The Book Promotion: Are You Hiding Your Book Under a Basket?

Award-winning writer Kathy Widenhouse has helped hundreds of nonprofits and writers produce successful content and has gained 600K+ views for her writing tutorials. She is the author of 9 books. See more of Kathy’s content here.

An online devotional for writers

A Word From The Word

No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone in the house. (Matthew 5:15, NLT) 

A Word For Writers

I don’t like book promotion. Writing a book is one thing. But marketing it makes me feel icky and salesy.

But that changed when I learned that my book is a message God wants me to share.

“Christian authors hesitate to make book promotion offers because we don’t want to appear prideful or greedy,” says best-selling author and writing coach Shelley Hitz, who operates Christian Book Academy for writers.  You may succumb to that fear by letting your book languish anonymously on Amazon (“What if people don’t like it?”) or by avoiding announcing your book to the social media (“What if people think I’m pushy?”)

Jesus said, “No one lights a lamp and then puts it under a basket. Instead, a lamp is placed on a stand, where it gives light to everyone.”

Your book is that lamp. It is a message that God gave you, says Shelley. Your book helps solve a problem, address an issue, meet a need, provide a solution, or answer a question. It’s one way that God has called you to help others. 

When you avoid book promotion, you hide that message under a basket. By placing your book on a lamp stand, it becomes available to those who need it. 

Remove the basket and set your book on the lamp stand. When you promote your book, you’re not promoting yourself. You are stewarding the message God gave you. 

A Wise Word

Promote your book to share the message God gave you.

A Word To Pray

Heavenly Father,

Thank you for allowing me to write my book and share its message with readers. I confess my fears about promoting my book. Help me to look at promoting my book as a way to help those who need this message. Show me my next step.

In Jesus’s name, Amen.

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