Today I Published a Book

Today I published a book.

I self-published my first devotional book.

It was a bizarre combination of one of the most significant things I’ve ever done and a regular, routine day. 

I woke up and made my morning cup of tea. I sat and read my Bible-In-A-Year reading plan. I made bacon and eggs for my breakfast while listening to a podcast. I got ready for my day and tidied up the house. Normal. 

I opened up my laptop to prepare for work. I shared on social media and via email that the book was now available. I FaceTimed my family to let them know it was ready. I went for a walk. I ate a snack. Normal.

In some ways, this feels like one of the biggest creative endeavors I’ve ever embarked on! This was a journey of learning a whole new industry – writing, publishing, marketing, book design, and more. But in other ways, it is just a normal day. I have an unexplainable peace from Holy Spirit that made this day normal. 

It felt so routine, so natural, that this profound publication was just another task on my to-do list today. Unload the dishwasher, check. Publish a book, check. 

I was ready for it. I knew I had done what God had called me to do. The “peace of God, which transcends all understanding” guarded my heart and mind today, as is shown in Philippians 4:7. Another translation says it this way, “a sense of God’s wholeness, everything coming together for good, will come and settle you down.”

How can such a significant day also be so normal? How can a routine include the monotony of daily life and the milestone of becoming a published author? 

Answer: Holy Spirit power working in me. It’s as if I was created to birth this book. 

I’ve heard other writers and artists describe getting their work out into the world as giving birth, but my experience was not exactly what I imagine being pregnant is like. When you birth a child, that baby is with you from the moment of conception, growing bigger within you while you simultaneously prepare for its arrival. You cannot take a break from its developing inside of you. That child is with you until it comes out.

This is not the same with publishing this book. In some ways, I have birthed something that was part of me like a child would be. I have allowed an idea to grow inside of me for months, growing bigger little by little, slowly allowing others to see this idea grow until it became obvious to all and was announced formally, with a “Cover Reveal” instead of a “Gender Reveal.” 

But in other ways, I spent many of the last few moments leading up to its birth knowing it was already done, already detached from me. I didn’t sit with it every single moment of every single day from its conception. I didn’t have a final push of pain and pressure, a complicated or chaotic transition from myself to the world. I knew exactly what day it would come out, releasing any anticipation of wondering its final due date. I spent many of the last few moments completely separated from it, no umbilical cord holding us together. I could pick it up when I wanted to and put it back down when I was done with it for the day. Unlike a pregnant woman who cannot release what she is incubating, I could and did take breaks from the responsibility of bringing the book to life. 

I birthed something into the world. It was a profound, life-changing experience. But also a normal, routine day. 

Today I published a book. 

I self-published my first devotional book on Amazon and IngramSpark. I am a professional writer. I am now officially an author. And through the power of Holy Spirit it was a beautifully ordinary day, wonderfully typical, exceptionally natural, and divinely routine. 

“God can do anything, you know – far more than you could ever imagine or guess or request in your wildest dreams! He does it not by pushing us around but by working within us, his Spirit deeply and gently within us…” (Ephesians 3:20-21)

Today I published a book.