One of the Most Rewarding Parts of Being an Author

Welcome to the Author Audience show, the podcast that helps you reach more people with your message. Create a book, connect with your audience, change lives. Here's your host, Shelly Hitz.

What is one of the most rewarding parts of being an author? It's getting a letter like this in the mail. Wow. I got this letter this week and it is so powerful to have someone actually say, you know, take the time out of their schedule and write me a letter. That's a big deal. So I just wanted to share with you the power of writing a book. It can reach people in so many different places and it can help people in ways even you can't even imagine right now. So if you're stuck right now in your book project, if you need motivation to keep putting one foot in front of the other, if you need a little bit of a boost today, this, my friend, is for you. I got this letter this week. I mean, it's postmarked August 5th, so I just got it from Tampa, Florida. And I wanna tell you just a little bit about what I got in this letter. She's a 17 year old Christian girl. How did she find me? She found me with a Google search. She found me because she has a problem, she has an issue, she has something that she needs help with, and she found me through a Google search. So whether or not you're writing on topics like I am, this is a letter specifically for my book that I wrote for Christian women who struggle with the pornography addiction. So this is a deep topic. This is a really, really deep topic. And I struggled myself for two years. It's not something I love to share about. It's not something I even like to talk about, but she found me and she found my book, she found my information, and she wrote me because she found me from a Google search. You think building an author platform isn't worthwhile, you guys, it is. It is powerful. Can I just get you to say right now, say out loud, building an author platform is powerful. Did you say it? Say it. Building an author platform is powerful. It will bring people to you. It will help people that you never could have reached otherwise. So she found me through a Google search and she says, I feel alone. I found out about you one day when I was looking up how to stop pornography. And you were one of the only girls I have seen that was Christian and struggled with what I do. It was a big relief to know that I was not the only Christian girl to have this struggle. She was just relieved to find she was not alone. And then she talks to me about some other things, and then she says, I also want to thank you for being brave and talking about this in public.

I've received other emails. They say, thank you for sharing your story. Now, I'm not saying you have to talk about stuff like this. This is just what I feel like God has called me to talk about.

Thank you for being brave. Where do you need to be brave today? Maybe it's not even in sharing your story, but maybe it's in learning a technology. Maybe it's being brave in asking someone for a review. You know, somebody contacts you and lets you know that they've read your book. Be brave and ask them for a review on Amazon so the message can reach more people. Maybe you need to be brave and write the next chapter of your book. What is it you need to do? Because there are people just like her. I'm not going to say her name. And I covered up her address for. For privacy reasons. But there are people just like her out there right now that need what you have to share. They need it. They're desperate. She's suicidal. She told me, there's people like this. They need your message. After I got this letter, I immediately went into CreateSpace. Actually, I had. My husband did. I delegated. I told my husband, send her one of my books. Send it to her right now. Just mail it to her and send it to her. And I just. I didn't have an email address. Normally I'll send a PDF version, but I just want to help her, and I want to be able to help many, many others just like her. You know what? I kind of needed this encouragement this week because I'm writing a project, very difficult. It's called Broken Crayons Still Color. In chapter one, I share about my pornography addiction. In chapter two, I share about how I was sexually abused and how God brought healing to my heart. These are deep topics. And, yeah, I'm doing it in a way where I'm adding in the art. I have coloring pages for each chapter, journaling, prompts, reflection questions, Have a video for each chapter. I'm trying to address these deep, deep, deep topics, such important topics in a way that people will be open to. But it has not been easy. I needed to hear this. I needed this encouragement. I needed to know that what I'm doing matters. I needed to know that there's other people just like her that need these messages. This book that I'm writing right now, there are people waiting that need it. Right now. I'm working with a Beta group right now. And I have about 127, exactly 127 people in my beta group walking through this with me every week I send them a new chapter every week I send them the viewer's guide for the video. Every week I create the PowerPoint. And I'm getting ready here in just a little bit, probably in about an hour, to record the next live video for that group. It is so much work. And this week, to be honest, I felt like giving up. You know, I mean, I'm not going to, but there's been so much spiritual attack and so much pressure and so many things that have to get done and so many decisions. I was in decision fatigue and I just had this foggy mind. I didn't even have energy to get up and get dressed and put makeup on. Like, I was just in my pajamas most of last week.

But then I get this letter and God reminds me, shelly, this. This is why you take the next step. This is why you get up and you write that next chapter.

