Bob Hostetler

6 Chances to Meet Me in 2020

By Bob Hostetleron February 19, 2020

Ladies and gentlemen, start your engines!

The 2020 Christian writers conference season is at the starting line. And this year, it presents writers with six distinct and geographically diverse opportunities to meet me! And pitch to me in person. What could be better? I ask you (and I’m still waiting for an appropriately enthusiastic response. Still waiting).

But seriously, folks, there’s so much to know about writing for publication—not just how to write but also information about submitting your work; mistakes to avoid; working with agents, editors, and publishers (and meeting them!); and more—that those who’ve never attended a writers conference just can’t imagine. The experience will blow your mind and maybe set you on a course toward publication, which is why it is one of the most frequent pieces of advice I give to developing writers.

And even if you’ve already attended a writers conference sometime, somewhere, it’s my suggestion that you consider not a one-and-done strategy but regular frequenting of writers conferences as a part of your plan for writing and publishing development and success.

So here are six opportunities to cross paths with me (in person, no less!) in 2020:

February 21-23, 2020 Asheville Christian Writers’ Conference (Asheville, NC)

February 28-29, 2020 West Coast Christian Writers Conference (Livermore, CA)

March 25-28, 2020 Blue Lake Christian Writers’ Retreat (Andalusia, AL)

June 18-20, 2020 Kentucky Christian Writers’ Conference (Elizabethtown, KY)

June 24-28, 2020 St. Davids Christian Writers’ Conference (Grove City, PA)

October 20-25, 2020 Florida Christian Writers’ Conference (Leesburg, FL)

Those are all fine conferences (and this blog post I wrote last year offers a little more descriptive detail on some of them). They’re not the only ones, of course, as others I regularly recommend include Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers’ Conference, Mt. Hermon Christian Writers’ Conference, Write-to-Publish Conference, Colorado Christian Writers’ Conference, and others. (A much more comprehensive listing is available in The Christian Writers Market Guide.)

Hope to see you soon!

How to Hear “No”

By Bob Hostetleron February 5, 2020

In a recent media interview (yes, I am that cool), I was asked if as a literary agent I liked saying “no.” I answered emphatically—even a bit rudely, I’m afraid, as I started my answer before my questioner finished asking. “I hate it,” I said. It’s a part of the job. In fact, He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named sometimes answers the question, “Steve Laube, what do you do?” by saying, “I say no …

Category: Book Proposals, Encouragement, Get Published, The Writing Life

First Lines Are Kinda Important

By Bob Hostetleron January 29, 2020

“It was a cold day in April and the clocks were striking thirteen.” That arresting line begins one of the most famous novels of the twentieth century: George Orwell’s 1984. The first sentence of any article or book is kinda important, even if it’s borrowed, like the first line of this blog post. Your first sentence should be well-written and striking, intriguing, promising, and/or inviting. It …

Category: Book Proposals, Writing Craft

How to Write Plenty in 2020

By Bob Hostetleron January 15, 2020

We’re a couple weeks in, and it’s still hard to believe: It’s 2020! I’m still writing 2010 on the checks I hope no one cashes. I hope last year held many blessings for you, and I hope the coming year will be even better. Maybe you met your writing goals, hopes, and dreams in 2019. But even if you didn’t, you can still make this coming year a great one. And one way to help that happen will be to …

Category: The Writing Life

This Agent’s Look Back at 2019

By Bob Hostetleron January 8, 2020

2019 was quite a year for me. I suppose it was a year for nearly everyone who made it from January 1 to December 31. In my case, however, it was a year of much change, stress, and some success. The bulk of the change (and stress) involved a long-planned move for me and my wife from our Ohio home of 24 years. We spent the first five-plus months of 2019 packing and preparing for the sale of our home …

Category: Book Business, Career, Personal, The Writing Life

Who’s Your Book For?

By Bob Hostetleron December 11, 2019

A critical part of writing a good book—and a good pitch or proposal for a book—is defining your book’s audience. We all know, of course, that you shouldn’t try to write a book “for everyone.” But your book’s audience can be an elusive target. I suggest three distinct and mutually exclusive phases for the process, which apply primarily to nonfiction but could also be kept in mind for various forms …

Category: Book Proposals, Marketing, Pitching, The Writing Life

Are Libraries Still Relevant for Writers?

By Bob Hostetleron December 4, 2019

I recently asked my editor and writer friends on Twitter and Facebook if public libraries are still relevant for writers (and by their reply to give me permission to quote them). Well, that opened a can of words (see what I did there?)—so many that I can’t use them all—but here are some of their responses: __________ Brooke Jones Keith said, “I research online but I take inspiration from …

Category: Book Business, ReadingTag: Libraries

A Writer’s Prayer of Thanks

By Bob Hostetleron November 27, 2019

A Writer’s Prayer of Thanks Lord, Jesus, Logos, Living Word, thank you for the joy and privilege of being a writer. Thank you, a million times, thank you that I get to spend my days amid words and sentences and paragraphs that (mostly) cooperate and do my bidding. Thank you for the smell of pencil shavings, the elegance of a good fountain pen, the click-clack of ancient typewriter keys; for the …

Category: Personal, The Writing Life, Theology

Stop. Just Stop (Doing These Things)

By Bob Hostetleron November 20, 2019

All editors and agents have a few pet peeves. Some of us have more than a few. In my case, it’s a virtual menagerie. So, while you may want to keep my OCD (obsessive-compulsive disorder), ODD (oppositional defiant disorder), and OCC (overly cantankerous condition) in mind as you read, please consider the following list of “things you should stop doing immediately and forever” if you’re writing for …

Category: Grammar, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

Write Like Paul

By Bob Hostetleron November 13, 2019

Somerset Maugham wrote, “There is an impression abroad that everyone has it in him to write one book; but if by this is implied a good book the impression is false” (The Summing Up). Far be it from me to add to Maugham’s words, but I’m going to. So I guess it be not far from me, after all. I would say that many people (maybe not everyone) have a book in them, but relatively few have a marketable …

Category: Book Proposals, Encouragement, Get Published, Pitching, The Writing Life