37 | Always Feeling Behind as an Author? You're Actually Being Built

Always feeling like you're miles behind other authors?

If you've ever felt that sinking pit in your stomach watching other writers thrive while your own progress feels painfully slow, this episode is for you.

Maybe it's seeing another author's dream vacation pics funded by book sales, or watching someone who started writing years after you already building a thriving author business. Maybe it's the constant comparison that leaves you wondering: "Am I falling behind in my calling?"

In this deeply encouraging episode, I'm challenging the narrative that you're "behind" and sharing why your slower season might actually mean you're exactly where God wants you to be.

You'll discover:

• Why what the world calls delay, God often calls development
• The hidden purpose behind your waiting season as a Christian author
• How to stop measuring your obedience by outcomes
• Practical ways to celebrate your own progress instead of comparing timelines
• Why God's timing for your breakthrough is always perfect

Plus, I'm sharing a personal story about the night I almost quit writing and the question God asked me that changed everything!

If you're tired of feeling behind and ready to find peace in God's timing for your author journey, this episode will shift your entire perspective.

Transcript

Have you ever looked at another author's success and thought, I'm so far behind.

Like you're running this race with a limp while everyone else seems to be sprinting past you effortlessly.

You see their book launches, their growing platforms, their dream vacation pics,

and suddenly your own progress feels painfully slow and you're left wondering how you'll ever catch up.

So today we're diving into what I believe is one of the most confusing and frustrating seasons in a Christian writer's life.

That space where you feel like you're behind in your readership building,

behind in your business,

behind in your income, behind in your calling.

If that's you today, friend, I want you to breathe and lean in.

Because what the world calls delay,

God often calls development.

And what looks like falling behind may just be the foundation for something far bigger than you can imagine.

By the end of this episode, you'll know what it really means to walk in God's timing as a Kingdom writer.

You'll find peace in the process,

and you'll be equipped with practical ways to stay encouraged when the journey feels longer than you expected.

This is episode 37.

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

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, saying,

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 to this week's episode of Anointed Scribe.

If you're new here, this is a podcast for Christian authors who want to stop striving and start thriving in their calling. Whether you've written one book or 20,

or you're still stuck on chapter one,

this is the space where faith meets your writing journey.

And today I want to speak straight to the heart of a discouragement you might be carrying.

See, just a few days ago I was on a zoom call with a few Christian authors and one of them said something that really struck a chord.

She said, I feel like I'm always behind and you know What?

Everyone nodded, including me. I could totally relate.

That constant sense that we're chasing some invisible finish line. That no matter how hard you work,

you are still not where you want to be.

Well, friend, what if I told you that this feeling is actually tied to a misunderstanding of how Kingdom timing works?

Yes, I went to the Word. I went to my journal of years back and I spent some time with God really digging into this.

So today I want to challenge that quiet whisper that says I should be further by now and share why I believe being in quotes behind may actually mean you are exactly where God wants you to be.

Because let's be honest,

when you are called to write, when you feel like God has given you a story to tell or a message to carry and you feel like you're doing everything right,

it can be incredibly frustrating when things move slower than you had hoped, right?

Maybe it's the author who started writing years after you did, but somehow they are already thriving.

Or perhaps it's seeing someone else's launch week sales numbers that make your own feel embarrassingly small.

Or maybe it's watching another writer gain thousands of followers while your posts get three likes and one of them is from your mum.

But friend,

what if you are not falling behind? What if what's actually happening is beyond the preparation phase?

What if you're actually being built and in the foundation phase?

So let me tell you something that might shift your entire perspective today.

Here's what I learned.

God works in the waiting.

We often see waiting as wasted time. I get it.

But God sees it as a workshop.

Think about Joseph.

God gave him a prophetic dream as a teenager. A vision of leadership, of his family bowing down to him, of influence and impact.

