One of the biggest joys of my professional life is seeing first-time authors launch their books. It’s even more fun when they are friends whom I’ve known for a long time! That’s certainly the case with today’s guest. I’m excited to share this conversation with Kelly Brinkmann, author of Art for the Soul: Growing Your Faith Through Creativity, which was published earlier this year. Kelly is a faith-based working artist and writer. She studied studio art in painting and earned her B.A., equipping her to use creative thinking and problem-solving in various nonprofit and corporate leadership positions. She serves as a writer, public speaker, and creative instructor in her community at her studio, Art & Souls Creative Studio, in Washington, Missouri. She also serves, learns, teaches, and mentors alongside women in her home church while starting her first term on the local school board in 2022. You can learn more about Kelly on her writing and speaking website, KellyBrinkmann.com, and see her in her studio at ArtAndSouls.com. These sites offer her Scripture study tools, downloads of hand-drawn bookmarks, and a portfolio of handmade artwork as tangible tools and reminders of God’s never-ending grace and love. Kelly and I first met when I was a professor at St. Louis Christian College, and I had the honor of handing over to her a course I taught called “Introduction to the Arts.” I knew students would be in good hands, and it has been a real honor to see Kelly write and publish her book since that time. In this conversation, Kelly shares her process for writing Art for the Soul, as well as the items she baked into the book to make it more fun and reader-friendly. Kelly also shares a lot of fascinating details about her branding and book marketing. You’ll want to take a lot of notes because Kelly has done an incredible job in putting together a first-class book, as well as her creative thinking and engaging marketing. * * * Today’s episode is sponsored by Vellum, the go-to book formatting software for indie authors who care about creating beautiful ebooks and print books. Use the link to download Vellum for FREE. 📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

Today’s episode is sponsored by editor Karen Hunsanger, also known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit. 📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

Today’s episode is sponsored by Plottr, the #1 visual book planning software for writers that helps you plan books in the same way you think. Plottr helps fiction and nonfiction authors, podcasters, speakers, and anyone creating content to organize their material and story points. Visit the link above to start your free 14-day trial. 📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

Today’s episode is sponsored by Write Your First Nonfiction Book: A Primer for Aspiring Authors by my friend and business coach, Honorée Corder. You’ll learn strategies for arranging your chapters, how to get started and stay organized, and easy step-by-step instructions that will eliminate the fear that’s been holding you back. 📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

Today’s episode is sponsored by Kristi Griffith, owner of Thumbprint Creative. Kristi has created the cover design and interior layout for many of my own books, and books of my ghostwriting clients and friends. She works closely with you to create a design that perfectly captures the theme, message, and genre of your book.   📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

When we think of marketing, promotion, media, and public relations, it’s easy to view those as elements that are “out there” building our author brand. To many authors, it feels like those are disconnected from the heart and soul of what led them to write in the first place. My guest today is here to get us back to the heart of what it means to be an author. In the process, we will reconnect to our true passion that becomes a part of all our marketing efforts. Isabelle Knight is a former publicist of twenty years, having worked with some of the biggest names in film, TV & publishing, including the BBC and an author you may have heard of: JK Rowling.  Isabelle now offers authors the opportunity to learn the tools and strategies that will help you fulfill your own publicity, promotion, and marketing goals. Isabelle provides mentoring and done-with-you programs and services to grow your readership, increase your impact, and build success.  You can check out Isabelle’s website at www.buildyourbrandwithpr.com. You can also download her free guide, Top 10 Tips for Authors to Build a Brand. In addition, I encourage you to check out her Build Your Author Brand 6-Week Course. In this conversation, Isabelle walks us through her story of becoming a publicist and how she’s taken that knowledge to now help authors with PR. You’ll also learn why publicity and PR are so important, what an author brand story is, and why it’s absolutely essential to everything you do as a writer. This was a seriously compelling conversation and it’s given me a lot to chew on as I think about my own author brand. I believe it will have the same impact on you as well. * * * Today’s episode is sponsored by Vellum, the go-to book formatting software for indie authors who care about creating beautiful ebooks and print books. Use the link to download Vellum for FREE. 📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter

Today’s episode is sponsored by editor Karen Hunsanger, also known as “The Word Wizard.” I’ve worked with Karen many times, and she is your secret weapon for crafting the highest-quality book possible. Visit the link above for a free sample edit. 📚 Download your FREE Daily Writer Starter Kit at https://dailywriterlife.com/free ✉️ Want writing tips and inspiration delivered to your inbox daily? Sign up for the FREE Daily Writer email at https://dailywriterlife.com/dailyemail 🚀 Want to grow your writing business and accelerate your success? Check out our Daily Writer Club. 📱 Follow us: Instagram, TikTok, Facebook, Twitter