63 | How Christian Authors Can Look at Their Book Sales Without Losing Their Faith

You've heard it a thousand times: "Know your numbers." But what happens when looking at your KDP dashboard makes your stomach drop? When that royalty number hasn't budged in weeks - or months - and you're starting to wonder if you're missing some crucial step in the book publishing and marketing process that everyone else knows about - except you.

In this episode, I'm sharing what changed everything for me: how to measure success as a Christian author in a way that keeps you grounded, faithful, and free - without ignoring the data that actually matters.

Because the truth is, your numbers DO matter. But the way you've been looking at them? That might be the very thing keeping you stuck.

If you're tired of letting your dashboard define your worth and your calling, this episode is for you.

👉 Listen now to uncover the secret to becoming an anointed scribe!

Chapters

• 0:01 Know Your Numbers
• 4:04 How to get breakthrough in your author business
• 8:16 How to Measure Your Author Success in Gods Economy
• 8:49 What is success in Gods Kingdom?
• 12:41 Biblical Examples of Business Success
• 15:36 Two Ways to Track Your Author Numbers
• 19:19 5 Practices to Stop Numbers From Owning You
• 22:50 How God measures success
• 25:25 The Real Numbers of Your Book
• 27:03 How to Revive and Thrive In Your Author Business

Transcript

Have you ever heard people say that to be successful in business, you need to know your numbers?

It's one of the golden rules of being a successful indie author, too. In fact, it's probably the first thing you hear at every author conference,

every podcast, every marketing course.

Know your numbers. Track your data.

Watch your dashboard. And you do. You open your KDP dashboard, you check your royalties, and every single time, your hope is crushed because the royalty number, it's barely changed in, like, forever.

And you can't help but feel like things are just never going to look up for you. That maybe you're just not a good enough writer,

or that you're missing some crucial step in the book publishing and marketing process that everyone else knows about except you.

You know you should pay better attention to your sales figures. You know the advice is right, you know it matters.

But it just hurts so bad to see the same numbers staring back at you day after day after day.

And what's worse,

you're starting to doubt God.

You're losing sleep over it. You're obsessing about how to sell more books, how to market better, what strategy you're missing.

You're working harder, hustling more, trying everything.

But no matter how much you do,

no matter how hard you work, you keep landing in the same dark corner of despair.

And without you even realizing it, how you show up every single day. Your mood,

your energy, your faith.

It's all tied to that one royalty number on your dashboard,

friend. If this is you right now, if you're resonating with any of this today,

I want you to lean into today's episode. Because it's going to absolutely change how you move forward as a Christian author.

If you've ever wanted to learn more about author success as a Christ follower,

how to interpret your sales numbers and your KDP dashboard without losing your piece, then today's episode is for you.

Because we're taking a deep dive into what success really means. How to look at your numbers as a Christian writer and which numbers to use to measure your author business.

This is the Anointed Scribe podcast.

I'm Urcelia Teixeira, ex real estate agent turned award winning Christian fiction author.

When I wrote my first novel on a bucket list whim, I had no idea it would spark a spiritual journey that would redefine my calling. But you know what, friend?

Self publishing wasn't easy. I got caught in the hustle, chasing rankings and sales while desperately trying to stay rooted in Christ.

Now, by God's grace, I'm building my author business his way. And now he's called me to help you do the same.

Welcome to the Anointed Scribe Podcast, where faith meets business for Christian writers. Let's write, publish and grow our author business God's way. Are you ready? Well then, let's get started.

Hey, it's your author friend, Urcelia. And welcome back to the Anointed Scribe Podcast.

Before we dive in, I need to tell you something.

What I'm about to share with you today.

I lived it for years.

I was the author who couldn't look at her dashboard without her stomach dropping.

I was the one lying awake at 2am Wondering if I'd heard God wrong or if he could even hear me.

I was exhausted from working so hard and seeing nothing change.

And then everything shifted.

Not because my sales suddenly exploded, but because God showed me a completely different way to run my author business.

A way where I could care about my numbers without being crushed by them.

Where I could work hard without the anxiety. Where I could trust God's timing even when my royalties stayed flat.

And here's what happened the that shift didn't just give me peace.

