Gene Kelly was a master of dance. But this scene from “It’s Always Fair Weather” takes the cake. While the song lyrics are rather lame, the dancing on roller skates, beginning at the 2:09 mark, is pretty incredible. Warning: Don’t Try This at Home.
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Book Proposal Basics – Back-Cover Copy for Fiction
This section is literally what the reader will see on the back cover, before purchasing the book. This copy is a useful sales tool whether the reader is perusing your book in person or on the internet, so I recommend honing this section. Since the text should be no more than what can appear on the back of a book cover, tight writing is essential. Here is a basic outline I just wrote for a romance …
Break the Rules…On Purpose
As a rule, writers should have a good grasp of the rules. Rules of grammar. Style. Usage. And the fundamental rule that you never walk the out man. Oh, wait, that’s baseball. It’s a good rule, though. As a writer and an editor, I like the rules. Most of the time, they make perfect sense because they make things easier and clearer for the reader, which is one of the keys to good style. For example, …
018 Tribe Building and Trends in Publishing
Where is Christian publishing heading? To help answer these questions, today we are talking with Alice Crider the Editorial Director at David C Cook and an international speaker. Alice welcome to the Christian Publishing Show. Before we get started I want to tell you about how great your team at David C Cook is. As you know I am not just a literary agent, I’m also a podcaster and I run a podcast …
018 Tribe Building and Trends in Publishing
Tribe Building and Trends in Publishing
You can listen to this episode 018 Tribe Building and Trends in Publishing on Christian Publishing Show.
Breaking News
NewsCorp Tells HarperCollins to have Thomas Nelson Publishers Sell The Satanic Bible Since Thomas Nelson is the world’s largest publisher of Bibles, their ownership decided it would be a good idea to have them diversify the types of Bibles they produce. Publication date for The Satanic Bible is set for October 31, 2019. NewsCorp Director, Cashme Aut, said, “Our global community is just …
Fun Fridays – March 29, 2019 – More Book Puns
Last May we had some fun with puns. Let do some more. None of the below are original. They have been gathered from a variety of sources online. Care to add some of your own? 25 Book Puns Metaphors be with you. Brontë? What a breath of fresh Eyre. ISBN thinking about you. Never read Fitzgerald? You Gatsby kidding me! Broken pencils are pointless. Bad spelling makes me [sic]. What do you call 2,000 …
Book Proposal Basics – Hooks Aren’t Only for Fish
The next elements are meant to encourage the agent and editor to read your book. These are worth crafting because, otherwise, your intended audience may never go past the first page. When I say “hook” in this post, I am not referring to hooking your reader with the first page of your story. Here, I mean an element in the proposal, the reason your reader will want to read your book instead of or in …
Write for Narcissists
Every reader is a narcissist. Hold on, there. Don’t get all mad and sassy yet. Let me explain I often tell developing writers, “No one reads about other people; we read only about ourselves.” Go ahead and quote me, just be sure to give me credit and send me the royalties it produces. Seriously, I think it’s true. For example, I read several memoirs every year. And many of them are about writers …
017 How to Find Agents and Editors with the Christian Writers Market Guide
Have you ever been frustrated while looking for an agent or editor? In today’s episode, we are going to talk about where to find good editors and agents using the Christian Writers Market Guide. I am joined today by Steve Laube, the president and founder of The Steve Laube Agency and a veteran of the bookselling industry with nearly 40 years of experience. He and his agency have represented over …