Categories
Writing for YA

Interview With YA Author Tabitha Caplinger

Tabitha Caplinger is the author of The Chronicle of the Three Trilogy, The Wolf Queen and, most recently, The Wayward. I talked with her recently about her writing and about how authors can approach writing stories with Christian themes.

DJS: Writing novels can be a daunting task, and it can be hard to stay motivated. What inspires you to write for the young adult age group? 

TC: I was a youth pastor for twenty years. I have such a heart for teens and young adults, and a desire to see them discover and live for their purpose on purpose. Stories have become a way to not just entertain, but challenge and encourage them to live chosen—to know God and make Him known.

DJS: Some novels are labeled inspirational or Christian, while other containing Christian themes are not. What do you feel makes a novel Christian?

TC: For me, it’s all about perspective. I don’t think a novel needs to be overt or preachy to share Biblical truth and point readers to the heart of Jesus. Jesus is the center of who I am and everything I do. I always say if our life is a pie, Jesus isn’t a slice of the pie, He’s the filling. Just like He flavors all parts of my life, He flavors my writing. Sometimes it will be a little more between the lines than others’ but I want His heart and values to shine through. 

DJS: Tell me a little about your process. When you set out to write a novel, how do you discover the story’s core message? 

TC: I start with the story first and let any themes or message happen organically. Whatever sparks my imagination, I begin to ask questions. Who is this about? Where do they live? What is the conflict they are facing? What journey will they take?

I research and outline until I have the main story points down.

Then I start writing. As I flesh out details and get inside my characters’ heads—learning their motivations, fears, strengths, and weaknesses. That’s when the message tends to emerge. 

DJS: What are some key things authors should keep in mind when they feel they have a calling to deliver a specific message to their readers?

TC: I really believe that the story should come first. Readers are more likely to connect with the message if they are connecting to the characters. Do they feel real? Can I empathize with them? Do I care about what they are facing? Weave the message in through their emotions, thoughts, and actions. If we want the message to stick with readers we have to get it into their hearts, and we do that by connecting their hearts with the hearts of characters. Those emotional connections open us up to the deeper truths being presented, even subtly.

Thank you, Tabitha!

Check out Tabitha’s website, tabithacaplinger.com, where readers can subscribe to Tabitha’s newsletter and stay in the loop about upcoming releases.

Tabitha Caplinger is a lover of good stories and helping others live chosen. When she’s not writing book words, she’s reheating her coffee, binging a new show or teaching God’s Word to students. Tabitha, her husband and two beautifully sassy daughters desire to be Jesus with skin on for those around them. They live to love others…and for Marvel movies.

Donna Jo Stone is an award-winning author of young adult contemporary and adult historical fiction. She writes about tough issues but always ends her stories on a note of hope. Her novels are about common struggles and finding the faith to carry on through those battles.

The first book in Donna Jo’s young adult series is scheduled for publication in 2025.

Her short romance, A Wedding to Remember, released Feb 1st, and her adult 1960s inspy romance, JOANN: Apron Strings Books 5, releases May 15th. 

Stay in touch and receive the latest news by signing up for Donna Jo’s newsletter at  donnajostone.com.

Categories
Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Divergence And A Writer’s Life

As 2024 rolls away, it is still not playing out as I hoped it would. It is a different kind of year for me. Because of my brain injury, I plan and prepare for daily activities more than the average person.

Unexpected events can be hard for me to adjust to, sometimes even to the point of paralyzing me with fear. Still, I am learning God had different plans for me this year. Taking me out of my comfort zone and challenging me to grow as a person and as a writer. Most of us have a healthy fear of the unknown.

  • Unpredictable
  • Scary
  • Out of our control

After my accident, my life drastically changed and I had no idea what to expect of my new normal. Nor did my doctors and therapists know how I would live, because as our motto goes, “Every brain injury is different. “

Divergence

Growing up as an Army brat, I was used to being different, every few years I had to change schools, homes, and friends. It’s no wonder I enjoyed college so much and being around people from different cultures. However, my accident took being different to another level for me; I live as a divergent of a normal person.

Divergence is a deviation from a course or standard. It means a process of a person doesn’t work in typical ways. The reason why there was so much uncertainty about me after my accident is the doctors performed a risky operation to remove the right side of the frontal lobe of my brain; this caused my brain to rewire itself and diverge from the typical neural pathways.

 My brain injury changes the way every process of my body works. Every function both voluntary and involuntary is altered from the normal process. As an example, I have to consciously think about swinging my left arm when I walk and I have to consciously think about moving my left leg also.

That is how my TBI affects me; however, each brain injury comes with its own challenges and uniqueness, because each brain injury truly is different.

Different

The name of this column reflects persons of different abilities, the mindset is we are not less than healthy individuals, we just have different abilities. Persons with brain injuries like me may function differently only than other people, but we are no less human; even if some may think so.

 We may think and function differently, but we still live, breathe, and bleed like everyone else. Having a brain injury makes me part of the neurodivergent community. This community’s brains receive, process, and filter information in a nontypical fashion. Below are some common diagnoses of the neurodivergent community.

  1. ADHD
  2. Autism
  3. Dyslexia
  4. Dyspraxia
  5. Dyscalculia
  6. Dysgraphia
  7. Tourette Syndrome
  8. Intellectual disabilities
  9. Bipolar disorder
  10. Social anxieties
  11. Traumatic brain injuries

Living with a brain injury for 26 years has taught me to understand and accept different people and lifestyles. As writers, we don’t have the same goals, skills, or paths to success.

I often find myself looking at the success of other writers and feeling inadequate or overcome with disappointment because my writing journey isn’t the same as my writing friends’.

It is easy to get discouraged when we view our differences as roadblocks to success. Instead, we need to learn to celebrate our unique writing journey, skills, and success.

Celebrate

Next month brain injury survivors around the world will celebrate Brain Injury Awareness Month to shed light on brain injury awareness and to celebrate our uniqueness and successes.

We have learned to celebrate the small victories in life. The road to recovery is traveled one small step at a time. My first big success after my accident was learning how to feed myself without the aid of a nurse.

Don’t get me wrong it didn’t feel simple at the time; it was all I could do to keep the food from falling out of my mouth while I ate. Every brain injury comes with its difficulties and successes.

As writers, we each have different strengths and different weaknesses, I don’t know a writer who doesn’t have an area in their skills that they are trying to improve. Writing success and progress looks different for each of us, below are some common steps writers must take on their writing journey.

  • Blogging
  • Starting a newsletter
  • Getting bylines
  • Growing their platform
  • Growing the social media
  • Acquiring an agent
  • Signing a book contract

Each step takes a writer closer to their writing dream; learn to celebrate each success, no matter what the size. Take the time to grow as a writer and process what you learn.

Neurodivergent persons may see and process things differently, but that doesn’t mean they can’t celebrate the progress. Sometimes all I can hope for is a good day when I don’t wake up feeling confused or depressed.

Writers don’t have to wait to celebrate when they get published, we can also celebrate simply meeting our writing goal for the day. Even our daily writing goals can be divergent!

Martin Johnson

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Categories
Book Proposals

Make an Irresistible Proposal

Every author has a challenge with their submission to an agent or editor. How can your proposal become irresistible? Other proposals can be passed over but yours must be presented and kept. One of the magic keys is to include special sales in your marketing plans. I guarantee it will separate your book from others because almost no one talks about this important area of the book market.

Can you come up with a special market for your book that will sell 10,000 to 100,000 copies from the first printing? Does this sound impossible? It’s not. According to Jerrold Jenkins, president of the Jenkins Group in Traverse City, Michigan, the majority of special sales (a special sale is anything outside of the traditional bookstore setting) for books originate from the author who turns up these leads and creative ideas to sell thousands of books. Could your book contain a special back cover with the symbol of the organization and be used as a membership renewal gift? Could it contain a special letter from the president on the first page of the book? These books with a special cover or special inserted letter are called “special sales.”

Book sales have a fundamental problem that has been around since the Great Depression.

Retailers can order your book into the stores (good news for that to happen). But it doesn’t remain on their bookshelves forever. If your book doesn’t sell after a period of time, they can return the book to the publisher (not good news). These returns are charged against the earnings of your royalties. Special sales are never returned! They are guaranteed sales for the publisher and the author. I would encourage you to take some time at the Jenkins Group website and study the various examples of special sales. While these examples might not be exactly like your idea, be creative in your plan and potential for sales and include this plan into your proposal under the category of promotion.

As an editor, I love to locate an author who understands it takes more than excellent writing to sell large volumes of their book. I’ve discovered a book that is a valuable resource for writers in this area called How to Make Real Money Selling Books (Without Worrying About Returns): A Complete Guide to the Book Publisher’s World of Special Sales by Brian Jud (One Square Pub). This book documents that more than half of the books sold are sold through non-traditional channels such as mail order, warehouse clubs and other means.

Have you ever read the sales numbers of a particular book and wondered how that particular book ever sold in the bookstore? Some of those big sales numbers have been outside the bookstore.

How to Make Real Money Selling Books is a valuable resource for any writer to think outside the box.

Jud covers many specific strategies for generating special sales. As you read these strategies, determine which ideas are appropriate for your book, then incorporate them into your nonfiction or fiction book proposal. Including this type of information at the beginning of the publishing process will show your publisher your intention to be proactive in the sales process. Proactive authors who understand how to sell books are attractive authors to any publisher.

Jud’s earlier book, Beyond the Bookstore and his newer title are loaded with current statistics and contact information such as, “Today, the worldwide book market approximates $90 billion. Almost one third of those sales occur in the United States. Over the past ten years, the amount of sales through traditional outlets is decreased by 11 per cent (down 19 per cent without factoring Internet sales), and sales through non-bookstore outlets have increased by 8 per cent.” Three major advantages of special sales include control over your destiny, customization potential and nontraditional market segmentation. If you utilize the information in this book to generate a detailed marketing plan for your book proposal, it will help your proposal stand out from all the others on the acquisitions editor’s desk. Only the author has the passion and intense interest in their book. Use this book to increase your sales and strengthen your book proposals.

If you include even the beginnings of an effective marketing plan in your proposal, you send the following messages to the publisher.

