Sherry Kyle here, writing from my laptop in California. “So, what are you working on now?” a friend asked me the other day. “I’m tweaking something I wrote awhile ago,” I said, trying to sound more positive than I felt. During the past couple of weeks I had attempted to breath new life into an old manuscript. “Cool. What’s it about?” she asked. I wondered how much to say. Why was I so uncertain? Maybe it was the fact that this manuscript had yet to find a publishing home. Do you ever feel like you’re writing on faith alone?
Month: November 2010
This is our archive pageUps and Downs of Acceptances and Rejections
Aloha from Karen Whiting, CAN treasurer Yesterday I received news that a promised contract arrived and news that another proposal had been rejected. In reality, the current contract is all I can handle well so that’s okay with me. But there’s a story behind the responses and reasons why the contracted book received a comment from the editor, “This is the best book proposal I’ve seen this year.” As a member of CAN I’m often hearing news of acceptances and rejections friends receive. That’s normal in this industry. The acceptances increase as authors gain experience and learn to market better…
What’s An Endorfluencer?
Hey all, Greetings from Cat and Kregel Publications! When I came to work this morning, I was planning on writing this post about a completely different topic. But when I sat down at my desk, I did what every marketing manager does when she first arrives in the office—I opened my email. In hindsight, that probably wasn’t the best thing to do because I spent the next hour answering queries from ad reps, questions from coworkers, and quandaries from authors. One email in particular took me by surprise. Written by a first-time author, the email was only a few sentences…
Marketing on Amazon.com by Jill Williamson
Amazon Author Central Once your book is listed on Amazon.com, you can set up and Amazon Author Central page, which is a page Amazon customers can click on to learn more about you and your books. Author Central pages will be linked to all your product pages on Amazon.com. First, go to this link and log in to Amazon.com. http://tinyurl.com/2ats3cp. An information page will come up. At the bottom is the option to “Join Now.” Click on that. Accept their terms and agreements, then follow the steps to set up your page. You’ll have to select your books from the…
Story Part IV: Following the Rules
Good morning from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com When creating story, the author should remember that each genre has its own set of patterns or “rules.” By rules, I mean reader expectations and qualities editors look for in your manuscript. These patterns or rules do not exclude creativity. If that were so, authors would lose their spirit. Within the expected genre patterns, authors have great leeway to create unique stories. So let's take a look at the various patterns for romance, mystery and suspense, and speculative fiction such as: fantasy, paranomral and adventure,
The (Launch) Party’s Over
Hi, all – Ava Pennington here. My last two posts were about planning a book launch party for my first book, One Year Alone with God: 366 Devotions on the Names of God. I’m not a marketing expert, but I learned as much as I could from those who are. The posts described the planning necessary for a successful launch party. In case you missed them, check out Planning a Launch Party – Part I and Part II. Well, the party was a success! Almost 100 people came to celebrate with me and it was a special time shared with…
10 Ways To Overcome the Fear of Writing
I’m afraid to write. And I’m a writer. Crazy, huh? This is Susy Flory. I’ve written four nonfiction books so far and yet, every time I sit down to write, I am afraid. I have a very hard time getting started. Have you ever felt that way? If so, you are not alone. Many, many, many successful and multi-published writers tremble each time they pick up a pencil (or a keyboard). “Writing and fear go together,” wrote Ralph Keyes. “If you’re not scared, you’re not writing.”
Tips from the Pros: Ava Pennington
Greetings from Sarah Sundin, all refreshed from a wonderful writers’ retreat in beautiful Monterey. Today I have the privilege of interviewing author Ava Pennington. Ava’s first book, One Year Alone with God was published by Revell in October 2010, but Ava also has a long list of magazine articles to her credit and two children’s books in the works. Ava, how did you get into writing? I began writing as an extension of a teaching ministry. When I started writing as a serious pursuit, I had a passion to write non-fiction. However, the advice I received was that without a…
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