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Are You Ready to be a Pro?
What if you developed a great hobby you really loved? Say, baking cakes. You bake a creative cake for your child's birthday party, and everyone oohs and ahhs. Then you bake another fabulous cake for your husband's birthday. More oohing and ahhing. And so on. Until a party guest says, "Hey, you could make real money doing this. I'll be your first customer."
You agree. You bake the cake and buy a …
Embrace Abandon
As many of you know, I've recently returned home from a series of writers’ conferences. As I met with writers and read their proposals or sample chapters, one thing struck me over and over…
More and more writers are spending time writing what they think agents and editors want to see.
Is that bad? Well, yes and no.
No, because you need to understand what editors and agents are looking …
Make it Count for Something Important
Everyone has a pet peeve. People who drive too fast, or too slow, or fingernails scratching on a blackboard. My pet peeve is a strange one. I have a visceral reaction to the fast-talking legal-speak at the end of radio or TV commercials. I have to change stations…immediately.
You’ve all heard them…commercials that are 50% written by the legal department of the advertiser. The last 100 words …
Fun Fridays – October 4, 2013
A clever commercial for a book. If you are a dog lover you'll like today's fun.
Genre Hopping
An author recently posed a question to us through our question button (in the right column on the blog page). We like when authors do this, so please feel free to use the button!
While everyone's situation is different, the elements of the question are relevant to many so I'm addressing those today.
I have a question about genre hopping. I have a non-fiction book geared for parents of teens …
Let the LIGHT In!
People being gunned down.
Government shutdowns.
Families in financial crisis.
Politicians calling each other names.
Increasing assaults on religious freedoms.
All of this and more overflow us. On the news. Over the Internet. In our conversations. It would be so easy to think these ugly things are all there is of life nowadays. To feel sad and angry and hopeless...
Which is why …
Editing the Bible
I always thought it was interesting that Christian publishers employed Bible editors. Of course, they are not there to edit the Bible text, but to work on the extra-Bible notes and additional material that might end up in a study or devotional Bible.
It got me thinking that there is a lot of stuff in the Bible that is just downright disturbing if you want to maintain a simplistic …
One Word to Increase Your Conference Enjoyment
The past couple of conferences I attended felt more relaxed. Of course, “relaxed” is a relative term in relation to conferences. I am so very grateful that people want to see me, talk to me, meet with me, dine with me. Don’t go away! Without you, I wouldn’t be blessed with this career. Thank you. But I talked to a couple of people at ACFW who admitted to me that they …
The Secret to Tracking Trends
At every single writers’ conference I attend, and this year I attended a lot of them, I hear the same question, either when on a panel or in one-on-one meetings: “What are the trends you see in the market?” My answer is always the same:
“I have no idea.”
Helpful, huh? But in reality, tracking trends is something that most often is done in hindsight. Unless you’re a marketing pro, watching a …