Publishers are looking for authors who have connections to their readers—either through an email list or an active social media platform. In a few seconds, any editor or agent can check your social media on Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or any number of other platforms. If you blog, have you added recent entries? If you podcast, do you have recent programs? Your active involvement in these platforms will be an important part of your proposal. Make sure you include the links and numbers in your proposal. Those numbers with the right publisher could translate into book sales and readers.

Never forget that there are thousands of proposals circulating at a publisher. Your goal is to make your proposal irresistible—and something they have to publish—before a competitor snaps it up.

Terry Whalin

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Get a free copy of his proposal book (follow the link below the image). Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Morgan James Publishing
Categories
Romancing Your Story Writing Romance

A Rose By Any Other Name (Authenticating Details)

Once upon a time, when I was new to fiction writing, I brought a chapter to my weekly workshop/critique group. I read a selection from a romantic suspense where the heroine receives a package from a stalker. In the padded envelope was a dead bird.

My workshop leader/writing teacher/mentor complimented the writing and plot twist, then asked me a question.

“What kind of bird was in the package?”

(I had no idea.) “Hmmm. A little brown bird. A sparrow?”

“Why not say sparrow instead of bird?”

“I don’t know.” (This shows how much I needed to learn.)

“Authenticating details are part of what takes good writing to great writing.”

It took me a long time to understand what my mentor was saying: specificity makes the scene come alive for the reader. “Bird” could mean anything from penguin to turkey and your reader pause to wonder just how big that package was. A sparrow evokes a specific image.

What are some ways to add depth and details to our story worlds?

  • Choose the specific over the general, such as buzzard rather than bird, rose instead of flower. But don’t go so far into specifics (unless it’s vital to the plot), that the reader must pause and research what a long-wattled umbrella bird looks like (black, short-tailed, with a head crest. The males have long wattles).
  • Weather can help set the mood. It’s hard to describe a suspenseful scene if it’s a bright and sunny day. Are the clouds dark and menacing, full of rain? Or white and puffy, moving gracefully across the sky?
  • Food. Is your character eating fries out of a bag while driving their Mini Cooper or leaning over a sink, eating a ham on rye sandwich? Or sitting alone at a long table in an ornate dining room with candles and green cloth napkins to eat a bucket of chicken?
  • Music. What’s playing in the car or in the café? Does a song evoke an emotion in your character?
  • Smells. A steak sizzling on the grill elicits a different expression than driving by a dairy farm. (Trust me, it’s not pleasant.)
  • Clothes and fashion. In the movie Grease, when Sandy’s attire changes from Peter Pan collar blouses and skirts to black leather and off-the-shoulder tops, the viewer knew instantly she was telling Danny she was willing to change to fit into his world.
  • Accessories. Does he wear pearl stud cufflinks and a matching tie pin? Does she wear an armful of bracelets or a colorful necklace?
  • Props. If they scribble a note to say they’re meeting a friend for coffee, do they use a fountain pen, a broken crayon, or a highlighter?

Anything that adds visual detail to your scene will help your readers know and “see” your characters. An engaged reader is one who keeps turning the page. Exactly what we want.

Carrie Padgett lives in Central California, close to Yosemite, but far from Hollywood, the beach, and the Golden Gate Bridge. She believes in faith, families, fun, and happily ever afters. She writes contemporary fiction with romance. She recently signed a contract with Sunrise Publishing to co-write a romance novel with New York Times bestselling author Rachel Hauck that will be published in 2022. Carrie and her husband live in the country with their high-maintenance cat and laid-back dog, within driving distance of their six grandchildren.

You can find her online at:

Categories
Guest Posts

Silence: Two Worlds Collide

Guest posts

I attended the Blue Ridge Writer’s Conference for the fourth time last May. I did not know if I would be released by my doctor because I had had a heart attack in January. When he gave me the green light to travel, I immediately wanted to be part of the Third Path Bible study led by Eva Marie Everson. Miracles happened and I was the last one to be accepted. God directed my writing path and everything changed. 

The class was gut-wrenching. Eva Marie posed hard questions every day. We journaled in silence, sometimes sharing, other times, listening intently. God spoke to each of us. I prayed, “What would you have me write?” I stayed in a state of anticipation. Throughout the week, I grew close to my study mates, one even praying with me on the last day, 

Find out what God is doing and get on board with that. 

I have kept that close to my heart over the last nine months. I celebrated one year of heart attack recovery. Now when I write, everything has changed. Often the writing goes on hold because I am busy presenting in schools, civic groups, and senior groups. God is using that too. I write for a magazine for senior citizens. The editor asked me to double up on my articles. 

On an ordinary day last week, the sky grew dark. The weatherman warned us to be prepared for power outages. We collected candles, flashlights, and a headlamp. The rain lashed against the windows making it impossible to see outside. We watched the news quietly when my mother’s words came back to me, “Be still, this is the Lord’s work.”

The power went out. 

The light from outside was enough that we could read so I gathered my stack of books. I have a habit of reading three or four at a time. There was no background noise, no football game, only wind. I picked up my copy of The Third Path and read, “How do you define silence?” It blew my mind.

It was like two worlds colliding.

The directive for the devotion to be silent was paired with true silence, something I am unfamiliar with. The house phone did not ring. Other than the wind and rain, I heard the ticking of a wind-up clock that hadn’t been used in years. There was no hum of my computer or social media.

I fretted about my wet clothes that sat still in the dryer. My refrigerator did not hum. My husband said, “Don’t open it, the food could spoil.”  No cars were going by and we could see that others were out of power. My hand was forced, I had to be silent. We prayed for friends and family. We prayed for power workers and tree cutters. 

For God is working in you, giving you the desire and the power to do what pleases him. 

Philippians 2:13

When the power came back on, we left the television off. After reading into the night, we turned in early. Silence; with plans to attend Blue Ridge again, my mission is clear. Listen, learn, and let God lead. 

Theresa Parker Pierce is a presenter, docent, and writer living in historic Salisbury, N.C. where she enjoys spending time with family and friends. Theresa likes storytelling about her childhood in eastern North Carolina and the history of Rowan County. She writes monthly for Senior Savvy magazine. She shares her volunteer time between the North Carolina Transportation Museum in Spencer and the Rowan Museum in Salisbury. Theresa speaks in schools and to civic groups making use of the skills learned from Toastmasters.  

Categories
History in the Making

Just Toast, Please Perfecting Breakfast Toast

History in the making

Otto Frederick Rohwedder (1980-1960) and Charles Perkins Strite (1978-1956)—not exactly celebrities. Though, perhaps they should be. Their combined ingenuity brought quick and easy toast to the breakfast table.

Quick because Mr. Rohwedder—frustrated with the time it took to hand-carve a loaf of bread only to have the slices uneven with ragged edges—invented the bread slicer.

Easy because Mr. Strite—disappointed with the frequent delivery of burnt toast on his breakfast plate—developed a toaster that simultaneously crisped both sides of the bread then automatically popped it up.

When these two innovations crossed paths in 1928, busy cooks, whether restaurant or household, could open a wrapper, pull out pre-sliced bread, and drop it in a toaster knowing it would pop up automatically when done.

These men and their inventions changed the way we do breakfast toast for a lifetime.  

Writers might ask, “Why should I care about toast?”

A scene where a character makes toast can speak to the period of the story based on the contraption used to accomplish the task. Making toast can provide action to weave between dialogue: dropping the bread between the slots, waiting for it to pop up, slathering butter and watching it melt. Crunching and savoring each bite.

Toast can reveal personality quirks or add tension. The cook might dance a jig because the toast came out perfect. A businessman might hurry out the door with harsh words on his tongue because the toast burned. Cooking lessons for an older child might set up a happy morning. Sweeping toast crumbs on the floor beneath the highchair could add to stress. Might the perfectionist cook wonder if he’ll ever get it right, or the mother lament her lack of culinary skills?

WRITERS OF CONTEMPORARY PIECES would have multiple well-known options for using toast or a toaster in a scene. A simple 2-slice or fancy 4-slice toaster could sit on the kitchen counter. It would be a seamless jump from toast to Pop Tarts, waffles, or French toast sticks being slid between the wired slots.

As is often the case, WRITERS OF HISTORICAL WORKS might need to research the nature of toast before using it in a scene. A skeletal timeline set out below would likely need fleshing out but might serve as a jumping off spot for research.

Prior to the early 1900s, bread may have been browned in an oven broiler, or in a frying pan, to achieve a toasty texture. For stories set before ovens were prevalent, tearing off chunks of untoasted bread and coating them in home-churned butter would be a believable choice for the scene.

But a big shift in breakfast toast began in 1909, first in browning apparatuses and then in bread slicing machines:

  • 1909–The first commercially available toaster allowed one-sided toasting. This required a person to watch over it, turn the bread when ready, and then manually cause it to pop up.
  • 1915–A toaster with an automatic turning mechanism was introduced.
  • 1919-The 2-sided automatic pop-up toaster became available commercially.
  • 1926-The pop-up toaster arrived in households.
  • 1928-Pre-sliced bread was introduced.
  • 1930-Pre-sliced bread arrived on most grocery shelves.
  • 1933-Sale of sliced bread exceeded unsliced.

WRITERS OF SUSPENSE might consider a plot to sabotage toaster prototypes. Or instead of a sinister plot, a friendly competition might be more palatable — who can bring the invention to market first?

Perhaps a tense scene needs some comedic relief. Picture the boy and his dog staring at mommy’s new pop-up toaster, waiting for the bread to fly toward the ceiling.

Who would have thought breakfast toast could add such details to a story?

Who would have thought two inspired men, and two simple appliances would make such a difference in how we make toast?

So maybe these men really do deserve a measure of celebrity recognition: Strite engraved on pop-up toasters. Rohwedder etched into the bread box.

Jeannine

Jeannine Brummett lives in South Carolina with her husband of nineteen years, Don, who shares his three adult sons and three grandchildren with her. Reading is big on her list of things to do, but she also thrives on TV crime dramas, NBA basketball, and marvels at the critters and fowl life that live at the pond behind their house. She loves to sing praise songs, attend Bible Study, and help at a local food pantry. 

Categories
Writers Chat

Writers Chat Recap For February, Part One

Writers Chat Recap

Writers Chat, hosted by Johnnie Alexander, Brandy Brow, and Melissa Stroh is the show where we talk about all things writing, by writers and for writers!

