It has been almost a year since I began my Substack account.
My original plan? To post chapters of my YA novel on Mondays and devotionals on the Gospel of John on Fridays. [Note: To read the first post in each of these, click the linked text.]
I had written dozens of chapters of Rule and Reign and all the devotionals. So, I had a great running start.
And then I ran out of chapters of my novel and came to the last devotional.
The answer? Write and post a chapter of Rule and Reign each week.
How hard could that be? I’d only have to write a couple of pages each day.
But…life.
Did I get so busy I didn’t have the time? Nope.
Did I too often listen to the siren song of my not-even-very-comfortable couch? Why yes! Yes, I did.
Reading. Listening to podcasts. Watching miscellaneous YouTube videos. But writing when I wasn’t motivated? Don’t be silly.
There are legitimate reasons I won’t be posting much to Substack, if anything, between now and the end of September.
My hubby and I are gathering our daughter’s belongings and driving them from Ontario to Saskatchewan. Sarah has a place of her own, and after approximately a year, has room for her things. It will be lovely to visit with her, her brother, and her sister-in-law, but there won’t be time for writing.
Hopefully, my readers will forgive the delay.
[Note: If you would like to subscribe to Substack for FREE to read more, you can do so here: Steph Beth Nickel | Substack]
Things to Know About Substack
There are many features I haven’t investigated, which, when taken advantage of, may improve the experience—for both creators and their readers. Reading up on these features is on my To-Do list. (Kudos to all of you who research a new-to-you platform before jumping aboard!)
Just signing up isn’t enough. You actually have to create and post content. A given…that can be more challenging than anticipated.
Developing a mailing list… If you don’t already have one, there’s virtual legwork to getting followers and subscribers. (Growing subscriber numbers isn’t currently high on my priority list, but it is important to the majority of Substack creators I’m sure.)
What about random followers and subscribers who stumble across your account? Be careful. It seems some are bots or potential scammers looking for info.
When a human follows or subscribes, it’s good to thank them and welcome them to your account. However, there’s no need to follow back just to boost their numbers if you’re not interested in their content and don’t have the bandwidth for one more email hitting your inbox that you don’t have the time or inclination to read.
When a legit subscriber sends you a message, it’s a good idea to respond. Still, you’ll want to read their mini-bio. They may be in the market to sell you a service. You can tell pretty quickly from their messages and their public posts what their intention is.
What are my future plans?
I plan to do some research on the Substack features I am not taking advantage of.
Hopefully, I will have this draft of Rule and Reign completed and my 30-day devotional ready for formatting and publication by the end of the year.
Happy Writing and Publishing (wherever that may be)!
As an editor, Steph Beth Nickel has the honour of coming alongside writers to help them polish their work. As the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’s memoirs, Steph has been blessed to work with this amazing woman. And as a future self-published author, with the Lord’s help, Steph has taken brave steps toward publication.
Last month I shared why I don’t “stay in my lane” when it comes to writing. Plus, I shared my Day 1 devotional from my manuscript titled Nurture and Inspire Love: A Study of Jesus’s Commands in the Gospel of John. I post these devotionals on Fridays.
Below is chapter 1 of my YA manuscript. I share a chapter each week on Monday.
My grandmother’s voice cuts through the fog of sleep. I sit up and stretch. The thin cover falls and bunches on my lap, but today I don’t mind the chill in the air. Or the too-bright light shining in my eyes from the hallway. Or the fact that the dampness from the stone floor is seeping through my mattress.
A smile spreads across my face. Orphan or not, I finally have a voice. No one will mention my arrival day. But today I’m seventeen and everything has changed. Before my father died, four years ago, he said my mother would want me to acknowledge the day the world became a brighter place—even if no one else did.
“Unita, a princess must learn to rule with a stern hand. There will be no ridiculous grinning when I present you to the council.”
“But, Grandmother—”
She purses her lips and clears her throat.
“My apologies, Council Lead.”
Council Lead Sila Jumalik, Grandmother, dips her chin, but her expression remains harsh. Maybe because her son died too soon and left me in her charge—me, a non-person until today. Still, I have my suspicions she never smiles. She certainly never laughs. I can’t even imagine it—and Father always said I have a remarkable imagination.
“Princess Unita Jumalik, would you kindly take your responsibilities seriously? I expect you in the dining hall in three-quarters of a full measure. Remember to dress appropriately. You will, after all, be meeting His Majesty—”
“Grandfather? I get to meet my grandfather today?”
I’ve never seen Grandmother speechless—or the color of bleached bed linens. Still, the look in her eyes all but bores a hole through my forehead.
Seventeen or not, I guess I’ll have to learn my place. I’ll never earn the elders’ respect and find the answers I’m looking for unless I do.
