Interview with Christy Lynne Wood: Publishing, Platform, and Perspective

"Patience and waiting on God are vital."

This is the fourth (and final—for now) in my series of author interviews in my larger series, Publication, Platform, and Perspective. I’m sharing insights from writers who represent a range of experiences and backgrounds both in the writing craft and in the publishing business. Be sure to read to the end for details about a giveaway of Christy’s book!

Christy Lynne Wood spent her teens and early twenties in a Christian cult, but Jesus found her anyway. More than twenty years later, Christy continues to pick apart legalism, twisted Scripture, and lies in a search for the truth. As a speaker, podcaster, writer, and author, Christy is passionate about helping people to find a genuine relationship with Jesus. Christy lives in West Michigan with her wonderfully-opposite husband and their two children. 

Karen: First, tell us about who you are as a person and a writer.

Christy: I spent a decade in Bill Gothard’s IBLP homeschooling program in the 90s and early 2000s, but Jesus found me anyway. As I got to know Jesus, I realized that the angry, religious god they talked about and the God I knew for myself couldn’t be the same. This understanding fueled my doubts and questions which eventually led me out.

I wrote Religious Rebels because I could see parallels between my extreme fundamentalist experiences in what I now call a Christian cult and other peoples’ religious experiences in mainstream evangelical Christianity. Their stories often include familiar formulas, rules, and twisted Scriptures. We have similar skeptical wonderings and cranky hearts that are leading us home.

Religious Rebels tells pieces of my story while also connecting to common Christian themes. I ponder questions such as how should we read the Bible, what is the gospel, and is God disappointed in us? Sometimes I answer those questions and sometimes I leave them for my readers to answer. I’ve become comfortable with nuance, complexity, and paradox. I encourage my readers to embrace these things too as they begin to explore a Real God who is only bigger and better than we’ve ever dreamed.

Karen: How (or where) did you end up publishing your book?

Christy: I published Religious Rebels in June, 2023 with Credo House Publishers in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Credo is a hybrid company that was started by Tim Beals. As a literary agent, Tim recognized the challenges facing writers with smaller platforms. He wanted to create something affordable and professional as a publishing option.

Karen: Share more of the journey to publication. What was that like?

Christy: When I first started looking into publishing a book, I was determined to be traditionally published. In my naive opinion, nothing else was real. I went to writing conferences both here in Michigan and also in North Carolina. I spoke with agents, editors, and publishers. I sent in proposals. I worked on proposals. And I experienced rejection again and again. It was exhausting.

In the middle of all of this, my husband and I suffered religious abuse and spiritual trauma at the church where he was a youth pastor. Like so many others, we ended up being fired but were forced to call it a resignation. That brutal journey rocked my world, shook my faith, and brought me to a broken place where I could write the book God had placed on my heart with humility and grace.

I slowly built a little platform with an email newsletter, website, podcast, and a social media presence. I found my voice, my audience, and my message. I got to the place where I was happy serving these people even if I never published a book. But I still worked at writing my book for the fun of it.

Five years later I had written most of my book, all but the last two and a half chapters (which I had no idea how to write). I felt compelled to finish the book, so in February of 2023 I went away for a weekend and the words flowed. By Monday morning, I had a completed manuscript but no idea what to do with it. Sitting at the hotel room desk, I remembered Credo House Publishers – a local hybrid company I’d heard about at a writing conference. I looked them up online and filled out their author survey.

By the end of the day, I had an offer from Credo. By mid-June, Religious Rebels was in my hands. When God opened the door, He moved fast.

Karen: I’m really sorry about what you and your husband went through. I’m glad God is redeeming it. Your book is part of that story! What were the most challenging parts of the publication process?

Christy: The wait for me was hard. Ten years was longer than I ever dreamed I would wait. But looking back, I’m grateful for the growth I experienced while I waited. I shudder at the thought of the book that would have been published if it had been quicker. God knows what He’s doing!

I also struggled with the constant push to have a platform. I know that it’s important to have an audience who will buy your book, but I’ve always been resistant to the idea of being an influencer. I’m not willing to sell my soul on social media to get a book deal. I want to be authentic, not fake awesome for likes.

Karen: What do you wish you knew going in that you didn’t know?

Christy: I wish I had a more realistic view of how long the publishing process could take and how much work goes into building a platform. But then again, had I known, I might have given up.

I also wish that I had learned about the possibility of hybrid publishing sooner.

Karen: Can you tell us more about hybrid publishing?

Christy: Hybrid publishing is a process where the author pays professionals in the industry upfront to edit, design, create cover art and a layout, and help to publish and print their book. Not all hybrid publishing companies are the same. Some companies offer more services than others and the prices they charge vary wildly.

