Welcome to Tip of the Week! The goal here is to just provide tips and tricks and everything in between about helping authors. They will be super short posts, but hopefully help you out!
Last week one of the ways I mentioned you could encourage an author is to pray for them. This week I just want to offer a few suggestions on how to pray! Please add more in the comments if you have some! 🙂
Things to Pray About for an Author
Story Ideas – Authors need ideas in order to write stories! Sometimes they can come full force and sometimes it’s a little harder for authors to think about what to write next. Ask the Lord to show them what He wants them to write. Ask the Lord to make it clear, give them guidance, and give them direction.
During the Writing Process – It takes A LOT of work to write a book. Some authors will plot it out before putting pen to paper (or finger to keyboard!). Some will just figure it out as they go along. But we don’t see all the behind the scenes stuff. There is plotting, writing, sending it off to beta readers, sending it to editors, multiple editing rounds, sometimes rewriting scenes or entire chunks of the book, final proofing, and then of course off to the printer so that we can have them in our hands. There is stress. There is research. Time away from family. So much more we don’t even realize. Authors need and deserve our prayers in this area.
Preorders – Pray that the author has a lot of preorders. Without getting too detailed, this helps with Amazon getting the book in front of readers. The higher the number, the better screen time their book will get in front of shoppers. Plus it really helps the author and the publisher!
Release Day – Pray hard for the author on release day. Here’s something I’ve noticed in the Christian Fiction World. Satan hates when these books are released, and he makes it known. I’ve seen so many attacks on my author friends on release week that it really breaks my heart. And so, we must pray. Pray for a good release. Pray for readers to share about the book on social media. Pray for the printer, the publisher, the websites that are selling the book. Pray for no issues. And pray for encouragement for the author!
Readers – Yep, we need to pray for the readers too. Pray that it gets into the hands of the right readers. Let’s face it, every book is not for every person. And a bad review can really hurt an author as well as the book. So pray that the book will end up in the hands of readers who will be touched by the book, who will enjoy the book, and who will be blessed by the book. Pray that the message of the book touches their heart. Pray that they share it with others. Pray that the readers would base their reviews on the author’s ability to write instead of their personal preferences. Pray that those that won’t like the book, will not pick it up.
Event or Guest Opportunities – Pray for potential book signings, podcast interviews, YouTube interviews, guest blog posts, Facebook parties, etc… These things are a way that authors can connect with you, the readers. Pray for them to have the right words to say. Pray for them to know what topics to talk about and which to shy away from. Pray for those reading/listening/watching that they will be encouraged by it. Pray for the ones hosting the author and bless them for doing so.
I know I’m missing some things here, but I didn’t want to overwhelm you! What things do you pray for when you’re praying for authors! I would love to hear your ideas.