It made way for breakthrough and freedom in my author business.

Real,

tangible breakthrough.

Because I finally had the right foundation in place.

That's what I now teach inside the Revive to Thrive Way™ program.

The exact three foundational areas you need before you can step into the success and abundance God wants for you.

Because here's the truth.

Without this foundation, you are building in vain.

You are building on shifting sand, friend,

and no amount of marketing strategy or hustle is going to fix that.

This program is brand new.

It's launching soon. I'm super excited about it. And I've just opened up a wait list for Christian authors who want special launch pricing. Which, by the way,

weren't need you to break your piggy bank. If you're ready to stop letting your dashboard define you and start building your awesome business on something that actually lasts,

head over to AnointedScribe.com/ReviveToThrive and get on the list friend. If you want this launch pricing, get on the list.

But for now,

let me walk through exactly what God taught me about measuring success his way.

Today I want to talk about something that for years kept me in bondage as a Christian author,

and that is living and dying by my stats.

Now, I need to say something right up front because this is important.

I am not going to tell you to ignore your numbers. I'm not going to spiritualize away the fact that in publishing, data matters.

Read through matters Pricing matters.

Ad performance matters. Email engagement matters.

If you're running an author business and you're not looking at your data, you're not being a good steward.

But here's the tension. And this is where most Christian authors get stuck.

You need your numbers to run your business well, but you don't want your numbers to run you.

And if you're anything like I used to be, you can't just glance at your dashboard. You. You feel it in your body, in your spirit, right?

A good sales day feels like God's approval.

A slow week feels like God's silence.

A book that doesn't take off feels like maybe you've missed your calling entirely.

And here's what makes it even harder.

You're surrounded by other authors who seem to be crushing it. Their launches are bigger. Their newsletters are growing faster. The ads are working better. And every time you see their wins,

something in you whispers, why not me?

Why them and not me? Right?

So you work harder. You run more ads. You write faster. You try new strategies. Anything.

Anything. You throw spaghetti at the wall. You hustle.

And underneath it all, there's this gnawing question.

Am I doing this for God? Or am I just trying to prove something?

That was me. I was exhausted, anxious.

Constantly comparing myself, striving.

And the breaking point came when I realized I had built my entire author business the wrong way.

I was measuring success the way the world measures it,

and then trying to baptize it with prayer.

But God had a different metric system entirely.

And when I finally asked him to show me how to measure success his way,

everything shifted.

Not because my numbers got better, though eventually they did,

but because I got free.

Free from anxiety, free from the comparison,

free from the crashing weight of trying to make something happen that only God could do.

So today, I want to share with you what God taught me.

And I want to give you a framework both biblical and practical, for how to measure success as a Christian authority without losing your peace.

Because here's the truth. You can care about your numbers without being owned by them.

You can run ads and optimize pricing and study your data,

all while walking in deep, abiding peace.

But first, you need to understand what success actually is in God's economy, right?

So before we talk about dashboards and analytics, we need to go back to Scripture.

Because the Bible has a lot to say about business,

work and success,

and it's radically different from what the publishing industry teaches us in Scripture. Success in business is not about how much you accumulate.

It's not about how many bestseller ribbons you gather, or how many awards you've won, or your Amazon ranking.

It's about faithfulness.

It's about integrity. It's about fulfilling God's purpose through your work.

Let me break this down for you into four core pillars.

Pillar number one,

stewardship over ownership.

Psalm 24:1 says, the earth is the Lord's and everything in it.

That includes your books, your platform, your stories, your audience,

your royalties.

You're not the owner of your author business, friend. You're not. You are the manager of what God has entrusted to you.

And that shift, that mind shift from owner to steward changes everything about how you look at your numbers.

Because if God owns it,

then your failure in air quotes is not a reflection of your worth.

Your Again, in air quotes, success is not something you manufactured.

Your job is faithfulness, not outcomes for authors. This means your backlist is not just your intellectual property,

it is something you steward, you take care of for God's purposes in the world.

The second pillar is integrity and honesty. Proverbs 16:11 says,

the Lord detests dishonest scales, but accurate weights find favour with Him.

In ancient times, merchants would use false weights to cheat customers.

