A Lesson in Book Contract Negotiations

In the following guest post, Laurie A. Gray shares the lessons she learned negotiating her first book contract. Because writers on their way to publication often forget or ignore the business side of writing, it is helpful when someone like Laurie can share her experience:

Interview with Fiction Writer, Melanie Dobson

Recently, I was talking with some college students about their summer fiction reading.  ”I often wonder how the book was born,” said one of them.  I’ve often asked that question myself.  In this interview, we get the chance to find out how a special work of fiction was born from the author herself, as well as what is her mission as a writer.

As you read Melanie Dobson’s interview, can you think of any other questions you would like to ask?  Leave a comment for her below and enter a chance to win a free copy of her novel in the month of Septermber.

Could you tell us about your latest novel?

Love Finds You in Liberty, Indiana is part the new Summerside Press line featuring stories set in small towns across the country. This novel is about a Quaker woman named Anna Brent who runs a station on the secretive Underground Railroad in 1850 until her work is threatened by a slave hunter searching for a runaway girl.

I thoroughly enjoyed researching and writing this book, but even more exciting than writing it was going to Liberty and meeting the delightful people of this town. Several of them welcomed me into their home and let me crawl around in the secret places where the runaway slaves once hid. Read more

Creative Marketing Ideas for Writers

In “Golden Rule Marketing for Writers,” Emily Akin reminded us that aspiring authors should learn to love marketing and spend as much as 80% of their time marketing their writing.  Still, some writers chew on this idea with apprehension, hoping they will be the exception. I think the problem is that we tend to approach marketing with the wrong perspective.

I recently ran across Meeting Needs, a blog post by Sarah Bolme, Director of Christian Small Publishers Association. She challenges Christian writers to see marketing differently. She says this:  ”Promoting a book is like being a missionary. Missionaries don’t sit at home and wait for people who need Jesus to come to them. They go “into all the world” and seek the lost.”  What a great perspective!

If you are beginning to feel differently about marketing, then you are ready for some new ideas to reach your readers. Here are five links to articles from creative writers and marketers that can get your creative juices flowing:

1. 1. Book Launch Party on Facebook
   2. Guest Blogging
   3. Virtual Author Touring
   4. Twitter Book Marketing
   5. Publishing and Marketing with Scribd.com

Question: How about you?  Do you have some creative marketing ideas that help you reach your readers?  Share them with us.

Golden Rule Marketing for Writers

Editor’s Note: This is a guest article by Emily Akin. Read on and find out how you can enter to win a copy of Emily’s e-book, A Business Approach to Marketing Your Work .

The Golden Rule

 ”So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets” Matthew 7:12 (TNIV).

Would you like to sell more of your writing? To get your work published, you must give your customers, the editors, what they need. Editors know what their readers (customers) want, and they only accept work that addresses their readers’ needs. Writers and editors apply the Golden Rule every day, not pursuing their own interests but the interests of their readers.  Read more

Ambushed by Grace: An Interview with Shelly Beach

In “Five Reasons to Unleashed the Servant Writer in You,” I suggested that tragedy, pain, or discouragement don’t have to be wasted years or detours.  They can be a source of hope and encouragement because these experiences give us the empathy and love to serve others who are experiencing similar circumstances.  That’s exactly what Shelly Beach has done with her latest book, Ambushed by Grace.  Writing from her own experience as a caregiver for parents with Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s in her home, Shelly has written a practical book of hope and encouragement for those on the caregiving journey, a journey that can be laden with fear, anger, exhaustion, confusion, and every emotion imaginable.

I’m thrilled to bring you this exclusive interview with Shelly Beach, a kindred spirit who models for us the discipline of writing to serve — to bless others with the story and life experiences God has entrusted with us.  May this conversation inspire you to pick up her book and use it as a roadmap for the one you can write one day and as the perfect gift for the weary caregiver in your life. Read more

Tip 6: Three Must Read Articles for New Authors

Who would turn down an opportunity to chat, with pen and paper in hand, with Michael Hyatt, author, speaker, and Chief Executive Officer for Thomas Nelson, Inc. — and record all his publishing secrets?

Well, we can.  He makes it easy because he has made his wisdom available for free.  If you have not discovered his website and blog yet, get started with these three must read articles for  new and seasoned authors. 

1. Advice for First-Time Authors
2. Five Publishing Hurdles
3. How Can You Get Published If You Don’t Have a Platform?

“If you met with me one-on-one, this is what I would tell you.” ~Michael Hyatt

Question:  have you come accross these resouces before?  Are there any others you would like to share with the rest of us?

