What if the very places you’ve hidden in shame are the exact places God wants to meet you with His love? Some stories take decades to find their voice. In this tender and deeply hope-filled episode ofAt This Table, Shelly Brown sits down with authorLinda Mooreto talk about her devotional,When Love Shows Up—a book born…
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This Week’s Tip: Shift from “Why Isn’t My Book Selling?” to “How Is My Book Positioned?”
This week’s tip is actually an excerpt from our most recent fUNfiltered: Marketing Talk for Authors episode on YouTube, where we talked honestly about book sales, industry averages, and—most importantly—how authors can rise above them.
👉 You can click here to watch the full episode.
If your book isn’t selling the way you hoped, it’s easy to spiral into frustration, self-doubt, or quiet discouragement.
But if you take these insights (in this email and our fUNfiltered episode) to heart—AND take action on the shifts we’re encouraging for 2026—your chances of rising well above average increase significantly. Small, intentional changes really do compound.
Here’s an important truth most authors are never told:
The average book sells fewer than 1,000 copies over its entire lifetime—and that number includes
traditionally published books
self-published books
hybrid-published books
These aren’t worst-case scenarios. They’re industry averages.
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What do you do when you’ve tried everything to help your child—and you’re too tired, too heartbroken, or too overwhelmed to even know how to pray?
Loving a wounded child can leave parents and caregivers feeling exhausted, isolated, and unsure of what to do next—especially when prayers feel unanswered and hope feels fragile.
In this tender and deeply honest episode of At This Table, Shelly Brown sits down with Virginia Wells, licensed social worker, chaplain, and author of Praying for a Wounded Child, for a conversation that meets hurting hearts right where they are. Drawing from decades of counseling, ministry, and her own lived experience as a mom, Virginia offers compassionate wisdom and practical encouragement for anyone walking the hard road of loving a child who has been hurt by trauma, loss, abandonment, or broken circumstances.
Together, Shelly and Virginia talk about the power of honest prayer, why God’s presence matters more than quick answers, and how caregivers can find peace—even while nothing seems to be changing.
This episode is a lifeline for parents, grandparents, foster and adoptive parents, and anyone who loves a wounded child and needs reassurance that God sees, God cares, and God is near.
This Week’s Tip: Stop Chasing Vanity Metrics. Build Depth Instead.
If your book isn’t selling the way you hoped, you’re not alone.
Many thoughtful, faithful authors find themselves in that place — wanting to be good stewards of their message, but unsure what to focus on or how to move forward with clarity. And that uncertainty often gets louder when we start looking at the numbers we’re surrounded by.
Followers.
Likes.
Reach.
Views.
These are often called vanity metrics — because they look impressive, but they don’t always reflect real connection or real impact.
You can have growing reach and still feel like no one is actually responding.
You can gain followers and still struggle to sell books.
And that disconnect creates confusion.
You see other authors celebrating bestseller lists.
You watch “overnight success” stories scroll by.
And quietly, you wonder if you missed something… or did something wrong.
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What if the very pain you wish had never happened is the place God is growing your deepest strength?
In this tender and deeply hope-filled conversation, Shelly sits down with author Jodi Snowdon to talk about grief, loss, and the quiet, sacred work God does in the middle of heartbreak. From miscarriage and divorce to the loss of a best friend—and later, her father—Jodi shares honestly about the pain that reshaped her faith and the intimacy with God that grew from it.
This episode is for anyone walking through loss, disappointment, or a season where life no longer looks the way you prayed it would. Jodi doesn’t offer quick fixes or tidy answers—she offers presence, perspective, and a steady reminder that God meets us in the ruins and grows something strong and beautiful there.
This Week’s Tip: Strengthen the Four Anchors That Help Your Book Reach More Readers
If you’ve ever prayed something like, “Lord, I know You called me to write this book… but can You also call people to buy it?”
—you’re in good company. (We actually laughed about this on our latest fUNfiltered episode! Click here to catch the replay. We go into a lot more detail)
It’s a real tension for authors.
You obeyed God by writing the message.
Now you’re trusting Him with who finds it.
Sometimes they do find it. Miraculously.
But soon we realize that our book isn’t going to sell itself.
