By Lynn Hobbs It’s finished. You’ve reread your manuscript, checked for typo’s, and tightened sentences. The next step is as important as getting your story written, and written well: leave it alone. Let it sit idle for at least two weeks. This is what I do. You may have a better alternative, but this works for me. No matter if …
Reviews
by Nora St. Laurent Authors want them, readers struggle to write them. When an author asks for an honest review what are they expecting? When a reader writes an honest review, what does that look like? First off, I know this can be a touchy subject on many fronts. Reviewers and authors realize that the FTC is cracking down on …
ACFW New Releases: February 2018
February 2018 New Releases More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website. Biblical: A Passionate Hope, Hannah’s Story by Jill Eileen Smith — Hannah has spent her life trusting God, loving her husband, putting up with abuse from a second wife and still she has no child–until one day she discovers the secret …
When Your Readers Bother and Bless You
by Elizabeth Musser I just returned from a book signing event where I was invited to speak to a church book club. Because I posted the event on Facebook, other readers who weren’t a part of the book club also attended. I spoke about my most recent novel, The Long Highway Home. The novel is based on true stories of …
Do the Angels Cheer for Underdogs?
by Kathy Harris Please allow me to interrupt the post I’d originally planned for today to journey into the land of “what if.” After all, we’re an organization of “what if” writers, and it’s imagination that inspires our stories. I recently interviewed Chris Fabry for my personal blog, and reading about Chris’ new book Under a Cloudless Sky reminded me …
What Do Some Experienced Writers Have in Common with Mother Guppies?
By Mary Lou Cheatham Our first aquarium held only five gallons, but we loved it. At the pet shop we bought some guppies. The clerk said, “Better buy one of these.” “What is it?” “It’s a trap to keep the mother from eating her babies.” It was a rectangular plastic device that floated near the top of the water. We …
What Do You See?
By Loretta Eidson Remember the old saying “there are two sides to every story”? It’s difficult to see reason or understand another point of view if the full picture isn’t clear. Last Sunday my pastor gave this example during the sermon. He held the back side of his hand out toward the congregation and asked David, one of the church …
When Is It Too Late?
By Cynthia Herron Today I wanted to approach the elephant in the room. Because success is often a popular topic at writer’s meetings and conferences, obviously, it’s something that’s near and dear to our hearts. While most of us have varying opinions of what success looks like, we can probably agree on one thing. We wish we had more time. …
Time Waits for No Writer
By Christa MacDonald I’ve been thinking a lot about ‘time’ in the last few weeks. It seems to speed up after Thanksgiving. There aren’t enough hours in the day or dates on the calendar before Christmas. The end of the year looms ever closer and there’s always too much to do and too little time in which to do it. …
“This is the Way; Walk in it”
By Michelle Shocklee A new year is upon us. I imagine most of us have hopes and dreams for 2018. Perhaps you’d like more book contracts (wouldn’t we all!), more book sales, or maybe you want to finish that first novel. Do you make resolutions? I’m not one to resolve to diet or exercise (mainly because of past failures to …