Tips from the pros: Dianne Barker

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Greetings from the winter-draped Rockies in Colorado. Davalynn Spencer here to introduce multi-published author, Dianne Barker. Dianne, how did you get into writing? As an eighteen-year-old college student, I landed my dream job writing for my hometown newspaper in Johnson City, Tennessee. When Billy Graham held a crusade in Knoxville in 1970, the newspaper sent me to cover the event, which made national headlines with the visit of President Richard Nixon. Through the influence of my friend and mentor Dr. Sherwood Wirt (founding editor of Decision magazine), the crusade executive committee chose me to write a commemorative book about the…

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How Effective Is Your Author Website?

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Greetings from Jackie! One of the most effective ways to communicate with your readers is through your author/speaker website. How can you make your site better? Your author website is your online “storefront.” It represents you and your writing to your readers. It gives you credibility. It builds your brand. It gives you the opportunity to showcase your books—and sell them. In addition to social media, your website is a place to connect and build community. Jane Friedman, a media industry expert, calls the author website “the No. 1 calling card for a digital-age author.”  Today, there are many options for…

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Tips from the Pros: Cara C. Putman

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin! Today I’m delighted to interview dear friend and fellow WWII fiction writer Cara C. Putman. In fact, Cara, Tricia Goyer, and I have written a Christmas novella collection that will be coming out in October 2014 (Where Treetops Glisten). While researching my story, I had the joy of staying with Cara’s family and watching this lawyer/multi-published author/homeschooling mom in action—and with a continual smile on her face. Cara, how many books do you have published? What are a few of your latest titles? My 17th novel just released. Shadowed by Grace is set in Italy during…

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Tips from the Pros: Pam Farrel

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California! Since tomorrow is Valentine’s Day, what better way to celebrate than with Pam Farrel, the author of Red-Hot Romance Tips for Women! With dozens of non-fiction titles to her credit, Pam has much to share with us, including a real-life romance story which started at a book promotion event! Pam, how did you get into writing? How many books do you have published? What are a few of your latest titles? I wrote my first book in second grade, a fictional work about “Princess Pamela” and it was complete with crayon drawings! We now…

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Tips from the Pros: Tanya Stowe

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California! With Valentine’s Day coming up, it’s fun to focus on authors who write about romance. Tanya Stowe’s sweet inspirational romances are a hit with her readers, and I know we’ll all enjoy getting to know her better! Tanya, how did you get into writing? I finished my first book at age 11. How many books do you have published? What are a few of your latest titles? I have seven published and two more contracted. Amazingly, I had three come out in December, two I coauthored with Delia Latham called A Cowboy Christmas and…

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Tips from the Pros: Jackie M. Johnson

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California, where we’re actually praying for rain for a change. Whether we’re enduring ice storms or drought, medical issues or family drama, we all need to pray. Today’s featured author, Jackie M. Johnson, has made a name for herself with books on prayer and comfort. In addition, Jackie uses her experience in working for a literary agency and for a publishing house to coach aspiring authors. Jackie, how did you get into writing? I knew I wanted to be a writer since I was in junior high. I loved to read and enjoyed spelling class…

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Getting Agent Ready: 7 Steps to Prepare for Success

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Greetings from Jackie!  ___________________________________________________________________________________ Do you want to get published—or get published again? If your goal is to get a book deal from a traditional publisher, it’s important to know what literary agents are looking for. Why? Because in today’s publishing environment writers can no longer send unsolicited manuscripts directly to publishers (at least, about 99% of the time), so it is essential to have a literary agent to represent your ideas to publishers. 

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Tips from the Pros: Bob Hostetler

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Happy New Year from Sarah Sundin in California! What better way to ring in 2014 than by getting to know Bob Hostetler, author of numerous bestselling and award-winning books. And let’s face it—anyone whose most recent title is Life Stinks…And Then You Die is bound to give us some interesting insights! Bob, how did you get into writing? I was raised in a family of readers and writers. My brothers and I would read cereal boxes at the breakfast table, encyclopedia volumes in the bathroom, you name it. The first time I saw my name in print was in Highlights…

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Tips from the Pros: Janet Chester Bly

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Greetings from Sarah Sundin in California. Today I have the honor of interviewing Janet Chester Bly. She and her late husband, Stephen Bly, individually and as co-authors, have 120 published titles! I’m looking forward to hearing wisdom from a true veteran in the field of Christian writing. Janet, how did you get into writing? When my late husband, Stephen Bly, got God’s call into ministry, graduated from seminary, and began to pastor a church, I wanted to know His will for me too. That began a search of several years for my own spiritual gifts meant to benefit the church…

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Overcoming Overwhelm

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Warm greetings to all of my fellow CANers! This is my first post, and I am delighted to have the opportunity to share my heart with you and, I trust, to bless you. Thank you for blessing me! Today, I’d like to talk about an issue I’ve struggled with and some solutions I’ve discovered. If you’re like me, you may have experienced the same struggle, especially at this time of year. The 21st century with all of its technological discoveries has engendered a new disorder called Overwhelm. Grammatically speaking, "overwhelm" is a verb, not a noun. But the case is…

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