Happy June, readers! Welcome to the new subscribers from the O’Fallon Farmers Market. On May 19, fellow author Susan Laspe and I joined the St. Charles City-County Library’s local author booth. It was hot (summer’s here, y’all!) but so much fun to meet new readers.
In the latest writing news, there are some big highlights:
1. Due to a certain online retailer’s publishing platform being troublesome, Sparks’s publication date is back to July 2. The good news is that I think final edits will be relatively light. Details for the launch team are toward the bottom of this newsletter.
2. For a Noble Purpose is now available in audiobook on Audible, Amazon, and iTunes, and I have a number of promo codes, first come first served. If you’d like to listen for free, reply to this email.
3. I’ve now reached a full 6 months off social media. Here’s the biggest discovery I’ve made:
Off Social Discovery #6 – I’m not going back.
That’s right, friends; after 19 years, I’m leaving social media. But here’s the thing, it didn’t take me six months to figure out. In fact, it took me less than two. I waited the full six months to allow myself time to really contemplate the decision, but my feelings never changed.
First, I do want to acknowledge that social media has its good aspects. As a new author, I learned so much about business and marketing from other authors’ posts and in writing groups. I made connections with authors and readers around the world, several of whom I now call friends. Through it, I found the Catholic Writers Guild, the Christian Mommy Writers, and many small online shops that I now frequent. It helped me build my newsletter list and brought me my first cover design clients. For all those reasons, I will always be grateful. Despite all the good, however, the time finally came when, for me, it no longer outweighed the stress, pressure, and security concerns.
I’ve taken social media breaks before – for a week, a month, during the entire season of Lent. About seven years ago, I stopped posting photos of my kids and about four years ago, I removed almost everything from my personal Facebook page and kept it strictly to my author life. I could see how all the little steps I’d taken over the years finally added up to a big decision, but what I really needed was someone to tell me I had permission to leave.
Enter children’s author and fellow Christian Mommy Writer, Kristen Gwen. After I announced my social media sabbatical, she told me how she left Instagram in June 2023 and what a great decision it was. She directed me to the Writing Off Social podcast, hosted by Christian authors Sandy Cooper and Mary K. Tiller. Their show’s opening sequence says they are the “podcast for female Christian writers who want to grow and nurture their audience without social media.” Here’s the opening of every show:
“We know you’re tired of chasing the algorithm. Using social media to build your platform has left you feeling drained, overwhelmed, and unfruitful…maybe even trapped. You want to be free to build a sustainable, God-honoring writing career. We get it! That’s why our vision is to empower you to confidently reject life-sucking, ineffective methods of platform growth and instead pursue strategies that play to your strengths and yield a better ROI.” These two women were singing the song of my heart. I needed to learn more.
Over the next two months, I listened to all 30 currently available episodes. Each one was like turning on another neon sign that read, “You can do this!” They hosted author after author who left social media and were successful both professionally and personally. Then I searched the internet and found person after person, both authors and non, who had left social media and never looked back. Not only were they happy being away but were thriving free from the comparison-and-keep-up game. They had found ways to accept their FOMO and developed richer connections with their friends and family. Then it got really weird.
I no longer had to search for people leaving social media. Every week, I had validation sent straight to my email inbox through other authors, readers, and even personal friends who were all taking extended social media breaks. Had I started a social media exodus? No. Leaving social media altogether isn’t for everyone, but others’ temporary reprieve did provide one more level of validation for my own decision. It turns out the world survived before social media and the world still survives without it. As was mentioned in one episode of Writing Off Social, it’s ok to only give people access to yourself who have earned the right to be there.
You, my newsletter subscribers, have earned the right to see behind the publishing curtain. You have taken a step beyond the simple click of a “like” and I am so very thankful for each one of you. I thank you for having remained with me over this six month social media sabbatical and look forward to where the future takes us.
So, if you’re like me and need someone to tell you it’s ok to leave social media, even if only temporarily, this is me giving you permission to walk away, both personally and professionally. This is me saying, “You can do this!” We can do it together.
For now, my author Facebook and Instagram pages will remain open as a way to direct readers back to my website, and I have placed an autoreply on all direct messages. I will also continue to be on Goodreads.
As a final reminder, in lieu of social media posts, I have created an “Extra Edition” newsletter which includes special behind the scenes book content just for subscribers. Simply, complete the form at the link below to receive all the inside info. The next edition releases on June 17. If you’ve signed up in the past, you’re already on the list!
Join the Journey – Get Bonus Content
Join the Launch Team
Want to read Sparks Fly Upward before its July 2 release? Why not join the Launch Team? If you’ve been on my launch team before, you’ll see that we’re doing things a little differently this time. Since I’m not on social media, I’m not asking you to post about my book there either (unless you want to). What I would ask for you to do:
- Read the provided eBook (sent by June 25) and post your review before July 25. Feel free to post anywhere you feel comfortable. Preferred outlets are Amazon, Goodreads, and Bookbub.
- Recommend the book to 5 friends (or more!) via email, text, snail mail, video chat, direct message, in your book club, or through some other non-social-media format. This could be as easy as forwarding one of my newsletters to a friend.
- Request that your local library add it to their collection. If they don’t already have Book 1, For a Noble Purpose, request that one instead. Most libraries will want to start at the beginning.
Thank you in advance!
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Releasing in June
Need another read? Here are the new releases I’m excited about:
- Weaving Roots by Heather Wood – sweet romance about a weaver in the pre-industrial 1820s
- The Hudson Collection by Jocelyn Green – a Gothic mansion, a treasure hunt, and a tangled web of secrets in 1920s New York
- Summer Ever After by Kortney Keisel – clean romantic comedy about falling for your best friend’s brother
- The Exile by Allison Ramirez – Book 2 of The Divided Kingdom dystopian series inspired by the divided kingdom of Israel in the Old Testament.
- Born of Gilded Mountains by Amanda Dykes – a former Hollywood leading lady restores an abandoned Colorado estate in 1948
Want to know what I’m currently reading? Follow me on GoodReads.
Did you know reviews help both readers and authors? Even one sentence is enough, and every word greatly appreciated. Consider leaving a rating on Amazon, Goodreads, BookBub, and/or your favorite retailer!
Until next month, happy reading!
Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam
Kelsey
Purchase signed copies of my books: kelseygietl.com
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Purple Mask Publishing
2025 Zumbehl Rd, Ste. 33
St. Charles, MO 63303
