Alexis A. Goring got her writing start as a very young girl. For a few years, her mother required Alexis and her younger brother to write about their school day in those old-fashioned composition notebooks. They really aren’t that old-fashioned since children still use them today! Alexis talks about finding one of her old notebooks and shares one of her journal entries.
That was only the beginning of her writing journey. She earned a degree in print journalism and also a Master of Fine Arts degree in creative writing from Full Sail University. She’s written a collection of three novellas, two novels, and a fifty-two-week devotional called Stories and Songs of Faith. Alexis shares the dreams of her different characters with us. We also talk about her ability to write light-hearted romance while also addressing what one reviewer referred to as “hard topics.”
The next Novelists Unwind Giveaway will be announced on Saturday, January 2, 2020 at http://www.johnnie-alexander.com/. Be sure to enter for your chance to win an inspirational novel.
The Bengal Believer: 40 Who Dey Votions for
the Cincinnati Fanatic is a devotional for fans of the Bengals. Each
chapter relives a significant moment in the history of the franchise, with a
life-lesson and challenge to the reader.
Having Impossible Faith is about three
people and their battles to overcome monumental odds. Their decisions to follow
their faith had lasting impressions on those around them. No all stories in the
book have happy endings, but the book will challenge the reader to examine how
strong their faith is through life’s challenges.
Why do you write? Do
you have a theme, message, or goal for your books?
I write to try to encourage and inspire others. My goal for
my devotional series of books is to give the reader hope of a better way to
live life – mainly through becoming a Christian.
How long have you
been writing?
I have written for several years, since 1990, but have only
become more serious in the past four years.
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 was able to secure a book contract through my agent, Cyle
Young about three months after we met. We attended a Cincinnati Reds game in
the summer and the idea for the book was hatched over lunch.
I have four books out in the market via the traditional method
with six more scheduled over the next two years. I have also self-published one
book in 2019.
Which of your books
is your favorite?
The first book I had published, Buckeye Believer: 40 Days
of Devotions for the Ohio State Faithful (BY Books) might have the most
significance since it was the first.
Dugout Devotions: Inspirational Hits from MLB’s Best
(New Hope Publishers) is also special because it was pitched to me through a
publisher, who then rejected it after it was completed. Then another publisher
picked it up and it has done well on the market.
And Having Impossible Faith holds a place as well
since the manuscript was the reason I was introduced into the world of
Christian writing.
Tell us about an
award you won that was particularly meaningful.
In 2017, I was named Writer of the Year at the Ohio
Christian Writers Conference.
In 2018, Buckeye Believer: 40 Days of Devotions for the
Ohio State Faithful won second place in the Selah Awards in the category of
Devotionals.
In 1991 I won an Associated Press Award for a sports column
I wrote for the Portsmouth Daily Times.
How long does it take
you to write a book?
When I write a devotional, it usually takes me about six
months, that includes research, writing and editing.
What’s your writing
work schedule like?
Binger writer. I try to knock out one chapter a day when I’m
on a deadline. This happens usually in the evenings.
Do you have an
interesting writing quirk? If so, what is it?
No, nothing interesting or a quirk. I like the pressure of a
deadline because it makes me focus more. That comes from the days when I worked
as a sports editor and had to meet a press deadline.
What has been your greatest joy(s) in your
writing career?
Notes of encouragement I receive from readers who have been impacted by my work. I enjoy all the people I have met through my writing journey. All the doors that have opened for me the last three years has been amazing.
What has been your
darkest moment(s)?
Rejection from publishers and writing about family tragedy.
How many times in
your career have you experienced rejection? How did they shape you?
In my writing career I have been rejected several times. It
made me more determined to get the mission accomplished. It taught me patience
and to make the best connection for the project. It also taught me that “big
publishers” can be wrong.
Where do you get your
ideas?
From various ways. Most of the time when I’m driving or at
the gym working out I will have an idea pop in my mind.
Who is your favorite
author to read?
Oddly enough I don’t have one.
What advice can you
give aspiring writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wished you
would have heeded?
To start writing and attend a writing conference. Be
prepared to attend, listen to the advice of editors and be confident in your
work
What are common
mistakes you see aspiring writer’s make?
Not doing what agents or editors ask them to do in a timely
manner or becoming too attached to their work. Or they might put limits on
their own aspirations and ambitions.
Where/How do you
recommend writers try to break into the market?
By attending a writer’s conference and getting to work. I
have heard so many stories where someone will take a break from a project and
it never gets finished. Procrastination is real.
Del Duduit is a freelance writer from Lucasville, OH. He is represented by Cyle Young, Hartline Literary Agency.
His articles have appeared in Athletes in Action, Clubhouse Magazine, Sports Spectrum,The Sports Column,One
Christian Voice, The Christian View
Online Magazine, and Portsmouth Metro
Magazine. His blogs have appeared on One
Christian Voice and its national affiliates across the country, on ToddStarnes.com and on Almost an Author and
The Write Conversation.
