Is Book Promotion a Sin? with Shelly Hitz

Is book promotion a sin? How should Christians think about marketing?

I asked Shelly Hitz. She specializes in helping Christian nonfiction authors write, publish, and market their books through her online program, Author Audience Academy (now called the Christian Book Academy).

Is promoting your book a sin?

Shelley: Book promotion is like a lot of things in life. Technology, social media, or music can be used in sinful ways, but they can also be used to glorify God.

You can listen to worship music that lifts your heart toward God or music that brings you down and leaves you feeling discouraged, and marketing works in a similar way. There are two extremes to book promotion. On the one hand, we can become very focused on ourselves and fall into pride. On the other, we can become consumed with money and driven by greed. Both are sins.

But marketing isn’t automatically sinful. It can be a tool for building relationships, sharing testimonies, spreading messages that point to Christ, and ultimately bringing glory to God.

It really depends on how you’re using it and your motive.

Thomas: Marketing is ultimately a tool. Like most tools, it can be used for good or bad. At its core, it’s just about getting your message out there.

Many people in both the Old and New Testaments put a lot of effort into spreading their message. They traveled, preached, and wrote letters. Paul, for instance, spent his whole life traveling to share his message.

The real question is whether your message is worth sharing. Does what you’re saying truly benefit others? Then, ask whether you’re sharing it from a good place, with good motives.

Interestingly, Scripture often emphasizes the message over the motives. In Philippians, Paul says that some are preaching Christ out of selfish ambition (see Philippians 1:15-18). But Paul says, essentially, “I don’t care why they’re doing it, as long as Christ is being preached.” The message was the priority. He trusted God to deal with the motives.

Few Christian books are gospel presentations aimed at unbelievers. But many focus on helping Christians grow in faith or address other meaningful topics. In that case, the message alone might not be as clear-cut, and that’s where examining your motives really matters.

How do you check your heart to make sure your motives are right?

Thomas: What does it look like to really evaluate your heart and keep your focus where it needs to be?

Shelley: We all have our own personal relationship with God, and I can’t examine your motives for you. I’ve had people come up to me after I speak and say, “I’m praying that you won’t become prideful.” And I think to myself, you probably already believe that I am. They’re judging me based on their own perception, but the truth is, only God knows our hearts.

That’s why having a personal relationship with Christ is so important. I start my day with journaling and listening prayer. I’m in the scriptures, but I’m also journaling, praying, and listening for what God has for me. When you’re in a close relationship with Christ, processing your emotions, and asking Him for guidance and his ideas on how to market your book, then you’re being led by the Spirit.

Of course, there will be days when we lean more toward pride, greed, or something else. But when that happens, we confess our sins, get back on track, and move forward.

The theme verses for my business are Matthew 5:14–16: “You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden. Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a bowl. Instead, they put it on its stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.”

As Christian authors and writers, we often hesitate. We’re afraid to let our light shine and put our work out there. I’ve heard there are three main kinds of fear: fear of failure, fear of success, and fear of judgment. That fear of judgment, the fear of what people will think, is especially common among Christian writers.

I’ve mentored many writers, and so many fear being misunderstood. Will people think I’m prideful? Will they think I’m greedy? What will they think of me if I promote my book or my message? But we are only responsible for our own actions and motives, not for the assumptions of others.

That person who said they’re praying I don’t become prideful, if they’re judging me, that’s between them and God. I’m responsible only for what God has called me to do and the message He’s given me to share.

Those verses say, “Let your light shine so that they may see your good deeds.” The word “deeds” is ergon, which means the work of our hands, meaning our books, our writing, and the things we create. We do our deeds not so that people will glorify us but so they will glorify our Father in heaven.

Sometimes, it just takes a small mindset shift. Instead of living in fear, hiding, and worrying we’ll make a mistake, let’s step out. Let your light shine. Glorify God. Allow Him to lead you. Walk in the Spirit. Have prayer partners and accountability, and guard your heart, but don’t be afraid. Get out there and share what God has given you to share.

Thomas: As we get older, our motives become more complicated. We rarely do something from a completely pure motive, meaning we’re driven by a single intention. Most of the time, when I do something, I’m motivated by a mix of emotions.

My daughter is three months old, and her motives are pure. When she’s hungry, she is 100% hungry. That’s it. She’s not also feeling anxious, ambitious, or conflicted. She’s just hungry. But as we grow up, that clarity fades. We might do something because we’re passionate or hungry for it, but we’re also afraid. We might be ambitious, insecure, excited, or all of the above.