“Because talking about writing is more fun than actually doing it.”

Let Me Entertain You with Larry J Leech II

While we long to use our words and stories to help the reader deepen or develop their relationship with God, readers like to be entertained. They want something that will make them chuckle, or smile, or experience a full-on belly laugh. But using humor can be risky. The wrong joke at the wrong time or a misinterpreted comment can frustrate, or even disgust, a reader. You certainly don’t want either of those to happen.

Watch the January 30th Replay

Larry J. Leech II, editor-in-chief and acquisitions editor at Bold Vision Books, shares five tricks for adding humor to your writing. Larry has spent more than 40 years working with words. After a 23-year journalism career, Larry moved into freelance writing and editing in 20004. He has ghostwritten 30 books and edited more than 400 manuscripts. His freelance clients have won more than 70 awards in the last eight years.

Novel Marketing Conference Recap with Johnnie Alexander and M.N. Stroh

Writers Chat cohosts Johnnie and Melissa (M.N.) are joined by surprise guest Kathy Brasby to talk about their experiences at the recent Novel Marketing Conference, hosted by podcaster extraordinaire Thomas Umstattd Jr., in Austin, Texas. This first annual conference focused on marketing for both fiction and nonfiction authors. One of the key benefits to was the opportunity to network with a terrific group of talented authors and industry professionals.

Watch the February 6th replay

Putting Romance in Every Genre with Daniel Kaplan

In this episode of Writers Chat, AutoCrit coach and workshop creator, Daniel Kaplan, leads the discussion of exploring the delicate art of blending heartfelt romance with complex storylines. How do you ensure that your love interest is more than a mere object of affection and avoid the pitfalls of contrived relationships that can derail your story? Daniel discusses strategies to sidestep these common errors, creating romance that amplifies your narrative’s impact, enriches character development, and captivates your audience from start to finish.

Watch the February 13th replay

Creator of 24 writing workshops and multiple courses for AutoCrit, Daniel Kaplan is passionate about dynamic education presentations and coaching authors. With over a decade of experience, his mission is to demystify intricate artistic concepts and make them accessible to everyone.

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET on Zoom. The permanent Zoom room link is: http://zoom.us/j/4074198133

Categories
Magazine, Freelance, and Copywriting

Guarding Your Words: A Writer’s Guide to Intellectual Property Protection

As a writer, it’s always important to recognize your value. This isn’t just about appreciating your level of talent. There’s also tangible worth to your words. Intellectual property (IP) — in this case, your literary creations — can have significant financial worth.

This is something that extends beyond monetizing publishing and distribution rights. Many movie studios are on the lookout for the next potentially profitable IPs to option for movies, TV shows, and other media. Unfortunately, unscrupulous people also recognize the value of your IP. As a result, it may be at risk of misuse or plagiarism, particularly if you’re regularly posting content online in blogs and other media.

Copyright Protections

Copyright is one of the most powerful tools you have as a writer to protect your IP. However, it’s also one of the elements that too many writers don’t fully understand.

So, what is copyright? Well, the way of asserting that you are the creator or owner of a work in a legal sense. It’s designed to prevent disputes over who produced a work and therefore owns the rights associated with it. If you own the copyright, not only can you sell, distribute, and license the work and derivatives of it. It also means that if somebody uses your work without permission, you can issue cease and desist notices and pursue lawsuits for compensation.

There are exceptions, though. While your idea for a character or work might feel like your IP, it is not usually recognized as such legally. You can only copyright a fixed — meaning permanent enough to distribute or reproduce — work. There are also fair use exemptions, which in itself is fairly complex. However, you may find it difficult to defend your IP when people create parodies of your work or use it in news content.

Technically speaking, you gain copyright over your work as soon as it’s created. However, you’ll find you have a stronger case if you need to pursue a lawsuit against someone stealing your IP if you register your copyright with the U.S. copyright office or via an attorney. This creates a clear record of who created an IP and when.

Safeguards During Collaborations

Protecting your IP can be relatively straightforward when you’re a writer working on your own. But in collaborative situations, you might be working on concepts with publishers. Movie and TV production studios will also often put together writer’s rooms to collaborate on creating scripts. With various people involved, this can muddy the waters of who owns IP and how you can protect it.

Your best approach here is to work with your collaborators to establish clear boundaries here. No matter who you’re working with, take the time to talk about who owns the material you produce during sessions. Ask for clarity about whether it’s a work-for-hire situation where the studio owns all materials, or whether you keep work that is unused in the final product.

Particularly in the case of materials that are unused in the final product, one way to help safeguard your IP is to get evidence that you created it. Reliable team collaboration management software can be an effective tool here. These don’t just support smooth project communication. They also tend to keep track of what tasks specific project contributors perform. There’s usually a date stamp for when you upload documents and perform tasks, too. In essence, you’re creating a record of what you provided and when. This can help safeguard against other collaborators claiming your IP as theirs.

Seeking Legal Assistance

There’s only a certain amount you can do individually to protect your IP when it’s stolen. Yes, you can issue a direct complaint to the person breaching the property or send a form cease and desist notice. However, you’ll have more impact when you’re supported by an experienced copyright attorney.

Part of the benefit here is that they can do a lot of the leg work on your behalf. They’ll have professional-level cease and desist letters that they can issue and — importantly — follow through on. They also know the most effective ways to gather a packet of evidence when petitioning the courts if you seek compensation.

Additionally, your attorney may use advanced technology to protect your IP. Some law firms are starting to utilize artificial intelligence (AI) to perform a range of tasks. AI-powered legal assistance platforms can analyze legal texts to identify information or precedents most relevant to support your lawsuit. Some AI software will swiftly and accurately scan contracts to spot unusual or unfair terms related to your IP. However, it’s important to make certain the lawyer
you collaborate with uses such tools ethically and that they do their due diligence to verify the work of their AI tools.

Conclusion

Protecting your IP can take some work, but it’s vital if you want a sustainable writing career. This should include registering your copyright and potentially collaborating with an attorney in theft or plagiarism cases. Even if you’re at a relatively early stage of your career, don’t think your work isn’t suitable for protection. There may be a kernel of something in your work that needs to be nurtured over time. Taking steps to safeguard it now empowers you to utilize it to its fullest in the future.

Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter.

Categories
Marketing Sense

Are You Making This Costly Email Mistake?

Marketing sense

It seemed like such a great idea. Last summer, with four Lead Magnets offered on my website’s Home page, I created five more (private) Lead Magnets, each coordinating with one of my five-part continuing sessions at a Christian writers’ conference.

Nine active Lead Magnets! Sweeeet, right? Read on!

Content, design, and creation went smoothly. At the end of each continuing session at the conference, I shared the link to that session’s Lead Magnet with class attendees. (They were not made public.)

A few conferees opted-in for one session-related Lead Magnet. Some for three. Some for all five. It was smooth sailing until (cue the scary music)…my 4-part Welcome email series, unique to each Lead Magnet’s topic, ran its course.

That’s when I realized I’d goofed. BIG TIME! My email well had run dry because though I’d worked ahead and had my Welcome email series uploaded, I stopped working ahead without realizing I’d pay for it.

One bright morning, having already posted a well-thought-out email for each of my four Home page’s Lead Magnets each week, it hit me…I’d need an email for each of the five new Lead Magnet subscriber groups, too.

Nine weekly emails, each requiring content unique to that Lead Magnet’s topic.
1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9. Every week. Along with my many other duties. Ack! But I met my obligation.

I rode that horse for four months. Then, exhausted, I merged all nine Lead Magnet subscriber groups together and sent the same email to everyone.

But that’s not a long-term solution. In my *Welcome email series, I’d promised to guide new subscribers deeper into the topic of their chosen Lead Magnet. I couldn’t keep that promise if I stopped writing nine separate emails.

In a revolving door of poor choices, I had to choose one.

So I’ve been sending one weekly email to all subscribers of all nine Lead Magnets,
rotating topics each week. Not just a short paragraph or two; a fully developed article. But only one per week. Not nine.

Subscribers are getting powerful content, but it’s not focused on their unique interest, revealed by the Lead Magnets they requested. Sigh. 🙁

I’m asking Christ for a better solution. (He is The Perfect Marketer, you know.)

Unintentionally trapping myself into this content corner is a valuable lesson I’ll not forget. Plus, it’s embarrassing. Then why share it here…publicly? To help you avoid such a slip-up.

Does That Mean You Should Only Offer One Lead Magnet at a Time?

No! Lead Magnets are your most effective marketing asset…and they’re FREE! Done well, each one helps you grow your online platform by showcasing a different slice of your knowledge to your ideal audience. Show them you know “your stuff” via this short content piece, and they’ll want more from you including, perhaps, your just released book. 🙂

Here’s the Secret to Getting It All Done on Time

Create your Lead Magnet: design, content, and great title. Next, write your Welcome email sequence. Then plan and write your next 4-8 weekly emails. Upload everything…BEFORE promoting your lead magnet.

Continue working ahead. This healthy habit gives you room to breathe, to address unexpected issues in your personal or professional life, and to enjoy peace of mind. BIG payoff there!

This is how you can avoid the costliest email mistake I’ve made in 20+ years.

Click here read part 1 of my Welcome Email Series and here for parts two-four.

Patricia Durgin is an Online Marketing Coach and Facebook Live Expert. She trains Christian writers and speakers exclusively, helping them develop their messaging, marketing funnels, conversational emails, and Facebook Live programs. Patricia hosted 505 (60-minute) Facebook Live programs from 2018-2020. That program is on indefinite hiatus. She’s also a regular faculty member at Christian writers and speakers conferences around the country.

Categories
Kids Lit

Reading or Reading Aloud?

Kids Lit

Libraries buy quality books for all ages in the children’s department and hope to match the book with the child who needs it most. But one collection tugs on our heartstrings to the point we sometimes buy a second copy and hide it in the back room! Those are the truly great “read-aloud” books for preschool story time.

Any book can be read aloud, of course, but not all books are suitable to share with a group. Picture the setting: a librarian, probably wearing glasses, has 20-25 children on the floor. Mothers are sitting nearby checking phones with even younger children in their laps. After an opening song, the attention span is reset to about 4 minutes for many of the children and only 30 seconds for a few. The librarian picks up a book to read.

