmail.com if you don’t want the world to know them quite yet (I promise to keep it quiet). Or feel free to comment below too! I want to join you on the journey and be a cheerleader on your side!