We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Bethany Marinelli a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Bethany, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. Do you have an agent or someone (or a team) that helps you secure opportunities and compensation for your creative work? How did you meet you, why did you decide to work with them, why do you think they decided to work with you?

In 2021 I went to the Florida Christian Writers Conference (FCWC) for the first time. I’d never been to a writer’s conference before and I wasn’t quite sure what to expect, but I had written a book and knew I’d be able to get in front of agents and publishers at the conference. I had several agents and publishers ask me for my book proposal at FCWC, so I left feeling very hopeful that my book would soon be published. After sending the proposal, however, I received many rejections.

One of the agents who turned me down had the kindness to share why he was rejecting my proposal. I took that feedback and completely revamped my book. I returned to FCWC in October of 2023 where I met with the same agent once again. I shared how I took his feedback and rewrote my book. He was very impressed with my willingness to take his feedback and do something with it and asked to see my new book proposal.

I actually dragged my feet about sending my new book proposal to this agent because I was insecure about getting turned down again. A few months later he reached out to me asking why I hadn’t sent him the proposal yet. So, of course, I sent it to him right away. After some conversation and contract negotiations, I signed a contract with him in November of 2024. We’re still early in the process, but I have confidence that my agent will find the right publisher at the right time to get my book into print.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been a distinct memory of being in the third grade and taking a walk on a spring day with my family. I was so in awe of God’s creation that I went home and wrote a poem about it. I proudly showed my teacher when I got to school the next day and she typed the poem up on her computer for me and printed it with her dot-matrix printer. We didn’t have a computer or printer at our house, so seeing my poem in print was really neat for me. Even in a time where nearly every home has a computer and a printer, I still love seeing my work in print.

While I excelled in English and Literature classes in high school, I was also a decorated cross-country and track runner with a goal to coach my own team some day, so many people encouraged me to study Physical Education in college. By my junior year I realized that I wasn’t very good at the science side of my major and that I should have studied English to begin with. By that time it was too late to switch majors, so I settled for an English minor.

As it turns out, I never went on to teach school. I found myself working in the non-profit sector in marketing and communications–managing a blog, social media, and email/snail mail communications. I was writing professionally and loved it! When I felt the urge to move on from that job, I went to help my husband in his new business, Marinelli Auto Service, that he launched in 2015. I applied my marketing and communications skills to our shop, writing a blog called From the Mechanic’s Wife, where I break down auto industry ideas and language into words that the layperson can understand and find helpful as they make decisions about their vehicle.

But writing about non-profit work and auto repair is not where my passion rests. I am most at home in my writing and speaking ministry, bringing people to Jesus as I encourage them in their walk, while also being an advocate for mental and physical health.

You might wonder why mental health is such a passion of mine. I’ve struggled with my mental health since I was a teenager, but I believed in the stigma that the mentally ill are looked down upon in society, so I refused all offers for help until I was 26. Then, while I wanted help, the Christian community offered all the wrong help. They prayed with me and, while I believe in the power of prayer, I needed more than just prayer but didn’t know what. I was so desperate for relief from my symptoms, that I let a woman bring me to an exorcism. When that didn’t work, I had a bit of a crisis in faith until a wonderful godly woman directed me to get medical help, which is exactly what I needed. I got on medication and started seeing a Christian therapist. I wasn’t properly diagnosed until I was 36 years old–that’s 20 years of praying for help and finally receiving the answer. I had bipolar disorder. Now my life made sense. I’ve worked hard to reconcile Christianity and mental health support–they are not one or the other, but both and. I want to help people see that mental illness isn’t scary and that while God can certainly help, we have access to psychology and psychiatry as well.

While I engage in the process of getting my book published, I continue to write for my blog called The Journey to My Father’s Kingdom, which I’ve been writing since 2013. I’ve also recently started speaking on radio shows, podcasts, and live events around the community.

Any resources you can share with us that might be helpful to other creatives?

When I first started my writing journey, I had little support outside of select friends and family. It was a lonely journey and I had little hope of actually getting published. In 2020 I learned about Word Weavers International, which is a writer’s group that started in Orlando, Florida in 1997, but has expanded into a world-wide organization. Once I became a member of the Orlando Chapter, the support and encouragement they gave me has been amazing. I especially like the critique groups because they have made me a much better writer.

I also wish I had started attending writer’s conferences many years ago as there is so much knowledge to be gleaned from seasoned writers, agents, and publishers.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I love when my writing and speaking encourages people and when they experience Jesus in a new way. While my writing has been healing for me in many ways, my main focus of my writing is to draw people to Jesus, especially when they are facing life’s challenges. When I get feedback from people that I helped them to gain a new perspective on Jesus or that they were encouraged during a difficult time in their life, I feel I’ve done exactly what I’ve been called to do.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://bethanymarinelli.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/bethany.marinelli_author/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/bethany.a.marinelli
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/bethany-a-marinelli-2015/
• Other: https://marinelliautoservice.com

Image Credits

Headshot: Landen Connor
Family Photo: Yurianna Morris