promo planning

~ Rachel Yarworth, writer ~ 4 Comments

I know, promo is one of those words that makes most writers’ hearts sink. We might be creative (with words at least), but we are also often deep-thinking introverts with a horror of pushing ourselves forward into the limelight. Why else would we enjoy shutting ourselves away in seclusion to write?

But as we all know, in today’s modern world, promotional work is every bit as important as the book/ resource itself. Publishers usually want to know the size of your platform before they will consider the quality of your writing. And even if you are fortunate enough to land a publishing contract, you as writer still carry at least an equal if not greater share of doing the promotional leg-work.

When I self-published my first book I reluctantly engaged in promoting it. I had zero budget (apart from the £20 I invested in an experimental Facebook ad that I quickly realised attracted more trolls than actual customers). With my consecutive books I did what I could, and learned a bit more each time, but it was only for my new novel, due for November publication through Broad Place Publishing, that I was given a specific lead-time to consciously plan around.

Now, I know the old Hollywood adage that a person has to see an advert on average seven times before they will purchase. That has helped me get over my initial reticence at ‘bombarding’ my social media followers with promo.
I am also driven by the fact that I am working with a publishing house now, and as they have invested in my book I am more invested in generating sales for their sake – to reward their investment. Because if I am honest, when it was just me taking a risk, I didn’t feel so bothered about the reach of previous books, even though I did and still do believe that God was in the books and wanted to get them out. I’m sorry, Lord!
And most importantly, there is the book’s mission: it’s aimed at a mainstream audience, but contains a clear-but-gentle Gospel message tucked away inside, for all those who may never hear the Gospel any other way. So I REALLY want it to reach further than ever before, and I believe God does too. It’s time to start deploying lampstands and get that light lifted as high as possible. Thankfully, knowing that it’s God’s message that I’m promoting and not myself, makes it that bit less horrifying.
So for all those reasons, promo has never felt so important.

Now, the Broad Place model is to schedule a 6-month run up to publication, to encourage sponsorship and advance book-sales in the hope of covering publication costs. So with my desire for them to be rewarded for their investment, my desire to see the message in my book spread far further than I have attained before, and with my twin loves of spreadsheets and Canva, I decided to draw up a promo plan.

Image by geralt from Pixabay

I do love a plan. Admittedly they are usually kept loose enough to be able to flex without causing trauma, but I find if I don’t plan, things don’t happen – or life gets in the way and the things I wanted to do happen later than ideally needed. And with a plan I hoped to be able to take advantage of quieter days for creating and scheduling posts for busier days (and yes it worked – yay!)

So I opened a spreadsheet, gave it 26 rows – one per week, counting down to Publication-day, and five columns – one for each ‘platform’ I typically engage with:
1/ Substack (my monthly ‘writing ministry’ newsletter and first/main point of contact for all my faithful cheerleaders)
2/ My website (this blog, not so much promo, but about more writerly things, specifically for other writers)
3/ & 4/ Facebook and Instagram (ideally these require different styles of promo, but sometimes I replicate very similar ads for both.) Social Media can be discouraging as it has limited reach or value nowadays, but I do still connect with a few people there, so am still present for the time being.
5/ Real Life(!) for all things not covered online – e.g. the in-person book launch.

Once I had drawn up the table, I had to fill it in. That was a challenge, but as I felt it was God’s idea, I asked Him for help. the more I prayerfully brainstormed ideas and moved them around on the table, the clearer things got. Of course there were empty spaces, but I had well over half filled in before I even started, and that gave me a real confidence boost: I could do this. And I trusted that God would help me fill in the rest as the weeks passed.

I didn’t include an entry for every week in all the columns. My newsletter and this blog are only monthly (roughly the first week and third week of the month respectively). I did try to schedule weekly Social Media posts – they might not be brilliant, but they would at least give my project an ongoing presence – and hoped that God could work with/around the algorithms somehow. (I don’t see much value in Meta advertising right now, but am not entirely closed to it if God leads that way at any point.) The fifth, real life, column did not have much activity in the early weeks but as we get closer to publication day things are starting to get busier there.

And today I just felt prompted to share all that here, for anyone who may be needing to come up with their own promo and hasn’t a clue where to start. You may not have a 6-month lead – you may even have your work published already. But if you can sit down with Jesus and ask Him to help you come up with a plan, I believe it will help you to keep going on the weeks when you have little time or head-space to be creative. For me, it was scheduling the Social Media posts in advance that kept me sane this summer when we had a succession of difficult things to manage in real life. Also, keeping it flexible allowed me not to panic when the cover-reveal had to be pushed back.

So I’m going to share a screenshot of some of my spreadsheet below, not because I think I’m the expert – the true experts among you will likely see multiple missed opportunities, I have no doubt. But I hope that those who are new to publishing & promo and in need of ideas, might find it helpful just as a starting point.

And in the meantime, I would love to hear from those who have run their own promo campaigns:
* Do you use a spreadsheet or any kind of planner, or do you wing it?
* What other platforms/ approaches do you schedule in that I have overlooked?
As I mentioned, I really want my new novel, The Doubting Vicar’s Book Club, to reach so much farther this time, and would appreciate any advice that you more experienced published authors can offer. Please share your top tips – I really appreciate it!

Rachel xx

PS This chart is already outdated as P-date has since been moved to a week earlier, but you get the gist!

a different kind of publisher

~ Rachel Yarworth, writer ~ 2 Comments

And a different kind of blog post today. Considering that until recently I was convinced about self-publishing being the best approach for me, and having surprised many people (including myself) by deciding to partner with actual publishers for my newest book, I thought it about time I introduced you properly to Joy and Natasha who run Broad Place Publishing and are in the process of producing my debut novel. I asked if I could interview them, and I’m delighted that they agreed, graciously overlooking the ignorance and at times downright cheekiness of my questions…

RY – Thank you so much for giving up your valuable time to answer my questions!
For the sake of those out there who don’t know you, please can you introduce yourselves…?
JV – We are Joy Vee and Natasha Woodcroft.
We are both Christian authors in our own right. Joy writes books to help Christian families grow together in God, and Natasha writes Biblical fiction and has just brought out her first YA fiction.
NW – Although we had been publishing separately for a number of years, we began working together when I moved just outside Lincoln (where Joy is based). We were being approached by other authors for help, and two years ago, our first Broad Place Publishing book came out.