Topics

Storytime happens all year on every subject of interest to 3-5-year-olds. Public librarians are always looking for holiday read-aloud books as well as evergreen topics like seasonal change, trucks, dinosaurs, colors, numbers, and fairy tales. Stories that engage children physically (while seated!) are a bonus.

Cover

The cover is the hook for the reading. It should excite the kids about the story – showing the main character or subject of the book. The title color and typeface must be easy to read in less-than-perfect light.

Format of the Book

The entire book will be held in one hand, open so the picture can be seen even if it stretches across two pages. Flaps, foldouts, and noise buttons must be easy to use while the book is held steady. Try holding different books – horizontal and vertical, board books.

Picture

Every picture must move the story forward. The text only enhances the visual on that page. Important elements should be large enough to be seen from 6-8 feet away without a cluttered background. 

Page Turns

Page turns must not interrupt the flow of the story. The best ones heighten anticipation of what comes next.

Page 1…and 32

Jump right into the story! If background is necessary, weave it into pages 2-3. By page 4, all characters and the plot should be introduced. Make sure the end of the story is so complete and satisfying that the librarians will not need to say “The End” to let them know the book is over.

Words per page Never describe what the picture shows. The time it takes to read one page cannot exceed the time span of 3–5-year-olds to look at the picture. The book is 500 words maximum.

Type Size

Plan a simple font, large enough to read out of the corner of one’s eye, even with bifocals! If the words and a picture overlap on the page, make sure the word color contrasts for legibility. 

Flowing Language

If rhymed, it must be perfect enough to read correctly on the first reading. If it is not rhymed, the words must be in a logical order with any “difficult to pronounce” explained. Words can be lyrical if they are also easy to read. Refrains that children repeat engages them further and can bring wandering attention back.

Whatever WIP is on your desk, look at it through the Read Aloud lens. Librarians will thank you! (And you DO want to be nice to librarians!)

Multi award-winning author Robin Currie holds a Master of Library Science from the University of Iowa but learned story sharing by sitting on the floor leading over 1000 story times! She has sold 1.7 M copies of her 40 storybooks and writes stories to read and read again!

Categories
A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life

Confessions of a Writers Conference Junkie

lighter look at a writer's life

We are coming upon the time of the year I call “conference season,” when most writers conferences are held. I have been attending these events for nearly 20 years now, and I have a confession to make.

My name is Carlton Hughes, and I am a conference junkie.

That was hard to admit, but confession is the first step to healing. Here are some “symptoms” to see if you, too, are addicted to writers conferences:

–You save money for months prior to the event—not for tuition or books but for treats and drinks at the coffee shop.

–With each new clothing purchase, you think, “could this be worn to the conference?”

–You separate your conference clothes in the closet, so you don’t wear them too much or stain them prior to the conference.

–You keep checking (and checking and checking) the conference website day after to day to see if faculty and classes have been posted.

–Once faculty and classes are posted, you religiously study the lists to make your choices, keeping in mind that coffee shop/hang out time trumps everything.

–You keep in touch with your writer friends during the regular part of the year, talk about the conference, and make sure they’re going to attend.

–You make plans with these friends to spend as much time together in the coffee shop (or the lobby of the hotel) during the event.

–You pack your Ziploc bags early so you can stash your extra macaroons to bring home (Specifically for the Blue Ridge Conference).

I’ll let you figure out which of these things are “tongue-in-cheek” and which ones are serious. I have said it many times before and will say it again: RELATIONSHIPS=the most important thing at a writers conference. Contracts and assignments are fine, but people will stick by you through thick and thin.

Carlton Hughes, represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary, wears many hats. By day, he is a professor of communication. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he serves as a children’s pastor. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer. Carlton is an empty-nesting dad and devoted husband who likes long walks on the beach, old sitcoms, and chocolate—all the chocolate. His work has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game, The Wonders of Nature, Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. His latest book is Adventures in Fatherhood, co-authored with Holland Webb.

Categories
Devotions for Writers

Get to Work!

devotions

I felt a slight movement behind me. The arrow split the air and sent shivers down my spine. Sanballat, Tobiah, and their cronies were relentless. They heckled us day and night as we reinforced and rebuilt the wall. We had some close calls in avoiding bloodshed, but the amazing thing was the response of the people. Instead of turning tail and running away, they dug into their resolve and hunkered down to work.

Exercise:

Read Nehemiah 4.
Verse 1: the people were ridiculed. How about you? Do you second-guess yourself and the words God gives you to write?

Verse 5: the people were demoralized. Have you lost hope in the possibilities before you?

Verse 6: the people determined to work. Will you make up your mind to tackle the work before you?

Verse 7: the people carried on with the task. How will you persist through difficulty?

Verse 9: the people prayed and set up protection around themselves. How will you pray and guard your heart?

Verse 13: the people joined forces. Do you have a support system?

Verse 14: the people faced their fears and remembered the Lord. Will you confront your insecurities and remember God’s faithfulness?

Verse 15: the people returned to their own work on the wall. Have you neglected your manuscript?

Verse 16: the people surrounded their work with protection. Do you need to say no to distractions?

Verse 17: the people did double duty. Do you need to carry and defend/work and pray?

Verse 20: the people rallied for each other. How do you support other writers?

Verse 22: the people committed to 24-hour surveillance. Writing is thinking all the time. Are you ruminating on the nuances of your story?

“Our minds need rest between tasks, and you’ll face days when it seems you barely get any writing done. Allowing myself rest and time to engage in other activities lets me return to my work with a fresh mind, almost always pleasantly surprised at the work my subconscious has done on my project in the meantime.” *

Jerry B. Jenkins


Take note of the Jerusalem citizens and their decision to cooperate with Nehemiah’s plan. May it inspire you to guard your writing and cover it with prayer. The battle continues as we do God’s work. Let’s do it with resolve and persistence, knowing the Lord will fight for us.

Our God will fight for us!

Nehemiah 4:20 NIV

What can Nehemiah teach us about writing?

Sally Ferguson

Over 140 of Sally Ferguson’s devotionals have been published in Pathways to God (Warner Press). She’s also written for Light From The Word, Chautauqua Mirror, Just Between Us, Adult Span Curriculum, Thriving Family, Upgrade with Dawn and ezinearticles.com. Prose Contest Winner at 2017 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference.

Sally loves organizing retreats and seeing relationships blossom in time away from the daily routine. Her ebook, How to Plan a Women’s Retreat is available on Amazon.

Sally Ferguson lives in the beautiful countryside of Jamestown, NY with her husband and her dad.

Visit Sally’s blog at sallyferguson.net

Categories
Writers Chat

Writers Chat Recap for January 2024

Writers Chat Recap

Writers Chat, hosted by Johnnie Alexander, and Brandy Brow, and Melissa Stroh is the show where we talk about all things writing, by writers and for writers!

“Because talking about writing is more fun than actually doing it.”

Picking the Write Fight

Novelist Crystal Caudill provides amazing insight into writing effective fight scenes for both physical and verbal fights. Learn the reasons why readers often skim through fight scenes, the purpose of a fight scene, and the nitty gritty techniques for writing physical fights. Crystal also shares how to write verbal confrontations that will keep your reader engaged while moving the story forward. For examples and additional resources, be sure to watch this week’s replay.

Watch the January 16th replay

Crystal Caudill is the award-winning author of “dangerously good historical romance. She is a stay-at-home mom and caregiver. When not writing, Crystal can be found hanging with her family, drinking hot tea, or reading at her home outside Cincinnati, Ohio. Find out more at crystalcaudill.com.

A Novel Approach to Setting Goals / Reaching Achievements (For the Goal-Averse)

Goals. Does just hearing this word set your teeth on edge and induce a cold sweat? Perhaps it hits an autoplay in your brain that recounts all the reasons everyone says you need to set goals to achieve anything, or else, doom. Maybe you’ve set goals before and failed—over and over. Not fun, eh? Writers Chat Co-host Brandy Brow agrees. She’ll tackle reasons the big G causes so many people grief and unveil a more peaceful way to gain achievements.

Watch the January 23rd replay

https://youtu.be/SRE_8x9YS84?si=XOxnhZJ_c-cRH095

Brandy Brow freelance edits and writes short stories for the general market. Her fiction explores the highs and lows of human nature and ranges from normal to strange, with a bit of creepy. An administrator by nature, she loves office supplies, and nonfiction appears like magic.

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET on Zoom. The permanent Zoom room link is: http://zoom.us/j/4074198133

Categories
Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Great Expectations

Like most people, I entered the new year with high hopes and great expectations. Last year was a mixed bag of highs and lows. However, I ended 2023 feeling low and discouraged about my writing career.

Even after winning a writing award, I failed to secure a literary agent and questioned continuing my writing journey. I had high hopes for this year, a writing breakthrough or possibly an opportunity to relocate from the southeast. A new year is full of possibilities.

  • Better health
  • New opportunities
  • Achieving writing goals

However, the new year hasn’t been easy for me. I have struggled to get motivated to do daily routines, much less keep in the discipline of writing. My creative juices aren’t flowing and I am struggling to be inspired to use my skills and be productive. So much for my great expectations for the new year.

Expectations

An expectation is a strong belief that something will happen in the future or a belief that someone should achieve something. After my accident, I had high expectations about how my recovery would go.

To be honest, I was ignorant of how serious brain injuries are and how hard the recovery process would be. My expectations weren’t realistic. I learned that the hard way the night I fell off the commode in my hospital room before I ever made it to a rehabilitation hospital.

I didn’t get the recovery I expected and I never returned to college as I planned. I had to learn to lower my expectations and develop new realistic goals. I had to learn to make do with the skills and abilities I had, instead of hoping for more.

Brain injury survivors struggle with unrealistic expectations, just like many writers have about their writing careers

“You don’t begin your writing career by writing a book. Start with shorter stuff. Blogs, articles, e-zine pieces. Learn the trade, the business, how to be edited, and work with editors.”

Jerry B Jenkins

Like brain injury survivors, writers need to build their writing muscles before they can take on big projects. Just because you know the basics of writing, doesn’t mean you’re ready for the big leagues of professional publication.

Unfortunately, many writers begin their writing careers with great expectations because they believe the myths about a writing career.

