Sing along! And don’t hate me for putting this tune in your head today…
Blog
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 …
Are You Writing Out of Order?
Generally speaking, if you want to write a book, sitting down at a computer, opening a Word document and starting to write it is not the first thing you should do. Certainly, every writer should write and keep writing. In the same vein, every runner should run, every person interested in being a chef should prepare food and so on. But writing a book is not the first thing you should do if you …
Family Christian Stores Survive Bankruptcy
In case you missed the news, last Tuesday the court approved the sale of the Family Christian Stores (FCS) to FCS Acquisitions. The new owner is basically the previous owner since Richard Jackson was part of that company too (which I have written about before-click to read). This sale, in essence, wipes clean over $120 million in debt that the stores owed. Their $75 million in assets will be …
Fun Fridays – August 14, 2015
Since Karen wrote a blog on dialect I thought this video was appropriate this week. Take a deep breath and for seven minutes be mesmerized by the language differences around the world. If you are writing a novel set in one of these places…be very careful with your regional research! Wow.
I’ve Been There and Now I’m Going There – For You
In this era of, “What can an agent do for you?” I thought a blog about the intangible benefits of visibility and relationships would be worth your time. As a literary agent, I am blessed to speak with a great number of talented authors. Many of them are where I once was — mothers with young children at home. They are lucky to have any time to write. Travel to a writers …