In publishing, it’s hard to have good book sales without a strong platform (those you are connected to and have the ability to influence). But people don’t want to be sold to all the time, so I brainstormed ways to get my name in front of people regularly without asking them to buy something. I had to shift my mindset from “what can they do for me” to “what can I offer?” 

In 2015, I began offering free downloads of monthly calendars containing colorful, quirky prayer starters. My mindset became what it should have been all along—authentic generosity, not self-promotion. In 2019, in response to numerous requests for a printed version, I began producing a full-color wall calendar available for sale. It has become my very favorite thing to create. It combines my creativity with my faith. My words with my graphics. And on top of all of that, it is also a product that is uniquely mine. 

Even though it has become a salable product, I still offer the calendars as free downloads every month (identical except the color can’t be as extensive so that people can print at home, which also serves to make the for-sale version one step better). The daily prayers also serve as the basis for my social media posts and help position me as a resource for all things prayer-related.