promotion – Rachel Yarworth, Writer

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

It is neither a secret nor a surprise that I – and many writers – struggle with the promotional aspect of publishing books. Especially for those of us who are introverts, holing up and scribbling (or typing) away for hours… days… months on end can feel like lovely self-indulgence at times. Don’t get me wrong, it’s still hard work – especially once you hit editing stage – but it’s largely hidden and ‘safe’. However once our precious books are finally published and we just want a good rest to recover from the exertion of it all, that can be when the even harder work begins: the excruciating torture of promotion and advertising our work in order to persuade countless people, both friends and strangers, to part with their hard-earned money in order to read what we have produced. *Shudder*

And having had time off after Finding Jesus in the Wilderness came out (because I was genuinely exhausted… and then it was Christmas…) I entered this year with absolutely zero momentum or motivation. But it’s something I know I need to do. So at a recent prayer zoom for writers (thank you Kingdom Story Writers), I asked for prayer that God would find a way to help with my motivation (I think I actually asked for Him to give me a loving kick up the behind!) Then this weekend I met with the KSW team to plan our upcoming retreat (in May – watch this space for more info to come soon). Oh it is so GOOD to meet with like-minded fellow Kingdom writers! We did achieve the planning needed, but also enjoyed plenty of rich time together sharing encouragement and practical advice which gave me some ideas to get me pointed in a helpful direction.

And after everyone had left and I got some time to chat with God, He took me to the well-known verses from Mark 4:21-22,
“He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open.”

Talk about motivation (or a kick up the behind, if you prefer)! I do believe that in the books that I have written I have done my best to shine my light as clearly and openly as I can. I don’t think I have tried to conceal or hide them (though the ‘bowls’ of shame, imposter syndrome and self doubt, and the ‘beds’ of laziness or procrastination are always lurking as temptations). But I can see that I do need to make a conscious decision to lift up the light in my books and put it on a lampstand: to do everything in my power to help people see what God has given through me.

And that is all the motivation I need. So I am in. I’m asking God to give me a budget and a strategy in order to promote my books and shine His light as bright as I can… and then trust Him with the rest. I don’t fully know what that will look like, but I do think it will involve an upcoming blog tour, plus possible newsletters, giveaways, reviews, opportunities for support etc. All things that will probably still make me cringe inwardly. But I am going to do my best to be brave nonetheless and embrace “project lampstand”.

“Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
(Matt 5:16)