RY – So what prompted you both to start another publishing house? Aren’t there enough already?
JV – There are only a very small number of Christian Publishing houses out there who support new authors. (Big shout out to Instant Apostle – who do a great job at this!) We wanted to help authors who maybe couldn’t afford the hybrid model, or needed extra help in the fundraising stage.
NW – We also have a real heart for producing books (particularly novels) that are Jesus-centred and Holy-Sprit inspired, stories that might be a little bit ‘out-of-the-box’ commercially speaking, but that we can see God’s hand upon. We’ve both experienced what it’s like for our books not to fit into a conventional mode, and we wanted to create space for other
authors to obey God’s calling without fear of that.

RY – What are the best and worst things about going into business with a friend?
JV – Natasha might have more worst parts! But for me, I love working with Natasha. She is good at everything I am bad at. She complements and challenges me in equal parts. But our relationship works so well because we keep Jesus at the centre of it. Most of our decisions are prayed over and we often encourage each other to keep looking to Jesus, especially when a project gets difficult or sticky.
NW – I suppose our productivity sometimes suffers. Sometimes we gather for an ‘enterprise meeting’ (we’re not allowed to call it a business meeting) and we just end up crying, praying and eating cake! But there’s also joy in that. We agreed from the outset that God would be our CEO and CFO, and even though we’re constantly tempted to work too much (because we’re both slightly obsessive perfectionists, in very different ways), we can challenge each other to rest in Him as well as work with Him.

RY – Can you explain the model you work with and why it is different to other publishers?
JV – We believe that finances should never be a problem for a kingdom-book. If we feel a book fits our Broad Place vision, we spend time asking God for the strategy on how this book will be paid for. We encourage the author to talk about their book and provide space for people to support the process financially. We also offer a large pre-order window and encourage people to pre-order through our website. This helps cover our costs, and everyone who pre-orders gets their books a few weeks before the publication day – meaning they get it first. Our hope is that the costs of the book will be covered before the launch, although that doesn’t always happen.
NW – Broad Place is very much for those who consider their writing a ministry. But that’s not everyone. And although we trust God to provide for each project, He does often wait right until the last minute – just to keep us on our toes! Sometimes we get it wrong too and have to go back to Him for additional ideas. Because not everyone wants to go down the Broad Place route, we also offer editing and publishing services, charged in a more conventional way, through a second imprint.

RY – Why IS publishing so expensive? Is it right that it costs about £4000 to publish each BPP book? Where does all the money go, and wouldn’t it just be cheaper/ easier to just send a file to a printer or upload it to KDP (Amazon)?
JV – The editing is the largest cost that we have at BPP. We have three levels of editing, and a minimum of 5 people working on the book. First there is the developmental editing, where we look at structure and how the book holds together – this can be two or three passes of the book. Then there is the line edit, where we polish the text, spot grammatical errors, strip repeated words etc. Finally, our proofreaders go over it, checking for style consistency and
any remaining errors. Of course it is easier and cheaper to send to a printer, or upload to KDP, but we are looking to produce quality books that take the reader on a transformational journey, and we make no apology for the time and care we dedicate to them. We work hard to make the message clear and understandable, while still keeping the author’s voice.
NW – Then there’s cover design, formatting and uploading – usually multiple times to multiple platforms in multiple formats! The truth is though, we believe that the best books are written in community, where a group of Jesus-centred Christians pray over and work on the manuscript until God says it’s ready. You may be able to gather that community around you if you’re self-publishing, but it will be time-consuming and probably still expensive! So we’ve created the community for you. I used to self-publish, and honestly, if I added up the hundreds of hours I spent doing everything myself, and multiplied that by a minimum wage, it would be way more than £4000! And it was nowhere near as life-giving as doing it with a team around me.

RY – I know you share my passion for good Christian fiction – why do you think the Christian fiction market is so strong in America but so weak in the UK, and what can we do to change that?
JV – In Jane Austen’s time, novels were scandalous, and women were encouraged to read books of sermons. We still have that very deeply ingrained – wrongly, I feel. It is somehow acceptable and applauded to recommend a devotional, but a novel? That’s a different matter. We want to change that, but really it is a job that can only be done one reader at a
time!
NW – The church in the USA is bigger! It’s probably a gross generalisation, but perhaps there’s a sense in which Americans are ‘all in’, whereas we Brits like to tidily compartmentalise our lives. But God doesn’t work that way – ‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.’ We could add ‘with all your work, time, leisure and pleasure.’ Novels have the potential to play a great part in that – if we’ll agree to let God have everything. That doesn’t mean living in a bubble – in fact, I personally dislike the ‘squeaky clean Christian fiction’ that sometimes comes over the pond. I want to write things that are gritty and real, acknowledging the reality we live in, but sanctified by the Spirit of truth and full of Jesus.

RY – Finally, what was the last book you read outside of work, just for pleasure?
JV – Mine was The Italian Village in the Hills, by Victoria Springfield. Not a Christian novel, but a lovely work of fiction!
NW – It’s been a while because I haven’t had any time to read recently, but I am very much enjoying The Flowers of Bay C by Liz Carter when I get the chance to pick it up!

cliffhanger endings – a necessary evil?

~ Rachel Yarworth, writer ~ 3 Comments

I am LOVING working with publishers! I mean, I daresay not all publishers are as great as mine, and obviously it was God who led me to them for this book, so of course I shouldn’t be surprised that He knew what He was doing there. But it is just adding so much strength to my book to be working as a team, all with one desire to make it as good as it can be. I’m really grateful!