“Three-quarters of a full measure. Do not be late.” Grandmother turns on her heel, leaves the room, and pulls the door shut behind her.
Darkness wraps around me again. Only the sunlight that pushes through the cracks in the castle wall lights my room. I wash with the frigid water from the basin in the corner. My grandmother sees no need to burn precious wood in the fireplace.
The door creaks as someone pushes it open. A young woman I’ve never seen before—three, maybe four years older than I am—stands in the doorway, her eyes fixed on a spot on the floor in front of her. “You needn’t do that.” Her voice is barely above a whisper. ”I’ve drawn you a bath in your chambers.”
“My . . . my what?”
“Your chambers, Miss. The Princess of Betria can’t bathe and dress here.” She scans the room, scowls, and shakes her head. “It would never do.”
I shrug. “Just let me gather my clothes—”
The girl gasps. “Oh, pardon me, Princess. But . . . Well, Council Lead Jumalik instructed me to burn your clothes.”
“She what?” I collapse onto the only chair in the room. It creaks but, thankfully, doesn’t collapse, something I fear every time I sit in it.
“I’m sorry, Princess, but she was most adamant.”
“Is she ever anything but?”
“Princess?” The girl looks over her shoulder as if expecting my grandmother to appear at any moment.
A brief laugh escapes my lips and I throw both hands over my mouth. The faintest smile crosses the girl’s face.
I grab my threadbare dressing gown. “Well, lead on. We don’t want to keep the council lead waiting.” Or my grandfather.
As we walk down a long, narrow hallway, I wonder where we could be going. I’ve never been allowed this far into the castle. My chamber is—was—on the outer wall, as far removed from the royal chambers as possible.
“This way, Princess. The council lead will have my head if you’re not in the dining hall on time.”
I shudder, wondering if she means this literally. “We can’t have that.” I increase my pace. “And another thing . . .”
“Yes, Princess?”
“That.”
“That what, Princess?”
“My name’s Unita.”
“Yes, you are Her Royal Highness, Unita Jumalik, Princess of Betria. Shall I use your full title? I didn’t mean to offend.”
I reach out to touch her shoulder. She freezes. “I—” I squeeze her shoulder gently. “Please turn around.”
When she does, her eyes are wide and beads of perspiration rim her hairline.
“You don’t have to be afraid of me. Please call me Unita. And I’d like to know your name as well.”
“I . . . I couldn’t do that. It’s forbidden to refer to royalty by their given name. But, of course, you are free to use my name. I’m Marra.”
“Marra . . . Such a beautiful name. But it means bitter. Doesn’t it?”
Marra nods her head. “Yes, Princess.”
“Unita.”
“I’ll try. But only when we’re alone.”
I grin and then shake my head. “I’m going to have to stop that.”
“You have a nice smile, Princess. Unita.” Marra drops her gaze to the floor again. “We really must be going.”
“It’s settled.” We begin to climb a winding stone staircase. “I’ll only smile when my grandmother’s not around, and you call me Unita when there’s no risk someone might overhear.”
“I’d like that.”
We chat for what seems like a long time as we continue the journey to my chambers. What will they be like? Marra stops before two ornately carved doors, then pushes one open and steps to one side. My craziest ideas were nothing compared to the vast, bright, open space that greets me. And it’s so warm!
“This . . . this is where I’m to stay? I have windows. And the grounds . . . They’re so beautiful. I’ve never seen the view from this side of the castle.” I can barely look away from the fields and forests to my left. When I do, I marvel again at the size of the room, which is at least four times larger than the chamber I left behind.
Marra shakes her head.
“Oh . . .” I let out a long sigh. “I didn’t think so. I can’t imagine staying in a chamber this grand.”
“No, Princess. You misunderstand. This is just the sitting area. Over there . . .” Marra points to another massive wooden door. “That’s your bathing chamber, which has access to your sleeping chamber. Over there . . .” She points to an even larger door on the other side of the room. “That’s your strategy chamber.”
“My what?”
“I’ll explain on our way to the dining hall. We must hurry.”
While I’d love to lounge in the large tub filled with steaming water, I know Marra’s right. My grandmother won’t tolerate me being even one measure late.
I’m in a daze as Marra assists me into the underthings and gown my grandmother chose for my first meeting with my grandfather. No! I must begin thinking of him as His Royal Majesty, King Hart Jumalik of Betria.
“The cream color is a beautiful contrast to your skin, Princ—. Unita.”
Marra accompanies me to the end of a long, wide hallway and stops.
“Are you not coming with me?”
Marra shakes her head. “Oh, no! It’s forbidden. Actually, I’m farther from your chambers than I’m supposed to be. For the next two sun-settings, I’m permitted to show you where everything is. After that, I must remain in your chambers, ready to assist you however I can. Occasionally, I will have other responsibilities, but that will be rare.”
