38 | How to Discern the Right Opportunities for Success in Your Christian Author Business

In this powerful episode, I share a recent experience that taught me the difference between worldly success and Kingdom prosperity. Sometimes the most faithful thing you can do is say no to a good opportunity when it conflicts with God's calling on your life.

Here's what you'll discover:

• How to recognize when an opportunity isn't aligned with your purpose
• The biblical wisdom behind protecting your anointing (using Jesus' parable of the ten virgins)
• Why saying "no" to good things can position you for God's best
• The difference between worldly security and Kingdom prosperity
• Two practical principles for staying spiritually ready: "remain anointed" and "protect your purpose"

Perfect for Christian authors who:

• Struggle with decision-making in their writing career
• Feel pressure to say yes to every opportunity
• Want to align their business decisions with their faith
• Need wisdom for discerning God's will vs. worldly success

Sometimes the most prosperous thing you can do is say no.

Join me as we explore what it means to steward your calling well, protect your anointing, and trust God's timing—even when the world tells you to grab every door that opens.

Transcript

Friend, have you ever had an opportunity come your way that looked amazing on paper,

but deep down you knew it wasn't right?

Maybe it promised to make your life easier. Maybe it offered more money, more visibility or more status.

Maybe it even seemed like an answer to your prayers.

But something in your spirit whispered, this isn't for you.

And suddenly you are spinning, going back and forth in confusion and doubt and uncertainty.

Because the world tells us to say yes to every door that opens, to not let opportunities pass you by, to grab it now or you'll never get it again.

But what if saying yes to that opportunity actually pulled you away from the very thing God has called you to do?

That's exactly the situation I found myself in just a few weeks ago.

And today I want to tell you about it. What the offer was, why I turned it down even though it looked like a shortcut to success,

and how this ties directly to what Jesus teaches us about staying spiritually ready to protecting our anointing and stewarding our calling well.

If you've been wrestling with whether to say yes or no to something,

maybe it's a contract, a collaboration,

or even just the way you are running your writing career.

I think this episode will speak to you.

So grab your favourite beverage and turn up the volume, friend.

This is episode 38.

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 to this week's episode of the Anointed Scribe Podcast.

Thank you for choosing to tune in today and I pray as I share a recent experience I had with you,

you'll be encouraged and equipped to seek God in it for your own writing journey.

If you're new here, welcome. Consider this your official invitation to join the Anointed Scribe tribe by clicking the follow button to join so you never miss an episode. Because you never know when God uses this show to give you the exact answer you've been praying for, right?

It's not by coincidence you found your way here, friend. So lean in and pay attention to the Holy Spirit's gentle whispers.

Okay? So let's dive in. And today I want to share something that happened to me in the hope that it helps you if you are perhaps in a similar situation or might face one soon.

So a few weeks ago,

I opened my inbox, and there it was. An email from a publisher that had a few big names in its resume and who wasn't a vanity publisher, which, if you are not familiar with this term, is used to describe those companies who charge you, the author,

money up front to essentially do nothing with your book except take your royalties.

Anyway, this publisher was legit. And it was the kind of email that makes an author's heart race just a little bit, you know,

because who wouldn't like some help, right?

So I showed up to the Zoom meeting just in case this was a godly opportunity,

because unless you open that door, you'll never know who's truly behind it, right?

Anyway, they wanted to sign all my books. Every single one. And not only the ones I've already published. They wanted the rights to any future books I could write too.

Now, if you're an indie author like me,

you can imagine how tempting that sounded.

Because suddenly I wouldn't have to worry about book covers and blurbs and making sure I have the right keywords and categories and advertising and bookbub featured deals and all the other hats we wear as independent authors.

I could just write,

just create,

just do the part I actually love and know how to do.

And on top of that,

they dangled the promise of higher income,

bigger reach, and taking me to the next level.

Sounds like a dream, right?

But then I kept listening to their offer,

and buried in the details was something I couldn't ignore.

To sign with them,

I would have to remove all my books from every wide platform.

That's Apple, Kobo, Google Libraries. I'd even have to close my Shopify store.

They would then place all my titles back into Kindle Unlimited, which is why I would have to close every other wide platform, right?

Which also then meant my books would only be available in one marketplace, Kindle Unlimited.

And for some authors, that's perfectly fine. For some, that's the exact right strategy. But for me,

it meant shrinking my reach,

not expanding it.

Because here's the thing.

I don't write just to sell books. I write because I believe God gave me stories to share.

With as many readers as possible.

My mission has always been about spreading the gospel through story as far and wide as I possibly can.

So I declined and said no.

Now, I want to be clear. I didn't make this decision lightly or in the heat of the moment.

Even though my spirit was already rejecting the offer during that zoom call,

I knew I needed to take it to God in prayer first.

I needed to be absolutely sure this wasn't just my flesh resisting something that might actually be his will.

So I finished the meeting professionally, thanked them for their time, and then I went straight to my prayer closet. I laid it all before the Lord. The offer, my concerns, my dreams, my mission.

And in that quiet place,

God confirmed what my spirit had already been whispering.

And here's the thing. Had this been a different kind of offer,

maybe one where they wanted to contract a new series without requiring me to shrink my reach to only Kindle Unlimited,

the outcome might have been completely different.

I'm not against partnerships or help.

I'm against partnerships that pull me away from the mission God gave me.

Signing that contract would have gone against my biblical commission,

what God had already called me to in Matthew 28.

Sure, I might have made more money. I might have looked more successful on paper,

I might have shifted the heavy load.

But I would have been stepping out of my alignment with the very reason I started writing in the first place.

And in that moment,

I actually realized something.

True prosperity isn't found in saying yes to everything.