Many authors feel they need to have completely pure motives before moving forward, as if they need to be perfect before taking action. But that’s not how God works. God uses imperfect people. He even uses people who preach the gospel with the wrong motives. The message is still moving forward, even if the messengers are flawed.

Of course, we need to walk in obedience and humility. We need to examine ourselves to test whether we’re in the faith and bring our motives before God. That doesn’t mean we wait until we’re perfect to act.

How should a Christian author handle compliments?

Christian authors often struggle with how to handle compliments, such as someone saying, “I loved your book”? Oddly enough, criticism can sometimes be easier. If someone says, “I hated your book, and I hate you for writing it,” you know what to do. You bring it to the Lord, lay it down, and pray like the psalmist, “God, look at what they’re saying about me,” and you find your peace in Him.

But what about the compliments?

My mom, who was a Christian musician, gave me some helpful advice. She said the first thing you need to do is receive the compliment. If someone pays you a compliment, thank them. Don’t argue or dismiss it. While being dismissive may sound like humility, it’s actually pride. If you say, “Oh, it’s not that great,” you’re really saying, “My opinion of my work matters more than yours.” That’s not humility; it’s false humility.

Receive the “crown” they give you. Just thank them and meet them in that moment. Then, at the end of the day, lay that “crown” at the feet of Jesus. Say, “Lord, thank You for this encouragement. I offer it to You.” When I’ve had a big event or received a lot of kind words, sometimes I’ll even pray intentionally through those compliments, handing each one over to God. It helps me emotionally process the feedback and keep my heart in the right place.

Shelley: I love a story Corrie ten Boom once shared. A well-known evangelist in her time regularly drew crowds of thousands. She asked him, “How do you handle that? How do you deal with being the one on stage and receiving all that attention?”

He responded with a picture from Scripture. He said, “Think about the story in the Bible where Jesus is riding into Jerusalem on a donkey. The crowd is waving palm branches, praising God, shouting Hosanna, and giving glory to Jesus.” Then he asked, “Do you think the donkey said, ‘Oh, thank you! Thank you for all the praise. I really appreciate the recognition’?”

Of course not. The donkey was simply carrying Christ. The praise wasn’t for him, it was for the One he carried.

And that’s how the evangelist said he viewed himself. “I just see myself as the donkey,” he told her. “I’m the one carrying Christ into these places. So when people clap or give compliments, it’s not about me. It’s about Christ in me.”

I’ve always appreciated that perspective.

Is it wrong to be famous?

Thomas: Many authors are afraid of fame, but there’s nothing wrong with being famous. Look at the Old Testament or the New Testament, and you’ll find some incredibly famous heroes of the faith.

John the Baptist was so famous that people would travel into the wilderness to hear him speak, which was a major effort in the first century. He drew crowds away from the urban centers. Jesus was so famous that even a rumor of him being nearby would cause people to flood that location. He was constantly trying to withdraw from the crowds to spend time alone with the Father. Peter was so famous that people would line the streets just hoping his shadow would pass over them and heal them.

Let’s be honest, no one listening to this podcast is that famous. There aren’t people camped outside your house hoping to catch your shadow. Napkins you’ve touched aren’t being passed around as holy relics. And yet, Peter’s fame wasn’t a sin. Why? Because it was a means, not an end.

That’s the key distinction. If you’re afraid of fame or success, ask yourself why you are seeking or experiencing fame. Is it to advance the kingdom of God? Or is it to build your own? Fame becomes dangerous when it stops being a tool and starts becoming the goal. That’s when it can turn toxic.

You don’t deal with this issue once and then check off your list. No matter how far along you are in your career or how much fame you have, there will always be someone more famous than you and someone less famous.

The question is: are you doing the right thing? And are you doing it in the right way?

That’s where continual self-examination comes in. Bring your heart to God and ask, “Am I doing this for you?” If you’re regularly in Scripture and in prayer, I believe God will make that answer clear. He doesn’t keep it a mystery.

Are you promoting or serving?

Shelley: God has been teaching me to look for ways to serve the people who are following me, listening to me, or reading my books. I want to serve them and not merely look at what I can get from them.

I often ask myself, “What is it in this particular podcast, training, book, or blog post that is going to help someone?” It’s about building relationships and going deep with the people who are already connected with you instead of always aiming to go wide and constantly thinking, “How can I get bigger and bigger and bigger?”

Bigger isn’t always the goal. God has placed followers and readers in your sphere on purpose for a purpose. How can you serve them in that role?