“I have a lot to learn. I’ll need your help.”
Marra smiles widely and looks me in the eye. “It will be my honor, Unita.” She whispers my name, which makes me bite my tongue to keep from erupting into laughter.
She turns and goes back the way we came. I hold my head high, throw back my shoulders, and make my way to the far end of the hall. If you would like to see how Unita’s story unfolds, I invite you to join me on Substack. You can subscribe for FREE here: Steph Beth Nickel | Substack
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography
As an editor, Steph Beth Nickel has the honour of coming alongside writers to help them polish their work. As the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’s memoirs, Steph has been blessed to work with this amazing woman. And as a future self-published author, with the Lord’s help, Steph has taken brave steps toward publication.
As a writer, you’ve likely heard the advice to “stay in your lane.”
This is conventional wisdom that encourages us to write only one genre of novel, stick with nonfiction on a single topic—or clearly related topics, become known as an expert in our field, etc.
However, despite the fact that there are good reasons to do so, it is not the best advice for all writers.
While it may be more difficult to develop my readership or earn a significant amount of money from my writing, I could never see myself staying in my lane.
With that in mind, I am posting twice a week on Substack: chapters of my YA manuscript on Mondays and devotionals based on those first written for HopeStreamRadio on Fridays. If you would like to subscribe, I’d love to have you join me on my (for now) two-lane highway. [See the link at the end of this post]
I’ve included one of the posts from my devotional/Bible study below and will share the first post from my YA manuscript next month.
In the introduction to Nurture and Inspire Love, we learned some of the reasons Jesus has the right to require our obedience. Amazingly, He does not do so from a position of comfort and privilege. Philippians 2:1-8 gives us a glimpse of what He gave up for us—and what He did to redeem us.
We all want to be loved, and no matter how many wonderful people are in our lives, none can compare to our great God and the love He has for us.
John 3:16 says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.”
John 3:16 provides a glimpse of just how much God loves us. And according to 1 John 4:19, “We love because he first loved us.”
And as Jesus says in John 14:15, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”
The first commandments we read in the Gospel of John are in chapter 1, verses 39 and 43: “Come and you will see” and “Follow me.”
John the Baptist was an amazing man. In Matthew 11:11, Jesus declared that “among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist.”
One of the most amazing things about John was his humility. He freely admitted that Jesus had to increase and he had to decrease. Because John made this declaration, when two of his disciples heard him say of Jesus, “Behold the Lamb of God” (found in John 1:36), they immediately left John and followed the Lord.
Jesus asked them what they were seeking. They simply asked where He was staying, and the Lord responded, “Come and see.”
Grammatically speaking, it’s a command, but it sounds more like an invitation. After accepting the invitation and spending the day with Jesus, Andrew sought out his brother, Simon Peter, and informed him they had found the Messiah. It only took a day (at most) for him to come to that conclusion and look for an opportunity to spread the word.
The next day Jesus found Phillip and commanded him to follow Him. Immediately, Phillip did so. And before long, he shared with Nathanael that they had found “him of whom Moses in the Law and also the prophets wrote” (John 1:45).
Being in Jesus’s presence for only a short time convinced these men of the truth and inspired them to share their discovery with others—though, of course, they wouldn’t fully understand what the Messiah had come to accomplish until years later.
I want to be like John the Baptist, willing to do my part to make Jesus known and then fade into the background as the bridegroom takes centerstage (see John 3:29). I want to be like those first disciples, who were immediately obedient to His call to follow and eager to invite others to “come and see.”
Just how can we come and see? We must study the Scriptures, read and revel in the stories of Jesus’s earthly ministry. We must rightly handle the Word of Truth, as it says in 2 Timothy 2:15. When we fellowship with Him, as did John’s former disciples, we too will become convinced of the obvious truth: Jesus was—and is—the Savior.
The same will be true if we heed the call to follow Him. We will soon learn that God Himself invites us to fellowship with Him and get to know Him. What an invitation!
Nurture and Inspire Love
Have you spent time with Jesus today? In what ways?
Did it motivate you to make Him known to others? If you find this challenging, what do you think is holding you back?
What one thing will you do to share the gospel today?
Recommended passage for study: Philippians 2:1-11
If you would like to subscribe to Substack for FREE to read more, you can do so here: Steph Beth Nickel | Substack
Photo credit: Jaime Mellor Photography
As an editor, Steph Beth Nickel has the honour of coming alongside writers to help them polish their work. As the coauthor of Paralympian Deb Willows’s memoirs, Steph has been blessed to work with this amazing woman. And as a future self-published author, with the Lord’s help, Steph has taken brave steps toward publication.