Today we do it with manipulative marketing, exaggerated claims and clickbait that promises what we can't deliver.

Kingdom's success is built on honest marketing, clear promises, no manipulation,

no bait and switch tactics, right?

For us as Christian authors, that means you can market boldly by but truthfully.

You can write compelling copy without lying.

You can invite readers into your stories without deceiving them.

The third pillar is service as priority. Matthew 23:11 says, the greatest among you will be your servant.

Your author business doesn't exist primarily to generate income. It exists to serve readers.

That changes the question from how much can I make to how well am I serving?

And here's what's beautiful about this.

When you focus on serving well,

the money often follows.

But when you focus only on the money, you lose both the service and the Peace.

Pillar number four is diligence and excellence.

Proverbs 10:4 says,

lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth.

God honours hard work, friend.

He honours excellence. He honours effort.

Faith is not being passive.

Faith is prayerful diligence.

For us authors, that means you care about your craft. You invest in good editing. You learn your industry, you study what works and what doesn't.

You don't spiritualize laziness.

Working heartily, as for the Lord means you bring your best, not your leftovers.

Now let me show you what this looks like in real life.

The Bible is full of examples of people who ran successful businesses not by worldly metrics alone,

but by kingdom principles.

So let me give you four examples here,

Joseph. Joseph wasn't just a dreamer.

He was a strategic planner and a financial manager.

When Pharaoh put him in charge of Egypt's economy,

Joseph didn't just pray and hope for the best,

he created a system.

He stored grain during the years of plenty. He prepared for the famine. He made wise decisions that saved an entire nation.

And God blessed that diligence.

For us as authors, Joseph shows us that strategy and faith, faith go hand in hand.

God can give you the vision, but you still have to build the plan. Right?

Let's look at Lydia. Lydia was a businesswoman. She sold purple cloth, an expensive luxury item back in the day.

She was successful, wealthy and influential.

And when she met Paul,

she didn't abandon her business, she used it.

She used her wealth to support the early church.

She used her home to host believers. She used her influence to spread the gospel.

For us as authors, Lydia shows us that business success and kingdom impact are not opposites.

Your success can become a platform for ministry.

Then there was Boaz. Boaz was a wealthy landowner. He had fields,

workers and significant resources.

But here's what set him apart. He integrated his faith into his daily business operations.

He showed grace to the poor. He treated his workers fairly. He was generous and kind.

Not because it boosted his profit, but because he honoured God.

For us as authors, Boas shows us that how you do business matters just as much as how much you make.

Integrity, kindness and generosity are kingdom metrics.

Lastly, we look at the Proverbs 31 woman.

This woman was an entrepreneur. She managed property, she traded goods, she engaged in manufacturing.

She was strategic. She was industrious.

She planned ahead. She worked with excellence.

And Scripture celebrates her not just for her work, but for her wisdom and her fear of the Lord.

For us as authors, the Proverbs 31, woman shows us that it is godly to be excellent in business.

You don't have to choose between faith and professionalism.

So here's the key takeaway from all four of these.

God has always used business minded, diligent, strategic people for his kingdom.

Your desire to run your author business well is not worldly,

it's biblical.

But,

and this is crucial,

the way you measure success,

the way you run your business,

determines whether your business becomes a blessing or a burden.

So let's get really practical because I know you're wondering what to actually do with Your numbers. Right?

So here's the framework that changed everything for me. I started separating my metrics into two categories.

Category 1 this is business Health Metrics. These are functional numbers you need to track to run your business well.

Read through rates between books, pricing effectiveness,

ad performance and ROI Conversion rates. Email, open and click rates KU pages read if you're in Kindle. Unlimited Royalty trends over time.

These numbers are like your car's dashboard.

They don't tell you who you are. They tell you how your system is running.

Right?

When a read through is low, it doesn't mean you are failure. It means something in your system needs adjusting. Maybe it's the cover maybe it's the blurb, maybe it's the series packaging.

Maybe it's the price point.

That's strategy, not spirituality.

Looking at these numbers is not worldly.

It's stewardship.

The second category is Kingdom Health Metrics. So you've got Business Health metrics and now we're getting into Kingdom Health Metrics.

See, here's what most Christian authors miss.

