By Victoria Buck “Write something different, but keep it the same.” This was one of those perplexing statements made by a teacher addressing a group of novice novelists at a conference. I don’t remember what the class was called or who did the teaching. It was over a decade ago. I only know I latched on to the “different.” I …
Target Your Marketing
by Ane Mulligan As we have to do more promotion for our books, whom should we be trying to reach? Readers, of course. Okay, but exactly who are these readers? Writers. They’re voracious readers. Book club members. Senior citizens; they have more time now. Women buy 80% of all books Where do we find these people? I use the Big …
When Fiction Becomes Life
By Cynthia Ruchti Decades ago when I wrote radio drama and devotions for a daily broadcast, I created a script in which two voice-over characters discussed a new program at their church. Those within the church who were devoted to prayer were given pagers so they could be alerted immediately, even if they were far away from their home or …
Five Life-saving Steps to Writing a Novella
By Davalynn Spencer I recently turned in my fourth contracted novella and I’ve learned a thing or three about writing these delightful little gems. Emphasis on the word “little.” My first novella developed from my traditional pantser perspective. It was a stand-alone and I could have all the words I wanted just so I didn’t end up with a full-length …
One True Fan
By Sara Ella Target audience. That’s a phrase we hear a lot in this biz, isn’t it? We’re supposed to find our target readers. Gain them as followers. Get their emails so we can add them to the list. Check, check, and check. As if writing a novel wasn’t work enough. I’ve spent hours building platform, ready to pull my …
Continue the Journey
By Henry McLaughlin Continue the Journey has been my tag line since I first became serious about writing and printed my first business cards. Obviously it stems from my debut novel, Journey to Riverbend. But there’s more to it than just a gimmick to remind people about the book. (Did I mention my first book is Journey to Riverbend? Did …
Imaginary Friends
By Darlene L. Turner Ever have an imaginary friend when you were a child? If you’re a writer, I’m guessing you probably did. Confession time . . . I had one too. Pee Wee lived in our bathroom, and we had great conversations every day. He never failed to give me a laugh and help me with my problems. Today, …
Rules of Writing Encourage or Discourage
By Linda Robinson After I joined a large critique group a few years ago, I was terrified to press Send for my first 2,000-word submission. How intimidating to put my work out there, knowing it was open for target practice. I wasn’t worried about grammar and punctuation, but about the story itself. Nail-biting nervous, I waited for the first critique …
Encouragement for the Weary and Disheartened
By Cheryl Wyatt Writing is hard. Seriously, those who don’t believe the publishing industry can be brutal either haven’t been in it long enough to experience the lows and blows, or they are way more optimistic than I. Yes, even in the Christian writing community, disillusionment and discouragement comes. Why? I think because words matter. They matter a lot. Yours. …
A Call to Christian Writers
By Christine Sunderland It has been a year of worldwide violence and massacres. The flames leap high; the smoke obscures our vision. Our American traditions of liberty and law, freedom and responsibility, civility and respect, are attacked from within and without. The borders of both geography and culture are threatened. Speech is silenced through intimidation, education betrayed by socially-engineered curricula. …