But before he ever stepped into that leadership role,

he was sold into slavery by his own brothers,

falsely accused by Potiphar's wife, and thrown into prison for years.

Now, from the outside,

that looks like delay, right?

That looks like God forgot his promise. Like Joseph missed his moment or even got the dream wrong.

But from God's view,

that was development.

Character building,

Trust. Deepening, foundation laying.

Every betrayal taught Joseph about forgiveness,

every injustice taught him about depending on God's justice instead of his own understanding.

Every lonely night in that prison cell was building the kind of character that could handle the weight of leading a nation through famine.

You see, God wasn't just preparing Joseph for a position.

He was preparing him to carry the responsibility that that comes with that position.

And the same is true for you and me, friend.

You are not just being prepared for book Sales or speaking stages or publicity campaigns. You are being strengthened to carry the weight of what you are called to steward.

Because here's what I've learned.

Your platform,

your books, your impact.

It's coming.

But if it comes too soon,

before your character can handle it, it can crush you.

Maybe God is using this season to deepen your message, to give your stories worth telling,

to build the resilience you'll need when the spotlight comes.

Maybe he's protecting you from success that would overwhelm you before you are ready.

So maybe, just maybe, this waiting season is a gift.

Maybe he's building your foundation deeper so your platform can go higher.

Maybe he's teaching you to find your identity in him,

not in your accomplishments, so that when the accolades come, they won't define you.

And here's what I've personally come to know.

Your journey is not meant to look like someone else's journey.

Don't fall into the comparison trap. Because the truth is,

comparison will kill your confidence faster than any one star review ever could.

We live in a culture of hustle highlights carefully curated success reels that show the fruit without the process.

We are bombarded by success,

driven by money as proof, as if it's the true definition of kingdom wealth.

We see the movie deal,

but not the three years of rejection letters. We see the New York Times trust badge,

but not the 15 failed book ideas that came before it.

We don't see the failed launches, the sleepless nights of doubt, the self doubt that kept them awake at 4am and the 15 years of obscurity that came before the breakthrough.

No one ever talks about the seasons when they wanted to quit.

You don't see the financial struggles on Facebook while they built their calling. You don't see the family sacrifices or the health challenges, the seasons of feeling forgotten by God.

But here's what happens when we only see the highlight reel.

We start to believe that everyone else's journey is supposed to be our template.

We think their timeline should be our timeline.

We assume their path should be our path. And that's where comparison becomes dangerous. Because it makes us forget a fundamental truth about how God works.

And here's something else we need to understand.

God has given each of us a unique assignment. And that means our timelines are going to be different too.

Maybe your calling requires a different kind of preparation than theirs did.

Maybe your message needs to be refined in a way that takes longer.

Maybe your platform needs to be built more slowly so it can last longer.

Maybe it's more about waiting for those who need to be impacted by your book to be ready to receive it.

Isaiah 55 says,

God's ways are higher than ours.

That includes his timing.

He's not late.

He's not off schedule. He didn't miss your email about wanting things to happen faster.

He's not ignoring you. He's not even punishing you.

And he didn't forget to include you in the harvest lineup.

Your journey is not meant to look like other authors journeys because your assignment is not the same as theirs.

So stop trying to fit your story into someone else's timeline. Right?

You are not behind, friend. You are in his hands.

Let me say it this way,

and I want you to really hear me.

If you are walking in obedience to what God asked you to do,

then you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

If you haven't finished your manuscript yet,

even if you're not earning what you thought you would ban out,

even if you've been ghosted by publishers, readers, or lack momentum,

even if your book sales are slower than you hoped,

even if your social media feels like you are talking to yourself,

even if other people don't understand your calling or your pace,

you are exactly where you are supposed to be.

God's definition of success isn't speed.

It's surrender.

It's not about what you achieve in the natural.

It's about what you become in the process and achieve in the supernatural.

And that means even when it looks like nothing is happening on the outside,

trust that something profound is happening on the inside.