  1. Overnight success is easy.
  2. Virality.
  3. It doesn’t take much time.
  4. I can strike it rich
  5. Writing is easy

Anyone who thinks writing is easy has never tried to write professionally. Writers wear many hats and often spend more time doing other things than writing. Very few writers make a good living off of just writing.

Most writers have side hustels or other sources of income. The reality is the writing life is not always glamorous or rewarding.

Reality

Reality often hits us hard and we have too high expectations. Reality hit me hard after my accident when I wasn’t able to feed myself. It took me time to realize that my limitations were.

After being depressed for a few weeks, I decided to set new goals that were doable with the realities of living with a disability. I had to learn the beauty of letting go and that made my reality a little easier.

I am disabled, but I am not dead. I am legally blind, not physically blind. I am still alive, just living with a different reality. In the brain injury community, the understanding is, “No two brain injuries are alike, each one is different and comes with its own reality.“

As writers, we need to understand success looks different for each of us also and we will find it in different ways.

  • Pleasure of the craft
  • Fame
  • Meeting the needs of others
  • Financial freedom

Publication is constantly changing. Regardless, there may come a time when we each need to lower our expectations!

Martin Johnson

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Categories
Writing for YA

Tell Me Again, Why Do We do This Writing Thing?

My thoughts are still marinating on the past year. I’m ticking off half-done accomplishments and not-so-successful projects. This type of evaluation can be disheartening, and seems all too common among my writing friends.

One such friend said recently, “Tell me again why we do this.”

I immediately replied, “We do it for love.”

Then I stole some song lyrics from “The Glory of Love.” (I may have sung them.)

The advice in the song isn’t half bad. At the risk of sounding corny in this post, I’m going with the idea of taking, giving, and of course, the inevitable heartbreaking writers encounter, and plan to apply it to the coming year.

Take a Little Instruction

Trying to learn a skill without listening to instruction is a natural recipe for disaster, yet it’s oh-so-tempting to forgo the process of continuing education to become a writer. After all, people start talking and figuring out language before they can brush their teeth, and storytelling isn’t far behind. However, for most of us, producing a great work requires a bit of skill sharpening. There are exceptions, but in my experience, to create words that connect with readers in a deep way takes a huge effort.

I suspect this is why my piano teacher used to say, “Practice makes perfect.” As far as I can tell, practice doesn’t always lead to perfection, but generally produces improvement in whatever I’m tackling.

Take a Little (or Big) Chance

From the moment pen is put to paper or fingers to keyboard, this writing gig is about taking chances. Even in the musings I share with no one but myself, the act of writing challenges me to think, examine my beliefs, and clarify those thoughts on paper. Sometimes this process shakes my world. That’s taking a chance.

If I want to learn and grow, develop the ability to create a marketable product for wider consumption, sharing the work for critique is necessary. This sharing business sounds fine and dandy until a mentor, critique partner, or random beta readers I connected with on the internet cut too close to the bone.

I’m suspicious of anyone who says harsh dissection of their work doesn’t bother them. The truth is, criticism stings, and harsh criticism can wound. Oftentimes, it hurts because there is a nugget—or shovelful—of truth in the feedback. Facing possible negative reaction to our work is part of the creative life. Without taking that chance and asking for feedback and opinions, I won’t know if my prose conveys what I meant it to. (Not that an author should take every criticism to heart.)

If an author is brave enough to share a finished book, poem, song, or article with the world, they risk rejection and ridicule in the form of bad reviews and negative comments. But there’s no other way to be heard, except to take the chance.

Give a Little to the Writing Community

To be successful, not only does a writer need to take advice, I feel they should give back to the community. This helps others and it helps the author. Giving back can grow a support network, and working with the right group is a valuable experience, propelling an author’s writing to the next level.

Give a Little and Adjust Your Expectations

I’ve had to give a little on my plans. My journey simply refuses to stick to the carefully plotted road plan. There have been detours, bumps, unexpected tragedies—and treasures—scattered along the way. As long as I do my best and keep moving forward, I can be please with my progress, even if it doesn’t follow the prescribed path.

I heard someone once say, “To get to where you are going, you have to go through whatever it takes to get to the destination.”

Let Your Heart Break a Little

Rejections, bad reviews, poor sales. Authors face all of these, along with long work hours and criticism of all sorts. If that weren’t enough heartbreak, in order to produce a moving story, writers must invest enough in the characters to make the reader care. Authors pour real emotions on the page, impart real messages that we may well end up crying over. Our hearts break over a topic or issue and that’s what we write about, because without passion a story is just a story. So why do we do it?

For many of us, it’s because we have a message, we care, we need to be seen and heard, to deliver a truth to the reader who needs our words.

And that’s the story of … why we write. (At least part of why I write.)

Why do you write? Leave a comment and let me know.

Donna Jo Stone is an award-winning author of young adult contemporary and adult historical fiction. She writes about tough issues but always ends her stories on a note of hope. Her novels are about common struggles and finding the faith to carry on through those battles.

The first book in Donna Jo’s young adult series is scheduled for publication in 2025.

Her short romance, A Wedding to Remember, releases Feb1st, and her adult 1960s inspy romance, JOANN: Apron Strings Books 5, releases May 15th. Both are available for pre-order on Amazon.

Find out more about upcoming releases and events by signing up for her newsletter at  donnajostone.com.

Categories
Magazine, Freelance, and Copywriting

DIY Writing Sanctuaries: Converting Spaces into Inspiring Author Retreats

As a writer, you know that writing is both an art and a discipline. The best writers simply write every day, based on their own daily routines.

However, there’s nothing wrong with adding inspiration to your work by creating an inspiring space for writing. The good news is that you can turn a wide variety of spaces into a cozy place to work.

What does it take to turn a spare room, garage, or nook into an inspiring writing location? It doesn’t take a lot of money, just some time and creativity. Then, you’ll have a place you can’t wait to enter to do your daily work.

How to Choose a Space in Your Home

If you’re like many people, it may feel like every area of your home is already filled with belongings and activities. Although it may be challenging to find the right space, it’s essential. As a writer, you need a spot to write.

Remember that every writer is different, so think about what the best writing spot is for your needs. Some authors need quiet, uninterrupted time to be creative, while others need background noise, or they won’t be able to pen a single word.

Make sure you’re comfortable, both in terms of the chair and desk and the temperature of the space. Changes in weather can affect your health, from seasonal allergies to issues with dry hair and skin. As a result, you want to choose a writing space that’s weatherproof rather than one that’s drafty or damp.

You’ll need a space with good lighting, privacy, and places to store your writing materials. However, none of this means you need a large or expensive writing spot. Instead, you can adapt a spare room, garage, shed, or nook with a few simple tips.

Making Your Writing Space Inspiring

Once you find the right location, it’s time to make it fun so it fits your personality. You want diving into your writing to be something you look forward to so you don’t procrastinate.

Explore Simple Structural Updates

You might need to make some structural changes to your writing space before you can start personalizing it. For example, if you’re converting a garage, you’ll likely want to soundproof the garage so it’s quiet and you can focus.

The soundproofing process will depend on what your garage walls are made of, but generally, you’ll start with the garage door, where most of the noise comes in. From there, you can also soundproof the windows, walls, and ceiling if needed.

You may also want to weatherproof an attic or shed if you plan to use those as your writing space. Also, ensure your new writing space isn’t open to pests or vulnerable to water leaks. 

Use Decor That Inspires You

When you’re ready to make it your own, consider what inexpensive touches can add a lot of flair to the space. Depending on the space you have on the walls, you can hang pictures that inspire you or put up your favorite quotes. One of the great things about computers is that it’s easy to resize almost anything, so you can put up inspiring images even in a small space.

Color is another impactful part of your writing space. Think about the colors that make you feel calm, creative, and motivated. Paint is inexpensive, but you can also buy fabric and hang it on the wall. Either way, it should be fun and beautiful for you.

Make Sure the Writing Space is Functional

The most beautiful writing nook won’t help you create if it’s not functional. You’ll need a desk and a comfortable chair, along with the right lighting.

Fortunately, you can find inexpensive desks at used furniture stores or online. It’s likely worthwhile to spend the money on a new ergonomic chair, especially if you plan to write a full book or multiple short stories.

Remember, you’ll be in your writing space almost every day, so make sure it works for you!

Don’t Be Afraid to Branch Out

While your writing nook may be your primary place to compose your stories, don’t feel like you have to be there 100% of the time. Sometimes the thing you need to boost your creativity is a change of scenery.

Don’t be afraid to spend a few hours at a coffee shop, park, library, or other space that fuels your writing. When you come back to your at-home writing nook, you’ll be refreshed — and grateful to have unlimited access to your own coffee and snacks!

Create an Inspiring Author’s Nook

Creating a writing sanctuary doesn’t have to cost a fortune, and you likely have several spaces in your home right now that could be great options.

Make sure it’s safe, comfortable, and inspiring. That can mean weatherproofing, soundproofing, or simply decorating with pictures, quotes, and colors that spark your creativity. Once you have your writing space, it’ll be much easier to write every day — and you’ll be well on your way to completing your masterpiece!

Amanda Winstead is a writer from the Portland area with a background in communications and a passion for telling stories. Along with writing she enjoys traveling, reading, working out, and going to concerts. If you want to follow her writing journey, or even just say hi you can find her on Twitter.

Categories
Book Proposals

Create a Fascinating Marketing Plan

Many would-be authors are surprised to see this element in the component of an excellent book proposal. They think to themselves (and some of them verbalize), “I’m not self-publishing my book. Isn’t the publisher supposed to be putting together a market plan with a specific commitment of dollars?”

Here’s the problem

Every publisher has limited marketing and publicity dollars to promote their list of books. The bulk of the money will go to the top authors, and if you are a new author, you can expect that your book will receive minimal treatment—unless you show the publisher that you deserve something different.

I met Jacqueline Deval, publisher at Hearst Books, who has also been a director of publicity at several publishing houses. One of the best resources for authors is Deval’s book called Publicize Your Book!, An Insider’s Guide to Getting Your Book the Attention It Deserves (Perigee Books). From the opening paragraph in the introduction, Deval provides authors with the following realistic expectation:

The reality of book publishing is that there are too few resources to support every book.

This means that some books will get publicity campaigns and budgets while others will go without. Additionally, most publishing houses are not staffed with enough publicists to mount a full-fledged campaign for every book. Because of this, editors must compete with one another to lobby the publisher, and the marketing and publicity departments, for the funds and staff attention to promote their books.