You also need to measure something deeper before, during or after you look at your business data. You also need to ask yourself,

am I aligned with God's will right now? Am I writing from peace or from panic?

Am I marketing with integrity or am I manipulating?

Am I serving readers well or just chasing profit?

Am I dependent on God or only on my strategy?

Am I stewarding this platform for his glory or for my own validation?

These are soul metrics and they matter just as much, if not more than your sales numbers.

Because here's the reality. You can have amazing sales and still be out of God's will.

And you can have quiet sales and still be exactly where God needs you to be.

This is where your faith protects your heart from being ruled by analytics.

So let me show you the difference. In stark terms,

the world says success is accumulating personal wealth,

popularity and fame,

self reliance and hustle, winning at any cost,

profit even if it harms others.

But the kingdom says success is stewarding resources for others.

Faithfulness in obscurity,

dependence on God and prayer,

integrity over speed,

profit with purpose.

And here's the key.

You can track worldly metrics like sales and rankings,

but you interpret them through kingdom values.

For example, you can celebrate a best seller while remembering that God gave you the gift, the story, and the audience.

You can feel disappointed by slow sales while also trusting that God's timing is perfect and his purposes are bigger than your numbers.

Or you can run ads and optimize pricing while refusing to manipulate or deceive readers just to make a sale.

See the difference?

It's not about what you measure, it's about how you hold it.

Okay, so how do we actually do this? How do you look at your numbers without letting them define you?

Let me give you five practices that have personally set me free and that I go into in a little bit more detail inside The Revive to Thrive Way™ program.

Practice number one,

have a numbers day, not a numbers life.

Stop checking your stats every day. Stop checking them every hour, friend.

Instead, choose specific times to review your data. For example, Mondays.

Strategic review of what's working.

Fridays could be reflection and prayer evaluation.

This protects your heart from living inside your dashboard. It keeps you strategic without becoming emotionally dependent on every fluctuation.

The second practice is pray before you open your dashboard.

This one simple habit changed everything for me.

Before I open my analytics, I pause and I pray and I say, lord, this business is yours. These numbers are yours. Guard my heart as I look at them.

Help me see clearly, not emotionally. Let truth guide me,

not fear,

friend. This small act of trust reframes how I now interpret everything I see.

Practice number three, separate analysis from your identity. When you look at your stats,

say this out loud. These numbers measure my systems,

not my calling.

You are evaluating performance,

not your worth, friend. A low read through doesn't mean you're a bad writer.

It means something in your system needs attention.

Figure it out and fix it.

A slow launch doesn't mean God has abandoned you.

It might mean your packaging is off or your audience needs time to find you. Or God has a different timeline than you expected,

right?

Practice number four, ask two questions every time.

When you see your results,

whether it's good or bad, ask yourself this. Number one,

what is this teaching me practically? Is my pricing off?

Is my packaging unclear? Do my ads need adjusting?

Is my email sequence converting? What can I learn from this data?

And question number two, what is God doing spiritually?

Is he teaching me patience? Is he refining my motives? Is he calling me to rest?

Is he stretching my trust? Is he preparing me for something bigger?

This keeps you both wise and walking in obedience. You don't ignore the data,

but you also don't worship it.

Practice number five,

define success before the results come in.

This is the most powerful practice of all. Before you launch a book,

before you run an ad, before you send an email, decide in advance.

What does success look like spiritually for me?

For example, success for this month might mean I wrote consistently even when I didn't feel like it.

Or it might mean I obeyed what God told me to do. Or I marketed with integrity and honesty,

or I served my readers well with my words.

I stayed dependent on God in prayer. These are all success metrics. Then, whatever your numbers say, you already know you were faithful, right?

That is success in God's eyes.

Now some of you might be thinking all this focus on strategy and numbers still sound a little worldly, right?

Shouldn't I just trust God and let him handle the results?

And that's a fair question.

But let me take you to the parable of the talents in Matthew 25. You know the story, right?

A master gives three servants different amounts of money to manage while he's away.

Two of them invest it wisely, they take risks, they multiply what they were given.

One of them buries it in the ground. He plays it safe. He does nothing.

And when the master returns, he praises the two who multiplied their resources and calls them good and faithful servants.

