Travel back in time to 1947 and watch this documentary on how books are made.
Fascinating.
But remember it still starts with you, the author!
Fun Fridays – September 4, 2015
Blog
My Favorite Childhood Favorite
My favorite childhood favorite is Barbie Goes to a Party by Jean Bethell, illustrated by Claudine Nankivel. The story details how Barbie spends an afternoon consulting her mother and girlfriends, and how her mother and she advise Barbie’s friend Midge, about what to wear to a party. In the end, everyone wears the same outfit, as per Barbie’s suggestion. So they are all the best dressed …
Proposals: Comparing Your Writing to Icons
Awhile ago, I was reviewing a proverbial stack of nonfiction and fiction proposals. As I read them, I noticed something. And I saw that something again just recently as I read over proposals during a series of 15-minute meetings with conferees at a writers’ conference. What was that something? In their proposals, more and more writers are comparing their work to icons in publishing. As in: “My …
Duh Blog
Kyle Idelman’s AHA: The God Moment That Changes Everything (David C. Cook, 2014) is my inspiration today. If ever I write a book, it will be DUH: The Things That Never Change (Big Publisher, 20??) Today, I will reveal those things that are absolute truth that everyone should know. If you don’t, I have no advice for you. DUH would not be a self-help book because it doesn’t suggest a solution to any …
Fun Fridays – August 28, 2015
Sing along! And don’t hate me for putting this tune in your head today…
Why Do You Read?
In keeping with last week’s blog on personal reading, I’m thinking about how, over the years, my reasons for reading a book have changed. When I was a teenager, I would read a book to find out what might happen if I married: 1.) a rich man 2.) a poor man 3.) an executive 4.) an artist 5.) a pirate (not really but it’s hard to avoid them in books, though they’re scarce in …
Patience Please
This could be Part Two to last week’s post, but I didn’t intend it that way. It just happened. Have you noticed how many things in our lives are overly dramatic? A generation or two ago when “news” was delivered a half-hour here and there and TV, radio and newspapers dominated, dramatic stories were covered and some of them were “manufactured” stories for ratings or circulation purposes. But in …
Book Sales Continue to Rise
Despite the rumors concerning of the demise of Christian books, bookstores, and especially Christian fiction there is news that tells a different story. There were a couple statistics released this past week that show signs of encouragement! General market sales: According to the U.S. Census Bureau. Bookstore sales hit $698 million in the month of June 2015 compared to $672 million last June. …
A Novel Idea
As followers of this blog know, I have just returned from a wonderful conference in Oregon. Many of the questions and my interactions there caused me to re-evaluate my way of approaching how and what I read during my personal time. Please note: I am in no way changing my philosophy regarding what I represent as an agent. I’m still focusing on all forms of Christian romance and representing …
Doing Dialect Well
“Aym t’inkin’ ye tol’ me, didna ya, dat dere be tips ‘n’ tricks ta doin’ de dialect da wey ye shud in buks?” Just in case you haven’t figured it out, here’s the translation of this bit of brutal brogue: “I’m thinking you told me, didn’t you, that there are tips and tricks to doing dialect the way you should in books?” There are, indeed. And the first line of this blog is the perfect example of …