There has only been one real area where we’ve not agreed – and the title above rather gives it away. Now, the disagreement is all very amicable and mutually respectful, so don’t worry that we’ve fallen out because we have not. In fact, this blog post was their idea! But it has surprised me how much this matters to me, when I have been more than happy to go along with most of their suggestions, recognising them all as improvements. Just not this one.

You see, it is no secret that I have a passionate dislike of cliffhanger endings. You know the ones: you read a novel, it seems to be coming to a decent conclusion, then a new drama is introduced near the end, depriving the reader of the satisfaction of resolving the story, and forcing them to buy the next book in the series to find out what happens. I despise them. I have long held the opinion that they are a cheap tactic resorted to by authors with no confidence in their own skill to bring a reader back for a sequel. In fact they annoy me so much that if I read a book – no matter how well-written – that leaves me hanging, I deliberately do not read any more in the series.

But being brutally honest I did actually draft an epilogue with somewhat of a cliffhanger, or at least that introduced a new drama for a potential sequel (as a reader I don’t find epilogue cliffhangers AS offensive, though I still dislike them). I wrote mine because the idea came to me for a sequel while I was writing my novel, and I wanted to capture the essence of the next potential plotline while the characters were fresh in my mind. And when I submitted my manuscript to my publishers I included it to give them an idea of possible sequels, but also said I did not want to publish it as part of the novel. Unfortunately, they loved it and wanted to include it. So we have had a bit of a back-and-forth discussing the way ahead, and I have been doing some more research too. Turns out, this is not a new dispute in the literary world.

Arguments for, as far as I can tell, seem to fit into the following general areas (these are not all coming from my publishers, but include ones I have found during further research):

1/ In real life things do not end with everything tied up with a neat little bow. Open endings are more realistic.
2/ Without open endings the story is artificially complete, and there is no reason for anyone to read the next one.
3/ Cliffhangers sell sequels.
4/ They are especially important when writing a series, otherwise people won’t realise it’s a series, and won’t know to look for the sequel(s).
5/ Adding an epilogue with a cliffhanger gives people something to reflect on, to wonder how the characters will address the issues, making them live longer in the reader’s mind.
6/ If readers don’t like epilogues, they won’t read them.
7/ Many readers like cliffhangers, feeling they add to the book.

My responses/ arguments against:

1/ Yes, an element of open-ending can be natural – and as a reader I do not need everything resolved; just a lack of cliffhangers shoe-horned in during the closing chapters in order to deprive me of resolution and coerce me into buying the next book.
2/ Many readers read for escapism. We read in part for the very sense of resolution and closure that can be so elusive in real life. If we are given the resolution we crave, we will trust the author and are more likely to come back for sequels!
(Also, I am not yet committed to writing a sequel, and would not want to risk withholding resolution permanently.)
3/ *screams internally* (Is it too extreme to compare that approach to a drug-pusher hoping to improve future sales by creating a demand that wasn’t there before?!)
4/ I kind of see this point, but when I read a book that I really enjoy, I always go looking for more books – sequels or otherwise – by the same author, guaranteeing further sales. I don’t need to be forced back by the deliberate withholding of resolution. In fact, cliffhangers have the opposite effect on readers like me, and guarantee no future custom!
5/ Hmmm maybe, but also – of my most recent reads that gave me proper book hangovers (where the characters and their world stayed with me long after the book ended), none had cliffhanger endings.
6/ I do like epilogues and always read them. But they do not necessarily have to include cliffhangers. I like them best when they include a further element of resolution, beyond the timeline of the main story.
7/ I mean, call it tit-for-tat, but this one’s kind of obvious, isn’t it? Many readers do not like cliffhangers, feeling they ruin the book. Ultimately, as that includes me, wouldn’t it be hypocritical for me to include one?

So essentially, I still see cliff-hanger endings as cheap and manipulative, and I would like to offer my readers more respect than that. HOWEVER, the one comment my publishers made that has caused me to stop and think where no other argument did, was that God gave me my epilogue just as surely as He gave me the rest of the story. And now I am wondering, am I making a big deal out of something that doesn’t need to be?

But what about you, dear reader? Do you find cliffhangers annoying? (again, I am not talking about naturally open endings, but the deliberate introduction of new drama that will only be resolved in the sequel). Or are you a fan? If you’re a writer, do you use them or not? (and why?)

All respectful chats welcome! I would LOVE to hear from you, whether we agree or not, because much as this is a strongly-held opinion of mine, I welcome the challenge of respectful disagreement. Opinions that cannot withstand challenge are only a flimsy sort of belief. And of course, if you can change my mind, it will make my fabulous publishers very happy 😉

ministry of fiction

~ Rachel Yarworth, writer ~ 2 Comments

I have to confess to having been more than a tad naive here. As an avid reader myself, I have always found reading to be a pleasant and largely harmless pastime. Of course I knew there were some through history – especially in the 18th and 19th century – who considered reading to be unsuitable for women, the poorer classes, and the young, citing various extreme concerns. Likewise there have been many books that have been banned across the years by those who decided that they were too dangerous (the Bible being generally recognised as the most widely censured worldwide). I believed those attitudes to be largely a thing of the past. I was wrong.
Since embarking on writing my own work of fiction, and becoming increasingly aware of the strange weakness of the Christian fiction market, I have discovered there are those within the Christian Church who still mistrust fiction to this day, calling the reading of novels at best a waste of time; at worst, rank deception. I consider my eyes to have been sadly opened! And I have to say, not only do I find that attitude unnecessarily restrictive, but also deeply un-Biblical.

If Jesus Himself could make up stories – He called them parables – in order to help His listeners better relate to a Kingdom principle, why would we, His followers, take offense at works of fiction?