In November 2017, he was named Outstanding Author at the Ohio Christian
Writers Conference. In 2019, Buckeye Believer: 40 Days of Devotions for the
Ohio State Faithful, won second place in the Selah Awards for Best Devotional at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writers Conference.
He is also a member of the Serious Writer, Inc. team and an adjunct instructor
as Shawnee State University.
He and his wife Angie live in Lucasville, Ohio and attend Rubyville
Community Church.
Del’s Books
First Down Devotions: Inspirations from NFL’s Best:
I don’t normally get into the Christmas spirit until after
Thanksgiving, but as a Christian Living or Devotional author, if you want to
publish a book or article with a Christmas theme, you need to write about it
long before December 25.
When Victoria Duerstock began writing her Christmas devotional book, Heart & Home for Christmas: Celebrating Joy in Your Living Space, it was the fall so she brought out the Christmas music, peppermint, and hot chocolate a little early that year. Writing through Christmas time was inspiring, but it was harder to stay in the Christmas spirit during the post-Christmas-time editing and rewriting.
Author and blogger Jean Wise from Healthy Spirituality got the ideas
for her Christmas devotional, Let Every Heart Prepare Him Room,
during the Advent season. Then when Advent was finished, the writing work
began.
“I know having first collected my thoughts during the season
did help,” said Jean Wise. After Christmas, she continued to listen to
Christmas music and lit an evergreen scented candle to help her stay in the Advent
mindset.
Kristin Dobrowolski, author and illustrator of Jesus’ Unexpected Family Tree: Anticipating
Jesus’ Birthday, had a different take on writing about Christmas. After
looking for a simpler version of the Jesse Tree countdown to Christmas, she
couldn’t find what she was looking for so she decided to create something
herself. A year later she tested her ideas on her own family. Then she and her
co-author tweaked and rewrote and designed a test version which she sent to 100
people so they could test it and try it. From that feedback, they redesigned
and edited and then released the official book on Amazon last Christmas.
When I asked her how she stayed in a Christmas mood
constantly for many years, she said something surprising:
“When you spend years thinking about something, it changes
your perspective. It wasn’t about Christmas after a while, it was about the
timeline of God’s story and all the people pointing to the arrival of His Son.
Those stories of Jesus’ family are something we hear all throughout the year,
so thinking about Him was natural. And Christmas is really just the birthday
party.”
Blogger Jennifer Love capitalizes on the focus of Jesus’ birthday party by working on her Christmas themed posts between October and December each year. Having these fresh articles ready on her blog, Intentional Traditions, brings a lot of readers at the exact right time they are preparing for Christmas for their own homes.
Keeping Christmas themed devotional writing fresh can be a
challenge. When I was preparing to write a short Christmas devotional, I wanted
to look at a part of the Bible that is not talked about often. I wanted to
challenge Christians to Read the Hard
Parts of Scripture since that is the focus of my writing and speaking
ministry. Through prayer and Bible study, I discovered that the Bible book of
Malachi has a lot of themes that applied to Christmas time. At the end of
November, I set aside a large chunk of time to write The Finishing Touches: Preparing for
Christmas with the Book of Malachi.
I shared it with my email list during Advent, then published it as a
Kindle book after Christmas so it was ready to share with readers the following
Christmas.
Have you written any Christmas themed devotionals or
Christian Living books or articles? How did you keep in the Christmas spirit
while you were writing? Comment below!
Rachel Schmoyer is a pastor’s
wife who is loving her church life. She writes about the hard parts of
Scripture at readthehardparts.com.
She has had devotionals published in the past, but now she is looking forward
to getting her first Christian Living book published. You can connect with
Rachel on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.
If you have an idea for a Christian Living or devotional
book, but need to build a platform and get publishing credits, there are plenty
of opportunities to see your name in print.
Check out these seven devotional publications with open
submissions—no previous writing experience necessary!
1. The Secret Place
is a quarterly devotional magazine with a worldwide readership of more than
250,000 and editions in regular print, large print and Braille. The Secret
Place is published by Judson Press, American Baptist Home Mission Societies,
but you do not need to Baptist to submit a devotional. Find the
writer’s guidelines here. Here is Judson
Press’ website with samples. If your devotional is selected, you will be
paid $20.
2. The Upper Room is a popular daily devotional published by the United Methodist church, but you do not need to be Methodist to submit a devotional. The writer’s guidelines are here and the online submission form is here. Notice that there are general themes they are looking for each month of the year. Payment is $30 on publication. Upper Room Publications also includes DevoZine for teens and Pockets for Kids.
3. Christian
Devotions is a devotional website that does not pay, but has a large online
reach. Michelle Medlock Adams, award winning devotional writer and co-author of
the upcoming devotional book They Call Me Mom: 52 Encouraging Devotions
for Every Moment, recommends submitting to Christian Devotions because
it is very welcoming to new writers. You can find the submission guidelines here.
