By Colleen Coble Collaboration. It can strike terror into the hearts of writers everywhere. We writers tend to be an independent lot, but collaboration is at the heart of everything I do, and it will help you if you accept how beneficial it can be. The first time I got an editorial letter from Ami McConnell, I nearly fainted. It …
Blessings
by Natasha Kern In this season for appreciating our many gifts and blessings, I wanted to take this opportunity to express my gratitude for the blessing of ACFW. When I first began agenting in 1986 way back before email or the Internet existed and before editors had computers on their desks (and resisted them mightily), ACFW did not exist. Amazingly, …
Writing Category Romances
By Margaret Daley I have been writing for Steeple Hill’s Love Inspired line since 2000 and have enjoyed creating over forty Love Inspired and Love Inspired Suspense books. Writing for a category inspirational romance publisher has challenged me and helped me to grow as a writer. What have I learned writing category romances? I’ve learned first and foremost how to …
Seven Things I Learned by Failing NaNoWriMo
by Lacie Nezbeth December is newly upon us, and that means there are oodles of NaNoer’s out there either celebrating or trying to forget November ever existed. I admit to being in the second group. This was the first year I attempted NaNoWriMo. Admittedly, it was an ambitious goal for me, one that I fell far short of reaching. But …
Editorial Guilt and Other Musings
by Ramona Richards Abingdon Press It’s clichéd but true: One of the greatest joys for an editor is to find that new voice, that special talent that leads to a long career. We love discovering new writers, which is why we slug through hundreds of proposals every year and travel to dozens of writers conferences. The old bromide about romance …
Pregnancy, Birth, and the Writing Life
PREGNANT My best friend is 38 weeks pregnant. As I’ve walked alongside her through this miraculous journey, I’ve been struck by certain similarities between pregnancy, birth, and the writing life. PREGNANCY – My friend now waddles when she walks. Her hip hurts all the time. And when her seven-pound baby kicks, she sounds like a football player after a major …
I Second That Emotion
by Bonnie S. Calhoun That title is a line from one of my favorite songs. And I know it dates me but the thought is what counts. When you are crafting a scene, one of the necessary elements is the stimulating of our senses to facilitate emotion. Now granted, sometimes it is hard to get all the senses into a …
Stopping for a Story
by Rachel Hauck Over on Southernbelleview where I blog with a fine host of southern writers, our Friday Belle, Shellie Rushing Tomlinson, wrote, “The whole world stops for a story.” Her words hit me square in the heart. How true! The world does stop for a story. A news story. Or a book. A movie or play about the heroism …
What Should I Write?
by Sandra Bishop MacGregor Literary What should I write? What should I do next? “What’s Hot?” Should I write that? I get this exact litany of questions often. And while we’re an agency that prides itself on career management and guiding our authors in their writing journeys, I’ll confess, answering the “Should I write what’s Hot?” question in is not …
Achieving the Next Level
by Kathy Harris Let’s talk about transitions. Not transitional words – like but, and, either, and or – but the kind of transitions that take our writing to the next level. On Sunday afternoons, I often tune into Motivational Coach Micheal Burt’s radio show. Coach Burt recently spoke about transitions. Any of us who have experienced a transition, in or …