What No One Tells You About Being a Christian Writer

Welcome to the very first episode of the Anointed Scribe Podcast!
If you're a Christian writer who longs to build a successful author business without compromising your faith, you're in the right place.

In this debut episode, I’m pulling back the curtain on the heart behind this podcast—and the mission God has placed on mine. You’ll hear how my own journey as an indie author began, the spiritual struggles I’ve faced along the way, and how God began to teach me to build my author business His way.

This show isn’t just about writing tips—it’s about helping you build a thriving author business fully aligned with God’s Word. I’ll be sharing biblical wisdom, mindset breakthroughs, and practical, Scripture-based business strategies to help you steward your calling with excellence, grow your impact, and honor Christ in every aspect of your writing journey.

Whether you're just starting out or you've already published a few books, this episode sets the tone for what's ahead—encouragement, truth, practical tools, and Spirit-led strategies to help you thrive as God’s anointed scribe.

✅ Subscribe or Follow so you don’t miss the next episode because I'm going to give you 5 ways to know if God is calling you to writing.

Transcript

When you started your journey as a Christian writer, did you dream of publishing books that make a meaningful difference to the world, all while floating on a cloud of deep fulfillment and joy?

For many Christian authors, this is the ultimate goal, but oftentimes the spiritual battles that stop us from living out our purpose interfere and slow us down, or worse, stop us from stepping into our calling altogether.

So how do you balance faith with building a thriving career as a Christian writer? Where do you seek biblical inspiration, practical tools and sound spiritual guidance to navigate the pitfalls that accompany your calling to write?

If you've asked these questions and want to know the answers to help you overcome writer's block, self doubt, comparison and striving for success as a Christian writer, stick around. Because this is exactly what my brand new podcast is all about.

And this is episode one.

I'm Urcelia Teixeira, ex real estate agent turned award winning author of Christian fiction. It wasn't that long ago that I wrote my first novel on a bucket list whim, setting the course for a spiritual journey that transformed my life.

But the journey through self publishing hasn't been easy as I soon found myself obsessing over book sales rankings and getting to the top of the shelves, all the while trying to stay rooted in Christ and live out my purpose.

But God has graciously been teaching me how to navigate the spiritual pitfalls of the brutal book publishing industry. And now I'm sharing them with you. Welcome to the Anointed Scribe Podcast where each week I open my personal diary to share soul nourishing stories designed to inspire, uplift and equip you for your writing life.

If you're already a Christian author or one in the making trying to balance faith with business, you're in the right place. Because for such a time as this, you have been called to thrive as God's anointed scribe.

Are you ready? Let's get started.

Hey there and welcome.

So before I jump into this very first episode of the brand new podcast, I just need to say thank you. Thank you for being here and choosing to spend this time with me.

I hope and pray you will find value from the insight and personal stories I plan to share with you in each coming episode and that you will not only thrive as a Christian writer, but that this podcast will also deepen your relationship with God.

I will start by telling you that this podcast was all God's idea and that he is very much behind it all. Those who know me and have been praying with me will tell you just how far out of my comfort zone I am right now and how I've struggled to get over myself to get going on this broadcast.

It's been something God has called me to do for nearly a year now, and I've found every excuse not to do it. It's been a real Moses experience, one reason being that I feel ill equipped, but more so because I don't want to let you down, and I definitely don't want to let God down.

But God's been gracious in waiting for me and preparing me, whispering in my ear. And so I'm pushing past my insecurities and my awkward South African accent, which most of my American friends don't understand half the time.

And I'm stepping out of the boat to share with you the personal and spiritual challenges I've had over the past seven years as a Christian writer in the hope that you might be equipped and encouraged, but also that you see that you're not alone.

It was through Matthew 10:27 that God directed me to share with you what he has patiently been teaching me along the way. And he continues to teach.

And so here's why I believe you will be encouraged and equipped by this podcast. I know that there are many other Christian authors who also put up a brave face to the world and fight their spiritual and physical battles in silence to the point where it's counterproductive to our purpose.

I believe that it's time we step out in our faith and come together as anointed scribes and stand in the gap for each other, encourage and uplift each other. Because we're at the end of the day, all fighting towards the same ultimate goal to glorify Christ with our writing and build his kingdom right?

