Do It All In The Name of Jesus

Written by Alex Faith, via When Calls The Pen

When starting When Calls the Pen, I knew I wanted it to be different than other writing groups out there. And one of the ways I wanted to go about making it unique was through building it as a faith-led community, where it’s not just me teaching Christians about building a sustainable writing career with God at the center, but it’s also Christian writers coming together to help, support, and uplift each other in the process.

One of the main ways I intend to do that is through Monday spotlight issues. One to two Mondays per month, there will be an article posted that shines the spotlight on a Christian author, book, brand, or business that is part of this community.

To learn more about how you can book a spotlight issue, read the information at the bottom of this article.

Now, onto our first spotlight issue!

Spotlight Issue No. 1: In The Name Publishing

Our first spotlight is on In The Name (ITN) Publishing, a full-service Christian publisher going against the grain, trends, and norms in the publishing industry. At ITN, they truly care about the authors and put God first, valuing honesty, integrity, and excellence in their publication process and services.

I had an interview with the founder of ITN, Jessica Hieb (J.Hieb), where she shared the heart behind ITN, their books and services, and ultimately how ITN is moving to help Christian creatives fulfill their writing and publishing dreams.

There’s even an exclusive sneak peek below that the When Calls the Pen community is receiving before anyone else knows about it. Don’t miss out on this inside scoop!

What is the name of your publishing company? How did you come up with the name?

In The Name Publishing is the name of the company. I wish I could tell you how I came up with it! It was more than a brainstorming session or anything like that; I just sort of felt it in my Spirit. I’d actually sat down for my 9-5, and it popped into my mind, and I drew out our logo on an Arby’s napkin that I had at my desk.

The original name that I had been thinking of was actually Power Publishing, and that was the DBA (doing business as) for the first several months of existence, under the umbrella of In The Name as the LLC. The more I moved forward with learning about publishing, the more In The Name stood out. What I love so much about God is how He plants seeds in us early on, and Power actually became the name of our Magazine, as Power (In The Name).

What is the purpose of your publishing company?

We believe that God gives stories as a way to touch people, and we desire to steward those stories well. If we can help advance the Kingdom of God by ushering those stories into the world, then we’re doing what we’re called to do!

In reality, writing a book is hard—let alone editing, cover design, marketing, all of it— so having a partner on this journey that meets you where you’re at and helps you with what you need help with is something that I wish I would have had when I was publishing.

Ultimately, we want to be a platform for the Christian Creative Community as a whole, and we’ll continue to pray for and come up with new initiatives to do just that.

What inspired you to start it?

It was actually inspired by my first publishing experience with a “Christian” publisher. I wrote my first novel, Breaking Seven, and as I was wrapping up the writing process, I had a friend who was reading it for me tell me that I should look into publishing options. I hadn’t really considered what would happen after the manuscript was done, so I started researching options. I ended up submitting a request for information for one publisher and got a phone call. It was one of those overly supportive and almost-fake uplifting conversations where she told me the idea was soooo good that she wanted to know more and that they needed me because it was so unique. All of the blowing smoke. And while at first I was kind of hesitant, she was unrelenting in pushing me to submit the manuscript to them.

They ended up approving it, and $7-8k later, I had a book that I was absolutely disappointed in. The editing was proofreading at best. Despite drawing them the cover I wanted, I got a very cheap, clip art looking cover, and the book sizing was all wrong. The whole thing was devastating. I told God that I was done writing. I didn’t want to go through it again. I was wrong my whole life about my dreams to write, and I’d just be happy doing my day job and playing with animals.

Within a couple of days of making that declaration, I had this one line on repeat in my head: “I learned from a young age what people wanted me to be; a charming, giggling, bright-eyed beauty.” It was constantly repeating in my mind—in the shower, going to sleep at night, everywhere. So finally, one day, I sat down and typed it out. Four hours and twenty Microsoft Word pages later, I stopped and read what I write and was like, “Dang... this is good.…” So, I told myself it would just be for me. I wouldn’t publish it, but I’d keep working on it and would having something just for myself. But God said, “I didn’t give you that for you.”

I argued for who knows how long. I didn’t want to go through it again. I didn’t have it in me to have that sort of disappointment or pay that kind of money for a second time. So, God said, “Do it better.” I honestly didn’t understand what that meant until a few years later when my job was at risk due to COVID. When there was a chance of being unemployed, it finally struck in my brain what God meant, so I went down and opened the LLC and In The Name Publishing came to be!

Could you explain what services you offer?

We are a full-service publisher, but we do things a little differently. I don’t believe there’s a one-size-fits-all approach to publishing. Every book is a unique opportunity to bring a story to life. Ultimately, our goal is to help authors whether they publish with us, on their own, or with someone else.

