By Barbara M. Britton Have you heard the word platform? Authors are told that they must have an electronic connection to readers in order to make their story a bestseller. Authors toil at increasing their newsletter followers, posting on several social media platforms, and are busy gathering these connections for reviews around launch day. There is reason behind this madness, …
Invest in Others… Deep in the Trenches
by Kimberley Woodhouse An author’s life can be very lonely. And the longer you’re at this business, it could easily get lonelier when there are deadlines stacked on top of deadlines in addition to regular family/church life. That’s why it’s so important to invest in other writers. ACFW is a beautiful picture of that. That’s why we’re here, right? More …
Combating the Solitary Life of Writers
By Tema Banner Writing is a solitary activity – as writers we have heard this and known it from the beginning of our journey. Outside influences provide the niggling of an idea that can not be displaced, and from this will grow a story that we hope and pray touches other hearts and lives, for the Glory of God and …
Cyber-Praying with Sisters
by Elizabeth Musser In my other life, as a pastoral caregiver to missionaries, I had started an online Skype study with a small group of women from our mission using the Companion Guide to Sharon Garlough Brown’s novel, Sensible Shoes. Although I did not know Sharon personally, since we were both novelists, I got up my courage and asked her …
Four Observations from an ACFW Conference Newbie
By Lauren Gail The 2018 American Christian Fiction Writers Conference held in Nashville, Tennessee was my first ACFW conference. The amazing Frank E. Peretti and the awesome town of Nashville were two of the main reasons I was compelled to register. Add to those the number of agents, editors, publishers, and authors available to network with and the decision was …
Dealing with Ugly Envy
by Donna LH Smith Envy—according to Webster’s, it means feeling of discontent and ill will because of another’s advantages, possessions, etc., resentful disliked of another who has something that one desires. This goes back to Commandment #10: You shall not covet your neighbor’s house…etc. It’s natural to want things for ourselves. When we’re unpublished, we want to be published. When …
Going Through the Motions
By JPC Allen I am sure all of us have wondered, sometime in the middle of December, between shopping and baking and attending various social functions, if all this flurry of activity truly celebrates the coming of the Messiah. Do all these traditions and commitments mean anything to me? To anyone else? To God? All these questions came to mind …
Going Through the Motions
By JPC Allen I am sure all of us have wondered, sometime in the middle of December, between shopping and baking and attending various social functions, if all this flurry of activity truly celebrates the coming of the Messiah. Do all these traditions and commitments mean anything to me? To anyone else? To God? All these questions came to mind …
Work of Art
by Elizabeth Musser I had the joy and privilege of visiting The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago. As I stepped into the museum on that surprisingly balmy October afternoon, I thought back to my first visit to National Gallery. In 1989, I flew from Columbia, South Carolina to D.C. to spend a few days …
Work of Art
by Elizabeth Musser I had the joy and privilege of visiting The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. a few weeks ago. As I stepped into the museum on that surprisingly balmy October afternoon, I thought back to my first visit to National Gallery. In 1989, I flew from Columbia, South Carolina to D.C. to spend a few days …