If you recently read my list of top ten fiction books, you will know that many of the books mentioned had a real and lasting impact for the good on my own walk with Jesus. Obviously none of them are as powerful/ life-changing as the Bible itself, but still, I would have been much the poorer without them. Without the likes of C S Lewis, Hannah Hurnard, and Patricia St John faithfully using their writing gifts for the kingdom, the bookworm that I was as a child would have had much less uplifting books as my sole diet. It’s possible that I may never have come to faith in Christ at all. What a tragedy that would have been!

So – obviously – I am of the firm belief that Christian fiction holds great power to impact people for good; to offer them hope and encouragement in an increasingly dark world. And I have written my novel with the specific hope of reaching those who would not pick up a Bible-study, devotional, or even a memoir, and especially not the Bible… because all of those things can carry the taint of unwelcome religion to those who have been wounded by well-meaning but legalistic Christians in the past. But a gentle novel that opens with an ex-vicar having a faith crisis can speak non-judgemental encouragement to all those with questions and issues who never experienced God’s love before.

Is it a stretch to call it a ministry though? I mean, can something that involves lots of sitting down with cups of tea/ coffee, fantasizing about imaginary characters and engaging plotlines, count as kingdom work? It can feel a bit self-indulgent on the days when it’s going well. But God – I believe – spoke to me and said that the time and care I have taken over this book have been a wise investment; that the novel I have written (as with all the good kingdom books out there) carries His Spirit, and therefore has the potential for limitless impact for the kingdom. I might be like the servant only entrusted with a single small ‘talent’, compared to the one entrusted with five in Matthew 25:14-30, but what matters is that I am faithful to do what He given me to do.
And so I have. I have no idea who it will reach – once books are birthed into the world, they develop legs of their own and can travel far beyond our own limitations – much like the Kingdom itself. I didn’t write it for financial gain (it is VERY hard to make money off writing books nowadays); I wrote it for God, and for all the precious people out there who He wants to reach with His love. So yes, it’s a ministry: something I do at personal cost for the sake of advancing the kingdom. And my mission-field is the great multitude of bookworms out there who love curling up with a good book.

Fair warning: opportunity to give financially coming up. Feel free to stop reading here if that is something that triggers you. I don’t want anyone to feel pressured/ taken advantage of, least of all those who already support me with their much-valued encouragement and prayer!

Like all ministries, there is a cost – in terms of time as well as finances. With my new book, I’m very aware that the cost is not just on me this time. Working with a publisher has involved the man-hours of many others in rounds of editing (developmental and line-edits) as well as proof-reading, formatting, cover-design and more.
Broad Place, like the writers they publish, are in this for Jesus, first and foremost. But they are also a business and need to make money in order to keep producing high quality books that people will want to read. Not many people realise the cost of publishing nowadays (typically about £4,000 for a good quality book). It’s a lot – but the potential reach of the message in those books is endless.
Most hybrid publishers charge that amount up front to minimise the risk, which is not unreasonable. But Broad Place run a different model using advance orders and sponsorship, so decent writers without a hefty savings account can still produce quality kingdom books. And so I am shamelessly declaring the ‘support the author’ option on their website where – if you want – you can give a financial gift towards the costs of releasing my book into its mission-field.

Buying a copy will of course help to recoup costs, especially if you pre-order as soon as that option becomes available in the coming months. And I do hope you will buy it and be encouraged by it – maybe even buy multiple copies to give to non-Christian loved ones too, as it will be out in time for Christmas! But it will take the sale of hundreds of books to cover the costs (something that is making me a little nervous – I need more faith!) That is why Broad Place offer a further option of sponsorship, for anyone out there who believes in the ministry and has the financial ability & desire to contribute even a little.

So if you would like to support this ministry, and be part of a great team of people getting my gospel-centred book into the hands of people who may not ever get to hear about it any other way, this is a really effective way to do it. Simply CLICK THIS LINK to my author page on Broad Place’s website and follow the instructions to give as much or little as you like. From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

image by cottonbro studio at pexels.com

my top 10 Christian fiction books

~ Rachel Yarworth, writer ~ 3 Comments

Why is it so hard to find decent Christian fiction? It’s really been bugging me recently. So in an attempt to find more, lately I’ve been following Rebecca Smiff on YouTube and enjoying her book recommendations. She recently posted a list of her favourites and it made me think about what my top 10 would be right now. So here we are. I’ve had a go at listing them in reverse order, as a kind of countdown, but the top three are all pretty equal, to be fair. The remaining seven tend to shift around as I’m discovering new books all the time, but this is it for now. Maybe I’ll come back next year and see how much it’s changed…

We start with a book I have only just read…

10/ Theo of Golden – Allen Levi (contemporary fiction)
I finished this book last night, and have to admit, I still have a bit of a book hangover, so had to include it. In case you weren’t aware, it was no. 1 on the NYT best-seller list earlier this year (so don’t go telling me that Christian fiction doesn’t sell!) Anyway, I wanted to see for myself what the fuss was about. Honestly, with my editor hat on, I was a little surprised by what HarperCollins allowed: POV hopping a-plenty, and a fair amount of omniscient narrator to boot. That said, I loathe the modern trends that insist you can’t ever POV hop or deploy a bit of omniscient narrative, so I found it easy to forgive. Because what this book does have in abundance, is heart. The main character is deeply altruistic but damaged enough to not be annoyingly perfect. Some of the other characters are truly compelling too (I want to be BFFs with Ellen). And the Gospel is presented in the perfect proportion for me: gently presented for all to see (esp by the end) but not in a preachy/ aggressive way. Fair warning, it will likely break your heart before the end, but the ending is 99% lovely (if you think you spot the 1% that I was unsatisfied by, let me know privately – this is a spoiler-free zone).

9/ Alabaster – Chris Aslan (Biblical fiction)
I read this one last year after somebody – sorry, I forget who – recommended the author. He has written several books, but this one is my favourite of his so far. I find it so helpful when authors use their imagination to expand and explore Scripture in a way that doesn’t disrespect or change God’s Word, but allows us to meditate on the Bible in greater depth.
This book explores the well-known story of Mary, Martha, and Lazarus from the New Testament in a truly beautiful and plausible way. I loved everything about it and immediately went looking for more of Chris Aslan’s books as a result.

