This isn’t something you see every day. A musical combo of Recorder and Beatbox.
Think of the hours of practice that went into his expertise! Do you spend as much time perfecting your writing craft?
Blog
Your Agent’s Brand (And Why You Should Care)
I’ve been privileged to have a career as a literary agent for many years now, and early on, I developed a brand and stuck with it. No, I didn’t hire a consultant to sit down and figure out what my “brand” is. And it’s not a tag line I put on business cards, or even anything I say aloud or post on social media. But most people who study agents have an idea about me …
It’s a Snoopy Kind of Day
This is not a deep-thought day. Well, not the way you might think. It’s not a day to explore thought provoking issues, craft issues, or career insights. Today, I find that my mind is a bit too reflective of what’s happening outside, where our beautiful valley is cloaked in smoke from wildfires hours away. The mountain range I usually look at and savor is obliterated by the white haze of death. (My …
Bad Research
After many years in another industry, a corporate CEO left to lead a large publishing company. After a month or so on the job, he grew unsettled at how different publishing was from the consumer product industry he was familiar with, especially the highly “intuitive” approach publishing utilized to make decisions. He recounted a key moment in his first month when he asked a long-time employee if …
How to Read More in Less Time
I have the privilege of reading for a living. Someone once asked “What do you do for a living?” I replied, “I read.” Then they asked what I did for fun. And I replied with a huge smile, “I read.” But not all reading is alike. There is immersive reading of a technical nature. There is escapist reading of a great thriller. And there is cursory reading where you …
Name Brands in Fiction
So, you’re driving down the road, and you see a Ford F-350 with Monster wheels and an NRA bumper sticker. And you see a Toyota Prius with a Go Green bumper sticker. You know these are two different personalities driving the vehicles, right? You probably have formed an image already. I would guess you even think the driver of the truck is a male and the Toyota is a female. Or you might see a …
Not All Words Are Created Equal
Twice in the last few weeks something happened that got me thinking about how very careful we need to be when revising, either our own work or someone else’s. First, during a worship team practice, the leader changed the words of a song from “You give and take away,” referring to God, to “You give me all I need.” When I asked why she’d changed the words, she …
Authors: Seeking Approval
Depending on my current situation or environment, I might see something entirely different than another time when I read a passage of Scripture. The Bible is a like a diamond, with light of different colors shining through various facets depending on how you turn it and look through. I am turning one Scriptural “diamond” today to see something in a little different light. When Jesus walked to the …
What Have You Outgrown?
You can hardly swing a computer keyboard around (well, okay, I don’t recommend swinging a computer keyboard around, but anyway…) without seeing a chance to take a workshop on how to utilize social media. Taking a workshop on social media is a great idea. I’m a huge advocate of using social media for fun, to connect, and, while you’re at it, to let people know you’re a …