by Cheryl Wyatt Building platform and name recognition are as crucial to publishing as quotation marks to a killer line of dialogue. You may have an engaging hook and stellar book, but if you’re not on readers’ radars, low sales can impede future contracts. Even if you write as worship, marketing matters. If you’re pre-published, now is a good time …
Three Steps to Creating an Occupation for Your Characters
by Cara C. Putman As writers, one of our tasks is finding the right career for your characters. Not only do your characters populate your story, they fill roles and hold jobs. Finding the right career can be a key piece to getting the character to fit. Sometimes when I pick up a novel, it feels like the character’s job …
The Secret to Effective Hooks: Write Like a Journalist
by Sandra Bishop MacGregor Literary More than any other element of a pitch, a solid hook offers more opportunity for you to grab – and possibly keep — an agent or editor’s attention. Yes, hooks are hard to nail, but not impossible. Try drawing from a couple simple techniques you learned in high school journalism: Start with the Five W’s …
Fit & Fabulous Writing
By Kathy Harris Did you charge out of the starting blocks with the first three chapters of a great new story idea… but now you’re having trouble crossing the finish line? Does your first draft sag in the middle? Maybe your plot needs a bit of firming up. You might benefit from a new writing routine. Fitness coaches tell us …
One is a Lonely Number
by Aaron McCarver I have heard many authors refer to writing as a lonely career. Many speak of hours in chairs in front of computers plucking out scenes and characters with no others around. While this may be partially true for some of the actual work, a Christian writer should never think of writing as a career for a lonely …
Should a Christian Market Themselves?
by Jordyn Redwood Over the last six months or so, I’ve been reading a lot about marketing to help support the release of my debut medical thriller, Proof. Strangely, I came across an attitude among certain circles that it is unchristian like behavior to market your novel-essentially claiming that “pushing your product” is prideful and therefore sinful. This is how …
“Technology is what existed before you were born.” (Alan Kay)
by Julie Gwinn B&H Publishing Group We had a digital summit at B&H recently to try to get our heads around the changes taking place in the publishing industry. It was two days of information and presentations with some startling statistics: In 2006, there were 296,352 books published. In 2010, that number jumped to 3,092,740. Thank goodness I am in …
The Right Conference?
by Tamela Hancock Murray Steve Laube Agency As you pursue a writing career, one big question is how much time and money to devote to writers conferences. Conferences have many benefits, including the chance to meet face to face with editors and fellowship with writers. Some writers have plenty of time and money and love to attend conferences because the …
A Change of Perspective
by Eileen Key Writing is a solitary journey, and sometimes we are asked to move from behind our computer screens and step out of our comfort zones. I find myself quaking in my boots when asked to speak to a group about me, myself and I. Yes, I’m proud of my work; yes, I can tell you how a book …
What is your writing budget?
by Danica Favorite If you’re going to take your writing seriously as a business, one of the things you need to consider is your writing budget. A writer’s income isn’t always steady, so if you don’t have a plan for your writing income, it’s easy for that money to get lost on other things. Oftentimes, a person’s plan for attending …