How to Get Published
I’m no expert. Let’s just get that out there.
Somehow I have managed to get myself published in the real world of writing. I’ll be honest: I’m still in shock!
I cannot give you a step-by-step plan, but there are several people out there who can. If you are looking for a “how-to” you can find it and usually pay a little money to get some really great ideas on how to get noticed in the publishing industry. Just Google it.
My journey isn’t so much about industry as it is about helping people know that God has a plan and is in complete control of everything.
Sometimes our world is turned upside down by life and we struggle to see beyond today.
Getting published hasn’t fixed any of the problems I face, nor has it given me any sense of adequacy that I didn’t have before.
What it has taught me is the reality of our world. We live in a broken place with broken people. And we are all seeking acceptance and approval from someone. The problem is that sometimes we think getting the next big gig or accomplishing the next big goal will fix our struggles. It won’t.
What I have learned through this process is that God is so much bigger than the publishing industry and so much wiser than the people in this world.
Man will sell you and tell you how to get published in 6 months or less, or how to gain followers and get noticed in a noisy world of social media.
God tells me to hold my tongue until He gives me the words to speak and not to seek man’s approval or fame for myself.
If you clicked this article hoping to find a five-step process and a new series of training on how to get published fast, I’ll give you my best tips:
- Pray. Pray for God to give you wisdom and words.
- Write when God says to write.
- Don’t get caught up in the ways of the world.
- Pursue God’s will more, and man’s way less.
- If God says no, don’t do it. If God says yes, do it!
Too simple? Too complex? I know. It’s hard to explain my journey of publishing. It’s been strangers calling to help me. It’s been literary agents emailing after months of silence. It’s been chapters being cranked out in a day or two. It’s been God leading me every step of the way. It’s been miracle after miracle. It’s been endorsements from authors I never imagined being connected to. It’s been God doing something I never envisioned.
How did I get published? I don’t know. The only explanation is God has a purpose for simple words written by this simple girl.
And God has a purpose for you too! So whatever it is that God is calling you to do, do it! Go for it! With all your heart and soul and mind follow God’s dream! It might lead you to a dream you never knew you could experience.
God’s power is bigger than the publishing world.
I hope you love my new book and that God speaks to you through it! Only a few more weeks until it will arrive in your mailbox. You can order it HERE.
This journey isn’t about selling more books. It’s about helping more people experience God’s power for themselves.
Love & Blessings,
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Thank you for your words of wisdom.
Thanks for reading, Helena! I appreciate your support! The Launch Team email will go out at the end of the week! Be sure to look for it! Yay!
Will do. Excited for you!!
So excited for you Micah, and looking forward to hearing more about your book!
Thank you, Michele! I can’t believe it’s actually a real book. But God has done some amazing things to make this all happen. It will be out September 5! Thank you for supporting me along the way! You encourage me!
Great advice… thank you! :)
Hugs!
After attending SS and leaving feeling overwhelmed with the task of “platform building,” your words are such an encouragement. God is in control, and the simple plan you provided makes sense! Thank you for this.
I completely understand the feeling. God continually reminds me to “Be Still” and let Him doing the sharing and building. I simply have to obey what He tells me to do. He doesn’t tell me to strive and build an email list or get more followers (even though the world does). I guess for some people, that is their calling. But for me it’s more about obedience, surrender, and leaning into the voice of God one day at a time. Hugs, sweet writer friend. Keep listening intently to His voice. He won’t lead you astray.
Congratulations, Micah! After an expensive and frustrating venture in self-publishing my first book, I’m in the midst of submitting my second manuscript to traditional publishers. Your “steps” were EXACTLY the encouragement I needed. My topic may not be “trending”, but it’s what the Lord has blessed me to write. I need to trust Him to take it from there. Prayers and blessings for a fabulous book launch!
Alice, congratulations on your first book and blessings on your second! I know what you mean to not be writing with the “trend”, but I love that! Sometimes that’s exactly where God wants us. Jesus wasn’t concerned with trends or what everyone else was doing or how they were doing it. He was about His Father’s business. I look forward to seeing how God uses this next book to prove His glory to you and others. Keep me informed. Ok? I would love to hear about what God does.
