Susan Neal RN, MBA, MHS, lives her life with a passion to help others improve their health so they can serve God better. She is a Certified Health and Wellness Coach with American Association of Christian Counselors. Her mission is to improve the health of the body of Christ. She is the author of six healthy living books. Her best-seller, 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates, a Selah award winner, sold over 5,000 copies in its first thirteen months. The sequel, Christian Study Guide for 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates won the 2019 Directors Choice award. You can find her on SusanUNeal.com
Susan, readers would love to know more about you.
By the grace of God and an excellent editor, I sold 4,000 copies of my self-published book in its first year. It was my third book; sales from my first two books were not stellar. I think it takes motivation and determination to keep churning out prose.
This is my third career. My first was being a kidney transplant nurse at Shands Hospital. I only lasted two years before I went back to school and got my MBA and masters in health science. Then I worked in administration at Mayo Clinic Jacksonville and Blue Cross Blue Shield. Next, was twenty years of being a stay-at-home mom.
My third career is being a Christian author. I believe God inspired me to write. I couldn’t find a publisher to publish my first book, Scripture Yoga, so I self-published. I even created Christian Yoga, LLC, my own publishing company. Currently, I self-published six healthy living books. In 2018, I sold over 6,000 books!
I’m guessing you didn’t always write since you spent years in other careers.
No, I started writing in 2007 when I was watching Star Wars with my kids. I found a parallel between this movie and the Bible. More specifically, between Lucifer and Anakin Skywalker’s fall. So, I started writing a Star Wars Bible Study. In 2017, when I finally got an agent to represent me, he shopped the Bible study, but no publisher wanted it. Many times our first manuscript gives us great practice to improve our writing.
Tell readers about your latest work.
In January 2019, I released my sixth self-published book, Healthy Living Series: 3 books in 1. Now, I am writing, Solving the Gluten Puzzle. My agent, Cyle Young, sent the book proposal for this book to numerous publishers. Now it is wait and pray time.
Where do you get your inspiration to write?
From my family, I created the seven steps in 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates for my younger sister who successfully got off sugar and wheat. My older sister, who is highly gluten sensitive inspired me to write Solving the Gluten Puzzle.
What do you want your readers to take away from your books/writing?
They can improve their health and weight by changing their lifestyle. When they ask God for help and obtain a support system, they can make difficult changes. I wrote my Healthy Living Series of books from a Christian perspective. God is a big part of my life and my writing. God gave us glorious bodies that were programmed to heal. We are responsible for being good steward of our body–the temple of the Holy Spirit.
What advice would you give to a young person starting on their writing journey?
Join a writing group. I joined Word-Weavers.com in 2019. Not only did it improve my writing, but I also gained life-long writer friends who understand the writing journey. They encourage and support me along the bumpy publishing rode.
Use Grammarly or some other online editing program. Read Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors. It helped me learn the craft. Obtain a professional editor to edit your work before you send it to a publisher or agent. I asked Eva Marie Everson to refer me to an editor. Since using her recommended nonfiction, Christian editor, Janis Whipple, two out of three of my books won awards. In 2018, 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates won the Selah award at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference (BRMCWC). In 2019, Christian Study Guide for 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates won the Directors’ Choice award.
Attend conferences and get to know leaders in the industry. The Christian writing community is very supportive and encouraging, but you need to get to know the key players. Enter your work in all sorts of contests. If you win, the recognition is well worth the money you paid to enter the contest.
Did you dream of being a writer/author when you were young?
No, I did not. But I dreamed about it for the past ten years. Now, I am a Christian author. You can fulfill your dream too!
Connect with Susan on her website, facebook, and instagram.
