Writers Chat, hosted by Jean Wise, Johnnie Alexander, and Brandy Brow, 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.”
Featuring…
Come Write With Us: NaNoWriMo Prep with Brandy Brow
The month of October is commonly known as Preptober for all those writers gearing up for November’s National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). In this episode, Brandy Brow shares a terrific Infograph she created that will spark brainstorming ideas. After introducing her Story Elements Infograph, we brainstormed a story idea that began with answering “Who?” and meandered into other important questions such as: What, Where, When, How, and Why. The questions can be adapted for nonfiction writing, too. For more information and resources, be sure to check the replay from this week
Watch the October 18th replay.
Brandy Brow is a writer, editor, vocalist, and artist who took ten years away from writing to care for her special needs child and sick parent. During that time, she trained in fiction editing, ran Christian Writers’ Group International, and became a worship leader for her church and national anthem singer for a NASCAR short track. Back at writing, she is focused on flash fiction with a side of children’s stories. Magical realism and science fantasy are some of her favorite genres. Brandy lives in Vermont with her husband and most of her seven children where she eats way too much maple syrup and makes too many planners.
In the episode, Rachael M. Colby shares her methods and ministry of hosting interviews as a bridge for reconciliation and understanding, to encourage faith, and uplift those who serve in tough places. She shares tips that have helped make interviewing go more smoothly. She also reminded us to keep recording or taking notes until the interviewee leaves, because you never know what great morsel might mentioned at the very end. For more information and resources, be sure to check out this week’s replay.
Watch the October 25th replay.
Rachael M. Colby has a heart for reconciliation and a passion to uplift those who serve in tough places. She writes to connect cultures’ questions with Christianity’s answers, inspire faith, and motivate through articles, devotions, and poetry. She is a multi-award-winning writer with works published in compilations and online. Her article The Integration of Oak Ridge featured in the Oak Ridger Newspaper won the 2022 Selah Award for Articles in Print at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. This Jamaican-born wife and mom makes her home in Cape Cod, Massachusetts. She runs on copious amounts of coffee and chocolate and a whole lot of “Help me, Jesus.”
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
Once Your Lead Magnet is Prepared, How Will You Deliver It?
The two easiest options are to upload it to your email account or your website. Let’s explore both.
To upload it to your email account, you’ll first need an email provider. Duh! There are tons of choices: Aweber, Active Campaign, Constant Contact, MailChimp, the list goes on. These companies store your email “list,” meaning the names and email addresses of readers who request this or any other free or paid resource you offer.
When readers type their name and email address into those opt-in boxes we’ve all seen inviting them to “enter your name,” and “enter your email address,” actions are triggered behind the scenes inside your email provider account. Whatever settings you have or have not created determine what happens next.
If you’ve decided to deliver your Lead Magnet directly to your readers–attached to your “Thank You” email–upload it to your email provider, then attach it to that unique email. Ask your email provider for help. They should have articles or video trainings showing how to do that.
To deliver it from your website instead, upload it there. If you have a WordPress website, WordPress will generate a direct link to it automatically. The link will be exclusive to that PDF (Lead Magnets are typically created as a PDF files). Copy and paste that link into your email message. Best practices are to type your Lead Magnet’s full title into your email, then make those words an active link, directing your reader to your website page where the PDF is stored so they can download it. Again, check with your email provider for those steps.
What’s the Payoff for Going to All This Trouble?
You have the answers to your audience’s questions. The solutions to their problems. Your interview gives them a taste of your knowledge, personality, and communication style. Your Lead Magnet gives them another.
Once readers are on your email list, you’ll want to develop a relationship with them based upon service. Do that by continuing to offer them valuable information, every week or every other week. Get to know them. Help them get to know you. Become their trusted resource on your topic.
Email is the single most valuable marketing tool available. For the few minutes they read your emails, you’ll have your reader’s undivided attention (if you’ve written fantastic content). Make it count.
Show them how to get from where they are to where they want to be, one step at a time. Teach them shortcuts to work faster. How to use the online tools necessary to do their work or reach their goals. Update them on the trends and breaking news surrounding your message’s topic.
Encourage them. Entertain them. Inspire them.
Share personal stories and tie them into your audience’s needs, connecting with them along the way. Be emotionally vulnerable at the right time, but don’t be naked by sharing too much, which will make them feel “icky.” They’ll either unsubscribe or simply ignore future emails.
Serve them as Jesus would, sharing a bit from your story and then moving right into their story, their concerns, and how to conquer their fears.
Emails are private conversations between you and your reader. This is one reason they’re such a powerful marketing tool. Write as if they’re a close friend and over time, they’ll become one.
Serve, serve, serve, and serve them, then occasionally, invite them to take an action that will benefit you: enroll, purchase, promote, and so on.
And that relationship begins by offering them useful information for free, via a Lead Magnet offered during your interview. That’s a triple win!
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.
The Christian Authors Network’s innovative Crown Awards celebrate excellence in Christian Media and Marketing.
Purpose: To recognize, educate, and encourage excellence in marketing and promotion skills of all Christian authors. The awards are given in three categories:
Visual Media
Broadcasting
Web Presence
Carla Hoch is the CAN Marketing Web Presence Media Gold Award Winner for her promotion of her online brand, FightWrite™.