He's shaping your heart to handle influence with humility.

He's refining your message to so it carries more weight.

He's preparing you for more than you can imagine.

He's teaching you to write from a place of overflow,

not emptiness.

He's building your dependence on him,

not on your own ability to make things happen.

You know what? Some of the most powerful books ever written came from seasons of waiting and hardship.

Some of the most impactful messages were forged in the furnace of delay.

C.S. lewis wrote the Line, the Witch and the Wardrobe, after years of struggling with faith and loss.

Elizabeth Elliot's most profound works came after seasons of deep personal suffering.

Corrie Ten Boom's ministry was birthed from a concentration camp.

So know, friend, that your waiting season isn't wasted time.

It's research,

handwriting, material.

Okay, so now let me give you some practical encouragement you can cling to when you feel behind. Because I want you to walk away from this episode with tools, not just inspiration.

Okay, so number one,

the first way or encouragement is don't measure obedience by outcome.

Faithfulness matters more than metrics. Your job is to be faithful to what God asked you to do today. I say it all the time.

Be faithful. His job is to handle the results.

Did he ask you to write?

Well, write then.

Did he ask you to encourage others?

Encourage?

Did he ask you to tell your story?

Tell it even if only one person is listening right now.

Your obedience is not measured by book sales or social media followers. It's measured by whether you did what he asked you to do with the resources he gave you today.

Quick side note story and this happened to me this week.

One of my ARC readers just finished my newest thriller called Martha's Veil and she wrote to me saying how the analogy with a veil made her think of situations in her own life that she hadn't completely turned over to God and how she will now be working on this.

That right there friend, is my heavenly mission accomplished. The faith message I wove into the storyline,

which by the way is a mystery thriller. It's fiction so it's not even a non fiction book, but that faith message I wove into the storyline has made its impact and the book hasn't even been released yet.

It's still on pre order.

There is no other outcome. I long for more than knowing I delivered on the task God set before me and that he touched that one reader's heart.

And that I believe is the ultimate measure we should hold ourselves to.

Okay, so I diverted. But number two, the second practice is to guard your gaze.

What you focus on feeds you.

Are you feeding on truth or discouragement?

If scrolling through social media leaves you feeling defeated,

it's time for a social media fast.

If certain author conversations or self help books are making you feel behind instead of inspired,

it's okay to take a break from them. Or while you are healing, while you are seeking God,

fill your mind with God's promises about your calling instead of other people's highlight reels and the pressure of feeling like you are behind.

3. Speak life over your calling.

Even if no one else sees the fruit yet.

Commit to speaking God's promises over yourself and and your books.

Declare that your words have power.

Declare that God has given you a message.

Declare that he who began a good work in you will complete it.

Declare that your timing is in his hands and his timing is perfect.

The words we speak greatly affect our mindset and the way we perceive ourselves as writers who are chosen and anointed to write with perfect purpose.

God spoke the creation into being Words have creative power.

What are you creating with your words about your own calling today?

Really think about that.

4.

Keep writing anyway.

Show up even when the numbers don't reflect your effort.

Write even when you don't feel inspired.

Post even when engagement is low.

Right through the pain, right through the tears.

Submit even when you've been rejected before.

Because consistency in the invisible moments is what builds visible breakthrough.

Stay faithful with your writing. Keep showing up for God every day in the best possible way you can because God sees you and he blesses the faithful servant.

The fifth and final element I want to encourage you with today is to celebrate your own progress and honor your own pace when you feel behind.

The antidote isn't comparison, friend.

It's celebration of how far you've actually come already.

Look back at where you were a year ago. Maybe you've written three more chapters.

Maybe you've released a book. Maybe you've finally found your author voice.

Maybe you've built genuine connections with a handful of readers who truly get your message.

That matters.

That's progress worth celebrating.

Honour the pace God has set for your journey.

Maybe your pace is slower because you're also raising kids, caring for an aging parent or or working a full time job. And that's okay.