And so over the years, God's taught me so much in my personal journey as a Christian writer, there have been many times where I felt that I was being pulled between profit and purpose, and I simply couldn't find a way to bring the two together to marry the brutal, competitive publishing industry and build a career as an author with my faith calling and still trying, staying true to myself.

It's something I struggle with nearly every day.

As I was searching the Internet for answers to the questions that were at war inside my heart, I found that they didn't exist.

I got to a point where I didn't want to know how to publish my novel or how to market my book anymore. I wanted to know how to stop falling into the comparison trap and to see myself through God's eyes, or how to keep writing when my faith was Weak?

Or what to do when I'm too depressed to write.

I mean, let's just be real for a minute. Sometimes the weight of the publishing world pressing down on your shoulders, pulling you between faith and fandom and making money can be really stressful.

You know, when you have that overwhelming pressure to meet reader expectations over writing instead of what you sense God has put in your heart.

Because we've been told that writing to market is the recipe to success, right?

Or the constant pushing to sell more books, to gain more followers, to claim that Amazon bestseller ribbon, and to chase after success as the world defines it.

If you've been doing this for a while, you know exactly what I mean. I've been there many times over. And trust me, I'm here to tell you, you are not alone in this constant tug of war.

But there are ways to balance your faith and build a successful author career the Biblical way.

As a Christian writer myself, I've been on this journey since 2018.

During this time, I've had the joy of success and seeing my work reach people's hearts. But I've also walked through seasons of doubt, discouragement, burnout, and even fear.

I know what it's like to battle things like comparison. For example, to look at other authors and wonder, why aren't my books selling like theirs? Why does their success seem so effortless and mine an uphill battle?

We can compare all the time. Like we are competing against each other, right?

Or how about when you've just poured your heart and soul into a book and your editor's red pen drowns out nearly every letter on the page? Literally the first person who sees that manuscript you've just spent the last six months on.

I mean, that stings, right? Well, how about reviews?

Your books go live and you. Or your book goes live and you working hard to get that first 25 reviews only to get a 2 star rating. Not even a review, just a rating that cancels out all your efforts and feels more like sabotage than honest feedback.

I mean, who hasn't had that happen? And then you walk away feeling like an absolute failure, wondering how that even happened and if you were even sure you did. Exactly.

Has God told you to do? I mean, doesn't God want this book to succeed?

Can you relate to any of these mind battles?

I definitely can. And believe me, I have many author friends who have at one stage or another, experienced these two. And if I'm being really honest, there have been times when I've wondered if I could even keep writing at all and that it would be so much easier to just give up.

There have been days when my faith felt weak and I felt so far away from God, yet I had to sit down at my desk and carry on writing the faithful stories that my readers were expecting.

Because I have bills to pay and the show must go on, right?

I've even had times when the words and the sales just would not come, no matter how hard I tried and worked or prayed. And I find myself questioning if this was really God's plan for me or if I had somehow taken a wrong turn along the way.

Writing for the Christian genre also carries a certain expectation to deliver stories that not only entertain your readers, but also glorify Christ. And on top of it all, they need to have all these other elements.

Otherwise they won't sell and you can't pay the bills and keep doing what you feel God is calling you to do.

And so, because I know how tough this journey is, whether you've already published a book or are still trying to decide if this is your calling, I know how hard it is to write a book.

And it's even harder not to lose yourself in the worldly systems of the book publishing industry.

But here's the thing, though.

There's an upside to being a Christian writer, too.

We're building God's kingdom, serving him and honoring God with the gifts and talents he's given us, and learning to make God part of every story and your business takes your success as a Christian writer to a whole new level.

And that's exactly what this show is all about.

It's only when I started to really do the work, the internal spiritual work, that I began to see where I was going wrong and what I needed to change as a writer.

Because in truth, being a Christian writer means you're combining ministry and purpose with having to make money and building a business.

And so striking a balance between essentially two biblical opposites, purpose and mission versus profit and success can be a slippery slope if we don't keep our hearts and minds focused on Christ and our calling.

What I've also found, as I spoke to God about many of the topics we'll be diving into in the coming episodes, is that oftentimes I'm so caught up in my head over worldly things because I'm a thinker, right?

