Welcome back to day three of Five Fall Favorites — the annual autumn celebration of all things bookish!

If you’ve read my previous two posts (Day #1 and Day #2) this week, feel free to skip on down to today’s theme. And if not, here’s a brief recap!

Every day this week (6 days in all), I and a large group of other book bloggers are sharing posts centered around certain bookish themes, and packed full with some of our favorite book recommendations from the past year. I’ll link to a number of those blogs at the end of this post, but for even more links and information, you should check out our hosts’ sites!

Five Fall Favorites is once again hosted by Kate at Once Upon an Ordinary and Rebekah at Read Another Page (click on their blog names, or the graphics below to visit their blogs). Thank you both!

In addition to book recommendations, there is also a giveaway this year!

Two winners will be drawn, and they will each receive a collection of free e-books and audiobooks (plus a gift-card for the first-place winner). Check out the prize graphics below to see what you could win!

To enter the giveaway, all you have to do is click HERE!

Today’s theme allows me to share five of my favorite non-fiction books! I’ve read a fair few non-fiction books so far this year, many of them either Christian living or writing/publishing-related, so you’ll definitely see that reflected in my round-up. I’m so excited to share these stellar finds with you!

All the books I share this week are ones that I’ve either read in the past year, or are currently reading/re-reading, so please feel free to leave any questions you might have about the books below, and I’ll do my best to answer.

Also, I’ve reviewed many of these more thoroughly on Goodreads, so if you’re interested in reading my thoughts – or other reviews – you can find the Goodreads link under each book, or by clicking on each book’s title.

Let’s hop in!

Author: Andrew Peterson

Genre/Topic: Christian Memoir

Target Audience: Christian creatives

What Stuck Out to Me: This book touched me deeply. (Thank you to Kate for buddy-reading this with me!) I’ve read good books on faith, and good books on creativity, writing, and publishing, but this is one of the only great books I’ve read that combines all of those elements, and does it so effectively!

Peterson writes in a relatable, honest, and humble style, giving us a bit of everything (part autobiography, part writing advice, part Christian encouragement). I enjoyed reading about his life and how God’s used various hardships and events to fashion him into the person he is today, and especially loved his examples of how Christians can create with the Lord on a personal, daily basis.

This book is an encouragement, a calling, and a reminder of why I write — and Who I write for! I think my favorite parts were his analogies, and I’ll be thinking of my books as berry bushes for a long time. It’s so easy to get swept up in the hectic creative process; this book is a moving reminder to continue growing and glorifying God. If you’ve ever considered reading this, here’s your push!

I’d Recommend It To: Any Christian seeking encouragement, inspiration, and a deeper understanding of what it means to create meaningful art with the Lord.

Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!

Author: Joanna Penn

Genre/Topic: Indie Publishing

Target Audience: Indie/Self-Published authors seeking to make a career of publishing

What Stuck Out to Me: I’ve found very few helpful, in-depth books regarding the business side of being an indie author, but this book is such a valuable resource.

Covering topics such as motivation and mindset, determining products and services, crafting a business plan, navigating employees and members of your author team, finding ideal customers, sales and distribution channels, marketing, financial advice, and long appendixes of helpful books and tools, Penn gives direct, clear, and actionable steps for starting an author business.

I appreciated her emphasis that there isn’t one right way to run an author business, just the right way for YOU in that moment. Businesses and their plans can change, and her recommendation to revisit your plans and strategies every six months or so is smart and encouraging. While I would have loved for this book to be even longer and more in-depth, I understand why it can’t hold ALL the details, particularly in the financial and legal sections. I’ll definitely be revisiting this one over time, as my business grows!

I’d Recommend It To: Indie/Self-Published authors seeking tips, strategies, and helpful business advice from an established author already managing it well.

Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!

Author/s: Eileen Cook & Crystal Hunt

Genre/Topic: Writing/Publishing

Target Audience: Authors (directed more heavily at indie, but also applicable to traditional writers!)