8/ This Present Darkness – Frank Peretti (contemporary fiction)
One from my student days, I read this book at a time when my old simple childhood belief in God was starting to mature into an understanding of the spirit realm. This was the first book that really opened my imagination regarding the power of prayer in warfare, and I dare say those concepts have influenced my prayer life to a greater or lesser degree ever since. Recently I decided I needed to read it again, so I’m hoping I will still enjoy it the second time round.

7/ The Screwtape Letters – C S Lewis (Christian fiction)
Another from my student days. I had the joy of studying C S Lewis for my dissertation, and absolutely loved this clever book for its precise exposure of the subtle ways the enemy tries to influence our lives, helping us to stand stronger against temptation. It’s one of those examples of where a single work of fiction can be so much more memorable than multiple sermons.

6/ The Stranger – Joy Margetts (historical fiction)
Full disclosure, I am privileged to call Joy a friend, but I fell in love with her books before I ever met her, and this one is my favourite of her whole medieval series.
Not only is it a jolly good, immersive read, I love the Kingdom message that is woven throughout – how Joy is not afraid to tackle very real subjects of pain, discouragement and doubt, and to invite God into that space and let Him heal the reader who relates as they take the journey with Silas, the protagonist. It brought healing to my own journey as I read. That’s something I find over and over with Joy’s books, so they all – but this one in particular – deserve to be in this spot on my list regardless of our friendship.

And speaking of authors I am blessed to know personally…

5/ The Wanderer Scorned (and Reborn) – Natasha Woodcraft (Biblical fiction)
OK I have to be honest, I wasn’t drawn to this book initially. A re-telling of the story of Cain and Abel did not seem to be the kind of uplifting read I tend to prefer (I feel there’s enough darkness to deal with in the real world – I like to read books that help me focus on lovely things (Phil 4:8)). But I wanted to read it after I met the author – who is lovely – and I am SO GLAD I did!
It’s just so deep and rich. I love the world Natasha creates and the characters within. And what blew me away the most was the sympathy towards Cain (Kayin in the book) and how his downfall is so skillfully portrayed in such a way that we can all relate – how easy for one small misstep to lead to another and another, with disastrous consequences.
I must add that I recommend reading this immediately followed by the sequel – The Wanderer Reborn – which gives Kayin a beautiful redemptive resolution, but this book is the one that had the greatest lasting impact on me, so it absolutely belongs in my list.

4/ The Last Sin Eater – Francine Rivers (historical fiction)
This was a surprise discovery this year. Of course I’ve heard of Francine Rivers before, but some of her books have been kind of hit & miss for me. I’m not really into the Christian romance genre, so the more relationship-heavy ones are not my thing.** (edited – see end for note.) So when I came to this book I tried to keep my expectations neutral.
I simply loved it! Had a proper book hangover when it finished. Really well written, set in a community of Welsh immigrants in an Appalachian valley in the 1850s, steeped in superstition, all building to a perfect redemptive conclusion. Love, love, love it! It may climb even higher in my list over time, but the top three spaces are reserved for books that feel like family because of how often I return to them, so they are tough ones to beat.

They are…

3/ The Tanglewoods Secret – Patricia St John (children’s fiction)
St John’s books are all so good at expressing truths in a way that children can grasp, and this one is my favourite, because it was the one that impacted me most as a child, and – I believe – was a contributing factor in the start of my own faith journey, as a 7 year old (gotta love a book that sets you on the right path from the start!) It helped that I really related to Ruth, the main character who wanted to be good but couldn’t help being naughty. I had heard of Jesus before reading this book, but I believe reading this helped me really see His love and fall in love with Him, and some of the principles I learned in it have stayed with me into adulthood, so this book will always have a very special place in my heart.

2/ Chronicles of Narnia – CS Lewis (children’s fiction – and then some!)
OK this is technically seven books, but if I listed them individually I’d only have three spaces left on my list, so consider them a bonus!
Oh, and I know – two ‘children’s fiction’ entries in my top three! Yes I am a grown woman, but tbh, calling these children’s fiction is far too restrictive. I, and many other adults, return to these books often because of the deep truths reflected within. Age limits are not always applicable to a well-written story!
Every single one of the seven Chronicles are outstanding, but for a few years now my favourite has been The Silver Chair, probably because of its portrayal of the power of deception and the courage needed to stand against it. But quite simply, the whole series is my favourite audiobook set to play on long car journeys.

1/ Hinds Feet on High Places – Hannah Hurnard (Allegory)
If I had to choose one single fiction book that has impacted me more than any other, I would have to say this one as I found the protagonist, Much Afraid, and her stumbling journey to the High Places entirely relatable and encouraging to my own relationship with God. It is just a beautiful picture of an individual’s walk with Jesus, and shows how it is HIS LOVE that overcomes our weaknesses in the end. It speaks to me every time I read it, making it the most re-read of my books, and certainly the one I have gifted most copies of to others.

So those are my top ten – what do you think? Did you spot any of your faves? Which ones did I miss? What would you recommend for me to read next?

My top ten Christian fiction books

** edit: I originally included a comment about Francine Rivers’ Redeeming Love being a possible exception to my ambivalence to romance as a genre – however since then I read a very good, insightful piece by Danielle Coon on Stubborn Veritas (Substack) on the problems with consent in the book, and I must say I agree with her concerns. So although Redeeming Love was not in my top ten anyway, I cannot in all conscience recommend it as a good read – 8/5/26

ministry of memoir

~ Rachel Yarworth, writer ~ 4 Comments

Last weekend I was at a writer’s day (thank you, Kingdom Story Writers), when a phrase dropped into my thoughts. “Ministry of memoir”. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but it has continued to niggle ever since. Eventually I got the message and started to ask God about it. Is this for me or someone else?

