Anointed Scribe | Author Business Growth for Christian Authors, God’s Way

Could Halloween be hurting your book sales? Are spiritual attacks responsible for your struggling Christian author business?

You've probably heard Christians warn that spiritual darkness becomes more powerful during Halloween. Some even believe that disappointing book sales, unsuccessful launches, or declining business performance could be signs of spiritual warfare.

But what does Scripture actually teach?

In this episode of The Anointed Scribe Podcast, Urcelia Teixeira examines three biblical truths that challenge fear-based beliefs about spiritual warfare and help Christian authors approach their businesses with greater confidence in Christ and biblical discernment.

...

You've prayed over your book launch, worked hard to market your books, and done your best to honor God through your writing. But when you check your KDP dashboard, the sales are still disappointing.

And perhaps you've wondered, If I'm being faithful to God, why isn't He blessing my author business?

After all, doesn't Scripture promise that God will prosper the work of our hands? That He has plans to prosper us? And that when we seek His kingdom first, He'll provide everything we need?

But are we understanding those promises correctly?

I still remember the days I checked my KDP dashboard with a knot in my stomach, compared my progress with other authors, and wondered whether my Christian author business would ever earn enough to help support my family.

So when I sat down to plan this special 100th episode, I thought I'd share my best book marketing strategies and the lessons I've learned from eight years of self-publishing. But the more I worked on that list, the more I realized I was leaving out the most valuable advice I could give you.

Because some of...

Feeling pressured to spend more money just to keep your author business growing?

For Christian authors, the costs of publishing, ads, promotions, software, courses, and tools can add up quickly, especially when book sales are already tight. And when other authors seem to be spending more, it’s easy to wonder whether running lean is wise stewardship or whether you’re holding your own growth back.

In this episode, we’re looking at what Scripture says about financial pressure, planning, debt, and wise investment in your author business. I’ll also share practical ways to...

Are you working hard to sell your books but still not seeing the response you hoped for?

The problem may not be that you need more visibility, more ads, or another platform. You may be reaching people who were never the best fit for your books in the first place.

In this episode, you’ll look at how to recognize a mismatch between your books and the people paying attention, why “Christian readers” is often too broad to be useful, and how to get clearer on the people your work is genuinely suited to ser...

Have you ever wondered whether marketing your books means you’re trying to take control of your book sales instead of trusting God with them?

You believe God called you to write, but your books aren’t reaching as many readers as you’d hoped. So do you wait for God to open doors, or do you roll up your sleeves and start marketing your books?

For Christian authors, finding the balance between faith, book marketing, and the desire to grow a profitable author business can be challenging. And when we’re unsure where to...

Have you ever felt content with your author business until you saw another author’s sales screenshot, launch results, ad success or publishing pace?

Comparison can do more than make you feel behind. It can make you question a strategy that was working, spend money you hadn’t planned to spend, publish faster than fits your life, or chase a tactic that belongs in someone else’s business.

In this episode, we look at how to learn from successful authors without turning their results into instructions for your own business. We’ll also spend time in John...

Do you feel pressured to post on social media every day just to stay visible and sell books?

In this episode, you’ll learn how to find more readers without making Facebook, Instagram or TikTok the center of your book marketing strategy.

We’ll look at the difference between your social media presence and your wider author platform, including the marketing assets that can keep helping readers discover your books after you log off. Your email list, website, retailer pages, book descriptions, back matter and online search all have a part to play.

We’l...

Trying to sell more books can send you down a rabbit hole of keywords, categories, ads, email lists, social media and endless advice about what you should be doing next.

But before you add another tactic, there’s a more important question to ask: Do you know what problem you’re actually trying to solve?

In this episode, I’m sharing what I wish I had understood much earlier in my author career about the difference between collecting more information and making wiser decisions.

We’ll look at Proverbs 4:7 and Romans 11:36, and why...

Have you been trying new strategies, working harder and making changes in your author business, but still feel like you’re not gaining the traction you expected?

Sometimes the problem isn’t that you need another strategy. It may be that you’re asking your business to grow in a way that doesn’t fit where you are right now.

In this episode, we’re looking at the different seasons a Christian author business can move through, why each one requires a different focus, and what can happen when you try to build for a season you...