What type of marketing ammunition can you include in your book proposal so your editor can champion your cause? Because of the expense of publishing a book, a publisher will expect you to actively work at marketing your book to your connections. Many writers are stumped about what to include in this section of their proposals, so they write, “I’m willing to do radio, television and print interviews to promote my book.” Of course, you will be willing to do these interviews. If not, you have no business even taking the steps of creating a book proposal and writing a book. Publicizing your book comes with the territory after the book is published.

Other authors will write, “My book should be featured on The Today Show.” Every publisher long for their books to be featured on The Today Show because these appearances help drive books to the bestseller list. The reality is few authors get this opportunity—even though their publisher may try. The producers at The Today Show (or Good Morning America or any other talk show) are bombarded with literally thousands of new books. It’s not realistic to include such plans in your proposal.

To achieve success in your marketing plan, you need to get into a different mind-set.

As Deval says in the first chapter, “An author who thinks like a marketer, and who starts thinking about marketing before the book is even completed, will help the book toward a successful publication. The author is in the best position to offer suggestions for marketing that the house might have overlooked and sometimes to help bridge any difficult internal relationships among the publishing team that might impede the book’s success. (In-house squabbles do happen in business, and while in a just world they shouldn’t interfere with a book’s progress, sometimes they do.) Most important, the author can be the catalyst to motivate a house’s enthusiasm about a book (page 4).”

Deval’s perspective in her book is valuable to anyone writing a book proposal or with a book to be published. As an insider, she understands the stresses and limitations within a publisher. She helps the author come alongside the publisher with creative and cost-effective ideas without being a pushy, high maintenance author (yes, they exist).

Take some time to creatively think about the topic and the book that you propose.

Which specialty groups are potential targets for this book? Do you have a connection to these markets through an organization or network to reach them with your book? If you don’t presently have a connection with the target group, how can you acquire one? You have the passion and drive for your particular topic, and you need to pass this passion on to the publisher. Through the marketing section of your proposal, show the publisher that you understand the marketing for your book and your willingness to be involved.

Terry Whalin

W. Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor lives in California. A former magazine editor and former literary agent, Terry is an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and Billy Graham. To help writers catch the attention of editors and agents, Terry wrote his bestselling Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success. Get a free copy of his proposal book (follow the link). Check out his free Ebook, Platform Building Ideas for Every Author. His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Connect with Terry on Twitter, Facebook, his blog and LinkedIn.

Book Proposals That $ell, 21 Secrets To Speed Your Success
Categories
Marketing Sense

3 Effective Lead Magnet Titles & Their Strategies

Marketing sense

Lead Magnets, those 3-10-page PDF files offering readers a simple yet profound change for free, are perhaps my favorite marketing tool.  

They’re short. Nimble. Easy to create. And audiences LOVE them…once they’ve experienced a great one from us.

Here’s what we often miss: our Lead Magnet’s title is more important than our content because readers decide to sign up for it–or not–based on the title. They’ll never see your life-changing content if your Lead Magnet’s title doesn’t attract them in the first place.

Information alone doesn’t cut it. Insightful information is what our audiences want. Help to move beyond where they are now to (at least) the next step. With a title that is obviously applicable to them and (bonus points!) promises a specific result.

First, you must know your audience and their needs. Generalizations aren’t good enough. Lead Magnets, like any type of content, should address your unique audience, not “everyone.”

So…which questions is your audience asking? Choose one of their most pressing questions and answer it in a Lead Magnet.

Or what problems are they experiencing? Choose one of their most painful problems and offer a solution in a Lead Magnet.

Share wisdom from your God-given message that helps your audience get “unstuck.”

Let your title drive your content, not the other way round.

To create your Lead Magnet’s title, choose ONE topic within your overall message. Then choose a single question or problem within that topic that often surfaces when chatting with your audience.

Next, put on your thinking cap and choose a specific question or problem they’re grappling with, and you’ve got a great start on a Lead Magnet that will attract your audience’s attention and inspire them to sign up for it, thus helping them move one step closer to their goal while growing your email list. See how it works?

Enjoy the 3 fictitious examples below.

Example #1

Writer or Speaker: MaryAnn, whose audience is Christian women over 40 and pregnant with their first child, but not in perfect health.

Audience’s Problem or Question: With my health problems, will I be able to carry my baby full term?

Weak Lead Magnet Title: Take Care of Your Health During Pregnancy

Strong Lead Magnet Title: Pregnant and Over 40: 3 Warning Signs You Should Go to the Hospital NOW!

See why it’s imperative to know your audience and their needs? Imagine if MaryAnn served teens pregnant out of wedlock. That single difference would completely change her content. The title, Take Care of Your Health During Pregnancy fits any pregnant woman. While Pregnant and Over 40: 3 Warning Signs You Should Go to the Hospital NOW! is perfect for her specific audience, because this issue is top of mind for them.

This Lead Magnet title may attract other pregnant women outside of MaryAnn’s core audience. What to do? Focus on the audience Christ has already identified and serve them with excellence while inviting other pregnant women to become readers, too.

Leave it to Him to inspire others to sign up or not. But MaryAnn shouldn’t veer from her core audience to accommodate other pregnant women unless the Holy Spirit leads her to do so.

Example #2

Writer or Speaker: John, whose audience is Christian men ready to give up on their marriage.

Audience’s Problem or Question: How much longer does God want me to keep trying?

Weak Lead Magnet Title: Don’t Give Up on Your Marriage Yet!

Strong Lead Magnet Title: 5 Questions to Ask God Before Calling a Divorce Lawyer

Each of John’s audience members is married, so he serves two people per couple: one directly and one indirectly. Both need his message but only one may be open to it. He can’t change that but he’s wise to be aware of it.

Don’t Give Up on Your Marriage Yet! is more specific than generic, but is it specific enough to get his audience’s attention as they scroll through social media or visit his website?

The title sits on the page like a dead fish, doesn’t it? It’s not particularly engaging or intriguing. Worse, readers may interpret it a thin chastisement just when they’re seeking encouragement to stay the course.

The title, 5 Questions to Ask God Before Calling a Divorce Lawyer subtly invites John’s reader to push the pause button before contacting an attorney. It’s not judgmental in any way. It reveals John will share Christian content. And he won’t preach at them. Whew! His readers need all that information to feel safe enough to sign up for his Lead Magnet.

But shouldn’t the title be vague so if the reader’s spouse sees it, it won’t create strife? Perhaps. Then again, if the title doesn’t clearly identify the Lead Magnet’s content, it won’t get his ideal reader’s attention, so his content–fantastic as it may be–won’t help anyone.

Example #3

Writer or Speaker: Frances, whose audience is recently widowed Christian women of any age.

Audience’s Problem or Question: Will I ever be happy again?

Weak Lead Magnet Title: Be Happy in Jesus Today!

Strong Lead Magnet Title: 3 Surprising Ways God Will Fulfill the Role of  Your Husband

The Lead Magnet title, Be Happy in Jesus Today! is so vague it’s useless as it could apply to any human being. Even though Frances’ audience members span age groups, they still want specificity to know her message is uniquely designed for them.

The title, 3 Surprising Ways God Will Fulfill the Role of Your Husband is specific (3 ways) and includes a promise (God will fulfill the role of your husband). It’s important to note that Frances is not making that promise. God makes it, in His Word. Frances knows her audience longs for this reassurance, making this a strong Lead Magnet title. It will surely attract new subscribers.

It’s worth the effort to develop a title that identifies or implies your audience AND promises a result. Your audience will thank you and your email list will grow. 🙂

Patricia Durgin is an Online Marketing Coach and Facebook Live Expert. She trains Christian writers and speakers exclusively, helping them develop their messaging, marketing funnels, conversational emails, and Facebook Live programs. Patricia hosted 505 (60-minute) Facebook Live programs from 2018-2020. That program is on indefinite hiatus. She’s also a regular faculty member at Christian writers and speakers conferences around the country.

Website: marketersonamission.com
Facebook: MarketersOnAMission

Categories
Kids Lit

A Season for Something Else

Kids Lit

One a scale of 1-10, parts of the year 2023 were a minus 6.

We saw family, we traveled, the kids grew older, the grandkids grew more wonderful, and the truck did not break down..

I was also diagnosed with breast cancer.

Which was distracting! Waiting, tests, results, waiting, surgery, waiting, more tests, radiation. Finally, I am on a treatment break – once they stopped fixing me it feels great!

But somewhere in that emotional chaos, I completely lost any interest or ability to write. I have been writing since I was in my 30’s, but in the last 6 months…nothing. No ideas sounded any good. No clever turns of phrase of even bad puns seems worth committing to paper.

So, as we wrap up 2023 (yippee!), I offer some thoughts on what to do when there is too much life to be creative.

1  Continue Learning

I could not travel but I signed up for every single online class – mostly free, but even paid for few – watch and rewatched the videos, getting every bit of learning I could. I went to marketing classes, classes for teachers, how to work with social media, latest trends in publishing, changes in the industry.

2  Keep Engaging

I followed new bloggers on FB and IG. I committed to comment on at least 4 posts each week. I bought a subscription to PW and watched for award winning books from friends. I stayed active in my critique and author support groups and joined a new one.

3  Edit Old Stuff

Time to drag out the “well there are too many dog books on the market right now” stories and see if one could get a new life. I looked over old lists of ideas. I tweaked a board book rhyme from years ago and submitted it to a contest where it placed in the top 10!

4  Support Others

I spent the month of December promoting all the books from my support and critique group members on FB, IG and X. To do it I researched any commemorative dates from one of the lists of something for every day and an amazing number of celebrations matched what my friends had written! Then I made a template on Canva and posted daily.

5  Build for the future

In the hope that some writing ability/interest will come back, I updated all my proposal outlines with new comp titles and connections, continued posting on FB and IG, chose new groups to join in 2024.

We go through slumps and dry spells – hoping you keep writing and 2024 will be your best year yet!

Multi award winning author Robin Currie learned story sharing by sitting on the floor, in library story times. She has sold 1.7 M copies of her 40 storybooks and (hopes eventually to) write stories to read and read again!

