My Ninth Year as a Published Author

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On February 22nd, my ninth year as an Indie author came to a close. Because life has been hectic, I haven’t been able to write this post until a week and a half after the anniversary passed. But now, as promised in my recent life update, today I’m finally getting around to filling you in on what I’ve learned and experienced during my ninth year as a published author.

If you haven’t yet read about years one through eight, check out those posts below:

Lesson One: Taking a Necessary Step Back from Social Media Marketing Won’t Hinder Your Success if it’s God-Led

Because of some things I was going through last year, I decided to take a step back from posting on Instagram and deleted my Threads account. This was a tough decision for me to make, since some self-publishing advice preaches that social media helps build a readership. Traditional publishers are even scouting writers who have massive social media followings and are giving them publishing deals over taking chances on lesser-known writers. But this decision was God-led, and I’m so glad I walked in obedience! Not being subject to constant comparison has been such a relief over the past several months. While I’m keeping my Instagram active, I’ve only posted a handful of times since making this change, and I think this will be the new norm from here on out.

How I Used Instagram to Market My Books in Years Past

Back in 2022, I never would have thought I would be able to keep a readership without posting consistently on Instagram. During that time, I was posting Reels almost daily. At that point in time, Reels were still fairly new, so they helped my account gain views. Not only did Reels help my following grow, but they ended up introducing my books to new readers and increased book sales.

Fast-forward to 2024, and Instagram’s Reels feature had become so saturated that it was increasingly difficult to stand out or gain traction. Where I used to love to film Reels and enjoyed how they allowed me to market in a creative way, the constant algorithm changes and growing prominence of AI content (and how AI can be used to copy videos and voices for malicious purposes) are what drove me to stop posting them last year.

Did Stepping Away from Instagram and Threads Hurt My Book Sales?

Surprisingly enough, ditching Instagram and Threads (though I rarely posted there) in favor of a few paid promotions with eBook deal newsletters throughout the year and reviving my Pinterest account did not negatively affect my sales numbers. In fact, the number of books sold in 2026 increased by a handful (from 96 to 102) from 2024 to 2025. Being that there has barely been a difference and I’m far less stressed concerning marketing than I used to be, I plan on sticking with this new strategy for a while.

The moral of the story is, if God is nudging you to take a step back from something, do it. Don’t put it off. If we walk in obedience to what He’s asking us to do, He will continue to provide for us even when we may not know how He will.

Lesson Two: Some Books Are Just Harder to Write… and That’s Perfectly Okay

If you’ve been following my WIP Updates, you may know that I started writing my current work in progress, Follow the Arrows, in August 2024. 1 year and 7 months later, and I’m still trying to finish this convoluted story. Going in, I didn’t anticipate how much research I’d have to do for the bowling and archery elements, as well as the farming aspect that comes in with Hadley’s family. Though I thought I was close to The End in December, I didn’t finish writing the book then. I then moved the finish line to my birthday last month, but because of the horrors of real life, that possibility went straight out the window within the first week of the month. So now, with seven chapters left to write, I’m wondering if Owen and Hadley will reach their happy ending before the 2 year mark strikes (pun definitely intended).

For reference, I wrote my last WIP, Tales of an Awkward Turtle, from start to finish in just under 7 months, so while writing Follow the Arrows, I’ve often felt like I’m floundering and have lost the ability to write.

But, as frustrating as this can be, God is slowly but surely teaching me that some books are just harder to write, and that it’s perfectly okay if it takes longer to write one book than it did another. He has reminded me that there isn’t a set deadline for this book to be finished by, and that it’s not even my next intended release, nor the one after that. He’s shown me that I need to give myself grace for the lack of progress; that I was preparing to publish The Dream when I started writing this book, I experienced intense grief 2 months after publishing it, and had an insane year throughout the remainder of 2025. Some seasons of life aren’t conducive to creative writing, and that’s to be expected.

So, for my tenth year as a published author (I don’t even know how to react to typing that out *screams*), knowing what I have on my plate this year, I’m going to give myself more grace when it comes to my writing pace. While my goal is to finish writing Follow the Arrows this year, I’m not going to pressure myself to get it done. It’ll get done when it’s meant to be done, all in God’s perfect timing.

Lesson Three: Contrary to Popular Belief, Sometimes Writing 2 WIPs at Once Helps Your Creativity

Ever since I became a published author nine years ago, I’ve held fast to writing advice which emphasizes that we should focus on writing one book at a time. Following this advice has worked for me for several years, but this past year, I wanted to get started on my Secret Project which I’m hoping to release in 2027 (who knows if that’ll happen now, but I can dream lol).

While, yes, starting a new manuscript in addition to Follow the Arrows took time away from making progress on that book, I found that it helped my creativity. When I would get stuck writing Follow the Arrows, I could switch gears and write my Secret Project, making progress on it and eventually think of how to fix the issue in the bowling book. I think part of the reason my writing progress has been slower over the past few months is that I’ve set aside the Secret Project in hopes of finishing Follow the Arrows, and being in the life slump + a writing slump hasn’t helped.

So, this year, I’m hoping I can return to my writing roots of having at least two different WIPs to work on at once in hopes that if I fall into a slump writing one, working on the other can get me back on track.

Talk to Me, Arrowheads!

That’s it for this week, Arrowheads! If you’re a writer or an author, I hope these lessons have helped you as much as they’ve helped me this year.

Before I go, a huge THANK YOU is in order to everyone who reads Authoring Arrowheads each week or who has taken a chance on my books. You have been such a blessing to me these past nine years, and I thank God for allowing me to be a part of the Indie Christian Author community.

Aim high, stay strong, and always hit your mark.

-Allyson 😀

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As an author and blogger, my goal is to teach writers that there is a way to write realistic, thought-provoking, redemptive Christian fiction that honors God while not sugarcoating the realities of the world. 

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