Instead of thinking, “How can I get the sale?” or “What can I get from them?” it becomes, “What can I give to them? How can I serve them through this platform that God has given me to share the messages He’s placed on my heart?”

Thomas: Service isn’t just good because it’s the Christian path; it’s also the best practice for effective marketing. If you attend a secular marketing conference, you’ll hear this same principle. The motives may be different. They’re not doing it to honor God or out of humility. They’re doing it because they’ve learned through experience that it works. Serving people through your marketing is effective.

If you write a blog post about how great you are or how amazing your company is, no one wants to read that. But if you write a relevant, practical blog post that helps people, they will share it. They’ll tweet it, text it to a friend or business partner, and pass it along because it provides value.

This applies to your podcast, social media, and book. When you serve through your marketing, the marketing itself becomes a benefit to others. That’s what makes it effective.

Many Christians believe that to succeed in publishing or marketing, they have to puff themselves up and make themselves look big. But that’s not what real success looks like. The way to become great and move forward is to become a servant, just as Jesus said. We must be willing to be last, put on the servant’s towel, and wash the feet of our readers, metaphorically speaking.

The Bible isn’t asking us to take the harder road. It’s asking us to take the better road that actually works.

Shelley: Marketing is about relationships. It’s not shouting “buy my book” but building trust through service, sharing helpful content, asking questions, and engaging your audience. When people know, like, and trust you, a real connection forms. That’s the foundation of effective marketing.

What does humility look like in Christian publishing?

Thomas: There’s a quote often misattributed to C.S. Lewis (though the concept is in his writings), but it actually comes from The Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren: “Humility is not thinking less of yourself. It is thinking of yourself less.” That idea connects perfectly with what you were saying earlier. Humility is asking your readers questions, being curious about them, and taking yourself out of the center of the conversation. That is the humble and effective path.

At writers conferences, I often do consultations. Especially when I was a marketing guy, I noticed that no one wanted to talk to me early in the conference. But after they’d been rejected by agents and editors who told them they needed a bigger platform, suddenly, by the last day, I was Mr. Popular. On day one, I’d be sitting alone at a table. By the last day, every slot was booked.

People would sit down and say, “I don’t care how much the book sells. I don’t care about money. I just want the message to get out.” While that sounds noble, it’s still self-focused. They’re still talking about themselves. Instead, they need to shift the focus to their readers. Who is your book for? What problem does it solve? What pain does it ease?

When you fully remove yourself from the spotlight, that’s when success often comes.

It reminds me of The Chronicles of Narnia, when Eustace is turned into a dragon. He tries to peel away the dragon scales himself, but he can’t go deep enough. Finally, Aslan (who represents Christ) steps in and uses his claws to tear through the layers. It’s painful, but it’s necessary. Many authors need a moment like that. It’s not just about removing the desire for money. It’s also about tearing away the craving for fame. Fame should be a means, not an end.

Sometimes, you do need to make money to spread your message, especially if you’re independently published. If your book genuinely helps people, if it makes the world better or advances the kingdom, then you have a responsibility to get it into the hands of readers. You wouldn’t keep a cure for a disease to yourself just because you didn’t want people to think too highly of you. That would be twisted. Better to share the truth with imperfect motives than to keep it hidden altogether.

How does fear impact so many Christian writers?

Shelley: I often teach from the Parable of the Talents, especially the servant in Matthew 25:25 who said, “I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground.” That servant was called wicked and lazy, not because he lost the talent, but because fear kept him from using it.

I believe many of us, especially Christian authors, let fear hold us back. We fear what people will think. We fear pride, greed, or being misunderstood. So we hide. But we are only responsible for our own obedience. If God has given us one talent, we are called to use it and multiply it, not through our own strength, striving or hustle, but through the power of the Holy Spirit.

There’s so much fear around marketing in the Christian community, and I believe that fear is a lie from the pit of hell. It keeps us from moving forward. Instead, we need to recognize the fear, feel it, and then bring it to God. We exchange the fear for His truth. The truth is that He has given us a message to share, and our obedience can have an eternal impact.

We live in an incredible time where we can reach people around the world with the gospel through books and the internet. I’ve received emails from readers in Venezuela, South Korea, South Africa, Japan, and people who have come to Christ through my books. And I’m a self-published author. That’s God.

If I had let fear of failure, fear of success, or fear of judgment paralyze me, I wouldn’t have stepped out. But one day, we will each stand before God, and I want to hear, “Well done, good and faithful servant.” I don’t want to hide. I know that whenever I veer off, God pulls me back. He convicts, corrects, and places people in my life to help keep me on track.