Hybrid publishing can be pricey. Some companies are more of a vanity publishing option. They will give you the entire author experience for a price, but you will probably never get your investment back. Credo was less expensive than many of the hybrid companies I’d talked with, but still in the thousands of dollars. I wasn’t sure how it would come together, but God ended up providing the funds through family, friends, and my own savings account. On the flip side, all revenue from sales is now mine. I sell online at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and Walmart. I also sell books through my own website and in person at speaking events. This financial aspect is something to take into consideration when thinking about using a hybrid publishing company. I’d definitely recommend doing your homework and comparing a couple of options.

Karen: You present hybrid publishing as a good option for some writers. Yet it did require a financial investment on your part. I frequently advise writers not to pay to be  published because so often writers don’t sell enough books for a return on their investment. Yet you are happy with having taken this route. Do you mind sharing how that financial investment has or has not paid itself back?

Christy: I definitely don’t think that hybrid publishing is for everyone. If you go that route, you need to carefully do the math and make sure you can get your initial investment back in a timely manner. Credo was a reasonable option for me financially. I raised part of the money and was able to come up with the rest myself. 

After a year I’ve just about broken even—including tax write-offs. If I did more public speaking at gigs where I could sell my book at a book table, I would have easily made the money back in a year because all the money from printed books is mine minus the initial printing cost. I don’t do that much public speaking currently—not that I’m opposed to doing more—so most of my book sales came from my website and Amazon. 

Before going the hybrid publishing route it’s also important to evaluate your platform and estimate how many books you can sell to them. I have a small yet excited following so I was able to get good traction out of the gate, but if people don’t know who you are, you can’t sell books. I was also able to buy just 250 printed books from a local printer that works with Credo. This was far more reasonable for me than some companies that require authors to purchase 500 copies or even 1,000 copies. I think the secret with hybrid is to do your research and evaluate if the investment is something you can afford and something you will be able to get back in a reasonable way and time frame. It can be so exciting to imagine your book being published that you lose reason and the ability to critically think. My advice would be to take time to process, talk with your family, and make a decision that makes sense for your situation. 

Karen: What reality of the publishing world would you want others to know based on your experience?

Christy: Book deals are not usually easy to get. And just because you get one doesn’t make it the right one. I’ve sadly watched people burn out before they got a book deal by focusing too hard on social media and platform. I’ve also watched them fall apart afterwards because of the bad book deal they took. I know people who don’t even write anymore and that is heartbreaking to me. Patience and waiting on God are vital to our spiritual and mental health. Just because we aren’t published in book format doesn’t mean that God isn’t using our words for His glory. I think this is an important thing to remember while we wait.

Karen: Why do you write? How connected are writing and publishing for you?

Christy: I write for the same reason I speak and podcast. I love to communicate. I am passionate about helping people think, question, and wonder. I want to speak truth and offer hope. I long to help people connect with the real Jesus instead of just empty religion.

Hearing from people who tell me that I have made them reconsider Jesus again after years of pushing Christianity away is the best feeling. I also love knowing that I’ve helped people with doubts and questions feel safe in the arms of a God who can handle them.

Writing and publishing used to be more connected for me than they are now. I felt like I wrote to be published. Now I am writing because I love it and if I get published that’s just an extra bonus.

Karen: What has been the most rewarding experience of writing/publishing for you?

Christy: I went to a local writers’ conference a couple of weeks ago and had my book for sale on the book table for the first time. At a book signing one of the evenings, I was awkwardly standing by the table with my little pile of books. A woman came up and asked me about my book, specifically my heart behind writing it.

I started to tell her how I want people to feel safe asking questions, picking through their Christian experiences, and seeking for a God who is bigger than religion. Suddenly she was crying. I spontaneously hugged her and continued to tell her how much I believe God wants to be found. She bought my book that night and the next morning told me that God was already using it to heal her heart.

It’s stories like this shared online, in reviews, and sometimes in person that are the most rewarding for me. They make the broken parts of my own story worth it. I don’t care if I’m ever a bestseller or not. I care that hurt people are finding their way back home. That’s enough.

Karen: Where can readers find out more about you and your work?

Substack:

My website:

https://christylynnewood.com/

Social Media:

On Threads, Instagram, and Facebook you can find me @christylynnewood

Podcasts:

Search for Looking for the Real God or Religious Rebels anywhere you listen to podcasts.

***BOOK GIVEAWAY***

Restack this post on Substack, and one person among those who do so will be chosen to receive a free copy of Religious Rebels!

NEXT READINGS:

We will start “class” again on September 10 with the poetry of George Herbert. We will cover these poems (and maybe more):

• “The Collar”

• “Prayer (1)”

• “The Pulley”

• “The Altar”