But sometimes I ponder too much on the things the industry dictates and not enough on what my spiritually craves or needs to find true joy and success in my writing.

Now, if you think I have it all together, I don't mind wars, as I call them, continue to plague my heart and my mind on almost a daily basis. And why wouldn't it?

The more I please God, the harder the enemy fights to trip me up, right?

But God has shown me ways to counter the spiritual attacks, how to fight doubt imposter syndrome and fear of failure, and taught me what it truly means to be a writer set apart for his kingdom, and how to embrace all he has planned for me.

And now, through this podcast, I'm making myself available for God to work through me to in turn pass these spiritual truths on to you.

So I truly believe you are not here by accident. Because the God we serve doesn't operate in coincidences, right? He's a God of God, incidences with plans he's had for you before you were even born.

So if you're tuning in today, it's probably because you, like me, have a passion for writing and a heart to honor God. But trying to stay rooted in your faith and build a successful author business without conforming to the world's standards of success is not easy.

In fact, I'll venture to say that it's been the most challenging profession I've ever had, and I've had exposure to a handful of different careers in my 53 years of life, from banking and corporate management to real estate and a few starter businesses in between.

This one definitely takes the cake, but I'd like to help make your journey a little bit easier by opening my diary, my private vault of heartache and heavenly wisdom to you.

I'm hoping through sharing my journey, practical tips and biblical insights that have kept me grounded and aligned with God, that it will turn and in turn, strengthen your writing journey so you can keep doing the work that God needs you to do.

We're going to get real as we balance faith and business. And yes, I will be sharing moments of triumph that lead to other pitfalls like self reliance and pride. But I'll also be sharing those moments of deep struggle and uncertainty.

This show isn't about improving your craft or how to market books. It's about stepping into your purpose as a Christian writer. It's about implementing certain strategies that will help you see things from a different perspective and striking a balance between your heavenly purpose and the world's relentless pursuit of worldly success.

So listen, I believe that God has placed a unique message on your heart and that message has the power to change lives. But to do that, you need to stand firm in your faith and be committed to the purpose he has given you.

Together, we're going to navigate the ups and downs, victories and the struggles as we dig into the mind and heart of what it means to be a Christian writer.

My hope and prayer for this podcast is that it'll be a source of encouragement, inspiration and practical wisdom as you continue to write for God's glory, and that you'll take away valuable nuggets of truth and wisdom to help you navigate your way to success the Biblical way.

So if you stay with me, I trust that as you tune into the upcoming episodes, you'll soon realize that your journey as a Christian writer is more about being transformed and refined for God's glory as we work to build his kingdom, rather than chasing the lure of fame and fortune that often blurs our purpose.

Make sure you subscribe and follow, because in the next episode I'll share a page from my personal journey when my world turned upside down, and I'll tell you how I almost missed God's calling.

I'll also share at least five ways to know if God has called you.

To be a writer.

Along the way, I'll also be sharing a lot of free resources and tools I personally use every day. So if you want free access to all these free resources, you'll find them in my resource library on my website anointedscribe.com

and you can also follow me on Instagram at Anointed Scribe for daily nuggets of inspiration.

I'm excited to go on this journey with you, and I really cannot wait to see what God's going to do in your life as an Anointed Scribe.

Thanks for listening.

Thanks for listening to today's episode of the Anointed Scribe Podcast. I hope you're leaving feeling inspired, encouraged, and on fire to step boldly into your calling as a writer chosen and set apart to fulfill a unique purpose in God's plan.

If you found value and liked today's episode, would you stop right now and share this episode with someone else who's struggling to balance their faith with building their author career?

I'd also really love it if you take 30 seconds and leave a review on Apple Podcasts. This is the only way that I know you're actually liking the show. Plus, it lights me up to hear from you.

And if you want more of the.

Lessons I learned in my personal journey.

Good news because I drop new episodes every Friday.

So go ahead and subscribe or follow this show so you don't miss the next one. Then head over to anointedscribe.com for today's show. Notes and free access to my entire resource library to keep you rooted and on course.

There's also a link where you can shoot me a message or ask a question. Or if there's a specific topic you'd like me to talk about in a future episode, you can use the message link for that, too.

I look forward to our next episode together. And remember, for such a time as this, you have been called to thrive as God's anointed scribe. I'll see you next time.