Author Beginnings: When God Plants a Dream

Editor’s Note: This is a guest article by award-winning Christian author and speaker, Dianne Neal Matthews.  Her passion for the dream God has planted in her heart and her obedience to pursue that dream will inspire you to continue your Servant Writer journey.

Ever since I picked up my first chunky pencil, I have adored the simple act of writing. My first-grade teacher told my parents that one day I would be an author. In fourth grade, the teacher saved time at the end of the day for a “reading” whenever someone told her that I had written a story. But as I moved toward my teen years, my self-confidence in all areas dissolved and I limited my writing efforts to school assignments.

Daydreams

Even though I minored in English in college, the idea of taking a creative writing course terrified me. What if I couldn’t come up with ideas to write about? How could I risk having work critiqued in class? I probably didn’t have any real talent anyway. So my creative writing was done in my head. It was safer that way. And I found pleasure in fantasizing about being a writer — sort of like pulling out a much-loved blanket when I needed comfort. As long as it remained just a dream, nothing could take it away from me. Read more

Book Beginnings from a “Confident” Adventurer

Editor’s Note: aspiring writers often want to know how a book begins in the mind of an author, how the idea develops, and how the book finally makes it to the reader. Pam Farrel, International speaker, relationship specialist, and author of over 28 books, contributes this article to answer these questions for aspiring authors and to extend an invitation to the upcoming launch of her latest book, Woman of Confidence: Step into God’s Adventure for Your Life. Keep reading and find out how you can enter for a chance to win a San Diego adventure.

The Inspiration for the Book

When a book begins in my heart, it is usually a result of a need I see when I am out living in the real world, ministering on the front lines or in the trenches of a counseling session or conference setting. For example, Woman of Confidence: Step into God’s Adventure for Your Life, my newest book, came after a series of events: Read more

Communicating the Vision: An Interview with Kathi Macias

Congratulations to our book winner, Joie Fields, and a big ”thank you” to Kathi Macias

Many up-and-coming writers believe that authors who have found a level of success in the publishing world are beyond reach because they are too busy doing what they, themselves, would love to be doing – writing.  With thirty books to her credit, Kathi Macias is everything but unapproachable.  She has a deep love for the written word, yes, but she is a true Servant Writer willing to share her experience and wisdom with others.

I was first introduced to Kathi last year when a friend gave me her book, The Train-of-Thought Writing-Method: Practical, User-Friendly Help for Beginning Writers. As a writing teacher, myself, I felt an immediate connection with someone who had clearly taken the time to communicate what so many attempt  to say, but in a creative and fresh new way.  I must confess that for a minute I was envious that I had not written such a book for my students.  Imagine my delight when my friend and Servant Writer, Dawn Wilson, connected us.  Seldom have I appreciated e-mail technology more than the afternoon Kathi and I exchanged several emails in preparation for our interview.  Although we have yet to meet face to face, I have been moved by her sweet spirit and willingness to share what she has learned with those  who are still on the journey toward print publication.

In this exclusive interview for WritingtoServe.net, Kathi Macias opens a window into the life of a full time Christian author Read more

Writing for an Audience

This article is the first installment on a series of tips I will offer to help you understand how to write for an audience.  My goal is to provide bite-sized pieces you can ponder and begin to put into practice right away.

It may seem self-evident, but writing for an audience requires that we, writers, understand the readers that will potentially read our words. Magazine editors, for instance, have a precise knowledge of the publication’s reading demographic — they expect freelance writers to study the publication, understand its style – and their target audience. 

Let’s say, for example, you want to write for Christianity Today.  Do you know who reads it? Would you guess that the majority of its readership is made of married men in their mid-50s?  MomSense, on the other hand, caters to mothers of preschoolers (infants through kindergarten).   Of course, there are publications that reach a wider demographic.  Take Reader’s Digest, for example.  It aims to provoke, educate, and entertain readers from all walks of life through articles and features illustrating contemporary American life. Still, Reader’s Digest editors understand that they cater to readers who prefer excerpted features over the meatier versions published in, say, Time Magazine.  

“The child as reader is neither to be patronized nor idolized: we talk to him as man to man.”  ~ C.S. Lewis  

Learning to write for a target audience is a skill every aspiring writer needs to learn sooner than later.  Here are three skills you can begin to develop whether you are writing for a national magazine, an organization’s newsletter, or a blog:   Read more