By Lisa Jordan After one of my first books had released, I made the mistake of reading Amazon reviews. I was caught off guard by a single one-start review. As I read the reviewer’s words, my breath caught and heat scalded my cheeks. How could she write such things? Didn’t she realize the struggle and tears that went into meeting …
How a Book Launch Team Works
By Frank DiBianca Knowing new authors have many questions about the publication process, I am relating my experience with Iron Stream Fiction, an imprint of Iron Stream Media. One of the questions on the forms my publisher asked me to fill out in preparation for the publication of my suspense novel, Laser Trap (LT), was “Do you want to work …
Act On It
By Davalynn Spencer “I’m drawing a blank,” said the caption beneath the girl’s empty cartoon frame. She smiled up at me. “Funny, huh?” I had to admit it was funny, but a cop-out, too. “The assignment is to draw a cartoon: single frame with caption below, or four-frame strip with bubbled dialogue inside.” What a great class, I thought as …
The Long but Happy Path of a Debut Suspense Novelist
By Frank DiBianca I decided to present the history of my debut fiction novel, Laser Trap, because I hope you will find it informative and helpful. My pre-retirement writing career started with a 9,000-word short story entitled The Love Coach about an insecure engineering grad student doing research with lasers and his platonic love coach. During the period 2013-2019, my …
10 Tips for Radio Interview Preparation
By Jill K. Willis It’s amazing how one 30-minute experience can teach so many lessons. Last February, Bob Crittenden, host of the Meeting House on Faith Radio, interviewed me as a debut author at the Christian Products Expo. It was my first radio interview. I have a background in public relations and had a decent idea of what to expect, …
Family History as a Source for Stories
By Glynn Young A single comment by my father nearly six decades ago led to a story idea. “Your great-grandfather was too young to enlist in the Civil War,” he said. “So, he signed up as a messenger boy when he looked old enough to get away with it. And then he had to walk home when the war was …
Treasuring People
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, …
Tithing Our Writing
By Susan Lyttek In the spring of 2020, I felt a nudge. Post your margin poems. Share them and expect nothing. It is the tithe of the talent I gave you. Uh, what? Was pretty much my response. My margin poems were personal responses to my Bible reading. Years ago, someone had given me a coloring Bible. Once I had colored …
Finding Your Story
By Diana Wallis Taylor Ideas for stories come in different ways. When I was writing Biblical Fiction, I felt the Lord impressed me each time with the name of my next subject. After Journey to the Well was published, I went on to Martha, Mary Magdalene, and Claudia, Wife of Pontius Pilate. That last title always sparked questions at my …
Trust God’s Timing while Scaling the Mountain of your Publishing Journey
By Lana Christian Let’s face it—we yearn for mountaintops. A clearer view. A broader perspective. A milestone achievement. But we spend most of our life in valleys and on plains. In not-yet times. Working-while-waiting times. Alternately questioning and trusting God’s sovereignty. Especially when it comes to writing and publishing. Sometimes I wish both required less preparation and waiting. Don’t you? …