Sometimes what looks like a strategy problem in your author business may have something deeper underneath it.

Fear can influence the way you price your books, make decisions, spend money, show up for readers, respond to slow sales and even whether you take the next step you know you need to take.

In this episode, we’re looking at four fears that can affect Christian authors in ways that aren’t always obvious, especially when they disguise themselves as caution, responsibility or waiting for the “right” time.

We’ll also look at what Scripture...

Have you been wondering whether God still wants you to write?

Maybe your book sales haven’t improved. The work feels heavier than it used to. Or something about your writing life no longer fits the way it once did.

But how do you know whether you’re reacting to a difficult season or whether God is leading you toward something different?

In this episode, we’re looking at that crossroads through Ecclesiastes 3:1 and James 1:5, and at how to discern what may be changing without treating every frustrating week as a sign that you sh...

Have you ever looked at your book sales and wondered, If God called me to write, why isn’t He blessing this?

You’ve written the books. You’ve marketed them. You’ve prayed, learned, invested and kept going. Yet the numbers still aren’t where you hoped they would be.

And after enough disappointing royalty reports, it can become difficult to separate what your sales are doing from what you believe about your calling.

In this episode, we’re looking at an assumption many Christian authors carry without realizing it and what Scr...

🎁 Not sure what needs your attention most in your author business right now? Take the free two-minute Author Growth Quiz™ and receive your personalized starting point.

How do you balance writing, family, faith and rest when self-publishing never seems to stop?

There is always another chapter to write, newsletter to send, ad to check, promotion to plan or problem to solve. And when you’re carrying most of the business yourself, it’s easy for work to expand into every available part of your life.

In this episode...

Can you want more book sales, more readers and a profitable author business while still being content in Christ?

If you’ve ever felt guilty for wanting your author business to grow, this episode will help you think differently about ambition, profit and biblical contentment.

We’ll look at the difference between caring about your results and depending on them, why paying attention to your sales and profitability is part of responsible stewardship, and how your KDP dashboard can inform your business decisions without determining how you feel about yourself or your work.

You’...

Authors are constantly told to show more of themselves online.

Share your day. Show your face. Take readers behind the scenes. Let them get to know the person behind the books.

But how much of your private life does your audience need access to before connection becomes oversharing?

In this episode, we’re talking about how Christian authors can build a warm, recognizable social media presence while still protecting their privacy, family, location and personal boundaries.

We’ll look at the difference between being personal and being identifiable, why some seemingly harm...

Overwhelmed by conflicting advice about self-publishing, book marketing, ads, platforms, courses and what you should be doing next?

In this episode, you’ll learn five biblical filters to help you choose the right author business strategy, make wiser decisions about where to spend your time and money, and avoid following advice simply because it worked for another author.

Whether you’re deciding where to publish, whether a course is worth the investment, when to run book ads or which part of your business to work on next, these five questions will help you assess the oppo...

Your book starts selling. Good reviews arrive. The thing you’ve been hoping and praying for begins to happen.

So why can a good season leave you feeling strangely unsettled?

In this episode, we’re looking at what can happen when success finally arrives in your author life, and why good seasons can test your heart in ways slow seasons don’t.

We’ll talk about the fear of losing what you’ve gained, the temptation to take too much credit for what’s working, and what Scripture can teach us about receiving success with...

Do you keep watching what successful authors are doing because you’re not sure what your own author business needs next?

In this episode, you’ll look at why copying another author’s strategy can send you in circles, how comparison and pressure can affect your business decisions, and how to find clearer direction for your own Christian author business.

You’ll walk through six reasons authors reach for someone else’s methods, what David and Gideon teach about being chosen and used by God, and how to recognize what God may be growing in your writi...

Do you reach the end of the week wondering where all your time went and why the things that mattered most still didn’t get done?

Being a self-published author means your writing has to compete with marketing, email, admin, family, everyday life and an endless list of things you could be working on.

In this episode, we’re looking at author time management through a biblical lens and what it means to handle your limited time with wisdom instead of letting every task demand equal importance.

I’ll share the planning approach that c...

Author branding can feel awkward when you’re a Christian author.

