Seriously, An Audience of One?

ACFWAdvice, Authors and writing, Friends of ACFW, tips, writing Leave a Comment

By D.M. Webb

What is the one thing that a lot of writers, editors, and publishers are saying about writing in today’s market and life? Write for an audience of One.

Wow. Seriously? How in the world am I to make money if I write for just an audience of one? I need hundreds-no, thousands- of people to make a living at writing or at the very least make a little money to supplement my living.

But let’s look further into that saying, “audience of one”. What does it actually mean? I’m sure a lot of you already know, but do we really practice it in our writing?

Today’s world is hurting like never before. False religions, false practices, perversity, slavery, and hatred of Jesus’ name run rampant and spread like a cancerous ooze over the world. Many people want that peace that Jesus provides and so many do not know how to reach out or think they are unworthy to gain that peace. Think about it, is that woman tattooed from head to toe or that man who has had multiple marriages and many affairs unworthy to be a part of God’s kingdom? No, they aren’t.

When I am writing I think to myself, “how do I reach these people without conforming to the world’s ways or compromising my beliefs and standards?”. Today so many writers are conforming to the world’s ways and language, thinking that they must to be able to reach out to the hurting, to the lost, to the fallen; but, all this does is say to the world “look, us Christians are doing it so it’s okay if you do”.

As a writer, I want to glorify Jesus. I want to show that we can fall, too, but it’s Jesus who helps us stand back up. So I choose my words carefully. There’s language spoken in my home and language spoken in polite company. And that language should be the same as if I spoke in front of Jesus, because I am speaking it in front of Him. He’s in my home and in every walk of my life.

So I think back on that saying, “An Audience of One”. I write as if Jesus is sitting next to me, guiding my words, guiding my fingers as they type out the letters to form a story that I pray will reach out to people.

Yes, I am writing for an audience of One- seriously.


In the sultry state of Mississippi, D.M. Webb spend her days homeschooling two sons, writing her stories, slapping post-it notes on the walls (to remind herself), fighting the never ending forest of grass, tending to way too many cats, and somehow getting in the time to do “internet business”. She lost my sanity long ago which is why Daffy Duck is her favorite Looney Tunes character. If she can learn to fly, she hopes to see Scotland and Florence, Italy someday.

Comments 0

  1. This is SUCH an important post. It’s all about testimony in our writing. What are we advertising and condoning? Yes, we can portray the nitty-gritty of life, without rolling around in the mud w/the pigs. Just like the Bible does. I always use that as my standard for how to handle evil situations/characters. God didn’t shy away from those things, nor did he glorify them and dwell on them.

    And Daffy Duck! He’s hilarious in the new Looney Tunes!

    Great post!

  2. I had an Audience of One experience this past Sunday when I sang the special as a soloist at church. The first time ever. I don’t know what made me do it, but it was definitely an Audience of One sort of thing.

    So I found your post especially applicable not only to writing, but to all of life.

    Thanks!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *