The dog days of summer are upon us with the back-to-school hustle in full swing. I hope each of you is heading into the fall season with the wind at your back; if not, I hope the wind will pick up. 

I was reminded today that often what determines our success is how we show up when we don’t feel like it. It’s easy to show up when we are feeling great, but those days can be few and far between. 

 
I love what Steve had to say about this. He responded to last week’s email with what was holding him back: He needs to get back on the wagon after vacation, dropping his kids off at college, and navigating an unexpected homeowner's claim. His goal is to have 55,000 words for a manuscript by September 13th.

It sounds like Steve is navigating life. Each of us has our own list of things that are vying for our attention and pulling us away from our writing.

What I love about Steve’s goals is that they’re SMART. Are you familiar with SMART goals?  SMART goals are a framework for setting effective...

September Is the Writer’s New Year

In our house, back-to-school means one thing: new sneakers.

My oldest is all about high tops. My youngest? She proudly picked shoes with laces—because she just learned how to tie them. Bright colors, fresh soles, and the promise of a brand-new year.

It made me realize: as adults, we don’t get that same built-in excitement very often. I’m naturally an optimist, but I still have to choose excitement over looking back at summer and thinking, I’m not where I thought I’d be with my writing.

So here’s what I’m doing: stealing those “new sneaker vibes.”

September feels like a reset button. A fresh start. A chance to begin again—no guilt, no excuses. Just the thrill of a blank page.

What’s the project you’ve been putting off? Let’s set your fall writing goals now.

• If you’re feeling stuck: Tell me what’s holding you back.
  
  
• If you’re ready to roll: Send me your #1 goal for this season.

🎯 The people you’re meant to reach are already looking for ...

The Hidden Trap Keeping Your Book Idea Stuck

Have you been sitting on a message God placed on your heart, waiting for the “right time" to share it?

Here’s the truth: the time is now.

I get it. Landing your first book deal can take years. It often feels like you are alone in the wilderness. 

How do you change that?

Stop writing only what you want to say and start writing with the reader in mind.

Here’s the trap so many writers fall into:

• We think we’ll have more clarity “later.”
• We wait for the perfect moment or a bigger audience.
• We tell ourselves we’ll start once we feel ready.

But “later” rarely comes.

The reality is this: getting your writing out there is often how you build the audience. And your boldness may be the very thing that gives someone else the courage to take their next step.

Confidence doesn’t come from being noticed.

Confidence comes from trusting that God gave this message to you for a reason.

No one else can tell it the way you can.

So start small....

When Discipline Fails, These Habits Can Save You

This work, the writing life, is a grind. I recently saw this Tolstoy quote and wanted to share it with you: “A man on a thousand-mile walk has to forget his goal and say to himself every morning, ‘Today I’m going to cover twenty-five miles and then rest up and sleep.' ”  

 
On the writing journey, it’s tough to wake up every day thinking about the pages of work ahead. That’s why you have to focus on today’s twenty-five miles. Then get some rest. Then repeat.

 
That’s how you reach the end — not by obsessing over the distance, but by mastering the discipline of showing up daily. 

 
The goal is important. 

 
But in the end, it’s the routine that gets you there. 

 
Another way to think about routine is through habits. If I focus too much on my routine, I get distracted because inevitably, something breaks my routine — a sick kid, a work deadline, etc. Life is excellent at doing that to us. So, what do I do when I’ve been knocked off cou...

Feeling Stuck? These Books Help Writers Get Unstuck

Is there anything better than book recommendations? I don’t think so. I’ll stop whatever I’m doing to read a good list. Always.

I’m often asked about the best books for writers—and I’ve got opinions. Here are a few of my go-to picks, organized by what you might need right now:

“I want my writing voice to stand out.”

Start with Dreyer’s English: An Utterly Correct Guide to Clarity and Style.


The English language is a hot mess—but this book (written with humor and insight by the former copy chief at Random House) brings order to the chaos. Most style books are dry. This one is delightful. You don’t have to be a grammar expert to benefit from this book—but the more you know, the better you write.

“I’m in a slump. I need motivation.”

You need The War of Art by Steven Pressfield.