We have to be honest about what’s really holding us back. Once we identify the root, we can renew our minds with God’s truth and move forward. Meanwhile, secular authors aren’t afraid to promote their books. Why should we be afraid to share messages that actually have eternal value?

When we take even the smallest steps of obedience, God moves. I’m not the most talented, the smartest, or the most gifted. English was my worst subject in school. Yet, in 2011, I left my job as a physical therapist. It was the scariest decision I’ve ever made. Since then, I’ve written and published over 40 books. I coach and mentor hundreds of Christian writers, and thousands follow me online. How is that possible? Simple obedience. One small yes at a time. Every step opened the next door. God kept giving me the next assignment.

You don’t have to know everything today. Just be willing to take the first step. If fear stops you before you even begin, you may miss the incredible things God has in store.

How can writers cultivate courage?

Thomas: If you’re afraid, don’t wait until the fear disappears to move forward. Sometimes, God gives us supernatural boldness. In the New Testament, when the disciples were filled with the Spirit, they boldly told the Pharisees, “We’re not going to stop preaching.” It didn’t matter what threats came their way. And the Pharisees were left saying, “Well, what do we do now?” So they just let them go.

That kind of supernatural boldness does happen. But more often in my life, I’ve had to act while still feeling afraid. It becomes a choice: do I move forward in obedience while I’m still afraid, or do I let fear win? Choosing to act despite fear is what courage looks like. That’s the difference between boldness and courage.

My daughter is bold in a different way. She’s three months old, and she’s not afraid of the dark. But that’s because nothing bad has happened to her in the dark. She doesn’t know to be afraid yet. Her boldness is really just innocence or ignorance.

Then there’s being afraid and letting that fear paralyze you. You avoid taking a step forward. Maybe you won’t even get out of bed, metaphorically or literally, because the darkness feels too overwhelming. That fear isn’t entirely baseless because there really is darkness in the world.

But then there’s courage. The next level is saying, “Yes, I’m afraid, but I will move forward anyway. I’m choosing to trust God.” Over time, there’s an even deeper level of faith that says, “I’m not trapped in here with the darkness. The darkness is trapped in here with me. Because the living God is within me, and He is greater than the darkness.”

In that moment, you realize you don’t need to be afraid. The darkness should be afraid.

There’s a line in Shrek where Donkey is terrified, and Shrek turns to him and says, “What are you afraid of? I’m the scariest thing out here!” That mindset shift is powerful. Scripture says, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.” That’s real power.

Now, you don’t have to be at that “darkness should fear me” stage in order to take the next step. That kind of faith takes time. It’s something God grows in us. But even before that happens, you can choose obedience and faithfulness, one small step at a time.

Is it wrong to be fearful?

Shelley: It doesn’t have to be a giant leap. I’ve spent 15 years as an entrepreneur and over 10 years publishing books, and God has kept stretching me and pulling me out of my comfort zone. Last year, I had a big project. It was a 168-page spiral-bound, fully illustrated brush lettering workbook. It was completely different from anything I’d done before. I had to work with a specialty printer and handle a lot of unfamiliar details.

The first printer I used made a mistake. By that point, I had already pre-sold thousands of dollars worth of books, and I was freaking out. In the middle of that panic, a friend reminded me, “Shelley, every step of faith requires risk,” and then she said something that really stuck with me: “Fear is what we feel. Brave is what we do.”

That spoke deeply to me. In the end, God worked it out for good. The printer admitted the mistake and gave me the books for free. They were still good enough to sell, so I didn’t lose the investment. It turned into a learning experience. Taking steps of faith doesn’t mean everything will go perfectly.

Fear is a feeling. I’m very emotional, and I’ve learned it’s okay to feel those feelings. Another friend of mine says, “Feel the feelings, but you don’t have to believe the feelings.” Just because I feel fear doesn’t mean I have to believe what that fear is telling me or let it keep me stuck.

I still feel fear when I step out and do something new. But fear is what we feel. Brave is what we do. Taking those steps of faith will often involve risk, especially when you’re putting yourself out there. But again and again, I’ve seen God show up and do what only He can do, and it is so worth it.

I’m sure you have your own stories when you ask yourself, “What in the world am I doing?” And then God shows up, and you realize just how worth it that step of faith really was.

What final encouragement do you have for Christian writers?

Shelley: I believe God has given each one of you unique gifts and a specific assignment that you alone can do. You’re uniquely gifted to do what He’s assigned, and I love seeing you shine.

Connect with Shelley Hitz

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