By Donna L.H. Smith I’ve always heard it said, “It’s not always what you know, it’s who you know.” It’s the same for Christian publishing, too. When I first started writing, I knew very few people, and had few connections. But I continued to learn by attending larger Christian writer’s conferences. My best connection came from my first ACFW conference …
Conference Season Is Upon Us
by Deb Haggerty ‘Tis Spring and the conference season is upon us. The advent of this time of the year brings both anticipation and dread to both attendees and faculty alike. Having been an attendee and having served on various faculties, I thought I’d give you some tips from “both sides of the aisle.” Attendees: 1. Be prepared. Know what …
Conference Takeaway
By Donna K. Rice Spring brings a busy conference season for both the writing and ministry arenas. In April, I attended Mount Hermon Writers Conference, came home and repacked, then headed for our ministerial fellowship’s women’s conference. The first weekend in May, I’m off again for another ministerial conference. Since many of us are prepping for ACFW’s conference in September, …
Rough Drafts are Like Mud Pies
By Hannah Conway How rough can a rough draft be? The answer makes me wince, turn my head to the side, and look down at the freshly printed version of my work in progress, which happens to be the definition of a rough draft. I stare at it, grimace growing on my face. Look at it, y’all. It’s so, so, …
ACFW New Releases: April 2017
April 2017 New Releases More in-depth descriptions of these books can be found on the ACFW Fiction Finder website. Contemporary Romance: Sandpiper Cove by Irene Hannon — When a police chief and an ex-con join forces to keep a young man from falling into a life of crime, sparks fly. Given their backgrounds, it’s not a promising match—but in Hope …
Blessings in Conflict
By Kathy Harris If the only prayer you ever say in your entire life is thank you, it will be enough. — Meister Eckhart Everywhere we turn this time of year, we’re reminded to be thankful. Whether it’s a warm and fuzzy television commercial, a not-so-gentle nudge delivered from the pulpit, or a magazine article on the Top Ten Tips …
Love the Labor
By Liz Curtis Higgs Being published is a blessing, but I think the writing process itself is the real reward. The discoveries unearthed while doing research, the time spent on character development, the crafting of the story, and the fine-tuning of each sentence–that’s what makes my heart sing. I bet that’s how it is for you as well, my friend. …
Unpublished and on Social Media as an Author? Why?
By Tamela Hancock Murray It’s hard to get through a week without seeing at least one article on platform. Well, here’s yours for the week! We agents ask authors for a platform, but I have found that unpublished authors wonder how and why they should show a professional presence on social media. That question is understandable. Without a book, what …
Requested Material
By Lorraine Beatty It’s the end of October. Two months since the ACFW conference and the point at which editors are back on track with reading submissions. How many of you sent in the proposals or full manuscripts that were requested? If you have, three cheers. It a scary thing to do but you can’t get published if you don’t …
An Expectant Heart
By Ian Acheson Late last year a pastor spoke a word over me about the Lord wanting to give me a new book, a new optimism and referenced Habakkuk 2:2-3 which talks of waiting on a new vision. I stored it away and got on with life. Over the last couple of years I’ve felt an increasing urge to start …