By Terri Gillespie You finally made it! You’ve spent weeks of preparation: posts on social media, e-newsletters, flyers everywhere, radio interviews, reminders to family and friends, sandwich boards on your dogs. There’s a table and chair set up just for you at the local bookstore. Soon you’ll be meeting, greeting, and signing your name and special Bible passage inside your …
Switching Horses in Mid-Stream
By Suzanne Woods Fisher After more than thirty novels about the Old Order Amish, all set in the same little fictitious town of Stoney Ridge, Pennsylvania, my editor called and asked if I would be interested in writing a contemporary women’s series. “Pick a spot on either coast,” she said. “And think of summer. Think of a place that calls …
3 Ways to Work Well with an Editor
By Kariss Lynch They say that all good things must come to an end. Sadly, the same holds true in writing. As you turn your manuscript into your editor, you abdicate your position as ruler of your own fictional kingdom in favor of an advisor who tells you all the wonderful things you did wrong and how you can fix …
What Would I Tell My Unpublished Self?
By Patricia Bradley The day this posts my tenth novel, Justice Delivered will release. For the past five years I have been living my dream of being a writer published writer. I’ve been a writer much longer. Much longer. As I thought about this tenth book, I thought about all the things I wished I’d known when I first started …
Walking on Water
by Christine Sunderland Last month I finished an early draft of my novel-in-progress, Angel Mountain, 73,000 words. I breathed a sigh of relief as I sent it to a group of selected readers. These readers are hardy and sacrificial (and hopefully charitable) friends who have some connection with the themes in the novel. They will view the manuscript with fresh …
5 Ways to Destroy a Writing Career
by DiAnn Mills Writers receive blog posts daily that offer advice to build their careers. The publishing world has many sides, and each facet needs attention. We read— How to sell more books. How to strengthen characterization. How to write a synopsis. How to create a proposal. How to research and interview. How to increase exposure through social media. How …
The Conference Portfolio, Part 2
By Lynne Pleau In yesterday’s post, I discussed the benefits of carrying an old-school, hardbound portfolio to conferences. In this post, I’ll talk about what that portfolio should look like and what it should contain. The job of a writing portfolio is to present your work in its best light. That means it should be simple. Let’s start with the …
The Power of Happy Moments
By Grace Hitchcock Sometimes it is tempting to allow drama and heartache to swamp our stories. Years ago, a favorite professor of mine would say over and over how “only trouble is interesting.” Today, I’d like to talk about how happiness can be just as moving/interesting as tragedy and that it is okay to let our characters be happy. Trouble …
The Bird and the Worm—Research for Historical Fiction
By Sarah Sundin When writing historical fiction, we need to research with both the eye of the bird and the eye of the worm. A bird soars high. It sees for miles in all directions and senses what’s happening in many places, but it’s detached from the action. The worm sits in its little spot in the ground, aware of …
When Your Spouse Reads Your Work
It’s just plain crazy! I have to tell you about the most unusual week of my life. My man reads his Bible, and things that are necessary for his job, but that’s about it. It’s so hard for me to understand this, but he doesn’t enjoy reading. But he had told me, if you get published, I’ll read your book. …