4. CBN.com, home of the 700 Club, has an online devotional. Michelle Medlock Adams also mentioned that Beth Patch, acquisions editor for the online devotional section, is open to new writers as well. Devotionals must be story-oriented, include two Scriptures references, and be between 450-600 words. Submissions should be sent to beth.patch@cbn.org. Subscribe to and study the devotions from CBN.com first so you can match you devotional writing in style and tone.
5. Refresh Bible
Study Magazine is an online publication from Lighthouse Bible Studies. Katy
Kauffman, co-founder of Lighthouse Bible Studies and editor of Refresh, is especially looking for Bible
study articles, but she also said, “If we receive enough devotions this year,
we will make a special edition.” Check out the online
samples here and the submissions
guidelines here.
6. Devotableapp
is another suggestion for submitting devotions. The devotions are shared
through email, social media, and through the Devotable mobile app. Katy Kauffman
recommends this as a place that is accepting new writers. You can find the contributors guidelines here. Although
their readership reach is small, there is an added bonus. On every devotion
that is published, backlinks to your website, blog, or social media will be
published which helps grow your platform numbers!
7.Thoughts-about-God.com is another
online devotional site with a large reach—450,000 readers each month. They also
accept short Christian Living articles and poetry. Thoughts-about-God gives you space for a bio with backlinks. You can find their submissions
guidelines here.
8. Keys for Kids Ministries publishes a daily devotional for kids. Keys for Kids has both an online and print edition. Read the writer’s guidelines here. Payment is $30 per devotional published.
9. In(courage).me is an online devotional ministry for women from DaySpring. This site does not offer payment, but has a large reach. Guest post submissions are only open certain times during the year, so bookmark the submissions guidelines and have your post ready when the time window is open.
Do you know of any
other places a new writer can submit devotionals? If so, let us know in the
comments below!
Rachel Schmoyer is a pastor’s
wife who is loving her church life. She writes about the hard parts of
Scripture at readthehardparts.com.
She has had devotionals published in the past, but now she is looking forward
to getting her first Christian Living book published. You can connect with
Rachel on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.
In the quiet of the morning, I open up my Bible. I clip my booklight onto the front cover so I can see the pages in the darkness. After a short prayer, my mind is ready to read God’s Word. Some days I simply read, preparing my heart for the day ahead. But other days I read something I never noticed before. My eyes wide open, I grab my notebook, jot down my observation, and jump up from my bed with the burning desire to write about what I’ve discovered. What is the best way to share my new-found treasure?
I could blog about my observations or create an article or a standalone devotional to submit, but sometimes my ideas and observations snowball into a book idea.
I have several big ideas from Scripture that I want to write in book form. For each of these ideas, I need to decide what genre the book will be: devotional or Christian living.
What are the major differences between the devotional and Christian Living book genre?
Length.
Chapters in a devotional book are much shorter than the chapters of a Christian Living book. In fact, in a devotional book, each section or entry is not often called a chapter. Each portion of the book usually corresponds to the day, so the devotional is divided up into days rather than chapters. Victoria Duerstock, author of the devotional Heart & Home: Design Basics for Your Soul and Living Space, says the word count in her devotional book is no more than 300 words per day. That word count includes the Bible verse, the story/application, the prayer, and the design tip. Since this is a 90 day devotional, Victoria’s total word count for her devotional book was about 27,000.
For all of you who are now saying, it’s easier to write a devotional because it is shorter, not so fast! Shorter is not always easier. Devotional writing is tight. It takes a long time to choose the perfect words since there isn’t wiggle room for further explanation.
But the longer word count doesn’t make Christian Living easy either. Readers expect an in-depth exploration of the topic you cover in your book meaning you will be spending time researching and studying. You will use quotes from experts on your topic in order to connect your book with the existing conversation. It takes time and thought to select the quotes and use them naturally in your writing.
Depth of focus.
Even if the devotional book as a whole is focused on a particular topic, each devotional entry in the book centers on a Bible passage, usually just one or two Bible verses. Each devotional is narrowly focused on the Bible truth of that particular verse. In contrast, the chapters of a Christian Living book may start with a verse or Bible passage, or more often, a Bible topic, but the Bible portion is a springboard for exploration.
It’s like going off the diving board into the deep end. One person dives in with a small splash and beelines for the stairs to exit the pool and go on to next thing, refreshed from the dip in the water. Another person cannonballs in, treads around, and floats from one side of the pool to the next before slowly returning to the ladder.
A devotional zeros in. Christian Living broadens and explores.
Do you have experience writing either devotionals or Christian Living books? What else have you noticed as the difference between the two genres? Comment below!
Rachel Schmoyer is a pastor’s wife who is loving her church life. She writes about the hard parts of Scripture at readthehardparts.com. She has had devotionals published in the past, but now she is looking forward to getting her first Christian Living book published. You can connect with Rachel on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, or Pinterest.
