What does it mean to be a successful author? Is it getting a big publishing deal? Selling lots of books? Building a following on social media?

In our latest episode of Publishing Disrupted, Mick Silva and I talk with Katherine Spearing, author of A Thousand Tiny Paper Cuts: The Subtle, Insidious Nature of Spiritual Abuse and Life on the Other Side, published by Lake Drive Books.

Katherine’s been very intentional, deliberate, even taking slow steps in how she approaches her writing career. She’s written fiction and nonfiction, works full-time, and leads Tears of Eden, an organization supporting survivors of spiritual abuse. And she’s learned some things about what it takes to keep writing without burning out.

We talk about the importance of publishers actually partnering with authors, not just competently publishing and distributing a book. Publishers expect authors to drive most of the sales, but do they competently leverage their resources and knowledge to help them do that? Katherine shares some of her experiences with Lake Drive, too, which leads to a good discussion about collaboration, expectations, and making sure authors feel heard.

Publishing Disrupted is at PublishingDisrupted.substack.com

Mick Silva is at MickSilvaEditing.substack.com

David Morris is at dvdmorris.substack.com, LakeDriveBooks.com, and Hyponymous.com.

David and Mick discuss the fact that “Christian publishing” mostly means evangelical publishing, so it can be frustrating when so much of what passes for the fuller picture of religious publishing in America is actually just the dominance of the biggest houses' biggest books.

We dig into some recent PW reporting and stats about the relative size of the industry, and try to correct some common misconceptions about who big Evangelical publishing represents and caters to.

Publishing Disrupted is at PublishingDisrupted.substack.com

Mick Silva is at MickSilvaEditing.substack.com

David Morris is at dvdmorris.substack.com, LakeDriveBooks.com, and Hyponymous.com.

Religious ethicist Liz Bucar, author of Beyond Wellness, joins us to talk about what writers can learn from her sabbatical-year experiment in becoming an online content creator. We discuss writing for religious and post-religious audiences, why curiosity about religion still matters, and how a Substack post about faith, politics, and the future unexpectedly went viral—and eventually led to a Time magazine piece.

Liz also shares practical lessons from building a platform: choosing content “buckets,” starting with the medium that feels natural, turning slow-form writing into social content, growing an email list, and confronting the enormous amount of work it can take. Her experience offers a useful alternative to generic advice about “building a platform”: find an approach you can actually sustain.

https://www.lizbucar.com/books

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/774524/beyond-wellness-by-liz-bucar/

https://lizbucar.substack.com/

Also mentioned:

https://www.leighstein.com/

https://www.sophiasmithgaler.com/

Publishing Disrupted is at PublishingDisrupted.substack.com

Mick Silva is at MickSilvaEditing.substack.com

David Morris is at dvdmorris.substack.com, LakeDriveBooks.com, and Hyponymous.com.