Logos, colors, platforms, positioning and personal brands can start to sound like self-promotion, especially when you’re trying to keep God at the center of your work.

But what if branding begins much earlier than any of those things?

In this episode, we’re looking at author branding through Scripture and at what the life of Jesus can teach us about identity, purpose and serving the people we’ve been called to reach.

We’ll also talk about what changes when your...

Have you published several books but still feel like you built your author brand backwards?

In this personal episode, I’m looking back over eight years and more than twenty novels to share what I would do differently if I were building my author brand again today.

I’ll walk you through the mistakes that cost me time and money, from unclear positioning and failed covers to running promotions and ads before I had the right foundation underneath them.

You’ll also learn the three Ws I wish I had worked out much earlie...

More books. More reviews. More ads. More content. More things you’re supposed to be doing if you want your author business to grow.

Self-publishing can make “more” feel like the answer to almost everything. But when your author life becomes crowded with tasks, strategies and expectations, it gets harder to tell what deserves your time and what you’re carrying because the industry told you to.

In this episode, we’re looking at the pressure to keep adding more to your author business and what Scripture can teach us about simplicity, priorities and the things tha...

You care deeply about your books and the business you’re building. But what happens when being responsible for it starts to feel like everything depends on you?

After missing a podcast episode for the first time in 18 months, I found myself confronting an uncomfortable question about my own work: Was I being faithful, or was fear starting to take control?

In this episode, we’re talking about the difference between faithful stewardship and fear-driven control in your author business, especially when it comes to book sales, marketing, visibility, productivity and rest.

We...

If your books aren’t selling the way you hoped, it’s easy to assume you need a better cover, stronger blurb, different keywords, more ads or another marketing strategy.

But low book sales can point to a problem somewhere else in your author business.

In this episode, you’ll look at five areas that may be affecting your sales: your book positioning, how well you know your reader, the focus of your marketing, the foundation underneath your author business, and the pressure influencing the decisions you make.

You’ll also get practical question...

You’ve prayed for the book sales to improve, the readers to come, the launch to work or something in your author business to finally move.

But what if the breakthrough you’re asking God for isn’t the one you need first?

In this episode, we’re looking at what biblical breakthrough can mean for a Christian author, especially when slow growth has left you discouraged, confused or questioning whether you’re still on the right path.

We’ll talk about why the desire for results can make us vulnerable to formulas and fast pro...

You know God called you to write. But turning that calling into a clear author identity, message and direction can be much harder.

What exactly are you here to say? Who are your books for? And how do you communicate that clearly enough for the right readers to recognize that your work is for them?

In this episode, we’re looking at Christian author branding through the lens of calling and stewardship, and why getting clear about your message and reader matters far beyond logos, colors or social media aesthetics.

We’ll look at J...

You have more author advice available to you than ever before.

Book marketing courses. Podcasts. Facebook groups. YouTube. Other authors. AI. There is always someone ready to tell you what to write, what to sell, where to market and what strategy to try next.

So why can all that information leave you feeling more confused about what you should do?

In this episode, we’re looking at Christian author discernment through Jeremiah 33:3 and the danger of allowing outside voices to become the first place you go for direction in your author business.

...

When you put God’s name on your books, your content and your author business, what responsibility comes with that?

Christian authors work in the same publishing world as everyone else. We face the same pressure to sell, grow, gain attention and create content that performs. But our faith should affect more than the words we put in our bio.

In this episode, we’re talking about integrity in the everyday business of being a Christian author, including the way we market, use faith language, create content and represent God through our work.

We’l...

You can pray over your books, ask God for direction and dedicate your writing to Him, while still gripping the results far more tightly than you realize.

Book sales. Launches. Recognition. Income. The timeline you thought your author career would follow.

In this Good Friday episode, we go to Gethsemane and Jesus’ words in Luke 22:42 to look at what surrender means when you’re building something you care deeply about but cannot fully control.

We’ll bring that question into the everyday realities of an author business, including slow sales, disappointing launches, comparison, small...

Most of us know the fruit of the Spirit from Galatians 5. But have you ever applied that passage to the way you run your author business?

The way you market your books. Respond to disappointing sales. Handle another author’s success. Decide when to keep pushing and when to stop.

