by Christa Kinde Good stories tell the truth. When the hero of a story invites us to share their adventure, we respond in real ways. Their predicament knots our stomach. We cringe at their embarrassment. Pangs of grief have us grabbing for tissues. And we cheer over their triumphs, big or small. Because we understand. Because we can relate. Because …
Why Writers Travel
By Suzanne Woods Fisher I just returned home from a trip to Amish country. Part of the trip was a book tour to promote my new release, The Imposter. Some book signings, some speaking events, and two TV appearances. Exciting, exhausting! Part of the trip was focused on research for an upcoming series, including scheduled appointments with docents, scholars, and …
Four Tips for Marketing While Writing
By Melissa Tagg Soooo who’s ever been up against a deadline while facing release month for your latest novel? Raise of jittery-from-caffeine-overconsumption hands, please. Actually, even if your next book deadline and your current book release don’t happen to land on the same month, doing any kind of marketing while in the midst of writing a book can be difficult. …
The Squeeze
by Linda Brooks Davis Ever feel squeezed to your limit? I have. Many times. As a first-time novelist, I’ve learned what the squeeze produces in characters-and in myself. Take the recent ACFW Conference. My husband had massaged the family budget to life support status. A fresh idea had inserted itself into my WIP, calling like a siren as I shut …
Foolproof Ways to Embrace Change
By DiAnn Mills I’ve been publishing since 1998, and one thing I’ve learned is to embrace change in the publishing world. The logic is all around us: new ideas are a fact of life. We either stubbornly refuse to learn and grow from what’s happening in the world of writing, or we stand up and open our arms to study, …
Beating the Post Conference BLUES
By Susan May Warren Are you home from the ACFW conference? Finally unpacked? I hope you came home filled with encouragement and new ideas on how to make your writing breathtaking. Now what? Conferences can be overwhelming, between the requests for proposals or full manuscripts, new story ideas, craft lessons, marketing epiphanies and loads of new friends. Where and how …
We Never Stop Learning
By Martha Rogers I have just returned from my 15th ACFW conference. It was one of the best I’ve attended. The best thing was seeing friends only known through the loop or Facebook or Twitter, but feeling like I’d known them forever. I offer my congratulations to all the Genesis and Carol Award winners. Keep turning out those great books. …
Bring These to Your First Book Sale & Signing
By Christen Civiletto Morris A friend talked me into sharing a vending booth at an outdoor fair so that we could sell copies of our books. (‘It’ll be fun! An inexpensive way to market! We might sell some books!’) I decided to give it a try. My environmentally themed suspense novel could potentially be of interest to the fair’s new-age …
Write a Book Review That Helps, Not Hinders-Part 1
By Dianna Booher Sooner or later, either passion or generosity (or marketing savvy) will push you to review someone’s book. Passion: You either love or hate the book so much that you must tell the world. Generosity: You know the book’s message will help others. Or, you want to help the author sell books and understand that reviews help sell …
Post-Conference Planning
By Danica Favorite Whew! Some of you are home from the ACFW conference, and you’ve gotten back into the groove of life. Some of you didn’t get to go and are sad about that. Either way, it’s time to make a plan for moving forward. The problem with going to a great conference like ACFW is that you learn a …