Right now, my writing ministry is focused mostly over on Substack, with the ‘Walking with Jesus’ project: taking subscribers through the Gospels over the course of a year, going slowly so we can all grow in listening to God and hearing His voice speaking to us personally through His Word. It is my great passion, to help people get to know Him better through relationship, not religion.

And there are other areas of writing that are developing too. This year (and last) God has graciously sent several people to pay me for writing services, through ghost-writing, editing, and book-coaching. I’m loving that! And He has reminded me to get my novel finished too, so I am still working on that with a view to hopefully seeing it published before Christmas! (watch this space for updates)

So ‘ministry of memoir’ might seem a random thought, if it weren’t for the fact that God knows this is an area I care deeply about, not only because my first published book was memoir, but because I am a firm believer in the power of testimony. We know from Rom 12:11 that believers overcome the enemy “by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony”. There is power when we speak out our stories of experiencing God.
Also, I love people – I love listening to their life stories and find every single individual has a fascinating tale to tell. And the ones I find most fascinating of all are the ones told by Christians who have experienced life without God, and life with Him. Testimony – because of the very nature of its truth – never fails to inspire hope and courage.

I love kingdom fiction too – if Jesus was not averse to revealing kingdom truth through allegory, I certainly don’t have a problem with it. Some of my favourite ever books are allegorical/ works of fiction – links here if you’re interested (books by CS Lewis, Hannah Hurnard, Patricia St John, Francine Rivers, Joy Margetts, Natasha Woodcraft). And I am enjoying writing my own contemporary fiction – would love to write more if that’s in God’s plan.
BUT having written my own testimony (or some of it) in book form, I keep meeting more people who also have tales of God’s love, faithfulness, and power to transform lives. The problem is, not everyone with a testimony is also a writer. So I really, really want to help them get those stories out there. As the end grows nearer and the days grow darker, I feel compelled to help as many as are willing to get their testimonies out and help others to find the hope and life that Jesus offers.

And that’s as far as I’ve got. The memoirs I have helped with so far have been really fulfilling, and I’d love to do more – but is it a ministry? And if so, what does that mean? Is it just about encouraging me to take seriously the importance of my work? Or is there more to it? (there usually is).

So I’m asking God about the way forward. Those of you who pray, please do pray for me to hear God clearly on this very early concept. And if He says anything to you, do please test it, then pass it on for me to test also. And in the meantime, ask Him if He might be asking you to get your story down in writing too – whether you want my help with it or not doesn’t matter – let’s just get our testimonies out into the world, for the people who need to hear them!

Photo by Min An at pexels.com

not so social media

~ Rachel Yarworth, writer ~ 1 Comment

I’ve just realised it’s been over six months since I last posted here on my writer website! Ooops.

In truth, I’ve been busy – very busy – writing elsewhere… and slowly reassessing how I connect with people who are interested in my writing.
Conventional advice for writers/ creatives is that in order to engage with an audience, we need to be as present on Social Media as possible, regularly posting photos, videos, newsletters and so on. The days of introverts hiding themselves away, free to create in happy isolation – if those days ever existed – are long gone! Nowadays we often find we have to spend more time on promotion and engagement than actually creating. Can I hear a loud collective UGH?!

Of course, regular readers know that God spoke to me about ‘Project Lampstand‘ last year, and I accepted that while self-promotion is deeply distasteful, I have been commissioned to lift HIS light high, which includes sharing and declaring the light He has given me to reflect in my writing.

But this year, as I tried to log in to Facebook one morning and was met by a barrier of ‘pay or accept our adverts if you want to proceed’, I felt like my spirit rose up inside and said ‘no’. When I first encountered Facebook over 18 years ago (!) it was a brilliant place to keep in touch with friends and family. Nowadays it seems to have become a gauntlet that people need to run, dodging unwanted adverts, rage-inducing clickbait, and promotions from pages we don’t remember signing up to, while barely seeing updates from the people and communities we actually want to hear from! It has come to feel highly toxic, and on top of that, if I am fully honest, I simply do not trust Meta with my personal information.
So since that morning I have not signed in once, and I increasingly believe it’s not a personal knee-jerk reaction, but a divine leading. At least, I am seeking God for wisdom over whether to come off entirely (which will require me to sign back in so I can close my account and all auto-posts that go there). The same goes for Instagram, but as I only properly engaged there after becoming published, it has been emotionally easier to disengage there.

The thing is, I am still writing and publishing, and still want to lift my – or rather Jesus’ – light high. So how do I do that if I am not on Social Media? (not that I ever found FB or Insta that helpful as a writer if I’m honest).
I am writing on a new platform: Substack – am VERY active over there – but God has put me there for a specific ministry space, to help people get to know Him better through daily Gospel-readings, and to grow in confidence at hearing His voice speaking personally to them (link here if you’re interested). So it’s not a space that feels appropriate to start spamming with adverts for my latest book, whenever it comes out (later this year, I hope, if I can get my edits done).

And when I meet beautiful people who I want to stay connected with, as I did this weekend (thank you Kingdom Story Writers for an amazing Connect-in Day!) how do I do that without the convenience – albeit illusory – of FB or Insta?
The only think I have resolved so far is to have a card ready with my details to hand out, directing people here or to Substack. And, having trialled and rejected a newsletter, I am wondering about resurrecting one for anyone who is interested. But the jury is only in very early deliberations over that.

Clearly, I don’t have many answers – but I would genuinely love to hear from any other writers & creatives navigating the seemingly inevitable decline of Social Media – assuming anyone reads this (please let me know?). What are you doing in this season?