In this episode, we’re bringing Galatians 5 directly into the practical business of being a Christian author and asking a confronting question: What is driving the decisions you’re making?

We’ll look at how the same heart issues Paul writes about ca...

What do you do when nothing in your author business seems to be working anymore?

The strategies that once made sense stop producing results. Growth stalls. You keep trying to fix things, but every new attempt seems to reveal another problem underneath.

In this episode, we’re looking at Ecclesiastes 3:3 and the uncomfortable truth that there are seasons when building forward isn’t the first job.

Sometimes God may use a difficult season to expose what can no longer support where you’re going next.

We’ll talk about what rebuilding can look...

Do you dread marketing your books?

Maybe newsletters feel like a chore, promoting your work feels uncomfortable, or you keep borrowing ideas from other authors because you’re never quite sure what you should be doing yourself.

If that sounds familiar, the problem may go deeper than finding a better ad strategy, rewriting your blurb or posting more often.

In this episode, we’re looking underneath your book marketing at the foundation driving the decisions you make, and why marketing can become so difficult when that foundation isn’t clear.

We’ll also...

Are you in a waiting season — or are you actually stuck? These two things can look identical from the outside, but they feel completely different on the inside — and they require completely different responses.

In today's episode, I'm sharing three honest questions that will help you tell the difference. Because for a lot of Christian authors, the language of "waiting on God" has quietly become permission to stay exactly where they are — circling the same mountain, month after month, wondering why nothing is changing.

This isn't a lack of faith episode. It's a wake-up-with-love episode. And if...

This is my backstory — and it's something I've never shared before. Not like this.

In today's episode I'm bearing it all — the full, raw story of just how depressed and desperate I was two and a half years ago. Desperate enough to take out a credit card, go into debt, and fly halfway across the world — twice — hoping someone in a conference room would finally tell me what I was missing.

I had answered God's call. Pivoted my entire career in obedience. Won the award. And I was still failing. Or at least, that's what it felt...

Have you ever held a belief about your author life that felt completely spiritual… but quietly kept you from moving forward?

In today's episode, I unpack three beliefs I've seen quietly circulating among Kingdom writers — beliefs that come from sincere, God-honouring hearts, but that might be getting in the way of the author life God actually intended for you.

Drawing from personal experience and scripture, this episode explores the difference between passive waiting and active trust, why the craft treadmill isn't always the answer, and why the most visible writers in your space probably have far...

What if the word “self-publish” has been quietly working against you as a Christian author this whole time?

In this episode of The Anointed Scribe, Urcelia unpacks the hidden problem with the word “self” in self-publishing — and why Christian authors were never called to write, publish, or build their author business alone. If you’ve been feeling exhausted, isolated, or stuck in your indie author journey, this one’s for you.

Through a powerful passage in Exodus 35–36 — where God commissions ordinary people to build the tabernacle and supernaturally equips them with skill, intelligence, and creativity they didn’t have b...

Ever tried a marketing strategy because it was working for someone else… only to feel drained, behind, and totally out of your depth a few weeks later?

Yep. Been there.

In today’s episode, I’m sharing 5 clear signs a marketing strategy might not be right for you — even if it’s producing results for another Christian writer. Because the online author world is loud, and it’s so easy to start chasing what’s “working”… instead of discerning what’s actually yours in this season.

We’ll talk about anxiety, c...

Ever finish a full day of “working” on your author business… only to realize nothing actually moved forward?

In this episode of the Anointed Scribe Podcast, we’re talking about the busywork trap — the sneaky cycle that keeps Christian authors stuck in constant activity without real progress. If you’ve been tweaking, planning, researching, organizing, and “getting ready”… but not seeing results, this episode will bring instant clarity.

You’ll learn:

You've heard it a thousand times: "Know your numbers." But what happens when looking at your KDP dashboard makes your stomach drop? When that royalty number hasn't budged in weeks - or months - and you're starting to wonder if you're missing some crucial step in the book publishing and marketing process that everyone else knows about - except you.

In this episode, I'm sharing what changed everything for me: how to measure success as a Christian author in a way that keeps you grounded, faithful, and free - without ignoring the data...