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When You Have One of “THOSE” Days

By Steve Laubeon April 23, 2014

by Karen Ball

You know the days I mean. The days you ask yourself, “Whatever made me think I could do this?” or “Why couldn’t I just sell shoes?” or “Are you sure that’s how you spell it’s? It looks stupid. It’s, it’s it’s. That can’t be right, can it??”

Oh yeah, those days when the only words that come to you are “I quit.” When the only good thing about being a writer is that you can use suffering and pain and anguish in your work. When every call from your agent, note from your editor, review on a website, and comment on your blog leaves you wanting to climb the nearest tall building and JUMP!

Yeah, for those days, watch this:

Peace, friends.

It Takes a Committee

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 17, 2014

One well-known and frustrating fact about seeing a book finally accepted is the looooooong process. Trust me, literary agents would like to see the process move faster, too. Believe it or not, the fact that at most large publishers, a proposal must go through several rounds of review before a contract is offered is actually good for the author. Yes, you read that right. It’s good for the …

Category: Agency, Book Business, Career, Get Published, TamelaTag: Career, Editors, publishers

Why an In-the-Know Agent is Your Best Partner

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 10, 2014

Even in the tightest market, new opportunities develop. Not only can authors keep up with these opportunities by being well-connected themselves, but this is just one part of your career where partnering with a great agent is key. Why? Because editors don’t always put out a call to every writers’ loop when they need proposals. Most don’t have time to become inundated with lots of …

Category: Agents, Book Business, Book Proposals, Career, Communication, Get Published, TamelaTag: Agents, Career, Get Published

Did You Feel the Tremor in the Industry Last Week?

By Steve Laubeon March 3, 2014

by Steve Laube

I know what it is like to feel the earth move under my feet having experienced the '64 Alaska earthquake firsthand. (The above picture is from the neighborhood where we lived called Turnagain Arm.) Therefore I know the difference between a 9.2 Richter scale quake and a tremor that registers near 2.0 on the scale.

Last Thursday Amazon announced they were reducing the royalty …

Category: Book Business, E-Books, Get Published, Steve, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Business, E-Books, publishing

Wanted: More Choir Members

By Dan Balowon February 11, 2014

Dan Balow

At some point in their writing career, many Christian authors express a desire to write a book that would reach the un-churched. That desire is a completely honorable and wonderful goal, just as any believer should desire to represent Christ in their lives in such a way that unbelievers would ask them questions about the hope that is in them.

However, the inference by such …

Category: Book Business, Creativity, Dan, Get Published, The Publishing Life, TrendsTag: Christian, publishing, Writers

And Another Thing, Your Baby is Ugly

By Dan Balowon February 4, 2014

Have you noticed how much of public and private discourse so quickly moves from a simple disagreement to a personal attack?

I was attending a sporting event not long ago and the people sitting around me in the stands seamlessly moved from displeasure how their team was performing to calling the players, coaches and referees all sorts of names that had nothing to do with how they …

Category: Book Business, Craft, Dan, Get Published, Rejection, The Publishing LifeTag: Rejection

Is Christian Fiction Dying?

By Dan Balowon January 28, 2014

Last year, a couple Christian publishers stopped publishing fiction. Some publishers are nervous about it and in a wait-and-see mode. Others are excited about growth potential. The answer to the title question is no, but it is certainly interesting to explore the reason behind such widely diverse opinions on the subject.

NOTE #1: For full disclosure, I am a member of the advisory board for …

Category: Awards, Book Business, Dan, E-Books, Get Published, TrendsTag: fiction, Trends

How Entering a Writing Contest Just Might Change Your Life

By Steve Laubeon January 27, 2014

Guest Post by Susan May Warren

Far East Russia in the middle of January has all the charm of a mausoleum. Our missionary family lived in a three-room flat on the ninth floor of a cookie-cutter apartment building that, to the untrained eye, resembled a recently shelled building in Chechnya. We had no running water during the day, no telephone line and the Siberian wind froze the windows shut, …

Category: Awards, Get Published, Guest Post, SteveTag: contests, Get Published

Embracing Change – Part Two

By Dan Balowon January 21, 2014

Last week in my post "Embracing Change," I outlined the six phases that characterize the acceptance of change in our lives and world. Today, I want to focus on some specifics that you need to consider to adapt to the future.

First, a recap of the six phases when confronted with something new:
Phase One - Dismissed as a fad by those who stand to lose the most or like the status quo.
Phase Two …

Category: Book Business, Career, Dan, Get Published, TrendsTag: Book Business, Change

Embracing Change

By Dan Balowon January 14, 2014

On September 3, 1967 the world changed. It was a day remembered for chaos and disillusionment, despair and confusion. No, it wasn’t because the last episode of “What’s My Line?” aired on U.S. television.

The above picture is what happened in Sweden the day the country switched from driving on the left to the right side of the road. Their neighbors, Norway and Finland had already changed, but …

Category: Book Business, Dan, E-Books, Get Published, The Publishing Life