Well-said, Micah! Your patience and faithfulness were key to this process. So excited for how God has blessed your efforts and that you have followed Him in this more than the words of what others have said or might say. God does bless those who follow Him and his timing. Congratulations and so happy to be on this journey with you!
Blyhte! You are such an amazing literary agent. Your love for God and your sensitivity to His direction is amazing. I love how God uses you to help people like me get our words out into the world. You are laying up treasures in heaven in ways we may never know until we see Jesus. Thank you for pushing me, believing in me, and helping me through this process.
Thank you for sharing Micah! I’ve found there is so much information coming to me as a blogger that I need God’s discernment in many areas as I build my platform. I am in a season of waiting. Your words describe my current situation, “God tells me to hold my tongue until He gives me the words to speak and not to seek man’s approval or fame for myself.” I pray I will be obedient and patient as I wait on His direction. I’ve been known to run ahead (with excitement). Fortunately, there are miracles in the messes I can create when I do not wait! I look forward to reading your book!
Oh Girl, I’m a run ahead kind of girl too. I get it. Keep seeking Him and being obedient. He will build the platform He wants and keep looking for those miracles!
So great, Micah – a humble and REAL approach to not only publishing, but all steps God has counted out for us. Bless you mightily as He is mighty!
Thank you, Sue. Thanks for cheering for me along this uncharted path!
Congratulations on your upcoming book baby! And thank you for the reminder to let God be my ‘agent’ –if he wants my book published, he’ll build my platform and find a publisher!
Yes, Anita! He will! God knows exactly where you are on this journey. Keep seeking Him!
I love your list of tips! God has a plan that is so much better than any plan we can devise! We are so much better off following His plan.
Thank you for sharing this at Soul Survival. You’ve given me both some advice to act on and some affirmation that I’ve heard God right in some other things.
Praising the Lord with you that He paved the way for the publishing of the words that He led you to write. May He bless many through its pages.
Thank you so much! I appreciate YOUR affirming words.
Micah this is wonderful. I had a feeling when I clicked the link it wouldn’t be a how-to guide and this is why I came. This is the message I (maybe many of us) need to hear in a world gone mad with “Do ___ in 48 hours and ____” ~ It is draining, but truth is filling. Thank you and soooo excited to read your new book. Grabbing my copy soon!
I’m glad you stopped by and I’m so thankful for truth. I can’t wait to hear your feedback on the book!
Looking forward to Sept 5th!
Yay!!! Thank you so much!!!
Thank you for these words of truth. It’s something we all need to hear whether we are writers or not. God will direct our path all we need to do is to follow Him. God bless!
Yes! You are right. This applies to every area of life. It’s just so much easier to say than do.
Great truths, Micah! I’m so happy to hear about your book. I can’t wait to read it.
Thank you so much, Donna! That means a lot!
Micah, thank you very much for these words. I loved your 5 steps. I self-published my book of devotions and it was absolutely the easiest process ever and I think that is because I prayed, God opened the door and put the publisher in my path (I don’t even know how) and the process was so easy. God designed it all and I just followed His leading. I thought I wanted to write a big book of something – maybe a collection of all the topics I’ve spoken on over the years but it just wasn’t working. Then I started blogging daily devotions and He said “this is your book” and lo and behold He did it all. I love that you say not to get caught up in the worldly ways because I know people who have and it hasn’t worked out well. I try to just let God lead me and if the book opens the doors for speaking opportunities or witness in any way, I use it. I leave it at hotels for the staff or at coffee shops for easy reading. I just do what God leads me to. Your words are so wise!! Can’t wait to dig into Anchored In! Congratulations and God’s blessings on every step of the way!
Deanna! It’s so awesome to hear about how God has directed your steps and how you have obediently followed Him. Isn’t it awesome how when He is in it, it just works. It doesn’t mean it’s always easy, but it means He will guide and show us each step of the way and that is an amazing experience. I’m so glad we have connected and I look forward to hearing your thoughts on Anchored In.
Such straightforward while genuinely caring advice, I so appreciate this!
Thank you, Lisa. I’m glad this was helpful.
Congratulations, Micah! Can’t wait to see what God has in store for you!
Thanks for the helpful tips!
Thank you! And you are so welcome!