Sometimes the most prosperous thing you can do is say no.

Have you ever faced something like that, friend,

where you had to turn down something good because you knew it wasn't God's best for you?

Perhaps you're in that boat now.

It's actually not that easy, right?

Especially in a culture that celebrates hustle, achievement, and taking every deal that comes your way.

But I want you to hear this.

Every yes you give is also a no to something else.

And I wasn't about to say yes to a temporary opportunity if it meant saying no to the eternal purpose God gave me.

And you know what?

The decision to say no actually made me think of one of Jesus parables, the story of the ten virgins. In Matthew 25,

ten women are waiting for the bridegroom to arrive.

They all have lamps to light their way,

but only five of them, Jesus calls them the wise ones brought extra oil as the night stretched on,

all their lamps eventually burned out.

The five wise women simply refilled their lamps from the oil they'd brought.

But the other five, the foolish ones, Panicked,

they had nothing left. So they asked the Wise Ones to give them some of their oil.

And here's the part that always makes people pause because the wise women said no,

not because they were selfish or mean,

not because they didn't care,

but because if they had given away their oil,

no one would have had any oil.

Their lamps would have gone out, too, and all of them would have been left stumbling in the dark and missing the bridegroom's arrival.

See, because the Wise Ones protected what they had stewarded,

they were ready when the bridegroom arrived.

They went into the wedding feast while the others missed it.

The point Jesus is making here is that readiness requires stewardship, and stewardship often requires boundaries.

Sometimes protecting what God gave you means saying no,

even when someone else doesn't understand.

And for us as authors,

that oil is our anointing, our purpose, our mission.

If we give it away to every demand,

every distraction, every.

shiny opportunity,

eventually our lamp will burn out.

So let me ask you, friend,

whose oil are you giving away right now?

What are you saying yes to? That might actually be pulling you off course?

Are you protecting your purpose?

Or are you spreading yourself so thin that your lamp is almost out?

As Christian writers, our work isn't just about building a career.

It's about building the kingdom.

Our books aren't just products to sell.

They are seeds God wants us to plant. And seeds need to be planted where he tells us to plant them,

not just where the soil looks richer or where the world says we'll get faster results if we are not careful. We can fall into the trap of chasing opportunities that look good, but ultimately distract us from the bigger mission.

Maybe for you, it's not a publishing contract.

Maybe it's a marketing strategy that feels manipulative but promises quick sales,

or a trend that would sell but forces you to water down your message.

Or perhaps it's simply saying yes to too many collaborations, events, or tasks,

leaving no time to write the words God actually called you to write.

Friends, sometimes security in the world is limitation. In the Kingdom,

true prosperity isn't just about money or recognition.

True prosperity is being so aligned with God's purpose that everything you do multiplies for his glory,

even if it doesn't look big to anyone else.

So how do we actually live this out? How do we stay spiritually ready, like those five wise women? And like I had to do in that moment with a publisher?

So we are not swayed by things that look good but aren't God.

Firstly, remain anointed. Keep your oil Full.

That means staying close to God daily,

staying in the word, praying over your decisions.

Because the more time you spend with him,

the quicker you'll recognise when something isn't his best for you,

even if it looks shiny and promising.

And second, protect and expand your purpose.

Don't be afraid to say no to something that would actually shrink your mission.

Protecting your purpose isn't selfish.

It's faithful stewardship.

It's saying, God, I trust your timing. I trust your provision.

I trust that I don't have to grab every opportunity because you will bring the right ones.

And sometimes saying no today is what positions you to say yes to something far better tomorrow.

I want to leave you with a question to reflect on today.

Which point resonates most with you right now?

Remain anointed, or protect and expand your purpose.

And then think about the why. Think about why that point resonates with you most.

Take some time to journal on it. Pray over it.

Ask God to show you where he's asking you to hold your oil a little closer,

where he's asking you to wait. And where he's preparing a greater yes,

friend. Here's what I want you to remember.

In a world that screams, more, faster now.

God whispers, faithful, steady, mine.

These wise virgins didn't miss the wedding because they were selfish with their oil.

They made it to the celebration because they understood that preparation requires protection.

They knew that stewardship isn't just about what you do with what you have.

It's about what you refuse to do with it.

Your calling as a Christian author isn't measured by how many opportunities you say yes to.

It's measured by how faithfully you guard the one assignment God gave you.

Because when you protect your purpose,

you're not just protecting your career. You are protecting the very stories God wants to tell through you to reach hearts you may never even know.

The enemy doesn't need to stop you from writing, friend. He just needs to keep you so busy writing the wrong things that you never get to the right ones.

He doesn't need to take away your oil.

He just needs to convince you to pour it out everywhere except where God intended it.

But when you learn to say no to the urgent so you can say yes to the eternal,

something beautiful happens.

Your lamp doesn't just stay lit,

it becomes a lighthouse.

Your words don't just fill pages,

they fill purposes.

Your books don't just reach readers,

they reach destinies.

So guard your oil, faithful scribe.

Protect your purpose.

Trust the one who called you to also provide for you.

Because the same God who gave you stories to tell will make a way for those stories to reach exactly who they need to reach in exactly the way he intended your faithfulness in the small decisions what to write, where to publish,

which opportunities to embrace or decline.

These aren't just career choices.

They are acts of worship. They are declarations of trust.

They Are you saying God, I believe your plan for my words is better than my plan for my success.

And that, friend, is how you stay ready for the bridegroom's return,

lamp burning bright,

oil reserves full and heart aligned with the very heartbeat of heaven.

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.

And if you found today's episode helpful, please consider subscribing and leaving a review.

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So please help me get this show into more listeners ears. I have a mission and I cannot do it without you.

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.