Categories
A Lighter Look at the Writer's Life

Diving Deeper in a New Year

lighter look at a writer's life

It’s the dawn of a new year, so it’s time to reevaluate our lives and make resolutions we are sure to keep.

Oh . . . . . . who are we kidding? Resolutions are made to be broken. I don’t know about you, but I make resolutions on January 1 and then break them by about January 15.

I resolve to lose weight, but, you know, the chocolate calls my name whenever I visit the grocery store, not to mention the chips. I resolve to exercise, and walking outside is my favorite type of activity. It tends to get colder and colder outside in January where I live, so it’s easier to stay inside and watch game shows and old sitcoms. I have even resolved to spend more time writing, but these games of Spider Solitaire aren’t going to play themselves.

I have been thinking about making different types of goals, involving deeper stuff. It’s a stretch for me, as I am not the deepest person in the world (I know you are completely shocked, so snap yourself out of it and read on).

Here goes, some deeper goals:

Take more steps: most people want to get more physical steps each day to record on a fitness tracker. That’s a worthwhile goal, one I certainly need to do, but I want to take more steps in the direction God points, to reach for the prize He has for me.

Drink more Water: I’m sure we could all hydrate more, but I need to drink more Living Water by spending more time with Jesus—in prayer, in the Word, in listening to Him. Maybe some of the aforementioned resolutions will fall into place if I reach more for this goal.

Be more active (in my faith) overall: a sedentary lifestyle is bad for your physical body, but being sedentary in your faith is even worse. God tells us faith without works is dead, so I need to be more active in spreading the Good News and taking more leaps of faith.

Create a training journal: keeping track of advances in fitness can be helpful, but recording prayers and God’s answers (and His faithfulness) is important. This type of journaling will also help my writing life, sharpening the “instrument” and preparing for service in this area.

Achieve balance in activity: doing the same thing over and over makes exercise a struggle, and I don’t want other areas of my life to get stagnant either. A few years ago, on a whim, I took a painting class. I got hooked and have taken numerous classes since. Painting has become another creative outlet, and calligraphy has been a fun exercise as well. I have also experimented with different types of writing. Since I serve a creative God, I’ll hopefully continue to explore new avenues of expression.

There you go—some newfangled goals (let’s not call them resolutions). Why don’t you join me in reaching for the prize? We can grab some doughnuts along the way!

Carlton Hughes, represented by Cyle Young of Hartline Literary, wears many hats. By day, he is a professor of communication. On Wednesday evenings and Sunday mornings, he serves as a children’s pastor. In his “spare time,” he is a freelance writer. Carlton is an empty-nesting dad and devoted husband who likes long walks on the beach, old sitcoms, and chocolate—all the chocolate. His work has been featured in Chicken Soup for the Soul: The Dating Game, The Wonders of Nature, Let the Earth Rejoice, Just Breathe, So God Made a Dog, and Everyday Grace for Men. His latest book is Adventures in Fatherhood, co-authored with Holland Webb.

Categories
Devotions for Writers

Zachariah’s Silence

devotions

Zachariah said to the angel, “Do you expect me to believe this?”

Luke 1:18 MSG

Do you have a hard time believing what God’s Word says to you?

Imagine seeing an angel and still being incredulous. That’s what happened to a priest in the Temple. His once-in-a-lifetime turn sent him into the altar room to offer incense. An angel appeared and talked to Zachariah. The Message says, “Zachariah was paralyzed in fear.”

He caved to unbelief.

This was a guy who spent his whole life preparing to serve. Verse 6 says Zach was blameless and upright, so what soured his attitude? He wasn’t new to the faith or unschooled about God’s power. He sat under the greats learning about the wonders God performed to free their people in Egypt and how Elijah was transported to heaven. He knew about the powerful flood and the six days of creation. What was the sticking point? “I’m an old man and my wife is an old woman.” Luke 1:18 MSG

What does age have to do with God’s ability to bring a baby into the world? That baby, John the Baptist, was sent to prepare hearts for the Savior to come. Zach’s disbelief came at a huge cost. He had laryngitis for nine months.

Exercise:

1. Read the full story of Zachariah and Elizabeth in Luke 1:5-25. What observations do you make about his response to Gabriel. Look up different versions to find other clues.

What is the difference between disbelief, like Zach, and questioning, like Mary (Luke 1:34)?

2. Come with expectation. In Luke 1:8-12, Zach was startled. He wasn’t expecting anything out of the ordinary to happen. When you sit down to write, do you expect God to show up and enlighten your thought process?

How can you approach your writing time as an act of worship to the Author of words?

3. Know you have been heard. Luke 1:13 gives a sigh of relief to years of praying for a baby. How often did Zach and Liz think God had forgotten them? How do you pray for your WIP? How will you respond when God answers?

4. Take joy and delight in the message. In Luke 1:14, Gabriel says there will be much celebrating. How will you start a party over your book baby? How will your words point to the Messiah and prepare hearts for His second coming?

At what cost do you hold onto unbelief?

Has your pen stilled? Break the silence to proclaim the Good News!
Sally Ferguson

Over 140 of Sally Ferguson’s devotionals have been published in Pathways to God (Warner Press). She’s also written for Light From The Word, Chautauqua Mirror, Just Between Us, Adult Span Curriculum, Thriving Family, Upgrade with Dawn and ezinearticles.com. Prose Contest Winner at 2017 Greater Philly Christian Writers Conference.

Sally loves organizing retreats and seeing relationships blossom in time away from the daily routine. Her ebook, How to Plan a Women’s Retreat is available on Amazon.

Sally Ferguson lives in the beautiful countryside of Jamestown, NY with her husband and her dad.

Visit Sally’s blog at sallyferguson.net

Categories
Award-Winning Author

Award-Winning Author Interview with Terry Overton

award-winning author

Can you share a little about your recent book?

The Journey, book five of The Underground Book Readers, was released in December. This is a Christian futuristic action-adventure book with a dystopian feel. My hope is this series reaches readers who like a bit of (clean) science fiction but who might not choose Christian books. Through the books in the series readers will learn wholesome family values, the importance of friendship, Old and New Testament Scripture, and United States and World History. In this series a group of preteen and teen characters live in a world where books are banned, schools destroyed, and churches burned. Most adults have been taken to work camps or to serve in the military. The teens find each other, survive by helping each other, and hide forbidden books and Bibles deep in a cavern of the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia.  Throughout the series, the group decides to make the world a better place by escaping the rule of the World Force and establishing their own new settlement.

Why do you write? Do you have a theme, message, or goal for your books?

As a retired educator, I write from a Christian worldview to provide children, teens, and adults, with new information and to especially draw each reader closer to Christ.

How long have you been writing?

My first short story for a competition in elementary won a blue ribbon. I have been writing all my life. Before I retired from teaching graduate students at the university level, I wrote nonfiction researched based books and articles. After retirement, I began writing Christian fiction.

And how long did it take you to get your first major book contract? Or are you published non-traditionally? How did that come about?

I am both traditionally published and have self-published. My first traditional publisher contract was over forty years ago in the field of education. In the past six years I have been traditionally published and self-published.

Which of your books is your favorite?

The book that is the most special to me is Legends of the Donut Shop. It was written and dedicated to my parents. This book was at the editor when they both passed away from Covid. They had seen the book cover but did not get to see the finished book.

Do you have a favorite character or scene in one of your books?

My favorite character is the grandfather in Legends of the Donut Shop. The grandfather was based on my father.

Tell us about an award you won that was particularly meaningful.

Legends of the Donut Shop has won the most awards of all my books. It won the Christian Indie Award, the Mom’s Choice Award, the American Writing Award, and several other awards. These awards are special for different reasons. The Christian Indie Award is special because it is given to Christian authors who are self-published. The American Writing Award is judged only by fellow authors. And the Mom’s Choice Award is unique because a book must meet certain “mom” and family friendly criteria.

How long does it take you to write a book?

Lately, working on the teen series, The Underground Book Readers, it has taken about four months to complete each first draft. Rewriting and going through several rounds of edits takes another two months or more.

What’s your writing work schedule like?

Unlike many writers, I write in long spurts and several days of time off in between. My writing days consist of long days. I write for several consecutive days and consecutive weeks until it is finished.

Do you have an interesting writing quirk? If so, what is it?

I am not sure if it is a quirk, but some of my ideas seem to begin out of the blue. I might be awakened at 3:00 AM and will get up and begin writing. I believe this is a gift provided to me.

What has been your greatest joy(s) in your writing career?

Hands down hearing from readers! Love to chat on Facebook, get Christmas cards, and meet them at book signings. I try to stay in touch with as many readers as possible.

Could you tell us about a dark moment in your writing career?

Maybe not a dark moment but frustrating moments happen during self-publishing. I first had to learn various platforms and how to work within parameters.

How many times in your career have you experienced rejection? How did they shape you?

I have not counted rejections but have had many. Rejections are often form letters or emails. After a rejection, I submit again elsewhere.

Where do you get your ideas?

Some creative ideas begin, as stated earlier, in the middle of the night. Other ideas for characters or plot twists, might come from observations or be based in part on people I know. Some ideas are based on my own life experiences. A story of a near-death experience was based upon my own near-death experience after complications during surgery.

Who is your favorite author to read?

I have many authors whose work I enjoy. I read books written by my Christian author friends as well as authors like John Grisham, Tim LaHaye and Jerry Jenkins.

What advice can you give aspiring writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wished you would have heeded?

Don’t wait until you retire to start writing! If you are a writer, write every chance you can.

What are common mistakes you see aspiring writers make?

In reviewing books by new authors, I have seen some amazing books. I have also read many books with editing mistakes and others with character or plot inconsistencies. Be careful and let others read your work before you submit or self-publish. Always use a professional editor before you submit.

Where/How do you recommend writers try to break into the market?

If you cannot find an agent or publisher, hire experts (editors, cover designers, etc.) and publish it on your own.  Over thirty percent of all ebooks sold are self-published and the numbers continue to increase.

Also, feel free to include: book cover image(s), where book(s) can be purchased, and social media and website links.

