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Christy Award Finalists 2012

By Steve Laubeon April 16, 2012

We are quite excited to announce that our agency has a number of finalists in this year’s Christy Awards. (Click here for the list of this year’s finalists.) Congratulations to all finalists. Below are our clients who have been honored and a link to their publisher’s site for more information on the book.

Susan May Warren – My Foolish Heart (Tyndale) – Contemporary Romance

Ronie Kendig – Wolfsbane (Barbour) – Contemporary Romance

Ginny Yttrup – Words (B&H Publishing) – NOMINATED TWICE – Contemporary Standalone & First Novel

Ted Dekker & Tosca Lee – Forbidden (Center Street) – Visionary – (we represent Tosca)

Lisa Bergren – Waterfall (David C. Cook) – Young Adult

Implications of the Department of Justice Lawsuit Against Five Major Publishers

By Steve Laubeon April 16, 2012

by Steve Laube

As you have heard by now the Department of Justice (DOJ) has leveled a lawsuit against Apple and five major publishers accusing them of conspiring to fix prices. There has been a lot written on the topic with varying degrees of understanding and a wide disparity of conclusions.

Authors are asking what this all means to them. And many are confused about the math involved. A …

Category: Agency, Book Business, Contracts, Get Published, Legal Issues, SteveTag: Book Business, Get Published, lawsuit, News, retail prices

Fun Fridays – April 13, 2012

By Steve Laubeon April 13, 2012

The Rejection Letter Generator Become used to receiving rejection letters from agents and editors. Test your own mettle. Develop immunity to snarky comments! Go to this site and fill one of the seven forms. The Rejection Generator Project I guarantee you will be rejected within seconds. So much better than waiting weeks for our agency’s evaluation. Here is a sample of the rejection letter I …

Category: Fun FridaysTag: Humor, Rejection

Finding the Right Critique Partner

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 12, 2012

by Tamela Hancock Murray Recently I talked with a supervisor in a field unrelated to the publishing industry, who mentioned an employee. “I shudder to think of the advice he’s giving out. He has a general understanding of the subject matter, but not the skill set.” It struck me how applicable this statement can be regarding people who offer to critique manuscripts. In a previous …

Category: Craft, Creativity, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Critique, Get Published, Writing Craft

Are You a Storybird?

By Karen Ballon April 11, 2012

I’m always hearing about authors who get stuck. Whose creativity has hit a wall. Who have hit a point in the story that they’ve lost interest.

Or there are the down times. When emotions have them hogtied. They’re too sad or depressed or frustrated or overwhelmed to write.

Well, I don’t have a cure for all of those things, but I do have something that can help. It’s called Storybird, and it’s …

Category: Craft, Creativity, Karen, Personal, Writing CraftTag: Creativity, Writing Craft

News You Can Use – April 10, 2012

By Steve Laubeon April 10, 2012

Pew Research Findings on E-Reading – If you want a sense of what’s happening, read this article. Then once you’ve digested it, read Mike Shatzkin’s evaluation of the data. Together the articles may take an hour to absorb.

The Perfect Elevator Pitch for a New Job – Interesting article with applications for a writer creating the perfect pitch for their book idea

Five Best Bluetooth Headsets – …

Category: News You Can UseTag: Facebook, Internet, pitch, Pitching, Twitter

Any Name Will Do?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 5, 2012

Have you ever been asked by an editor to change a character’s name in your novel? If so, I promise you are not alone. It happened to me too. One thing I used to like about writing books is that I could christen my characters with names I thought whimsical but my husband would have never let us call our children. But a writer still has to be careful.

Same Syllables

Awhile back, I ran into an …

Category: Craft, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Creativity, fiction, Names, Writing Craft

Reader Expectations

By Steve Laubeon April 4, 2012

Guest blog by Robin Lee Hatcher

Robin Lee Hatcher and I (Karen Ball) have been friends for a lot of years. One of the things I most respect about her is the respect and love she has for her readers. She doesn't write just for the sake of telling a good story. She writes to uplift and encourage her readers, to remind them they're not alone in their struggles and challenges. Robin tells …

Category: Genre, Guest PostTag: Creativity, Genre Fiction, Writing Craft

News You Can Use – April 3, 2012

By Steve Laubeon April 3, 2012

The Spirituality of Rejection - Chris Able asks "Can rejection be good for you?"

In Case You've Been Asleep - The Harry Potter franchise is now available in ebook form on the Pottermore web site. It will be interesting to hear sales data if they are willing to share.

Twelve Blogging Mistakes to Avoid - Jeff Bullas gives great advice.

15 Twitter Hashtags That Every Writer Should Know …

Category: News You Can UseTag: blogging, ebooks, hashtags, Rejection, Twitter

Fun Fridays – March 30, 2012

By Steve Laubeon March 30, 2012

Another amazing story of talent discovery.

Category: Fun FridaysTag: Fun