by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman28

Just how much good can we do when we have to stay home during a pandemic? 

As writers, we may wonder when publishing houses will be running at full steam again, when we can have in-person book launch parties, and if we can see our friends at conferences this summer. We may feel powerless when there is so much that is uncertain and out of our control. But what if we have more power as writers than we realize? 

The following list of resources has great potential for immediate impact. Under each point are ideas for how to use that resource. Now. Not in five years. Not in two months. This week. Even today. Pray over this list, and ask God whether He wants you to add a resource to your truth “arsenal,” or how He wants you to continue using what you have already started. 

1. Blogs

• Start a series on a positive topic that will refresh people’s hearts and help them focus on the right things—topics like peace, helping others, the names of God, His promises, and Jesus’ famous sayings. 
• Submit guest posts to blogs that your target audience visits, and point them to God, His strength, and His joy. 
• Start a blog tour with friends—ask other bloggers to tackle a topic with you, like how moms can motivate their children to finish the end of the school year at home.  

2. Social Media

• Flood social media with encouraging memes, inspiring quotes, and links to soul-stirring songs and sermons. 
• Start a private Facebook group for participants to study a book of the Bible together or study a book that you or a friend has written. Post questions each week to discuss the reading assignments. 
• Ask a positive question to get people talking about the things of God—“What promise in God’s Word has sustained you through difficult times?” 
• Post a weekly verse with a short devotional paragraph, and then ask a question to generate discussion. Think “tiny blog post.”

3. Zoom 

• Use this video conferencing service to host a book club or interactive Bible study.  
• Use Zoom to have a face-to-face (but not in person) book launch party. 
• Host an “idea swap”—ask writer friends to help you brainstorm ideas for your next book, and share ideas about their projects as well.  

4. Videos

• Let your readers see a friendly face! Post short devotional videos (based on your books or blog posts) on your social media pages.  
• Go live! Think of a topic that your target audience needs during this pandemic, and go live on Facebook, YouTube, or Twitter.  
• Start a “live broadcast” on Twitter—go live on Twitter and invite writer friends in the same genre to join you  as “guests” for a lighthearted chat or a deeper conversation. They will be heard, but only you will be seen.

5. Podcasts

• Tap into the power of podcasts which may allow you more time to tackle a much-needed topic. Your audience may listen longer to a podcast than a video since they can multi-task while they listen.     
• Use iTunes or Google Play Music to share your podcast. Listeners can “subscribe” to your podcast for new “episodes” or segments to be downloaded. 
• Keep daily podcasts around ten to fifteen minutes long, and make weekly podcasts longer as needed (under sixty minutes). You don’t have to upload an episode every day or every week. 
• Turn your blog posts into episodes—you can either say your notes by heart, or read them with a good cadence to get started. 
• Create episodes based on your book’s topic, your daily quiet time, or other subjects that would encourage subscribers. 

6. Books

• Keep writing your book! Dr. David Jeremiah once said that if we stop plowing now, there won’t be a harvest later. Ask God for the inspiration and determination to keep writing.
• Submit to compilations that publishers announce.
• Take time to pray over what other books God may want you to write in the future, and keep a folder of notes for each book idea He gives you. 

7. Magazines or Devotional Websites

• Submit to magazines and websites that are announcing submission calls, and keep your writing mind sharp. 
• Anticipate what your target audience may need to read this year and next year, and submit an article to the appropriate publisher. 

Now is not the time to feel like we can’t do anything. If we have more time available at home, let’s use it for good. And the more we venture out into the world, let’s keep the innovative ways of reaching people, so that as many people as possible hear the truth and know our great God. 

Which of these resources have you tried already, and which would you be willing to tackle? Tell us in the comments below, and tap into the resources we have to make a difference!

Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author, an editor of Refresh Bible Study Magazine, and a co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies. She loves connecting with writers and working alongside them in compilations, such as Feed Your Soul with the Word of God, Collection 1 which is a 2020 Selah Awards finalist. Lighthouse’s newest compilation, The Power to Make a Difference, was released in January 2020.

In addition to online magazines, Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.com, thoughts-about-God.com, the Arise Daily blog, and three blogs on writing. She loves to spend time with family and friends, watercolor in her Bible journal, and do yard work in the summer sun. Connect with her at her blog, The Scrapbooked Bible Study, and on Facebook and Twitter.