But the one who buried his talent, the master, called him wicked and lazy. Why?

Not because his profit was low,

but because he didn't even try.

He let fear keep him from faithful stewardship.

Here's what this teaches us.

God doesn't condemn strategy. He expects it.

He doesn't condemn risk, he rewards it.

He doesn't condemn effort, he honours it.

So caring about your read through rates, your pricing, your ads, your email list,

that's not a lack of faith,

that's faithful stewardship.

But, and this is key,

you do that work with prayer, humility and open hands.

You work diligently, you plan strategically, you steward wisely,

but you let God handle the outcome.

That's the balance. That's how you measure success. God's way.

So let me leave you with a few verses to anchor all of this in your heart.

Proverbs 16:3.

Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established.

Notice, it doesn't say commit your work and then do nothing.

It says, commit your work full stop.

You still have to do the work, but you do it surrendered to God.

Matthew 6:33 but seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

When your first priority is alignment with God,

not sales, not rankings, not success,

then everything else falls into its proper place.

Proverbs 11:25, our final scripture.

A generous person will prosper.

Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.

Your business is meant to give,

not just get.

When you focus on serving and refreshing your readers,

God blesses that.

So let's bring this all together. What does this mean for us, for you, as an author. Friend,

let me speak directly to you for a moment.

You are allowed to care about your numbers.

You are allowed to run ads. You are allowed to optimize your pricing.

You are allowed to study your data. You are allowed to want your books to succeed.

That is not worldly. That is taking care of what God gave you.

But what makes it kingdom is you do it prayerfully. You do it with integrity. You do it in alignment with God.

You hold the results loosely and you stay dependent on Him.

And here's what I want you to hear.

Your numbers are information,

not a verdict on your calling.

A slow season does not mean God has abandoned you.

A quiet launch does not mean you missed his will.

A book that doesn't take off does not mean you are not anointed.

Sometimes God is doing something in the unseen that is far more important than what's happening in your dashboard.

Sometimes he's refining your character. Sometimes he's teaching you to trust.

Sometimes he's protecting you from success you're not ready for yet.

Sometimes he's preparing you for a breakthrough that requires deeper roots first.

You can be succeeding in God's eyes long before your analytics catch up.

So, friend,

measure wisely,

steward faithfully,

and trust deeply.

Friend, before you go, I want to tell you about something I've been working on that I'm really excited about.

If you've been listening to this podcast for a while. You know I talk a lot about building your author business God's way.

But here's what I've noticed. A lot of Christian authors are doing all the right things.

They're writing the books, running the ads,

building the list. But they're still stuck,

still burnt out,

still feeling like they're hustling hard but not getting the breakthrough they've been praying for.

And the problem isn't your work ethic. It's not your books. It's not even your marketing.

The problem is you are trying to build a business the world's way while hoping God will bless it. And, friend, that's exhausting. I know because I did it for years.

That's why I created the Revive to Thrive Way™, a transformational program specifically for Christian authors who are tired of the hustle and ready to build their business with God, not just for Him.

This isn't another course teaching you tactics and strategies you've already tried.

This is about three fundamental Spirit-led shifts that change everything.

How you show up,

how you make decisions, and how you build sustainable growth that actually honors God and protects your calling.

The Revive to Thrive Way™ is the exact way God showed me that took me from burnt out and struggling to anointed and flourishing Inside the program. You'll get the exact framework I used,

including video training,

practical workbooks, and the three shifts that will completely transform how you approach your auto business.

Now, here's the thing. Doors are opening very soon and I'm offering special launch pricing that honestly won't break the piggy bank.

But you need to be on the waitlist to get that special pricing and make sure you don't miss it when the doors open.

I promise you this program will set the course for your best year yet.

Not because you'll hustle harder,

but because you'll finally be building in alignment with how God designed you to grow.

So if you're ready to stop spinning your wheels and start seeing real breakthrough,

head over to anointedscribe.com/ReviveToThrive and get on the wait list right now. That's anointedscribe.com/RevivetoThrive I'll put the link in the show notes so so you can click straight through.

I cannot wait to see what God does in your business when you make these shifts, friend.

Because for such a time as this,

you have been called to thrive as God's anointed scribe. I'll see you next week.