by Blythe Daniel @BlytheDaniel

You probably have been asked this question that frequently comes up in publishing discussions: “What are you doing to build your audience?”

Some people cringe at this question, others excitedly share how they are meeting people, talking with them about the interest in their writing, and putting out content that will draw people into the theme of their book.

Which one of these individuals do you identify with?

A big reason I am so passionate about helping people realize that building an audience is a good thing is that it allows you to connect with more people to share the message in your book you’re working so hard to write!

If you spend months or even years writing a book, don’t you owe it to yourself and to God to allow the words he’s directed you to write to be amplified?

The book of John is one of my favorites in the Bible. It’s often where we point people to start reading who are new believers to get a sense of the overall teachings of Jesus and the bigger story of his life, death, and resurrection. The resurrection is where I want to focus because his overcoming means you and I can overcome because of the power of God that was in Jesus is in us.

We have not only the ability, but the mandate to make disciples teaching them about Jesus. But how will they hear if we don’t connect with them?

If what you’re doing is to point people to the will of the Father, then why is it frowned upon to draw people to him?

I like to think about the circles in which Jesus ran. He went before the masses, the crowds, the smaller gatherings, the 12 disciples, the few he was close to like Peter and John, and the one – the one-on-one encounters he had with people. He went faithfully and he sought people who then sought him.

This part intrigues me. I see this for us as well. When we seek people out of a genuine need, we have an open door to share with them. You may be writing a novel and your story will reach people in a way that a non-fiction book would not. You may be writing a devotional, chapter book, or study that is just what someone needs to go deeper in their faith or discover faith for the first time.

Recently, I was talking with an acquisitions editor for a well-known publisher. She shared, “Authors can’t expect people to know the terms they use or understand the theology they are sharing because some people are brand new to the faith. If we use Christianese or make people feel bad because they don’t believe the same way we do, we are isolating our audience. Authors need to keep in mind that when they write, not everyone understands what they understand and wants to come along with them.  Authors often clip them right from the start by the way they write.”

As a literary agent, I want to see that you not only have a message that speaks to me but an audience that listens to you. And you are going to need to take the necessary steps to build your audience before you show me that there is a developed and hungry audience for the writing you want to share.

I liken it to this. If I was going to hire you for a job, I’d want to know you had experience. Building an audience is that experience you need to get the job, er book contract. Without experience, how should a publisher believe that you will have enough experience to share your book and to seek the people who are going to read it?

I think one reason that people don’t want to build an audience is that they feel they are building up themselves or they don’t like what it looks like to draw attention to their message.

But let’s go back to Jesus. He wasn’t drawing attention to himself. He was sharing a message and letting it rest on people where it did. The Pharisees hated him and didn’t want to believe his message. Some leaders let down their guard and followed him. The crowds wanted to see more miracles. He withdrew at times during his ministry because people followed him. His message was just that good!

If I had a WHY statement of why I do what I do, it would be this:

“Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; for they loved human praise more than praise from God.” John 12:42 and 43 (NIV)

If we love praise from men more than God then we will seek building an audience for ourselves. But if we love praise from God more than praise from men, we will build an audience for him.

As an author, I work on building an audience for the intended readers of my books not for me but to point others to God. This works hand-in-hand with another verse that I have clung to which is James 4:10 (NIV): “Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up.”

Building an audience isn’t about you, really. It’s about others hearing about, leaning into, and picking up what you have to share that God wants you to provide for others. We need to be willing to go, like Jesus did, meeting people where they are and not expecting people to come to where we are, or where we’re comfortable.

I’m in this with you as I remind myself that it’s not about how many people I share with but that I share with people. Remember the sizes of crowds that Jesus was in that I spoke of earlier? Whether he was in the masses or the one, people walked away changed and encouraged. That’s our job – we go and God helps us navigate where we build and why we do it.

I know this message may not be popular and some will say, “It’s not that easy.” And yet, being a disciple of Christ is not easy. As we represent him, let’s remember that we are not here for our own purposes but to lift him up. And if we can do that by drawing others to what we have to share and that it’s not to build up ourselves, then we model what Jesus did, which was to point people to the Father. May we be women and men who aren’t held back by what we associate with drawing others to us because the end result may be their salvation or the salvation of those in their family.

Blythe Daniel is a literary agent and marketer and has been in publishing for over 20 years. She has written for Proverbs 31 Ministries, Focus on the Family, Ann Voskamp, and Christian Retailing. She and her mother Dr. Helen McIntosh are the authors of Mended: Restoring the Hearts of Mothers and Daughters (Harvest House Publishers).

www.theblythedanielagency.com; www.ourmendedhearts.com