Overwhelmed by Writing a Book? Try This Instead.

Hey, Kingdom writers, it's Shelly Hits here. And can you believe it is a new year? I am so excited to kick off this new year with you. And if you have been feeling that nudge to finally write a book, but the whole process just feels overwhelming, I think today's episode is going to bring a deep breath of relief. So I want to talk about something simple, practical, and honestly, it could be life changing, not only for you, but for your readers. And that's starting with, with a short book. We've been talking about this a long time. But one type of short book you can start with and you can write and publish pretty quickly is a journal. It's one of the easiest ways to just stop overthinking your book and actually begin. But also, if you already have a book, this can be a nice companion to that book. So, you know, over the years, Inside Christian Book Academy, you know, we've had the Academy now almost 11 years. Next month is our 11 year anniversary. But CJ and I have seen writers struggle with some of the same roadblocks over and over again. Like, where do I start? How much do I include in my book? What if it's not enough? What if I mess up? And friend, I get it. Every book feels like a huge thing in our heads. And yet, what if you decided to make this year different? So 2026, you're like, I, I'm going to start with something smaller, something simpler, but also still incredibly powerful. A journal. So let me take you back a moment. It was 2012 and I was in a really hard transition. It was probably one of the hardest transitions in my life. You know, we moved around a lot when I was younger because I was a pk. For those of you that don't know, it means pastor's kid. And we moved a lot, but my husband and I had just moved to Colorado. And in that year of 2012, and I was lonely. I didn't have my church, I didn't have my family, I didn't have my friends. And I was working at home for the first time full time. I used to work as a physical therapist, was surrounded by people all day. And so like, it was also shifting my identity, just leaving my career as a physical therapist. And it was really exciting, but also just really hard. And I remember like the nudge from the Lord to start journaling as part of this healing process and just to get out of the funk, to be honest. But I didn't know it then, but those journal pages would eventually become my little book. That's now titled the Gratitude Journal. Honestly, this book is so simple. It's short and it's very honest. And the thing of it is, it's not like a huge design. I mean, it's not complicated at all. But God told me to publish it and he has used it. That book has gone on to reach thousands of readers around the world. And not because it was long, not because it was fancy, but because I simply offered it as a short, guided way for people to meet with God in their everyday lives through gratitude. And it was from my personal experience. So that's what a journal can do. And it opens the door for transformation. Not just reading information, but actually applying it. And that's why we're teaching a brand new workshop this month called Journal the Journey. I am super excited about it. I really believe many of you have some journals in you. Things that you've walked through, things that you've gone through with the Lord, and that you can actually write this book quickly. You can finish it, publish it, and your readers will actually like, truly use it. So in just 90 minutes, you'll choose your journal theme, build a simple repeatable page template, and write your first journal entry. So this workshop isn't about all of the things like design and publishing. We cover all those things in Christian Book Academy and can help you with those decisions. This is actually to help you write it. And if you know anything about our workshops, you'll actually get writing done. So you'll actually make decisions and that's why people love them. So you'll walk away with the momentum you need. Instead of a blank page staring back at you. A guided journal might just be the next small, tiny step that leads to the bigger book God has placed on your heart. Or like I said, it could be a companion book to the book you already have. So if you've been waiting around in hesitation or overwhelm, take this as your invitation. Start with something you can finish. Start with a journal. And if you want to join us for this workshop, you can get an early bird ticket right now for just $17. Once we go live on January 13th at 11am Eastern, the price will go up to $47. But the link is in the show notes and you can also just go to authors.thrivecart.com journal the Journey and you can get your ticket there. But just swipe up check out the show notes and I would love to see you there. So thanks for being here today. Happy New Year and keep writing with intention, with faith, and with joy. One small step at a time. I can't wait to see some of you on the workshop soon. And I will talk to you later. Bye. Bye.