Self-publishing? Start with baby steps

How to create and self-publish a devotional

Hello friends! I hope you had a great Thanksgiving! And hopefully today you are opting out of the madness of the mall and spending some time just being good to yourself. Me? I’m writing and scheduling this post ahead of time so I can take Friday off!

Many aspiring authors want to write a really big book: perhaps a groundbreaking novel, or more often, their personal story—often an epic of triumph over tragedy, overcoming pain, finding God., or all of the above. Or maybe they want to write a nonfiction book about a perennial topic like improving your self-esteem or managing money or learning to trust God or being a better parent.

But alas, they don’t have much of a platform, and truth be told, they’re still learning how to write. And while I believe there is great value in writing your personal story, it is very hard to get your memoir published if you don’t have a large email list or are not famous already (think Michelle Obama or Jada Pinkett Smith).

It’s become rather challenging to get a royalty publishing deal these days, so more authors are turning to self-publishing. But there is a bit of a learning curve. To climb that steep curve with your magnum opus in hand can be daunting.

When learning something new, baby steps often take us farther than huge leaps. That’s why I recommend freelance writing, taking writing classes, and more before writing a book.

Photo by Juan Pablo Serrano Arenas: https://www.pexels.com/

What if you wrote (and self-published) a small book, before tackling your big masterpiece? What if you used a shorter form to practice, learn, and oh, by the way, publish a book that might help other people who might be looking for encouragement or wisdom to help them triumph over tragedies similar to the ones you’ve faced?

If you’re considering self-publishing (and you should be if you don’t a very large platform and a lot of time), why not start with a short book? Don’t give up on your big book, but go to school on writing and publishing with a simpler project.

A great short form is a devotional or daily reading book. It can express a faith-based point of view, or just encouraging thoughts, or simple advice. It can contain Bible verses or inspiring quotes.

This format typically (though you can play around with it) has one page per day, and each day includes a verse or quote, five or six paragraphs of story and/or application of the verse to real life, and a one sentence prayer. I recommend a 30-60 day length. Longer gets cumbersome. If you want to do just a week or two, it should be a free resource you give to subscribers to your newsletter. The 30-day devotional follows a formula, but within that format you can write about whatever topic you care most about or feel your readers need to read about.

How I self-published a devotional

I did this three years ago when I created a small Advent devotional called The Gift of Christmas Present. The idea for the book had been brewing for years. Back in the day when I did a lot of speaking at MOPS groups and other church lady gatherings, I had a talk called The Gift of Christmas Present. I exhorted my listeners to slow down and be fully present for the holiday season, not getting caught up in the future (worry) or the past (shame) but just living in the moment and finding the beauty and joy of God’s presence in the present. It was “on brand” with my other writing, which focuses on simplicity, slowing down, practicing gratitude.

This talk could never turn into a big book. It’s good content, a solid message—but just not deserving of the 50,000 words that a full-length nonfiction book typically consists of. It’s a forty-minute talk, specifically focused on the holidays. And I thought, why not make it a devotional for Advent?

About fifty percent of my talk’s content made up the book’s short introduction. It just so happens that some of the themes in my talk overlap with the traditional themes of Advent: hope, peace, love, and joy. (Four weeks, four candles, four themes.)

And I thought—there are lots of Scriptures about those four ideas—which is why they’re Advent themes to begin with, and why they naturally occurred in my talk about experiencing the presence of God.

I started collecting verses—seven on each theme—and then culled a few more anecdotes from the Christmas talks I had given over the years. Stories of my kids, or friends, or struggles I’d had around trying to keep my sanity during the holiday season. I offered points of application and reflection for each day’s Scriptures, tying them to situations I knew my readers faced during the hectic holiday season.

So each week had a theme, with seven Scriptures about that theme. I wrote five or six paragraphs that tied an anecdote or idea to each day’s Scripture. I added a journaling prompt and a short prayer to each.

I had it copy edited, then hired a designer to create the interior (including journaling pages). I found a royalty-free stock photo, wrote a description for the back cover and sent it to my cover designer. I got an ISBN and barcode for it (more on that here).  I uploaded it to amazon via their KDP.com platform.

Here’s what the inside pages look like:

I also created a PDF that I gave away on my website for a limited time as a newsletter sign up incentive. (Another reason you should create a short content piece—to use as a lead magnet.)

Now, I update the book every year and sell it again. You can purchase your copy here. Last year, my church bought a bunch of copies to hand out to our congregation. You can get your copy here in time for Advent, which starts Dec. 3 this year. (That’s next week!)

You can write a short book, too

Now, I’m not suggesting you write a Christmas devotional right now, because Advent starts in two weeks and plus, you should come up with your own idea. (Although readers love Advent devotionals so you can make up your own if you want to release it in 2024.)

However—if you have been wanting to write about a topic, or your own story, why not turn it into a 30-day devotional on that topic?

If that feels like too much, why not create an even shorter piece that you can then give away on your author website to readers who subscribe to your newsletter? And yes, if you are working on a book that you hope to publish, you should have both a newsletter and a website—which we discussed in recent editions of this newsletter. If you’re new around here, this page has the whole archives for A Powerful Story newsletter for you to enjoy.

If figuring out how to self-publish even a short book intimidates you, I’m here to help. Many of my clients come to me with a finished draft, ready for editing, design, and self-publishing. I have a team of editors and designers who’ve helped my self-publishing clients. You can browse some of our projects in my website portfolio. You could do this project yourself, of course. But if you need help from a team, we’d be happy to assist.

(I’m an amazon affiliate, so the amazon links in this post are affiliate links. I can earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. Thanks for your support!)