To those of you with an April birthday, “Happy Birthday!” Today’s video is a fun interpretation of the song if it had been composed by some of the world’s greatest classical musicians.
Enjoy!
Blog
Your Part in Your Agent Relationship
Some writers want to work with an agent, but even after securing representation, don’t always take full advantage of the help an agent can offer. Agents appreciate authors not wanting to be high maintenance. However, it’s better to keep us in the loop than to leave us out. The expression, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” applies to so many situations that can occur! Manage …
How to Find Your Perfect Critique Partner
When I teach at writers’ conferences, the value of good critique partners often comes up. An insightful critique partner can help a writer improve the level of his or her craft, sometimes more than either person would have thought possible. The conversation often leads to the question, “How do I find such a magical being?” Chances are, it’s not your mom. Your spouse is probably not your best …
Change, We’ve Seen You Before
Change always seems to occur faster than you think but often slower than you think. Most things in society or life are at the same time dramatically different than they were a few years ago, but eerily similar to fifty years ago. If you are an observer or participant in the book publishing world, you can completely ignore certain trends and not be harmed at all. In fact, when you ignore the …
Writing Your Book Proposal Bio
I suspect that the last time you considered buying a non-fiction book you took a look at who the author was. It is a normal and natural thing. The same goes for your book proposal. The “About the Author” section of a non-fiction book proposal answers the question, “Who are you? And what right do you have to write about this topic?” It is not a place to recite your resume or Curriculum Vitae. Think …
Fun Fridays – April 20, 2018
He can clap 721 times in 60 seconds. A world record. When I need applause for finishing my blog I’ll hire him.
Your Role in a Conference Workshop
Have you ever attended a conference workshop that really seemed like a snooze? It happens to the best of participants and the best of instructors. While the hope is every class will have chemistry, sometimes there just isn’t any. But you can help! I’ve talked at conferences and paused with, “Does anyone have any questions?” But I met with crickets. Well, actually, singing insects would have been a …
Make Much Ado of Your New Book
(5 Ways to Plan a Success-Guaranteed Book Launch Event) I am no marketing genius, and though I’ve written fifty books, I still have much to learn about author and book publicity. But I nonetheless had a great time launching my book, The Bard and the Bible: A Shakespeare Devotional, a book of daily reflections drawn from a quote from Shakespeare and a verse from the King James Version of the Bible …
Book and Author – Traveling Companions
In publishing circles, we frequently refer to the “launch” of a new book when it is first published, but often tend to overlook the fact that it is not an unmanned rocket controlled at the publisher/mission control. Books need a pilot. The author must travel with the book. I am uncertain if there ever was a time in the history of book publishing where an author didn’t need to join their book out …
Never Assume Biblical Literacy
It wasn’t long ago that a reference to a Biblical character or a Bible verse would be widely understood without explanation. That is no longer true. Researcher George Gallup said “We revere the Bible, but we don’t read it.” This was recently illustrated in our local newspaper in an article about a football player named Shadrach. “It is a name his mom found in the Old Testament, the Babylonian god …