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3 Reasons Why Rejection is Good

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 28, 2014

I’ll be the first to admit that rejection doesn’t feel good, so how can it be good?

Well, a rejection:

…allows you to close the door and move on to the next opportunity.

…shows that the other person doesn’t share your enthusiasm enough to be your partner. Learning this allows you the freedom to find the right partner.

…may be a sign of God’s will. His plans are better than you imagined, for both you and the the other party.

If you are rejected, allow yourself a limited time to grieve. Then press on. Life is short, so don’t delay. Keep trying.

Your turn:

What thoughts can you add about rejection?

When were you, in hindsight, grateful for a rejection?

You Are Not Alone

By Karen Ballon August 27, 2014

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Thanks for sharing your thoughts about proposals. Clearly, a lot of us struggle with this side of being a writer. As I was thinking over what to write for tackling those problematic proposal elements, I rediscovered the video below, made in ’09. It was created by best-selling authors Angela Hunt, Kristin Billerbeck, Robin Lee Hatcher, and Terri Blackstock. These authors, back in ’09, had written a …

Category: Book Proposals, Career, Get Published

The Morals of the Story

By Karen Ballon July 30, 2014

As promised, here are the morals—and names—of the story of our young writer from last week. If you missed the post, please go back and read it. The young writer? None other than the gifted Lori Benton. Her second novel, The Pursuit of Tameson Littlejohn, released in April 2014. The first editor, who read her story from far, far away, and then became friends with Lori? Yours truly. But Lori isn’t …

Category: Awards, Career, Conferences, Creativity, Get Published, Writing CraftTag: Career, Get Published, Writing Craft

One Author’s Journey: A Tale of Publishing

By Karen Ballon July 23, 2014

With all this talk of publishing and where it’s been and where it’s going, I thought I’d tell you a story. One that happened not years ago, in the much ballyhooed Golden Age, but recently. So gather round, settle in, and listen… Once upon a time, there was a young girl who wanted to write, who grew up to be a young woman who did write, creating stories she loved. Stories that made her heart soar. …

Category: Career, Conferences, Creativity, Get Published, Writing CraftTag: Get Published, perseverance, Writing Craft

Acquisitions Director: God

By Dan Balowon July 22, 2014

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This subject has been covered before by smarter people at our agency, but I am hoping that Steve Laube considers imitation truly the greatest form of flattery! Every aspiring or experienced Christian author is alerted to avoid mentioning that “God told me to write this book” when speaking to an agent or publisher. Why is that? Reason #1: Working within the Christian publishing world there should …

Category: Get PublishedTag: Get Published, Pitching, Theology

ICRS 2014 – Observations

By Steve Laubeon July 7, 2014

A couple weeks ago the industry gathered in Atlanta for the annual booksellers convention (I.C.R.S. – International Christian Retail Show). This was my 33rd consecutive event and have enjoyed every one. If I may I’ll mention a few of the meetings we attended and then make a few observations. 1) Tamela Hancock Murray and Dan Balow attended as well. We tried to do our meetings with …

Category: ICRSTag: ICRS

A Brave Heart

By Dan Balowon June 24, 2014

The 2014 Christy Awards were held last night in Atlanta, Georgia. Check the Christy Award’s website for the winners and other information. Three years ago in 2011, when the International Christian Retail Show was last held in Atlanta, the keynote speaker for the Christy Awards was Randall Wallace, who had a novel about to release from Tyndale House. Mr. Wallace is known for his writing and work in …

Category: Awards, Book Business, Creativity, Dan, ICRS, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Business, Christy Awards, publishing, The Publishing Life

Actually, The World is Pretty Big

By Dan Balowon May 27, 2014

At one time or another, every one of us have remarked how small the world is, usually caused by meeting someone by chance and finding out that you both know a certain person, or went to school with the person, are both reading the same books, are fans of the same team, etc. But you might be surprised how a “small” view of the world can alter your entire perspective. I am not referring to a …

Category: Book Business, Branding, Dan, Get Published, Marketing, Platform, The Publishing Life, Trends, Writing CraftTag: publishing, The Publishing Life

Look Up!

By Karen Ballon May 21, 2014

by Karen Ball A friend shared the video at the end of this blog with me in response to what I wrote here last week. I love the message, not just for me personally, but for anyone who seeks to touch people through their writing. Because really, how effective can we be in what we’re doing as writers if we don’t see and spend time with the people around us? We write about our “core audience” in our …

Category: Get Published, Karen, The Writing LifeTag: Audience, The Writing Life

It was a Quiet Week

By Steve Laubeon May 19, 2014

by Steve Laube It was an quiet week in the agenting business. Periodically I like to peel back the curtain on what we do as literary agents because for many it remains a mystery or as a job that is unnecessary. I love my job. I am so very blessed to be able to do something I love and help so many people while doing it. Without further ado, here are a number of things that crossed my path this …

Category: Agency, Agents, Get PublishedTag: Agency, Agents, Get Published