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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

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

True Confessions

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 29, 2012

When our eldest daughter was learning about various religions in college, she told me that converts to the Greek Orthodox faith must make a lifetime confession. This would mean confessing all of your past sins. Don't worry -- joining our agency does not require a lifetime confession. However, we do need to know about your publishing past.

Poor Sales History

Poor sales of your books in the …

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

A Few Things Your Agent Needs to Know

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 22, 2012

You have an agent, but want to be low maintenance. You value your agent's time and hesitate to fill her in-box with lots of chatty emails or tie him up on the phone all day. I'm sure your agent appreciates you for being considerate.

Still, writing is a serious profession and a business. Therefore some personal events and occasions in your life are critical for your agent to know:

Happy …

Category: Agents, Communication, Get Published, TamelaTag: Agent, Communication, Deadlines, Editors

It’s A Brave New World

By Karen Ballon March 14, 2012

I’ve been in publishing for lo, these many years (over 30), so you’d think the work would be pretty much second nature for me. No so! In fact, just this last week I did something completely new!

I edited a book, in four days, using Skype and Dropbox.

The amazing thing about this isn’t that the author and I got the book done so quickly, but that it was SO MUCH FUN! We parked on Skype for …

Category: Book Business, Get Published, Karen, TrendsTag: dropbox, Editing, skype, Technology, Trends, Writing Craft

The Unhelpful Rejection Letter

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 8, 2012

Have you ever received an unhelpful rejection letter that says, "Sorry, but this just isn't a fit for us."? I have. And I've also written more of these rejections than I'd like to admit. In fact, after I write this post, I may just have to send out twenty more.

Some authors write back to say, "Can't you tell me what I can do better? What suggestions do you have?" I'm sure I frustrate writers …

Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Get Published, Rejection, TamelaTag: Get Published, Query Letters, Rejection, Tamela

Writers’ Conference Spotlight: Mount Hermon

By Karen Ballon February 29, 2012

One of the best-loved conferences is the Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference. This year the conference will be held from March 30th to April 3rd. I first went to this conference in the late 90s, and have returned every year since. I love the heart of this conference, which is all about uplifting and encouraging, and about honoring the One who has called us to this amazing task. So, as …

Category: Book Business, Conferences, Get Published, Guest Post, KarenTag: Conferences, Get Published, Writing Craft

Why Do I Have to Jump Through Your Hoops?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 23, 2012

Recently, my assistant had a conversation with an author who did not send a complete proposal. The author was referred to our guidelines and gently reminded that we needed more material in order to make an evaluation. But instead of saying "thank you" for the guidance, the author declared they did not have to jump through any hoops, and took the opportunity to aggressively express their complaints …

Category: Agency, Book Business, Book Proposals, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Agents, Book Business, Editors, Get Published, Pitching, Proposals, Tamela

A Gathering of Twitches

By Karen Ballon February 22, 2012

This blog is from one twitch to another. Let me explain…

My husband loves that I’m a writer. He loves my creativity and passion. And he loves how happy I am when I’m writing. He knows when I’m writing because I get “twitchy.” Translation: Distracted. Otherwise occupied. Caught up in scenes and conversations no one but I—and that multitude in my mind--can see or hear. He knows that when the …

Category: Conferences, Craft, Creativity, Get Published, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Creativity, Karen, writers conferences, Writing Craft