Tonight at our monthly Fellowship of Christian Writer‘s meeting, I will be joining a panel of authors whose books and assorted works cover the gamut of publishing options.

Last week a local traditionally published writer friend brought lunch and we discussed my journey in self-publishing after munching yummy chips and salsa.

With her thoughtful questions I compiled this list of online resources which helped me decide which path to pursue.

Disclaimer: I heartily believe there is no one right way to publish — it’s a decision as variable as the individual, genre, time, and resources.

In 2023, not knowing a lick about publishing, I opted to hire out all the formatting and cover design work for my debut novel, The Quickening, Overcomers Book 1. As it was a 13 year writing investment, I felt justified in having a larger budget for its production and marketing so I reached out to Taryn at Typewriter Creative Company. She said yes and they did a stellar job. I highly recommend them. She offers a free-no-strings-attached Self-publishing Checklist on her website.

In 2024, with a little more confidence and a much smaller budget, I decided to purchase Atticus and Book Brush and learn to format Ash Island, a collaborative Christian devotional novella. I had a specific idea about how I wanted to include artwork by Abigail See — this book was a gift for her mother, one of my dearest friends, on the celebration of graduating her last child May 2025.

And the chapter end devotional questions written by Abigail Wallace would require learning a new skill as well — two page spreads with line spacing. Words like bleed, format, varying file types became more familiar as I hammered out our design and sought God’s wisdom through prayer.

After several failed attempts to create the cover I’d imagined, I reached out to Cassidy Wierks for help. I’d loved her artistry and work which graced my first book, The Quickening. She said yes and using Abigail’s artwork came up with a design I absolutely love.

Here are some of the websites which I found extremely helpful through the years — they offer a wide variety of articles, you-tube tutorials, and podcasts on a plethora of writing topics:

There are hours of consumption here. If you begin to feel overwhelmed, try to remember to take a deep breath, say a prayer, and then proceed. One bite at a time.

Remember, you won’t miss God’s plan.