Bless you for reading and being interested in this space xxx

seeking first the kingdom

~ Rachel Yarworth, writer ~ 2 Comments

Early on in my book-publishing journey, I was blessed to learn of and then attend the first Kingdom Story Writers retreat (in 2023). I had recently self-published my first book, Friend of God, in simple obedience to God’s leading and was eager to continue writing, but was wrestling with imposter syndrome, convinced I was ‘not a proper writer’, and with no idea of how to get there. In my mind, proper writers made a living from it, won awards for their work, and generally knew what they were doing – none of which applied to me. But it was the ‘kingdom’ aspect of the retreat that called to me, as a word that God and I had been chatting about a lot at that time, so I stuffed down the imposter feelings, and went anyway.

The retreat was a blessing on many levels, but there were two lasting impacts that I am most grateful for: the enduring friendship of some brilliant, Godly people; and my confirmation as/ commissioning to be a kingdom writer. I was released from the pressure of being a full-time professional writer, striving for recognition or awards – or even publishing deals – and released into the blessing of simply writing for God, in the company of others with the same calling. I am free to write everything with the purpose of seeking His kingdom first. I do my best for Him, but I’m not chasing awards or a full-time income, or even a publishing deal, just the certainty of knowing I am writing as He leads, to help people get to know Him better. The rest is entirely in His hands, and I have found total, genuine peace in that.

But the funny thing is, that verse about seeking first the kingdom, has a second part to it:

Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (Matthew 6:33)

Since I was released just to write as God leads, without checking to see what comes of it, I have been contacted out of the blue to do three separate paid writing/ editing jobs this year! One of my books – Finding Jesus in the Wilderness – has been short-listed for ACW’s Book of the Year 2025 award! And I have started a Substack column with two subscription tiers: free, and paid (both at God’s leading). I fully expected all my subscribers to choose the free option as I would, and in fact have repeatedly told them the paid version doesn’t properly start until January ’26. And yet, 20% of my subscribers have already signed up for the paid tier (see today’s screenshot from my Substack)

I even had a message from Substack this weekend to say that I am now in the top 50 writers in the ‘faith and spirituality’ bracket! (though I sadly can’t find the message to share now).

AND on top of all that, as I have been tithing the very small amounts of money that come in, God has been getting money to me in other ways, to make sure I have enough in my account to pay for the next book! Honestly, I am overwhelmed. I haven’t yet covered all my publication costs so far, but I am heading in that direction, thanks to Him.

I’m not saying any of this to brag on me, but rather on God, and how faithful HE is to keep His Word. As I have genuinely sought to serve Him and His kingdom, He has been promoting my writing. I still don’t care about the awards – it will be lovely if I win but I don’t expect to – I’m just thankful for the vote of confidence from other writers that took me to the shortlist. And as much as I would love to do this paid, full-time – that’s not what drives me. If the money stops tomorrow and nobody else subscribes, I will still write for God, because it’s knowing that I’m co-labouring with Him in it all that is more fulfilling than anything the world can offer.

But I just wanted to share this testimony for anyone else who may be struggling with their identity as a writer. You don’t have to follow the world’s ideals. Let go of your worries and just write your best for God and His kingdom, and the rewards – in this life and the next – may or may not look like mine, but they will be more than you can possibly imagine!

All praise to our faithful God!

(holy) ghost-writing

~ Rachel Yarworth, writer ~ Leave a comment

and what I have learned so far…

Near the beginning of the year – it may have been in a conversation with my adult sons about jobs, earning money and all that malarkey – I came across the question, “If you could do anything and make a living from it, what would that be?” The question niggled at my subconscious until I realised I need to answer it for myself. You see, I have a year left of home educating my youngest son, and then – after fourteen years of this amazing Home Ed life – I will have no job! And I’ve been vaguely wondering what I might do next, while trying to stay focused on the necessary evil of GCSE studies first. But as I tried to satisfy the question that refused to lay down and be silent, I realised there was something I would love to do. If I could be paid for anything at all, the thing I would love most of all, would be to write. Particularly if that involved writing Bible Studies (I’m a bit of a Bible nerd). I mentioned it to God in passing and thought no more of it.

Sometimes praying requires lengthy periods of standing in faith, hope and trust while everything looks increasingly disastrous until the breakthrough finally happens. But on this occasion, God seemed to take my passing comment as something to act on immediately. For within that week I had two people contact me, offering to pay me for writing work!

*imagine me with my jaw on the floor*

I don’t know if this will develop into ongoing employment, but how lovely if it does! Meanwhile, I’m thoroughly enjoying myself…

The first job was a close structural edit of the very lovely memoir written by a fellow kingdom-writer. Next to Bible-studies, memoir is a passion of mine: I love helping people to share their testimonies. I believe every Christian has a story of God’s goodness, and I want to help people get them out into the world to encourage others. So I thoroughly enjoyed that work, and was brought to tears when the money landed in my account. It’s been over twenty years since I last earned any money. I’m grateful to God and hubby for the finances provided through hubby’s work, but it has been a challenge to my sense of worth at times, not to be able to financially contribute. Hence the tears – of gratitude.

And that brings me to the second job: ghost-writing (that is, writing on behalf of someone else, not writing about ghosts!) The book I have been asked to write is part-devotional, part-teaching, with a lot of Bible – yippee!
But of course, ghost-writing – even with the Holy Spirit’s help – is entirely out of my comfort zone. Again. So today as I reached the end of (the first draft of) another chapter today, I wanted to write down everything I have learned so far on this super steep learning curve (perhaps that should be a learning mountain?). It might help someone else, but more importantly I want to remember this if I do it again in future…

(Holy) Ghost-writing Lessons:

1/ Draw up a contract.
Even if it’s between friends, it’s important to establish boundaries and manage expectations from the beginning. Be clear about time frames, payment terms*, and rights. Thankfully this part was straightforward as I was happy to be flexible about most things** but we were both pretty like-minded on everything anyway.
*re: payment terms, Woodbridge Publishers give a helpful starting point for newbies like me. You just need to agree whether you will be paid per word, per hour, or per completed chapter/ project etc – and how much.
**the only non-negotiable for me was that I was not interested in the kind of ghost-writing that involves pretending to be someone else. I think it’s dishonest. So while I didn’t care about the royalties, I did feel it important that I was acknowledged for writing it – as I would insist on acknowledging anyone who wrote something on my behalf.

