Steward Your Words for God’s Glory

Your manuscript could be flawless, and readers still might not give it a chance—because the cover never invited them in. This week on The Writer’s Bloc Podcast, I’m joined by graphic designer Kaycee Parker of KP Communications, who’s spent over a decade helping authors and churches communicate with clarity through design.

Kaycee brings a rare dual perspective to this conversation: she’s a working designer and a self-published author who’s hired out her own book covers, even though design is her day job. We talk about why so many writers pour thousands of hours into their manuscripts and then try to save a few hundred dollars on presentation—and why that trade-off rarely pays off. Kaycee makes the case that good design isn’t vanity; it’s stewardship. It removes barriers so a God-given message can actually reach the reader it’s meant for.

We dig into how author branding actually gets built, the most common (and avoidable) mistakes self-published authors make with their own covers, and where a tight budget should go first if you can’t do it all. Kaycee also gives us a preview of what she’ll be unpacking in much greater depth with our paid community on Thursday: five practical, no-design-degree-required ways to strengthen your book’s design.

If you’ve ever felt like the writing is the “real” work and design is just an afterthought, this episode will change how you think about that.

What’s in this episode:

* Why presentation can make or break a book—and why skimping on it to save money usually backfires

* A theology of design as stewardship: removing barriers so your message can be received

* The #1 mistake self-published authors make with their own cover design

* Why Kaycee, a professional designer, still hires out her own book covers

* Realistic pricing, timing, and what to invest in first on a limited budget

* A preview of Kaycee’s upcoming Writers’ Bloc teaching: five practical ways to improve your book design

Connect with Kaycee at:kpcommunications.net

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🖊️ To access Kaycee’s teaching, and many others, join our Premium community at mywritersbloc.com



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💥 Watch Next ⤵️⤵️⤵️
🌸 Ep 105: Songwriting, Worship, & The Words We Give The Church with Cara Ray
📓 https://youtu.be/vJ8xgvyO3Mo

🌸 Ep 101: Habits of a Prolific Writer with Cara Ray & Trevin Wax
📓 https://youtu.be/wKqqzYgWJJA

🌸 Ep 103: How Collaboration Can Change Your Life with Cara Ray & Becky Beresford
📓 https://youtu.be/b9tmYQabnNQ


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Sending So Much Love
Cara Ray
The Writers' Bloc Podcast



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What does it look like to offer your words as an act of worship — not just to an audience, but to the church?

In this episode of The Writers' Bloc podcast, Cara sits down with her own worship leader and songwriter, Josh Sellers — Director of Worship at Christ Church in Mesa, Arizona — for a conversation that moves from Canadian Idol to a leper colony in India, from co-writing in Nashville to the four women who accidentally wrote "I Speak Jesus."

Josh shares how God redirected his hunger for fame into a calling to lead people into the weight and richness of God's presence through biblically rooted songs the church can actually sing. Along the way, he talks honestly about what it takes to write well — for the church, with a team, and from a place of theological conviction rather than platform ambition.

Whether you write words on a page or words set to music, this episode is a reminder that what you put your life to matters — and God will use it.

In this episode:

Josh's journey from Canadian Idol to full-time vocational ministry
How getting saved in India changed everything
The theology behind writing songs for the church (not just for yourself)
Practical wisdom on co-writing, publishing, and building a songwriting culture
Why you don't have to be famous — or even a good singer — to write something God uses
Connect with Josh: Vintage Worship on Spotify | Wings Music

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What does it look like to wisely befriend AI as a Christian writer — without losing your voice, your theology, or your integrity? In this episode of The Writers' Bloc, I sit down with Thomas Umstattd Jr., CEO of Author Media, host of the Novel Marketing Podcast and The Christian Publishing Show, and one of the most knowledgeable voices in the publishing world when it comes to AI and author platform.

We cover a lot of ground — and Thomas brings a depth of practical wisdom (and some fascinating biblical analogies) that will genuinely change the way you think about these tools.

What we talk about:

Why AI is already embedded in everything you use — and why "avoiding it" isn't the question you should be asking
How the number of books on Amazon has tripled since ChatGPT launched — and what that means for you as a writer
The difference between machine learning and large language models (explained plainly)
Why Thomas recommends Grok over ChatGPT for writers — especially for research and theological content
The "paragraphs, not sentences" principle that will completely change your AI results
How to switch AI models without starting from scratch (the context transfer method)
AI projects, instructions, and skills — and how to set them up for your writing life
The Patron Toolbox: AI tools built specifically for fiction and nonfiction authors
The theological bias problem in ChatGPT and Claude — and how Grok's "Micaiah Mode" offers a more truth-seeking alternative
"Cosmo" — an AI trained on the Western canon that inadvertently became quite Christian
The ethics of AI use for authors: what every publication allows, what none of them do, and where the wisdom lies in between
Why Grammarly might be doing more harm than good to your writing voice
A biblical framework for prompting: why 1 Timothy reads like a masterclass in writing great AI instructions
Connect with Thomas:

Website & tools: authormedia.com
Novel Marketing Podcast: novelmarketing.com
The Christian Publishing Show: available at Author Media
Author Update Podcast: available at Author Media
Thomas's personal site: thomasumstattd.com
Author Media Social (find the free Micaiah Mode prompt here): social.authormedia.com

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What if the key to growing your writing platform isn’t striving harder… but linking arms with other writers?

In this episode of The Writers’ Bloc Podcast, I sit down with author and speaker Becky Beresford to talk about the power of Christian collaboration — how community, encouragement, and shared kingdom work can open doors you never expected.

Becky shares:

• How writing became a form of discipleship during a difficult season of motherhood

• The story behind her Brave Woman series and how it connected nearly 200 women writers

• Practical ways writers can collaborate without feeling overwhelmed

• Why the enemy wants writers isolated — and how community helps us persevere

• How collaboration helped her grow her platform, land an agent, and launch her book

This conversation is full of wisdom, encouragement, and practical ideas for Christian writers who want to build meaningful relationships while staying rooted in Christ.

✨ “We don’t have to do it alone. We’re not supposed to.” — Becky Beresford

If you’ve ever felt discouraged, isolated, or intimidated by the writing journey, this episode will encourage you to take the next faithful step.

👇 Tell us in the comments:

What’s one small way you could collaborate with another writer this month?

To connect with Becky, visit: www.beckyberesford.com

To join the Writers' Bloc and access Becky's other teaching and our library of 100s of teachings, visit: www.mywritersbloc.com

#ChristianWriters #WritersBloc #WritingCommunity #ChristianAuthor #BookWriting #WriterLife #ChristianCreatives #PodcastInterview #WritingEncouragement #ChristianPodcast

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