The start of a new year often comes with fresh hope, new goals, and a little nudge in your heart: Maybe this is the year you finally write your book. But if you’re like many aspiring Christian authors, the thought of writing a book can feel overwhelming.
You have ideas swirling in your mind, memories, lessons you’ve learned, stories you want to tell… yet it all feels scattered. Where do you even start?
Then there’s the other haunting thought: who are you to be writing a book?
The good news: you don’t have to figure it all out at once. Clarifying your message before you begin writing can bring focus, direction, and confidence—and help you turn your calling into a book that truly resonates. The principles in this blog post can help you focus your book idea for a collection (ie poetry, devotionals), non-fiction book or even your memoir.
Why Clarity Matters before Writing a Christian Book
When you clarify your book idea early on, you’re doing more than just naming a topic. You’re setting boundaries for your writing, so you can stay focused on what truly belongs in your book—and what can wait for later.
Have you ever started working on one idea, only to have a bunch more possibilities flood you with inspiration? As you write, you’ll likely get inspired by new memories, dazzling research nuggets, and helpful tips that feel essential to share. Without clarity, your manuscript can balloon into something unfocused, leaving readers overwhelmed or unsure what your core message is. Clear and simple is what’s powerful. When you define your message, you can confidently decide: This belongs in my book… this is a great story, but it’s for a future article, devotional or course.
Clarity also helps you:
- Stay motivated when writing feels daunting.
- Connect deeply with your audience because your book speaks directly to their needs.
- Resonates with your readers because helped them stay focused and present on your topic
- Move past perfectionism, comparison, and self-doubt.
Don’t worry, you’ll be clearing out some of the excess segments of your first draft at a later stage, so this isn’t about getting a perfect plan or outline. It’s just about getting enough of a focused idea for your structure and content to help the process of writing your book.
Practical Steps to Clarify Your Book Idea
Here’s a step-by-step approach to help you move from scattered thoughts to a clear, actionable plan.
Step 1: Identify Your Heart’s Message
Ask yourself: What do I feel called to share? What is a truth I’ve learned that could help others? Write down 3–5 key messages. It could be a certain approach to a broad topic, a theme you want to explore from different angles, a particular problem you want to help solve. These could form the backbone of your book.
Step 2: Journal Your Heart
Before moving to audience and structure, spend some time journaling a few paragraphs or even pages on why this message matters so deeply to you. Go soul-deep:
- Why is it worth the effort, the time, and the constant reprioritizing of your life?
- What are you sick and tired of witnessing?
- What transformation do you hope your readers will experience?
- Why are you the one to write this book?
- How does sharing this message align with your calling or faith journey?
This exercise helps clarify motivation and keeps your writing anchored in purpose, even when distractions or doubts arise.
Step 3: Define Your Audience
Who will benefit most from your book? Be specific. Don’t just visualize the tangible things about your ideal reader: age, life stage, vocation. Also dig into their desires, their beliefs, their struggles, their regrets. This clarity ensures your examples, tone, and content will resonate.
Step 4: Pinpoint Your Unique Voice
Your experiences, faith journey, and perspective make your book distinct, especially in a society now flooded with AI generated content. Consider: What are stories or insights only I can share? Your authentic voice will make your book relatable and memorable.
Step 5: Study Other Books
Pick 5–10 books on a similar topic that your readers would enjoy reading. Ideally, choose books that were published in the last 3 years and that have been read by many. Look at what readers loved and complained about—reviews on Goodreads, Amazon, or book blogs can be gold mines for insight. Make notes for each:
- What did readers respond to most?
- Which elements kept them engaged?
- How would your book’s approach, style and concepts be different?
This exercise verifies what works and what sells. It also sparks inspiration for your own content—without copying anyone.
Step 6: Map the Core Structure
Decide on the “shape” of your non-fiction book: is it a devotional, memoir, how-to or a blend? Read How to Structure a Non-Fiction Book: 9 Ways Readers Could Experience Your Message if you need ideas. Then, sketch a rough chapter outline—or even just three main sections—to give your writing a framework to grow from.
Step 7: Pray and Reflect
As a Christian writing a book, you are also a spiritual journey. Ask God for wisdom to reveal the message He wants to flow through you in this process. Journaling prompts like “What is the core message you want me to share, God?” or “What transformation do I hope readers experience? And what do You want them to experience, Lord?” can draw out your clarity and confidence in the content.
However, God isn’t just about getting things done–He cares about YOU and His relationship with you. So the writing and creating experience itself and how He wants you to experience His Presence could be exactly why you feel called to write this book. Could it be a healing process He wants for you? A way of organizing your scattered thoughts so you’re better equipped to make the impact you’ve been praying for? Are there fears He’s eager to give you the courage to face? Does He merely want to enjoy seeing you delight in the process of creating something fun and magical, and parent would watch a child?
There is so much potential in this book-writing process beyond the book itself! So ask Him: “Lord, what do you want to do in me and for me through writing this book?”
You Don’t Have to Figure It All Out Before Writing a Book
Clarity doesn’t mean you need a perfect plan before you write a single word. It also does not mean that what you plan now will be what you end up with in your final draft (in fact, count on it morphing unexpectedly along the way!). It simply means knowing the heart of your message, understanding who you’re writing for, and giving yourself a framework to follow.
Think of it like planting seeds in a garden. You don’t need to know exactly how tall each plant will grow. You just prepare the soil, plant with intention, and trust that with time, care, and guidance, something beautiful will flourish in its season.
Ready to Turn Your Idea Into a Book?
If the idea of writing a Christian book has been lingering on your heart, a little clarity can make all the difference. My 60-minute Author Coaching Session (book here) is designed to draw out the heart of your message, highlight your strengths, and leave you with a clear, practical next step.
You’ll walk away with focus, confidence, and a roadmap that turns your calling into a book that can truly impact lives. Start the year strong—your message is ready to be heard.
You also might enjoy reading:
What My 3-Year-Old Taught Me About Creative Courage
Finding Motivation to Write Your First Draft (and Finish It)
God Is Calling Me to Write This Book: A Tug You Can’t Ignore
For essays and content on welcoming the inner slow growth in the creative journey, you might enjoy reading The Calling Journey–another one of my corners of the internet.
