“Don’t polish until you do this first.”

Autumn, with all its pumpkin spice goodness, is here, whether you were ready or not. I’m writing this to you from a place of “somewhat” ready. I’m a big fall fan, but I’m still mourning the end of summer. Nobody on the road, Nobody on the beach. 

Let’s talk today about clarity and its arch-nemesis, polish. 

Ever read a beautifully written passage—smooth sentences, clever wordplay, gorgeous descriptions—only to finish and think, But what was that actually about?

We’ve never had more ways to polish our words. Yet too often, the message gets buried under the shine.

Pixar co-founder Ed Catmull once put it this way: “Story is King… we would let nothing—not the technology, not the merchandising possibilities—get in the way of our story.”

In other words, clarity comes first. Everything else—style, rhythm, even beauty—must serve the core message. Too often, writers reverse the order. We try to sound good before we know if what we’re saying is good....

Nobody wants to sit staring at a blinking cursor for two hours. Nobody wants to get their manuscript back from an editor filled with red ink. Nobody wants to watch a book proposal they poured months into get rejected.

We don’t want these scenarios. We rightfully dread them. We do everything we can to avoid them. But why is it so hard to see the silver lining in them?

That blinking cursor means you have the rare chance to slow down, reimagine, and rediscover your story’s heart.

The red ink? It’s not failure—it’s proof someone engaged deeply enough with your work to sharpen it into something stronger. 

The rejection? As hard as it is, it gives you time and space to refine your voice, improve your craft, and prepare for an opportunity that might be better than the one you thought you wanted.

We don’t have to like these moments. However, we can choose to appreciate what they produce: better writing, thicker skin, sharper clarity, and deeper stories. Because not every season gives us t...

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’...