Why I'm Dissolving Part of My Business

When Discernment Takes You on a Path Unimagined

This is a tough post to write. It’s probably the most vulnerable I’ve been when it comes to discussing business. But this is the type of conversation I’d have with a friend over coffee. So, my friend, here it goes.

For those of you who don’t know, I launched the Fiat Self-Publishing Academy two years ago. This was a MASSIVE undertaking with all the bells and whistles—course, coaching, incredible instructors, weekly events, community, checklists… I could go on. I had a great launch, welcoming over 40 writers in immediately. Many, many more have participated since. I’ve had positive testimonials that almost brought me to tears (I’m not a happy crier), amazing new books launched, and a group of people who are some of the kindest individuals I’m proud to have known.

And I’m shutting it down.

To be clear, I’m dissolving it. Slowly. Keyword: dissolve. We’ll get to that in a minute.

Why would I do something this drastic?

God told me to. (And since I know you are wondering, no I did not have visions or hear voices.)

I could end the post here. Do we really need more of an explanation when God tells us to do something? But I do think it’s helpful to share my discernment process, in case it helps others.

Maybe it will give you the courage to follow God’s commands.

Maybe it will help you see that not every business on the outside is perfect on the inside.

Or maybe it will give you permission to be more open with your own members or customers. I feel all too often these types of decisions are tucked away and reframed or disguised under “marketing spins.” Like “I’m doing this because Substack is awesome and it’s going to be so much better,” versus “I’m really doing this because God is telling me: ‘My dear child you need a course correction.’ ”

What was my first sign?

In January 2024, I committed to praying more about my business. My personal ambitions were to continue to grow and scale the business (God laughs). I began the practice of Lectio Divina where you read and meditate on scripture and focus on words or phrases that stand out. My prayer one night was, “God, is this business what you really want me to be doing? Please help me to know this is your will.” I wrote it down and didn’t give it much thought after. The next couple evenings, as I was praying, I underlined several words that stood out and wrote them down. At the end of the week, I reflected on all the words. Without realizing it, I had underlined:

“Her service is at an end”

“Dissolved”

“Dissolved”

“Dissolved”

“Melted by fire”

Immediately, I was struck with a sense of peace. Maybe I had done what God called me to do, and I was free to move on? I hadn’t published my own books or done anything creative in a while. Was it time to refocus?

Ya’ll, don’t do what I did.

As the type A, planning, control freak that I am, I naturally spiraled. I took what – in hindsight – was a kind redirection by God and started playing out different scenarios in my head. Should I sell the Academy? Loosen my grip? Should I merge with someone else? Had I misinterpreted God’s message? Was something bad going to happen that would prevent me from running the Academy?

After hitting rock bottom in my discernment, I scheduled a meeting with a trusted priest. What he said stuck with me:

“Gold can only become what it is when purified and refined.”

Maybe parts of my business and myself needed to be dissolved and purified?

God loves me and wants what I do to be gold, but sometimes that means being “melted by fire” to get there. God isn’t sending messages of fear. He isn’t trying to confuse me. He wants to help guide me in the right direction. Now I want you to reread the last four sentences and insert the word “you” instead of “me” or “I” because this is true for you, too!

So, I reframed what dissolve meant. How could I refine and make my Academy better?

It started with a tech overhaul. I ditched expensive course software, switched to free email, and offloaded subscriptions that I didn’t need.

Then I dropped the Fiat Self-Publishing Academy name and simplified it to Thy Olive Tree.

My yearly subscribers were coming up on renewals and I knew I needed to get things squared away. My next step was to merge the course + community into one platform. I was ready to do so but was met with intense internal resistance. It just didn’t feel right. It didn’t feel like enough of obedience to God’s message.

I was clearly being melted by fire and refining things; I was dissolving aspects of the business. But…

Remember, there was another part to that message: “Her service is at an end.”

This might surprise you, but I didn’t start the Academy to be a self-publishing expert. My plan was to create a community, bring in instructors and learn and grow from one another, while sharing my own experiences. Which I did. But guess what happened along the way? I took on the role of expert guide – leader in all things self-publishing. On one hand, this felt great to have built up so much knowledge and expertise. On the other hand, I hadn’t published my own book in years, and I was daily inching away from my initial goal. I was creating comprehensive self-publishing checklists and workbooks, researching and reading about self-publishing, adding new course modules, and constantly wondering how I could stay on the forefront of all things self-publishing. I hadn’t realized how far off track I had gotten. But BOOM! This is where God stepped in. He released me from this service and reminded me that I don’t have to commit my life to being a self-publishing guru. I can and will certainly help AND still make room for the work in which God is leading me toward.

It was time for me to loosen my grip.

That is when the puzzle pieces connected. What I had built was excellent. The content, videos, and resources were some of the best work of my life. God knew that if He didn’t release me from my own shackles, I would keep creating more and more self-publishing content. I would get so tunnel visioned I’d miss out on other opportunities.

Now it made sense. I couldn’t sell the Academy, because I needed to keep my intellectual property. This information needs to get out to more people. It is sooo good.

Keeping it tucked away behind my Academy walls was stifling to me.

Only talking about self-publishing was stifling.

Being the “expert” was stifling.

Having a technical course was stifling.

It was time to hit the reset button.

And that is where this newsletter comes in. What I wanted from the very beginning of all of this was to create community and connections with people who were like me. Who cared about producing high quality work, learning, and growing. I want to be that trusted friend you bounce ideas off of and share business tips. That feels right at the moment.

My mission of helping produce more true, good, and beautiful books does not change. But the method in which I do so has.

I’ll slowly be releasing and repurposing resources from the Academy and other business-related content into this Substack, but in a way that feels more appropriate, less technical, and more personal. My hope is that even more people will be exposed to this information, as Substack makes it much easier to share, discuss, and disseminate information that will help authors publish high quality books.

Please know, especially for my Academy members who are reading this, that doing God’s will is my number one priority and whatever changes come next are because of that. Please pray for me and this business as I continue to discern God’s will, refining and purifying this business and myself along the way.

Curious, was this helpful to hear about my discernment process? Please let me know in the comments.

To respond to this post, you can leave a comment. You’ll need to be signed into your Substack account. Accounts are free and easy to create. I hope you join me over there to continue the discussion!

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