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Fun Fridays – Jan. 18, 2013

By Steve Laubeon January 18, 2013

Please watch this wonderful and inspirational video (only 3 1/2 minutes long). While it isn’t “funny” it made me smile.

Below is a trailer for “Landfill Harmonic” an upcoming feature-length documentary about a remarkable orchestra from a remote village in Paraguay, where its young musicians play with instruments made from trash.

Unrelated to the above movie but on a similar topic, if you would like to support underprivileged children in the art of music visit this World Vision site. Here you can support music education around the world. (Thanks to Betsy St. Amant for the suggestion!)

Questions About Editors, Countries, and Awards

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 17, 2013

This blog is a continuation of my question-and-answer session in response to queries posted on a recent post.

1) Would you be able to get access to briefs from editors on what they are looking for and suggest to the author if there are any mutually interesting topics or genres?

Yes. Between the three of us, our agency has 81 years in publishing experience. During this time, we have forged …

Category: Agents, Awards, Conferences, Get Published, TamelaTag: Agents, Awards, Editors

News You Can Use – Jan. 15, 2013

By Steve Laubeon January 15, 2013

Successful Query Letters for Agents – A fascinating collection of 23 links to actual query letters that sold a book….organized by genre!

Goodreads vs Facebook Ads – an Experiment – A fascinating article by Angela Quarles on two marketing outlets available to every author.

Of Books and Bedbugs – This story is full of the “ick” factor. The article is called “It was a Dark and Itchy Night.” …

Category: News You Can Use, Steve

Answers from the Mountaintop

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 10, 2013

(Or, from my desk in Virginia, where I am fueled by bold, rich coffee)

Before Christmas, when I posted about having a serious talk with your agent, a couple of you asked more questions. I really appreciate you! Over the next few weeks, I'll provide my perspective on various questions. I want my posts to be a source of good, helpful information, so feel free to make more queries in the …

Category: Agents, Book Business, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Agents, Get Published

Editing 101 – Your Turn

By Karen Ballon January 9, 2013

I’ve had a number of writers ask me if I can show an edited page from a manuscript, so they can learn from it. So that seems a fun way to start out the New Year. But what I want to do is let YOU take a turn as an editor first. So here, for your editing pleasure, is something I wrote just for this occasion. Print this out, put on your editing hat, and go for it. I’ll post the edited text next week, …

Category: Craft, Editing, Grammar, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Writing Craft

News You Can Use – Jan. 8, 2013

By Steve Laubeon January 8, 2013

Innaccurate BookScan Numbers and the Plight of the Author – Colleen Doran digs into the sales numbers listed in Amazon’s Author Central. These are based on the National BookScan service used as a bible by major publishers to determine the success of failure of your backlist titles if done by another publisher. We have LONG argued that the Nielson BookScan service does not reflect the majority of …

Category: News You Can Use, Steve

The Writing Book for Your Year

By Steve Laubeon January 7, 2013

by Steve Laube

Note the title of this post did not say “of the year” but “for your year.” It is rare for me to recommend books on writing because there are so many good ones out there, but this one is an exception.

The spiritual foundation of the writer is critical to surviving and even thriving in the call as an artist. Acceptable Words: Prayers for the Writer (published by Eerdmans) …

Category: Book Review, Faith, Reading, Steve, TheologyTag: Book Review, Faith, Reading, Writers

Fun Fridays – Jan. 4, 2013

By Steve Laubeon January 4, 2013

Try out these New Year's Resolutions for yourself:

Category: Fun Fridays, Tamela

Past, Present, and Future

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 3, 2013

The year 2012 proved to be another wonderful year in which God blessed our family.

We welcomed a new son-in-law into our family. Joel and Jill are happy in Daegu, South Korea. Of course, we wish they lived near us, but we still keep in close touch. Attending their July wedding meant we were privileged to visit South Korea, a memorable adventure made more special by Joel's gracious …

Category: Personal, TamelaTag: 2012, Personal

2012: Defining Moments

By Karen Ballon January 2, 2013

A line from yesterday’s sermon has me thinking today:
"Don't let the events in your life define your purpose. Instead, let your God-given purpose define you and how you deal with the events that come your way."
There are a number of events in 2012 that I could share, events that might be considered “defining”. Some wonderful, some…not so much. I’m so thankful to be working with the amazing …

Category: Christian, Faith, Karen, PersonalTag: Christian, Faith