This came out in 2011 and is still one of my favorite commercials of the Christmas season.
The 2025 Christian Writers Market Guide Is Here!
What are your writing plans for 2025? Is there a new publication where you want to send your article or devotion? Is there a conference you’d like to attend, virtually or in person? Do you need a freelance editor or a literary agent for your project? Experience has taught us that things can change suddenly. The publishing industry is no different. Each year, dozens of agents and editors move …
Fun Fridays – December 6, 2024
A little fun to help to set the mood for the Christmas season. Sung by the choir of Clare College, Cambridge. Conducted by Graham Ross.
Are You Pitch Perfect?
A critical key to landing a book deal is the presentation of your idea in such a way that the editor or agent is completely sold on the concept. In musical terms, perfect pitch is the rare talent to name or pick out a note without having any reference point. This is illustrated by this youtube video where they clear your mind, then give you a tone, and ask you to name the note; most people fail …
Fun Fridays – November 29, 2024
Enjoy today’s “ruff” draft of a short story. (It wasn’t my pun so don’t blame me for your groan of despair.)
Blessed Thanksgiving!
A blessed Thanksgiving to all who are celebrating it. “Let them thank the Lord for his steadfast love, for his wondrous works to the children of man! For he satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul he fills with good things.” (Psalm 107:8-9, ESV)
The Anatomy of the Publishing Cycle
If you ask an editor or an agent, “What’s hot right now?” you are too late with the question. The nature of the publishing business is that what you see selling today are books that were conceived, written, published, and marketed over the past couple of years or more. That is why we, on this side of the table, avoid making pronouncements on current trends. In some ways, the agent and the …
Fun Fridays – November 22, 2024
I want to know where I can buy a case of this product! It can change the world. Might even change your Thanksgiving meal time next week (for those in the U.S.). And honey, if you are watching this, I am not “Harold Weathers.” I’m just a little hard of hearing.
Judging a Book by Its Cover
We’ve heard the cliche “Don’t judge a book by its cover.” True. But you do “buy a book by its cover.” We all do. That colorful billboard attracts the eye, disseminates information, and sells the content. Even when the billboard is the size of a postage stamp on Amazon.com, BN.com, or iTunes, you make a judgment on the quality of the book based on its cover. It …
Fun Fridays – November 15, 2024
Palette cleanser with today’s video. Sheer Joy! Conquering the get-it-done pile!