We offer services to help with each phase of the journey, from developmental writing (we have some great clients that we’re just going through the writing process with), ghostwriting, editing, cover, formatting (we actually have an incredible client who just comes to us to format his work, and we are delighted to help). We’ve had people reach out with questions about their cover sizing/formatting, and I’m always happy to assist.

Our favorite is of course when we get to publish the complete work. As a publisher, we handle all aspects of creating the book—with author input along the way—and then get to present it to the world. It’s a very cool feeling, and I never get tired of opening up proof packages and holding a new book for the first time!

Do you have any special opportunities coming up for authors or creatives?

Yes!! We are so excited that submissions are open for our second issue of Power Magazine through August 15, 2026. The submissions we’ve received have already been incredible, and I can’t wait to see what else comes through. There’s still 5 days to submit your creative work to be included in the magazine. Submit here! Postproduction note: the submission window for Power Magazine has closed; however, limited feature and advertisement opportunities remain.

We also have our first ever Youth of Faith Creative Contest (submissions are open through September 15, 2026). We are looking to give Christian teens a platform to share their work. Our hope is to get enough submissions to be able to sponsor a collection (anthology) that becomes a yearly tradition. This was our incredible Director of Editing’s idea, and I so wish there had been something similar when I was growing up. If you’re a Christian teen with a creative project, submit it here!

Finally, this hasn’t been formally announced yet, so it’s an exciting scoop for you all: we are bringing back the ITN Publishing Presents: Book Club Podcast. We’re switching it up a bit for this year, and maybe moving forward as well, to do more author spotlights and resources. We want to talk with designers, marketers, authors, etc. to first give authors a chance to tell us about their work in authentic conversations where we talk about the struggles and hardships, but also to help people understand the basics of writing and publishing. We’re very excited to bring the podcast back around!

What message do you hope reaches your readers from the books you publish?

My prayer is always for people to know that they’re never alone in what they are facing. I think the enemy tries very hard to convince us that we are the first person in history to ever experience something, and in doing so, he’s able to keep us locked in ourselves. It’s an outright lie, and I want every one of our books to be a testimony, whether non-fiction or fiction. (I think fiction writers write more of themselves and their testimony in their work than they’d like to admit or even know.)

We’re not scared of the dark and twisted parts of humanity.

You hear voices trying to keep you down and stuck? Heck, so did Beauty in They Call Me Beauty. Are you wandering through the wilderness holding fear and secrets? So was Rebecca in In The Kingdom of the Wilderness. If you’ve questioned God, faith, and morality and praised God in the valleys, so has Ken in Modern Psalms.

I could keep going, but I think the point will ultimately be that you’re not alone in what you feel or what you are going through. God loves you so much that He sent His own son to die for your sins and pay the price for eternal life. Whatever this life throws at you, or whatever you’ve been through, you’re not alone in it.

What is one piece of advice you have for authors?

Just write. It seems so obvious, but from first-hand experience and talking to many other authors, it’s so easy to get stuck in a mindset of writer’s block or a lack of inspiration. Commit to writing one sentence a day. That’s it. Any of us can do that.

I guess I have two pieces of advice. We’ll say the first one above comes from author Jess, and the second one below comes from publisher Jess.

Do not ever feel pressured into publishing.

Your story deserves to be stewarded well, whether that’s through traditional, self, or hybrid publishing. Take the time to learn more about who you’re working with, who their clients are, and how they are going to represent you. Pray about it and trust God to lead you to the right path.

If you loved this conversation with Alex Faith, be sure to visit her When Calls the Pen page, a space where faith and creativity meet. When Calls the Pen isn’t just a publication; it’s a community for Christian writers and entrepreneurs who feel called to create, grow, and transform through their craft. Whether you’re seasoned or just starting to put pen to paper, Alex’s heart for helping writers stay anchored in faith and purpose will inspire you to keep pursuing the story God has placed within you.

Read more from Alex Faith and join the movement at When Calls the Pen.

How to Book Your Monday Spotlight Issue

If you are part of the When Calls the Pen community and have a book, brand, or business you would like to spotlight, please email me directly at whencallsthepen@gmail.com with your name, mission, and what you would like to spotlight.

Please note that spotlight issue submissions are only for subscribers.

As of now, everything for the month of August 2026 is free, including these spotlight issues. So if you become a subscriber and email me with your spotlight request before the end of August 2026, and it is accepted, it will be complementary.

However, starting September 1, 2026, only founding member subscribers will have free access to book a spotlight issue. Everyone else will have to pay to book a spotlight issue if they want one (regular paid subscribers will pay less than free subscribers).

Please note that I have the right to accept or deny a spotlight issue request based on whether it aligns with the values, mission, and purpose of When Calls the Pen.