This is a perfect video for Mother’s Day weekend. Please read the story, then click through to the YouTube video. A Mother dances with her blind daughter in an absolutely beautiful way.
HT: Ann Voskamp’s “Only the Good Stuff“
Blog
Ten Things to Quit Right Now
Many writers—especially (but not exclusively) when they’re starting out on this long, uphill journey of writing for publication—are often tempted to quit. Some face that temptation even after they’ve published, and some even after much success. Because it’s hard. If it were easy, everyone would do it (nod to Jimmy Doogan in A League of Their Own). Still, sometimes the hard can get so hard—and …
Success
I am using the 20th year remembrance of the death of Clifton Hillegass as inspiration to make a larger point about the direction an author’s life can take. Clifton (pictured above is his statue in Kearney, NE) was the creator of CliffsNotes and passed away in Lincoln, Nebraska, at the age of 83 on May 5, 2001. I assume most of you reading this post are aware of CliffsNotes and also of how much …
Bookstore Economics 101
by Steve Laube
Understanding the economics of your local brick-and-mortar bookstore should help you understand the upheaval that is happening in our industry. So put on your math cap and let's take a ride.
This article focuses on the bookstore not the publisher or the writer. I spent over a decade in the Christian bookstore business, and while that was a long time ago the economic principles …
Fun Fridays – April 30, 2021
Before watching today’s video, I would never have guessed how many languages are spoken on Earth today. Amaze your friends with the answer! In the midst of the video, Tom Scott makes a point about words that have changed meaning in recent years (before and after the Internet). I thought of a few others: Spam. Follow. Handle. Like. Swipe. Tablet. Text. Virus. And even “Friend.” …
Testing the Truth
Years ago, after a class on taxes at a writers conference, an attendee shook her head. “That teacher’s going to get a lot of people in trouble.” I couldn’t deny that some of the suggestions offered seemed risky. I disregarded most of what I’d heard as I made my way out the door. This experience is rare, but it does happen. Conference directors engage well-known, established instructors for …
Procrastination Tips for Writers
I was going to write this post months ago, but I kept putting it off. True story. Most writers don’t need much help procrastinating. Many of us will do almost anything to avoid the actual task of writing. It’s amazing how many things can distract us from our WIP (work-in-progress) or our WMNP (work-making-no-progress). Still, there may be someone out there in Writerland who needs a few …
How to Navigate the Fragmenting of Social Media As a Christian Author with Scott Minor
This episode comes with a trigger warning. We are going to talk about social media, politics, culture, and what to do as a Christian author in a world that is growing more hostile to Christian authors. If you don’t want to hear about that today, I can recommend a great podcast called Compelled, hosted by my friend Paul Hastings. Compelled takes incredible stories of what God is doing in people’s …
How to Navigate the Fragmenting of Social Media As a Christian Author with Scott Minor
This episode comes with a trigger warning. We are going to talk about social media, politics, culture, and what to do as a Christian author in a world that is growing more hostile to Christian authors. If you don’t want to hear about that today, I can recommend a great podcast called Compelled, hosted by […]
You can listen to this episode How to Navigate the Fragmenting of Social Media As a …
When the Outlook Is Bleak
by Steve Laube
In the constant ebb and flow of this industry we have authors celebrating and authors in tears. Ask any agent and you will hear the same. For every author excited about their new contract there is another experiencing bitter disappointment.
And I wish I could fix it.
To hear the anguish is difficult, but to be the one who delivers the bad news is heart-wrenching. Why is it …