Maybe it's just the season you are in. Maybe it's exactly where God needs you to show up today.

Maybe it's slower because God is doing deeper work in your heart that will make your words more authentic.

Your pace isn't wrong.

It's your pace.

Own it.

Trust your timeline.

The dreams God placed in your heart aren't on a cosmic countdown timer. They're not going to expire if you don't hit certain milestones by certain ages.

His timing for your breakthrough is perfect, even when it doesn't feel fast enough.

So celebrate the pages you've written, not the ones you haven't yet.

Honour the progress you've made, not the progress you wish you'd made.

Trust the timeline you're on,

not the one you think you should be on,

friend. The bottom line of today's episode is to let God set the pace.

One of the hardest lessons I've learned in my writing journey is this.

God's timing is not just about the when.

It's about the who he's forming us into while we wait.

And that shift,

that mindset change has brought me more peace and understanding than any bestseller badge ever could.

You see,

when I was focused on the timeline, every delay felt like failure,

every slow season felt like punishment,

every rejection Felt like God had changed his mind about my calling.

But when I started seeing the waiting as development,

everything changed.

The rejections became redirections.

The slow seasons became soul seasons. The delays became opportunities for deeper preparation.

And here's what I discovered.

God is more interested in who you become than what you achieve.

Because the person who can handle the weight of influence with humility is more valuable to the kingdom than someone who achieves success but loses their soul in the process.

The writer who knows how to find their worth in God's love instead of reader approval is more powerful than the writer who builds their identity on best seller lists.

The author who has learned to trust God's timing has a peace of that no amount of success can give.

You don't have to hustle your way into God's promises, friend.

You don't have to manipulate circumstances to make things happen faster.

You don't have to earn your place at the table.

He's already prepared for you.

You are not falling behind.

You're being built brick by brick,

line by line,

page by page,

prayer by prayer.

And when God decides it's time for your breakthrough, it won't be because you hustled hard enough.

It will be because you trusted long enough.

As we wrap up, I want to share something personal with you for a moment.

There was a season in my own writing journey when I was so discouraged by the pace of of my progress that I almost quit.

I looked around at other authors who seemed to be moving faster,

achieving more, and I started to wonder if I had misheard God's call on my life,

if this purpose was just made up and all in my head.

I remember one particular night sitting at my computer,

staring at a manuscript that felt like I would never be finished, feeling like I was the slowest writer in the world.

And in that moment, I felt God whisper to my heart,

Urcelia, are you writing for an audience of one or an audience of thousands?

And I realized that I had started writing for the approval of people instead of the approval of God.

I had started measuring my progress by other people's timelines instead of his timeline. For me.

That night, I made a decision to let God set the pace,

to trust his timing,

to find joy in the process,

not just the destination.

And you know what happened?

The pressure lifted, the joy returned, and the words started flowing again.

Not because I was rushing, but because I was resting in his plan.

So, friend,

thank our Heavenly Father for the words he's given you.

Thank him for the calling on your life.

Thank him for the process.

Even when it's slower than you'd like.

Even when it hurts and it's painful,

the world needs what you have to say. It might not need it on your timeline, but it needs it on his timeline. And his timeline is all always perfect.

Trust the process and know that you are not behind.

You are being built Friend. Before I let you go, I want you to use the send me a message link in the show notes and let me know where you need God to show up for you today so I can pray for you.

It's 100% anonymous. I can't see your name or your email or your phone number.

I can't even reply to you. But I can read your request and I can pray for you.

So I encourage you to use this feature to send me a private message to let me know what you are struggling with right now so we can come together and take this to the Lord in prayer.

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Oh and if you want more tips outside of the show, sign up to my monthly 5 minute manna emails. The link is in the show notes. Okay, so that's it for today's show.

Thank you for listening. And remember, for such a time as this,

you have been called to thrive as God's anointed scribe.