Being a Christian writer is tough.
Whether you write for the general or Christian markets, you'll run into all sorts of snags. You'll debate about how far is too far to break into a bigger house, or have to declaw certain Christian elements of your plot to make it more appealing. Even Christian publishers try to lean more this way to earn more space at Barnes and Noble.
Even if you go for the Christian market, you'll run into just as many problems. With limited houses comes limited acquisitions of books that tend to get limited sales. And without a decent platform, certain nonfiction houses and imprints won't even take a look at your proposal.
Fret not.
God called you for this purpose. Listen to these encouragements, and whatever you do, don't stop writing.
1. God will have your writing reach who it needs to reach.
As a debut author, this one freaks me out. A lot. My career depends on book sales. But if He just wants it to land in the hands of ten people, so be it. I'd rather have one reader take away something important than a million readers chuck the book and say, "Eh, it was OK. Not life changing."
2. You have been called to write.
So write.
3. You are called to write well.
Christian fiction can often tie things up into neat Christmas bows. Don't. Show the world as the world shows itself. Struggling. Broken. In need of hope. Good fiction never lies (oh, the irony of it).
4. It won't always end in selling a million copies.
Unless we've found the newest Jerry B. Jenkins, you might not sell as many as 80 million books. You may not end up publishing at all. That's OK. Keep writing anyway.
5. God's got you.
He has, really. And you'll be surprised what amazing things He'll do through your work. Even if Den sells no copies (well no more than one; I'm buying one), I have already seen wonderful things done through the process. I've met some amazing people with incredible testimonies, and I've learned a thing or two about the Book of Daniel.
So keep writing, and I can't wait to see what amazing discoveries you encounter. Shoot me an email or comment below about how your call to writing has affected you.