This is why you push through the hard days when you don't want to do another thing. I want to just hide under the covers. I don't want to be the person out there doing all this.

I'd rather be doing something else right now, to be honest.

This is why God reminded me. One person is impacted by your message. And especially if you're a Christian author and they're impacted for eternity if one person's life is saved, if one person's life is changed, it's worth.

Is worth it. And my encouragement for you today is to never, never, never give up on what God has called you to do. Don't give up. Keep pushing forward. And if you are a Christian author and you're feeling that resistance, I had two people in my author audience academy that they were just facing major attacks, death, doubts, confusion, and other things. And I said, form your private prayer group now. I said, that's to one of them. I said, that's your only assignment this week. Get your prayer team established, even if it's just two or three. You know, I have an entire training on that on my blog. Shellyhits.com just go to my blog search prayer team. You'll find exactly what to do and how to do it. I have a prayer team and I email them. I'm emailing them every week during this project. And I emailed them on Monday and yesterday. I felt 100% different. I know that. I know that. I know they were praying and that their prayers are making A difference. My husband's praying. I'm praying.

Don't give up. It is worth it. It is worth it. You guys. There are people just like this out there waiting for you.

I got kind of emotional today. I just had to get on today and share this message with you. I had to share this with you to encourage you to let you. It's worth it. Keep pressing on. Whatever it is, whatever obstacle it is you're facing. If it's finances, if it's technology, if it's just writer's block, if it's depression, whatever it is like, keep going. Keep taking that next step. I cannot emphasize it enough. What encourages you to keep going? What encourages you to write that next book? Blog post. To write that next book. If you have still not finished your book or even started it, I would love for you to join me at my next webinar. It's three proven book writing formulas every nonfiction author needs to know. You can sign up for free@shellyhits.com formulas and that way you can choose your book topic, outline your book, and choose how you will write your book. I will walk you step by step through all of those steps so that you can share your story. You can share your story with the world. You can impact lives that you never even thought was possible. I never ever dreamed I'd be an author. I never thought I would be an online entrepreneur. I never thought there would be people finding me on Google and writing me letters like this. I never ever dreamed that this was possible. But God is able to do immeasurably more than we can even think or imagine. It's from Ephesians, you know. He's able to do immeasurably more. Are you thinking too small? Are you putting yourself in a box? Are you allowing the lies of the enemy to keep you back? Who's gonna read this? This is just a me too book. What do you have to share that's any different? Who are you to write a book? Have you ever had those thoughts go through your mind? That's what I call stinkin thinkin. And in writingweek.com my free seven day writing challenge, I give you over 70 different writing affirmations to help overcome that stinking thinking. But I just want to tell you right now, I am the least likely person that should be writing books. And I have over 40 books published and I'm getting letters like this all the time. And so in emails, mostly emails. I do get letters occasionally, but mostly emails. But I'm the most unlikely person English was My worst subject in school, albeit I still got a B. But I was a math science girl. I was a physical therapist for 12 years. Who am I to write a book? Who am I to be teaching authors to do this? But God has given me this opportunity and he's given you an opportunity as well. There's never been a better time to self publish and to publish your books. I have an entire training on how to publish your books in my book Procrastination to Publication. You can find it on Amazon or I'd love for you to join my Academy. It's authoraudienceacademy.com and I am there to personally help you through the process of publishing your book. All right, well, I'm going to head off. I have to get ready for my next live video. This is going to be for my beta group. It will be for chapter one of my upcoming book. And I'm so excited. I mean, I do, I get really excited and then I have days where I get really almost, I wouldn't call it depressed, but just like, oh, I cannot do another day. So. But I'm really excited. I'm going to be sharing that here in just about less than an hour. Now, you guys keep on keeping on. I am cheering you on and I also want to remind you, if you're watching this on Facebook live or on YouTube, my transcripts for these videos go on my blog later. So in about five to seven days after I broadcast live, there will be a transcript. So if you prefer transcripts, always know you can go to my blog, shellyhits.com and all my transcripts are there. So that is there for you as well. All right, I'll see you next time. Bye Bye.

Thanks for listening to this episode of the Author Audience Show. Connect with us online@authoraudience.com where you'll find all the resources mentioned in today's episode. While you're there, grab Shelly's free video training on how to write and publish your book using her Six Step Ascent method. Join us again next week to learn how to reach your audience with your message.