One day late, but I'm here. Welcome from Gail Gaymer Martin @www.gailmartin.com Writers Digest had an excellent article on characterization in January 2011 written by David Corbett. A small part of that article was subtitled Real-Life Characters, and it offered a list of possible characters you might find in your own life. The author suggested you create a list of interesting people and provide a details, physical appearance, and the effect this person had on you. This activity triggered a double idea which I’d like to share with you.
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read latest news from our blogPUGS Pointers #2
Hi! I’m Kathy Ide, and in addition to being a published author, I’m a full-time professional freelance editor. For CAN, I’m blogging about “PUGS”–Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling…tips for writers based on the most common mistakes I see in the manuscripts I edit. Each blog post will have one tip for each of the four categories, as well as a reason it’s important for authors to “polish their PUGS.” (For more PUGS tips, check out my website, www.KathyIde.com, or get a copy of my book “Polishing the PUGS” (available through the website or at the conferences I teach at). If you’re interested…
Storm preparation for writers
Aloha from Karen, Having survived Hurricane Andrew with half my house damaged and many items blown into the everglades, I know a little about what to expect from a hurricane. Irene is headed my way. It’s important back up files and take other steps.
Toward Poetry Revival
I have loved poetry since the age of seventeen when I discovered Byron, Keats, and Shelley. As I matured, I came to love deeper masters like Virgil, Spenser, Donne, Milton, and Tennyson, as well as Homer and Dante in translation. But something bad happened to poetry about a hundred years ago, so that many of today's readers are completely turned off toward poetry. It doesn't have to be that way. In my CAN blogs I will encourage a revival of good-quality poetry that can be enjoyed by ordinary readers, and I'll describe and illustrate techniques that can make it…
PUGS Pointers #1
Karen Whiting graciously invited me to do a monthly CAN blog on PUGS Pointers and other editing tips. If you’re not familiar with the term, “PUGS” is my acronym for Punctuation, Usage, Grammar, and Spelling. In this blog, I’ll share tips on PUGS rules that writers struggle with most, based on my years as a professional freelance editor. I’ll also explain why it’s important for writers to polish their PUGS. Each monthly blog will address one item in each area. For more PUGS Pointers, see my website, www.KathyIde.com. Or you can get my book “Polishing the PUGS,” through the “Published…
Growing Your Fiction Sales
Happy writing from Gail Gaymer Martin at www.gailmartin.com Through the years, I’ve watched my friends use different strategies to help their fiction sales grow. Some work and some don’t, but the ones who’ve found success, provides us with lessons so that we might learn from them and try some of their techniques. Obviously sales grow most when your work is in the bookstores and when it is promoted and distributed by your publisher. So this means, mainly working with traditional publishers. Mine put my novels in store—book stores, grocery stores, super marts, and any place books are sold. They…
By the Numbers
Hi, all! Ava Pennington here from sunny Florida…well, mostly sunny Florida. The afternoon rainstorms have finally started, to the residents’ joy and the tourists’ chagrin! Lately, I’ve been thinking about the relationship between words and numbers in the publishing industry. I’m a writer, not a mathematician. I love words – their structure and style, their rhythm and rhyme. I enjoy alliteration and onomatopoeia. I’m drawn to the images that words evoke. Numbers…not so much. Still, serious writers know that publishing—even Christian publishing—is a business. And business is often about the numbers.
A Labor of Love
Dianne Neal Matthews with an encouraging word for the second Monday of the month. Ever since I attended my first conference, I’ve heard people compare writing a book to giving birth. The more I write, the more I see how appropriate that analogy can be.
ICRS, Where the Industry Meets
Aloha from Karen, A few weeks ago I attended the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS). I’ve been going for more than a decade. One convention hall fills with authors, publishers, sales reps, agents, and store owners, and all the newest Christian books and products. It’s an exciting place for anyone who loves books. Many authors sign free copies of their books. I didn’t sign this year but Faithwords gave away a huge stack of my books as I stood and watched them disappear in a few minutes. A lot happens at this show.
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