Artists like Seth Godin and Ryan Holiday swear by it—and I do too. It’ll challenge you to ask: Are you working like an amateur or a professional? What ki...

How Writers Stay on Their Feet When the Day Goes Sideways

I woke up today with the best intentions.


A fresh to-do list. A full tank of motivation. I was ready to go after it.

After a long holiday weekend (with too much ice cream), I felt ready to reset and get back into the swing of things.

But the day had other plans.

The brakes went out on our car.

The laundry pile had doubled.

And—just to top it off—a bird made a nest in the wreath on our front door.

Not exactly the productive Tuesday I had envisioned.

It reminded me of that classic Mike Tyson quote:

“Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth.”

As writers, our days can feel like that. We start with big plans, but then life takes a turn.

So, how do we stay standing?

It starts with priorities.

Not the rigid, corporate kind. I like to think of priorities more like bamboo—flexible, adaptable, strong.

Author Brad Stulberg offers a helpful concept called raising the floor. It means adjusting your expectations wh...

How to Finish 2025 Strong (Without Burning Out)

I ran track & field in college, where I competed in the 800-meter race. That race is a combination of speed, toughness, and doing your best to hang in there until the end. Too short to pace, too long to sprint. It’s brutal. The key to running a great half-mile is found in a racing strategy called the negative split.

 
A negative split is completing the second half of a race faster than the first half. It's a pacing strategy where a runner starts slower and gradually increases their pace, aiming to finish stronger than they started. 

I never thought to apply this mindset outside the track until Jon Acuff reminded me. Honestly, it made me a little mad at myself for not thinking of it first, given my experiences with it. Acuff takes it a step further and explains that whatever you’ve done in the first half of the year—times you’ve exercised, worked on a hobby, or written your book—you should double it.

 
On July 2nd, we will be halfw...

What a Query Letter Is (and What it Isn't)

Summer is in full swing here in Michigan—the Mitten State. I hope you’re enjoying being near water, the beach, or the lake with a great book. Today, let’s demystify the query letter. 

What makes a good query letter? I get this question a lot. To me, a query letter is like a cover letter for your book, and the book proposal is your resume. You’ll hear us say that a lot at Author Coaching. Many potential authors fumble their opportunity by not creating a simple, focused query letter.

 
Here’s what makes a good query letter: keep it simple and straight to the point. It’s okay to be direct; again, think cover letter. Your goal is to introduce me to your book - the title, the genre, and a brief one-liner about your book. 

As a nonfiction Christian literary agent, it matters if you personally address your email to me and send me a query letter for books that I represent. I love genre fiction, but as much as I love a good dystopian novel, that’...

The message God gave you is meant to be shared.

If you’ve been carrying a message you believe God placed on your heart—waiting for the “right” time to write or speak it—this is your gentle nudge: the time is now.

So often we see faithful, gifted people wait until they feel “ready.” They think they need a bigger audience, more clarity, or a perfect plan before they begin.

But what if the act of sharing is how the audience finds you? What if obedience opens the door?

You don’t need every answer to begin. You need faith to take the first step.

God didn’t give this message to just anyone—He gave it to you. No one else can share it quite like you can.

So start small. Start bold. Just start.

We have a course to walk with you in that first step:   How to Stand Out to Your Audience—a gentle guide to help you serve the people who need your message most. 👇

🎯 The people you’re meant to reach are already looking for you. Let us help you find them.

How to Stand Out to Your Audience is t...

The #1 Question Every Reader Is Asking

I hope you’ve been enjoying this email series on book messaging. I know here at Author Coaching, we love helping authors like you with this. If you are just joining us, you can check out the first two parts here and here.

This last one, Benefits, is where the magic happens. You’ve already set everything up with the felt need and the promise. Now it’s time to take it home with the most important question your book must answer: What’s in it for me?

Readers are selfish—and they should be. They want to know what’s in it for them. That’s where your benefits come in.

This is where your message becomes laser-sharp. In 3–4 bullets, explain exactly what your reader will walk away with after reading your book. For example:

• Learn a simple three-step process to find financial agreement in your marriage.
• Identify what kind of emotional reactor you are—and how to change it.
• Discover five common obstacles to intimacy with God—and how to overcome each on
...