Christy Lynne Wood
Author, Speaker, & Podcaster
Christy Lynne Wood is an author, speaker, and podcaster whose work centers around exploring faith, doubt, and spiritual growth in what she calls the “awkward middle way.”
Get To Know Christy
Christy Lynne Wood spent her teens and early twenties in a Christian cult, but Jesus found her anyway. More than twenty years later, Christy continues to pick apart legalism, twisted scripture, and lies in a search for the truth. As a speaker, writer, podcaster, and author of Religious Rebels: Finding Jesus in the Awkward Middle Way of Grace and Truth (2023), she is passionate about helping people to find a genuine relationship with Jesus. Christy lives in West Michigan with her wonderfully opposite husband and their two children.
Pre-Conference Session
Creating and Connecting with Substack
Platform sometimes seems like a bad word or an unattainable dream, but what if there was a tool that rolled social media, newsletters, collecting email addresses and podcast hosting into one easy experience? What if it was free but held the potential for you to make money? What if your audience could find you without you trying to reel them in through giveaways and gimmicks? What if you could easily network with fellow writers, editors, and agents?
Substack is a growing and evolving online space where readers and writers have a chance to connect through short notes, longer articles, videos, and more. Many well-known authors have Substacks along with editors, agents, and others in the publishing industry. You can subscribe to your favorites and get their latest posts in your email inbox or just follow them in your feed to see their recent notes. Readers can find and follow you as well. More than an entertainment stage, Substack is a thoughtful, literary community.
Attendees of this pre-conference session will:
• Learn how Substack can help grow their audience.
• Find ways to connect with other writers and authors
• Discover the benefits of Substack like free podcast hosting and paid subscriptions.
• Create or tweak their own Substack site with support.
• Learn how to transfer their podcast hosting and email lists to Substack.
• Have the opportunity to ask questions and get assistance from someone who is familiar with Substack.
Christy will share how she has used Substack to:
• Grow her email list organically.
• Connect with favorite authors.
• Guest on various podcasts.
• Sell copies of her book.
• Find other writers who want to collaborate.
• Submit writing to literary publications.
• And become part of an online writers’ group.
Attendees will have time to:
• Brainstorm individually and collectively about their message, audience, and what they are offering their community.
• Explore Substack.
• Start their own Substack with personal guidance from Christy.
• Ask questions and get feedback about their accounts.
Attendees should bring:
• Their laptop or tablet.
• A digital headshot or profile picture.
• A short bio.
Breakout Session
Building Community on Substack and Threads
Platform sometimes seems like an unattainable dream, but what if there was a free tool that rolled social media, newsletters, collecting email addresses, and podcast hosting into one easy experience? What if your audience could easily find you without giveaways and gimmicks? Substack is a growing and evolving online space where readers and writers have a chance to connect through short notes and longer articles.
In this interactive session, Christy will provide space for attendees to think through their philosophy of platform. She will encourage them to view Substack as a community of people rather than a tool to use. Attendees will learn how to start their own Substack, connect with other writers and authors, and enjoy the benefits of Substack such as free podcast hosting and paid subscriptions. Christy will share how she has used Substack to grow her email list organically, connect with her favorite authors, guest on various podcasts, sell copies of her book, join an online writers group, and submit to literary publications.
Another newer social media that Christy finds pairs well with Substack is Threads. Christy will show attendees how to use word-based Threads alongside Substack to connect and grow with followers. As a working mom and wife, Christy doesn’t always have the time and creative energy to produce video or graphic content. But after giving her platform to God, she has watched her community grow simply by writing short but heartfelt thoughts on Threads and Substack Notes along with her weekly longform posts. If you struggle with platform, are looking for community, or just enjoy learning something new, then this session is for you.
15-Minute Appointments
Are you feeling frustrated with platform? Would you like to brainstorm about your audience, message, or voice? Christy is happy to chat about any of these things, talk about Substack or Threads, or just encourage you as you pursue the calling God has on your life.
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