2/ Agree on a clear outline, word limit and target audience.
It’s a hard one for a self-confessed pantser, but without an agreed structure, you will find yourself writing a lot of vague and rambling words that end up being edited out. It’s just a waste of time.

3/ Schedule regular interviews (in person, or video call) AND RECORD THEM.
I haven’t found a better way yet of capturing the official author’s voice, tone, priorities etc. For small queries, voice notes work well if the author is willing, but for chapter direction, progression, content, style, interviews are invaluable. *Note to self: find a better transcription process next time!

4/ Schedule regular feedback.
This can be at the same time as the interviews, but it’s easy to spend too much time on the feedback, so be strict! And prepare specific questions about the kind of feedback you need, e.g. ‘Does this flow/ progression make sense to you?’, ‘Does it sound like you?’, ‘Is there anything I have missed that’s important to you to include?’ and so on. I guess ghost-writers of fiction would have questions more to do with plot, characterisation etc.

5/ Go for it! If over-thinking and lack of confidence can be crippling when writing for yourself, it can be even worse when writing for someone else. Just write, and make sure you are open to whatever the author comes back with – even if they change their minds about direction etc. It’s their book, not yours – and that is actually kind of liberating!

So that’s it for now. More lessons may follow – I’m not finished with the project yet. I just wanted to note these down while they were fresh (ish) in my mind. I’ve got to say though, I’m loving it! Feeling very blessed…

Image by Andreas Hoja from Pixabay

Language of Light

~ Rachel Yarworth, writer ~ Leave a comment

It’s funny how Pavlovian our brains can be.  Once an association is made, it can be painfully difficult to detach. Take, for example, the Mick Ray song from 1978, “I get so excited Lord every time I realise… I’ve forgiven, I’m forgiven” (yep, showing my age there). It’s not a song that crops up often nowadays, but if it did, my mind would no doubt jump straight to the memory of my husband and friends in mischievous mode, deliberately mis-singing “every time I realise… I’m a gibbon, I’m a gibbon”. Then there’s the more innocent association of not being able to hear a sermon about the disciples without remembering my first child in all his adorable infancy unable to pronounce the word, so calling them “surprisels” instead. Heart-achingly cute, and all the more poignant because said adorable child is now a 6ft 5in grown man with stubble and a razor-sharp wit.

Whether these word-associations/ mispronunciations are deliberate or innocent, they cling stubbornly to our psyches, and can sometimes even interrupt our Bible reading.  I’m thinking of Isaiah 60:1 – “Arise, shine, for your light has come…”  a verse which I rarely read past the first two words without an inane chorus of hand-puppets taking over my mind, singing “and give God the glory, glory”.  Please reassure me I’m not the only one…?  Who else has a tripwire in worship or the Word?

See, reading the Bible can be hard enough without the distracting combination of an active imagination and the conditioning espoused by Mr Pavlov.

But when I read Isaiah 60:1-2 the other day, something remarkable happened. The chorus appeared as they usually do, but then so did the Holy Spirit.
And I read, “Arise, shine; For your light has come! And the glory of the LORD is risen upon you. For behold, the darkness shall cover the earth, And deep darkness the people; But the LORD will arise over you, And His glory will be seen upon you.” (NKJV)

And another, mercifully non-puppet association came to mind:
Matthew 5:14-16 says “You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do they light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a lampstand, and it gives light to all who are in the house. Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

God has spoken to me from this part of Matthew 5 before, convicting me of His desire for me to embrace that dreaded of activities, “promo”, as a way of lifting high the light He has given me to share, for all to see. So it’s already a treasured verse. And this time as I read both verses together I had a sudden mental image that was nothing to do with Pavlov, but – I believe – a lot more divinely inspired.

I saw a room filled with candles, of all different shapes and sizes. Fat, thin, tall, short, and in a whole spectrum of colours.  The light in the room drew dim, until it was so dark you couldn’t see the candles at all. But then a match was lit and began to touch the candlewicks. And as each candle started to burn, the room became filled with countless identical flames, each one adding to the light in the room. No matter the size or shape of each candle, each one burned with an equal flame, adding to the beauty of the glorious light, and together causing the darkness to flee.

And I felt God say to me, “Wouldn’t it be pointless for these candles to compare themselves to each other and write themselves off as a result? They just each need to embrace their purpose to shine their own light, and in doing so, add to My glorious Kingdom light that pushes back the darkness.”

And I remembered times when I have fallen into the trap of imposter syndrome, thinking, “I can’t be a proper writer – I’m not as good as ** at writing Biblical epics, or ** at writing poetry, or ** at reigning over Social Media” etc. But that’s just like looking at other candles, whether fat, short, or beautifully decorated, and deciding that because my little candle is not like theirs, it’s inferior. So what if my candle (book) is skinnier than a big fat Biblical epic, or plain white next to a beautifully decorated, skilfully written novel? If I let that stop me shining my light, the world would be dimmer for it, especially if the people who read my little book didn’t read the others. And the point is, as Isaiah and Matthew both shared, we all have a light to shine: the light of Christ. We don’t need to compete; we just all need to shine our kingdom light in our own way.  For to disqualify ourselves from writing – or whatever you love doing for Jesus – would be to cease shining.  And the world is an increasingly dark place that needs us ALL to shine so everyone can see the Father for themselves. So let’s keep writing, and shining our light…

And now I can’t read Isaiah 60 or Matthew 5 without seeing that mental image of the room filled with candles.  To be honest, the puppet chorus is still there in the background – in fact they’re now singing “this little light of mine, I’m gonna let it shine…”.  But as associations go, that’s not such a bad one. I’ll take it.

Photo by Irina Anastasiu on Pexels.com