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 …
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 …
Quills of a Feather Should Flock Together
by Ane Mulligan I’m having dinner in a restaurant with the hubs and friends, when a snippet of a conversation at the table behind me catches my attention. Tuning out my friends’ chatter, I lean back in my seat to get closer. A female voice hints at panic. “I left my camera in the taxi.” It sparks a “what if” …
The Emotion Thesaurus
by Vickie McDonough As a writer, I’m always looking for resources to help make my writing better and my characters more realistic. To show and not tell and to find new ways to say the same thing. Well, I found a doozy of a resource. For a long while, the Bookshelf Muse has posted a Character Traits Thesaurus in the …
Research That Has Nothing To Do With Google or Libraries or Trips to Historic Sites
By Victoria Bylin I write historical romance, so I’m often asked about research. Do I like it? Do I prefer the internet or real libraries? Do I research and then write, or research on the fly? What mistakes should a new author avoid? All those questions are important, but today I want to look at a different kind of research. …
When They Say No
by Catherine West When my agent, Rachelle Gardner, offered me representation, I had just completed a manuscript called Yesterday’s Tomorrow. Rachelle liked it because it was ‘different’. I agreed. I certainly hadn’t seen any books about a female journalist who travels to Vietnam during wartime. Not in CBA anyway. I was ecstatic to finally have an agent who believed in …
Talk Your Way Out of a Jam!
by Bonnie S. Calhoun Have you heard novelists say their story was bogged down by inactivity, or that they felt lost in a long drawn out narrative? Well never fear! I have a totally sharp solution…conversation. That’s write (right). Dialogue is considered to be an action element. It can move any plodding exposé into the realm of frantic excitement, or …
Story Ideas You Are Certain Won’t Work. But They Do.
by Gail Gaymer Martin When I was proposing my next series, for Love Inspired, I ran amuck. Nothing excited me, and when it did, it didn’t strike my senior editor. When I asked what series ideas she would like to see, she said, “Something like Make A Wish Foundation.” Hmm? That slammed into my brain like an avalanche. My frozen …