The Start of Something New: The Story Behind The Author's Write Hand
Doors of opportunity. They come when you least expect it don’t they?
But when they open, you can either shut the door and walk away or you can take that leap of faith and cross the threshold into something new.
That’s exactly how The Author’s Write Hand began. Through a door of opportunity only God could open and the willingness of four women (pictured below: Liana, Lisa, Erika, and Danielle) to be obedient to the call.
How It All Began
Never in my wildest dreams did I (Liana) think that I would start a marketing business. I simply wanted to write the stories God had placed on my heart and share them with the world.
But just because you build something doesn’t mean they’ll come. That’s only in the movies. No, if I wanted to get my books into the hands of readers, I had to figure out how to find them and then connect with them, hoping that through that relationship they would buy or read my books.
The only problem was I had no clue how to get in front of readers. I was an unknown author with a debut novel (Perfectly Arranged), a very small platform, and limited influence.
Yet, I wouldn’t let that deter me.
I studied. I listened. I read. I did everything I could to place myself in a position where people could find me and my novel. And slowly, I began to build a small community of loyal fans who bought my book, read it and excitedly told others about it.
By the grace of God I figured out how to market myself in a space that was noisy and crowded.
And I assumed other authors did the same.
Until I realized they didn’t.
Hearing the Cries
As I traveled the publishing journey, I began to hear the whispers of frustration from my fellow scribes about the difficulties of marketing. How hard it was to find the time to do it. The uncertainties of what to share and when. The challenges technology presented. On and on the grumbles flowed.
Listening to them, my heart ached for them. I knew where they were coming from as I had just dealt with all of that myself. But who was I to tell them what to do? I didn’t have a best-selling novel, viral videos, or a huge number of followers on my social media platforms. I was just a woman who knew a thing or two but didn’t feel I had much more to offer.
So I didn’t.
Well, occasionally I did. But only when someone reached out to me personally or posed a question in a group only to hear crickets chirp. Then I would speak up and share what I knew or thought might help.
Although I longed to do more, I tucked away any ideas that rooted in my heart and ruminated in my mind, and kept plugging along with my own writing and promotion.
Then a door of opportunity opened and I had to decide whether to walk through it or not.
A Door of Opportunity
After launching Perfectly Arranged, which was more work than I ever imagined, I enlisted the help of a fabulous graphic designer (Erika) and a dependable VA (Lisa). We all worked well together and often discussed how we could assist others on their marketing journeys. But knowing none of us had the time nor resources to do more, we left the desire sitting on a shelf.
Until one particular week in June (2022) when God opened a door. In a span of 7 days I had 3 people - one right after the other - reach out to me with requests for marketing help. They had no idea of what needed to be done and no one had really guided them along the way.
My heart ached for them and for the many others who I knew were in the same boat.
Feeling the pull, I rallied my team and asked them if they would be interested in taking a leap of faith to start a business to fill in the gap for writers, specifically Christian authors (published, unpublished, or indie), who either didn’t know how to market or didn’t want to.
Then, on the day we were going to have our first meeting to discuss the idea in detail, I had lunch with a friend (Danielle). Before I could even tell her about my new venture, she said to me, “If you need help with anything, I have time and would love to lighten your load.”
Right then and there I shared about the door of opportunity that God had swung wide open. She prayerfully considered it and quickly joined the group.
Yet I still felt unsure that I was hearing God right. Was He truly calling me, us, to this task? I spent countless hours journaling, praying, and reading my Bible looking for the answer. Finally, I prayed Gideon’s words: “Do not be angry with me. Let me make just one more request.” (Judges 6:39) and then I asked for a sign. Any sign. But just a sign that was confirmation this door was indeed open for me - us - to walk through. Then I rose up and waited for Him to direct me one way or the other.
Not surprisingly, I didn’t have to wait long.
Within a few hours of uttering that prayer, I received a text from a friend whom I had sought out advice from about the business idea. However, I assumed she simply wanted to talk about my latest book release, Perfectly Placed, which had just launched a few days before. When I called her, the first thing she said to me was, “I want to hire your company for a few projects.”
We didn’t even have our “Open for Business” sign made, yet we had a paying client. Right then and there I knew God had answered my prayer. Later, when I told the team what had happened and how I felt God leading us in this direction, they agreed and wanted to walk alongside me.
Together, we formed The Author’s Write Hand, an agency whose mission is to provide Christian authors with the support they need to establish business foundations, expand their audience awareness, navigate the ever-changing challenges of connecting with readers, and alleviate the pressures associated with marketing. In doing so, we pray our efforts will allow them to focus on their craft, ignite their creativity, and spread the messages God has given them.
It’s a door only God could open. And now, ours is open, too.