By Martha Rogers Today is our 55th wedding anniversary, and what better way to celebrate than to tell how my novel, Love Stays True, came to be. It’s a story loosely based on my great-grandparents love story after the Civil War. The idea sprang from three letters my dad gave me in 1995. His father had given them to him …
There Is No Magic
by Eddie Jones When it comes to book promotion there is no magic. Authors may think a version of pixie-dust can be purchased and sprinkled on their book, but they are mistaken. The book buying business is mysterious but the formula for success is not. Write a great book and get it into the hands of influencers of that genre. …
To Fight or Be Still
by Brenda S. Anderson The writing life is a battle. Raise your hand if you feel like you’ve been fighting hard at this writing business. You’re doing everything the right way, but still you’re getting nowhere, and you’re losing. You’re going to conferences, taking classes, getting critiques, yet no publisher or agent wants you. Or you’ve written a fabulous book, …
Invest in Your Writing Dreams
By Donna K. Rice My other career is as an estate planning attorney. In that capacity, I’ve spent many hours visiting with clients about what will happen when they pass away. To me, the personal matters, family values, and legacy development are most important, but money is what most people think about when considering estate planning. With that in mind, …
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 …
Every book deserves a party
By Judy Christie With the launch of my eighth novel, I’m in the mood for fried pies. Make that chocolate fried pies. That’s what the protagonist cooks–and what I’ll serve to say thanks at my upcoming book party at Barnes & Noble Booksellers in northwest Louisiana. As authors, we spend lots of time talking about the serious business of writing …
Six Verses to Anchor Your Thoughts During the ACFW Conference
by Beth K. Vogt “The stars may fall, but God’s promises will stand and be fulfilled.” J. I. Packer, (1926-), theologian People start talking about what they’re packing for the ACFW conference weeks before they print off their boarding pass. What are they wearing to their 15-minute appointments? The genre dinner? The gala? Are their pitch sheets and business cards …
It Takes a Village to Promote a Book
By Carrie Fancett Pagels I’ve had the privilege of participating in a number of book promotion groups for other Christian writers over the years. I always enjoyed it. Well, there might have been one that was iffy, but… A group of like-minded readers all got together to support and promote the author of an upcoming release. Having just finished writing …
When Building an Online Presence Don’t Forget They’re People NOT Numbers
By Edie Melson As writers, we all know the importance of building an online following. We spend time crafting valuable blog posts with SEO rich headlines. We follow others on social media, working to connect. All the while keeping a sharp eye on those numbers that define success or failure. It’s easy to get caught up in those numbers. But …
First Impressions
by Ian Anderson My anxiety level increased as I approached the open door for the early-bird “writing skills” class. I hadn’t written anything for weeks and felt very unprepared for the session. Fortunately, when I walked into the large room 100+ people were already sitting down. I was happy that I could easily slip into anonymity. This class was just …