What Stuck Out to Me: This is the best overall guide that I’ve read for authors seeking to write for a career!

With 450+ pages, this book visited everything from setting goals, choosing business models and planning for taxes, which publication path best suits you, identifying the best strategies for your books, marketing plans and methods, product price points and distribution channels, author branding and pen names, budgeting, re-branding and re-releasing old books, applying for an agent and publisher, indie publishing processes, other ways to bring in writing-related income, what to do when things go poorly, and appendixes of resources.

Each section was clear and easy to understand, at least as someone semi-familiar with many of the topics they discussed. Some of the sections were very short, and I’d have loved even more details in many of them, but they always provided other suggestions for where to go for more information. There was very little information that didn’t apply to me in some way or another, and what I can’t implement now, I anticipate revisiting in the future. I wish that I’d read this book at the start of my indie author journey!

I’d Recommend It To: Any author looking to write for a living, whether traditional or independently publishing, and seeking a handy, in-depth starter guide for figuring out all the aspects involved.

Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!

Author: Lisa Cron

Genre/Topic: Writing Craft

Target Audience: Writers/authors

What Stuck Out to Me: I’m just finishing this book, and it’s been extremely insightful as I’m outlining my most recent novel! I intend to go back and experiment with Cron’s suggestions/strategies on my other books in the editing stages.

As a character-oriented author, I love the deep focus on creating characters that feel real, and whose actions lead to a natural and moving story. Cron gives a very practical framework for developing characters and even recruited an author friend of hers to write out extremely helpful examples for her process!. While none of the information is groundbreaking, I’ve finished every chapter inspired to work on my own characters, and with new ideas on how to tackle story issues.

My only qualms with this are some uses of language, and a slight general sense of “this is the only correct way to outline a novel”, which I of course don’t agree with. But overall, this is a solidly helpful book when it comes to really knowing your characters and their motivations. Especially if you struggle with developing realistic characters, and/or connecting them cohesively to your plots, this is a great resource! I’ve never heard anyone else describe a character-creating process quite like this one, and it’s been fun.

I’d Recommend It To: Authors looking for help developing stronger characters and ensuring that they work together with their plots in tight-knit and interesting ways.

Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!

Author: Daniel Schwabauer

Genre/Topic: Christian Writing

Target Audience: Christian storytellers

What Stuck Out to Me: This is one of the best books about story I’ve ever read, and the only one I’ve found to cover story from a deep and engaging biblical perspective. I’m so glad I picked this one up!

In particular, the chapters on Job, were revolutionary to me. Schwabauer’s points and illustrative scenes were so helpful, and I lost track of how many times I had to stop reading to think through and pray about what he’d just written. I’d never thought about Job and his trials in that light, and the truths Schwabauer pulled from the biblical story hit me hard — in the best ways.

This book gave me a burning desire to go read my Bible again, and that’s perhaps the highest praise I can give it. Sometimes, having grown up Christian and knowing the biblical stories, just being able to see the familiar with fresh eyes and an eager mind can make all the difference. Overall, this book is enlightening, healing, vividly written, and full of valuable insight, the right smattering of humor, and plenty of heart.

I’d Recommend It To: Any Christian creative seeking an honest, deeper understanding of story, and how the Bible can give us a clearer picture of what story really is.

Here’s the link to add it on Goodreads!

Because there are so many bloggers participating in Five Fall Favorites this year, we’ve been split into teams! There’s no competition – only the opportunity to ensure everyone’s posts are shared.

I’m part of Team Aspen (see the graphic below), and I highly encourage you to check out the rest of my teammates’ posts for their recommended books today. That’s where I’m headed!

Here’s the list of bloggers in Team Aspen (click each name to visit that site):

Thank you so much for joining me today! Have you read any of the books I shared? Do you have any favorite non-fiction books? I’d love to hear from you, so drop a comment below, and we’ll meet again tomorrow for Five Fall Favorites day #4!

Don’t forget to enter that giveaway HERE!