You can find Terry’s books on Amazon

Terry Overton is a retired university professor of educational and school psychology. She has an Ed.D. in Special Education and a Ph.D. in Psychology. Her professional experience includes teaching public school, teaching at the university level, and being a college dean. She has two children, seven grandchildren, one great granddaughter. Her writing and publication experiences include textbook and journal articles in the fields of special education and school psychology. She seeks to answer God’s call to share the good news and grow the church by writing Christian books and devotionals. Her books have won the Mom’s Choice Award, Christian Indie Award, Firebird Book Awards, American Writing Winner Awards, Bookfest Winner Awards, Pencraft Award, Reader Views Silver Reviewers Award, and International Book Award Finalist. Her books examine real world events with a Christian worldview. She enjoys writing for young children, middle grade readers, YA fiction, and adult level novels.

Categories
Writers Chat

Writers Chat Recap for December

Writers Chat Recap

Writers Chat, hosted by Johnnie Alexander, Brandy Brow, and Melissa Stroh, is the show where we talk about all things writing, by writers and for writers!

“Because talking about writing is more fun than actually doing it.”

Learning With Mentor Texts

Co-hosts Melissa Stroh, Brandy Brow, and Johnnie Alexander present examples of fictional works that can be used as “mentor texts,” published fiction that demonstrates specific techniques and skill. Melissa read the opening paragraphs from Hood by Stephen R. Lawhead, to show how to establish sense of place, introduce the protagonist, and set a tone for the story. Brandy read excerpts from Lowcountry Bribe by C. Hope Clark, which effectively uses description to establish characters and the setting. Johnnie read the prologue to All Things Matter by Susie Finkbeiner, and the opening paragraphs from her own short story, A Souvenir In My Pocket, to show the difference in tone of two works written in the first person. As writers, we know how important it is to read in our genres. By purposefully studying the stories our readers love, we can improve our own skills.

Watch the December 5th Replay

Writers Chat is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET on Zoom. The permanent Zoom room link is: http://zoom.us/j/4074198133

Best wishes for 2024 from Writers Chat.

Regularly scheduled episodes return on January 9th.

Categories
Writing with a Disability (Different Ability)

Rest and Relaxation

As I write this post, soldiers from a local Army base are departing for a time of R&R and to spend time with their friends and family over the Christmas holiday. If you are active duty or a veteran of our military, thank you for your service. There is a special joy we experience during Christmas, despite the chaos going on in the world around us.

We understand that at Christmas we need to slow down and enjoy the little things in life like conversations with friends. Or simply being still and doing nothing other than enjoying being in the company of our loved ones.

However, there is also irony to the Christmas holidays, the holiday rush is also one of the most stressful times of year for many; we just fill our slower schedules with different tasks.

  • Shopping
  • Shipping
  • Cooking
  • Traveling

A recent study used shows how people’s stress levels increase during the holidays. I learned after my accident just how important rest is to the ebb and flow of life.

I learned in rehabilitation after my accident that stress and not getting enough rest can damage our brains. That is why I protect my downtime and sleep time.

Rest isn’t limited to sleep. It’s a change of pace and change of our routines or habits. Rest helps us keep our lives from becoming stagnant or overbearing. We all need to learn to practice the art of resting and relaxation.

R&R

The slang term, “R&R” has been used in the armed forces for decades and is short for, “rest and recuperation, rest and relaxation, or rest and rehabilitation.” The term applies to a type of leave granted to personnel which allows them to return home to visit their family.

The military understands the importance and need of soldiers having free time to rest and recharge from their service to the country. The stress of serving our country and being away from loved ones can be depressing, stressful, and lonely for our servicemen and women.

I can attest to the stress, growing up as an Army brat while my father served in the Army for over 21 years. While I was young my father spent most of his time in mess halls around the world training soldiers how to cook and preparing meals for our troops.

Now my younger brother is preparing to retire from the Army after 20 years, next month he will have a total shoulder replacement before his wife gives birth to their first child next year. He also suffers from PTSD after serving three tours overseas.

His go-to stress release is long-distance running as an ultra-marathoner. Again, rest doesn’t necessarily mean sleeping; R&R focuses on a change of pace and doing what we enjoy the most. Regardless of our vocation in life, life can become overbearing or monotonous, especially for us writers.

Writer’s Life

  The writer’s life can be just as hectic and restless as a soldier’s life. Writers are always writing, even when not at a desk or computer. Our minds are constantly thinking of new ideas or ways to improve and edit what we have already written.

Burnout usually develops when we fail to take breaks or get enough rest. Writer’s block occurs when we overthink. Psychologically, our minds lock down when we push them too hard .

We resist slowing down and resting for many reasons: fear, perfectionism, self-criticism, and external pressure. Overworked minds perform less efficiently, just like an exhausted body does. Below are four reasons writers need to get more rest from derbyshirewritingschool.com.

  1. Become better writers
  2. Develop more ideas
  3. Understand who we are
  4. Curate and create material to write about.

Let me clarify, resting doesn’t mean being lazy or unproductive. Rest is simply a change of pace to help refuel our creative juices and give our minds and break. It helps our bodies relax and recover from the stress of the writer’s life.  It gives our brains time to slow down and refocus.

Focus

I have already explained how hard it can be for someone with a brain injury to stay focused, even perfectly healthy people can have difficulty focusing if they fail to get enough rest.

Distractions are anything that inhibits our ability to focus, if we fail to get enough rest, our attention spans are inhibited and we are more easily distracted.

And we all know how easily people are distracted today thanks to technology. The human brain can only process so much information at any time. If our minds are not working at 100%, our processing abilities will not be 100%. The military understands that a rested soldier is a more capable soldier.

A rested writer is a more productive writer in the long run. Our brains are the CPU for our nervous systems. The better we take care of our brains, the better our performance will be, will be able to focus better. Below are some tips on how to improve our focus.

  • Minimize distractions
  • Get enough sleep
  • Eat better
  • Meditation
  • Take regular breaks

As writers, we understand the importance of staying focused in our writing. Writers need to stay on point in their prose. The best writers understand how to say more by writing less. Healthy and productive writers understand the need to get enough rest. Just because the holidays are ending, doesn’t mean we don’t need R&R!

Martin Johnson

Martin Johnson survived a severe car accident with a (T.B.I.) Traumatic brain injury which left him legally blind and partially paralyzed on the left side. He is an award-winning Christian screenwriter who has recently finished his first Christian nonfiction book. Martin has spent the last nine years volunteering as an ambassador and promoter for Promise Keepers ministries. While speaking to local men’s ministries he shares his testimony. He explains The Jesus Paradigm and how following Jesus changes what matters most in our lives. Martin lives in a Georgia and connects with readers at MartinThomasJohnson.com  and on Twitter at mtjohnson51.

Categories
Uncategorized Writing for YA

Interruption of Plans or Ordained Opportunity

It’s the end of December, and for me, that means it’s time to pull out a fresh, ginormous, old-fashioned office calendar for the new year and start planning. I have gleefully begun to fill in the calendar’s little boxes.

I love to dream up a plan.

I love shiny new calendars with pristine white blocks waiting for to-do lists. I love highlighters and color-coding. In other words, I am a true believer in organization. The funny thing about plans is, a lot of times it doesn’t matter how carefully I lay out goals, something always happens to delay progress or completely derail me. Or send me off in a new direction.

That’s what happened this past year. I’d been praying for direction for some time. The time-consuming process of querying, getting requests for fulls, then getting the eventual rejections, had left me discouraged. This, combined with the state of the publishing industry, had me seriously considering self-publishing. I asked my writer friends to pray with me about what direction I should take.

After much prayer and research, I stopped querying and got busy amassing all the information I could about self-publishing, started formulating a plan, and even took a few baby steps, such as lining up an editor for the first book in my YA Contemporary series, but none of my methods were really helping me move forward in a substantial way.

Then an interruption came, or was it an opportunity?

I got a message from Jenny Knipfer, an author I’d met through reading her book and posting a review, (which I think is a pretty neat way to meet someone.) She wanted to know if I was interested in a multi-author collaboration. My immediate response was “Yes!” even though it wasn’t a YA project. I felt confident in accepting because the timing was perfect. It was an answer to prayers. A divine assignment. I’m still writing my young adult fiction and will publish at least one young adult novel in 2024, but I’d also been thinking of writing more in the time period of the book she requested. (1960s)

I can get so focused on my self-designated goals that I have trouble discerning the difference between an interruption and an opportunity, but this was a flashing neon sign.

Taking advantage of this offer was the push I needed to learn the things I needed to learn to independently publish. Signing on to the Apron Strings project forced me to prioritize what must be done and let go of what wasn’t absolutely necessary. Left to my own devices, I likely would have continued to research and weigh options. At the time Jenny contacted me, I had over-organized my plans to the point that I had a huge file on all things self-publishing, but had become overwhelmed and had stagnated. Perhaps the Apron Strings project was a heavenly kick in the pants, a get a move on, already.

It seemed like a situation tailored just for me, with a built-in support group, a few directions, and a shorter to-do list than my massive file.

I desperately needed that shove.

I’m not saying I’ll ever throw all planning out the door and just wait for favorable circumstances to appear. If I had done such a thing, I wouldn’t have been able to jump in when the opportunity presented itself. All of my previous research and attempts at organizing a publishing and marketing plan served me well.

I knew in my gut this was a gift, and God meant for me to step out. It still took faith. I didn’t feel ready. And I don’t feel ready now, but I finished writing book five for the Apron Strings series in plenty of time, and have hit all the required deadlines so far. Even so, it’s a daily faith walk, because there is so much I don’t know, and there is always more to learn. I suspect it will always be this way. I’ll never have a plan solid enough to account for all contingencies or keep me in my comfort zone, but that’s okay.

One of my new writing goals for 2024 is to be ready to hear, recognize, and respond. The next time a side project comes up, I hope I’ll remember to stay open and pray about it, not immediately discount an opportunity as an interruption.

What about you? How do you discern the difference between interruptions and opportunities?

The Apron Strings Book Series is a collection of heartfelt inspirational stories connected by one cookbook, featuring different women throughout the decades from 1920 to 2020. A new book will be released every month in 2024. Donna Jo’s book, Joann, is book five in the series and releases May 15th, 2024.

Donna Jo Stone is an award-winning author of young adult contemporary and adult historical fiction. She writes about tough issues but always ends her stories on a note of hope. Her novels are about common struggles and finding the faith to carry on through those battles. The first book in Donna Jo’s young adult series is scheduled for publication in 2024.

To find out more, sign up for her newsletter at donnajostone.com.