Carla past led to her studying self-defense and training women speaking on emotional abuse, precursors to physical violence, personal and emotional boundaries and tips for staying safe and escaping abusive scenarios. Carla started a blog after teaching about writing fight scenes at conferences.
Tell us about your blog.
FightWrite™ is a writer’s resource for writing fight scenes, action and violence of any kind. It covers all aspects of conflict: technical movement, biological precipitators and aftermath, psychological impact and the craft of putting it all together.
What led you to create it?
I was writing a book with fight scenes in it and didn’t know the first thing about fighting. So, I took a self-defense class. That class was the spark that launched me full throttle into martial arts. The more I learned, the more I wanted to learn.
While attending the Realm Makers Writer’s Conference, I was asked to be on a panel regarding fight scenes. A conference coordinator knew a bit about my training and asked me to sit on the panel as a fighting “expert.” Far from expert, I sat on the panel and although there were many questions regarding the craft of writing, more often than not, writers just wanted to know about fighting, how to do it and how it felt.
The next year, at the same conference, the coordinators asked if I could do a live critique of a couple fight scenes. As a former high school teacher, I had plenty of experience teaching rowdy groups so I said, sure, why not? By that time, I had several years of training under my belt.
As I critiqued the fight scenes, I would demonstrate why they did or didn’t work. An editor friend of mine, Ben Wolf, who had some martial arts training assisted me. He let me throw him around and the crowd loved it. If you’ve never seen me, you might not appreciate the spectacle of it. I’m the size of a strapping fifth grade boy, plus, I’m a wee bit long in the tooth. I don’t look like someone who knows how to make a fist, much less what to do with it.
When I got off the stage, Quill Pen Editorial Services approached me about editing fight scenes for them. And it suddenly occurred to me how big a need there was for help in writing fight scenes. So, I got the crazy idea to start a blog. And, here I am, going stronger than ever since 2016.
How does your passion motivate you to promote your blog? What keeps you motivated?
It doesn’t. And, I am seldom motivated to write or promote or train. But that has no bearing on whether or not I work. If I only did what I was motivated to do I’d be in bed eating chocolate and watching reruns.
Motivation is like a fire. Sometimes there are lightning strikes that start the fire. But that is rare. For the most part, you have to create a fire. You can’t just look at the fireplace and think, when there is a fire in the fireplace, I will start the fire in the fireplace. You have to get up, get the ash out, get the wood and kindling in, light the thing and then tend do it.
Motivation is a beautiful thing. And the ugliest excuse.
You don’t have a lot of books, so what else is part of your brand?
I am a regular featured writer for Writer’s Digest and an instructor for Writer’s Digest University. I have a blog, FightWrite.net, to which I post regularly, as well as a podcast, and IG and YouTube channels. I teach at writers’ conferences, do contract mentoring and editing for individuals and publishers. I stay busy.
How has your personal training in fighting helped you develop a brand? What are your special areas of martial arts?
Fight training has toughened my resolve, muzzled my ego and created in me a dogged determination to be better tomorrow than I was today. It has taught me how to take punches, how to fall, and how to get back to my feet and that losing is not the same as being beaten. It has shown me the value of mistakes and that, more often than not, success is a battle of attrition. I don’t have to be the best. I just have to be the best at not giving up. But, above all, fight training has taught me that my greatest opponent is and will always be me. I have to believe in me, I have to be on my side or the battle will never end and without rest, a fighter is as good as dead.
Creating anything, whether it be a brand, book or boat, is a battle. It’s a battle against doubt, distractions and discouragement. It’s a battle against naysayers and those who believe your success lessens their own. Fighting hasn’t helped me develop my brand. It’s the backbone of it.
My fighting experience…ok, let me think here. I call it fight experience because not all falls into a category of martial art. I have training in: aikido, Brazilian jiujitsu, iaido (katana work), judo, MMA, Muay Thai, tae kwon do, Filipino Martial arts (bladework) street defense (self-defense with weaponry) and am learning some wrestling. I’ve also been taught a wee bit of kung fu. Of all I’ve studied, Brazilian jiujitsu is the one I keep coming back to. I train 5-6 days a week and compete every now and then. I’m competing in a world championship next month.
You won gold for your won gold for your brand FightWrite™ and your overhauled website. What made it more professional? What components should writers look at in changing their website?
After my first CAN award, I was interviewed by the wonderful Thomas Umstattd who runs Author Media and is the host of the Novel Marketing Podcast. If readers remember only one thing from this interview, it should be Thomas Umstattd. Seriously.
After the interview he was kind enough to chat with me and give me some hard truths. One of those was that my site needed a major overhaul. At that time, it was still a blogger site and cumbersome to navigate at best.
I took his Author Media classes on building a social media platform, made a million notes and followed every single one. My site looks like it does because of Thomas Umstattd and his classes. I still go back and listen to his podcasts for help in maintaining my site. I’m working on the SEOs right now and have almost doubled page views in one month.
Here are a few things I learned from Thomas:
1. Your site should have a clear purpose. Are you trying to sell more books? Are you building a brand or fan base? Be sure that the home page meets the needs of that purpose.
2. Have a few call-to-action buttons. You can have a million pages on your site. Take out the most important one, two or three and make buttons that send people directly to those pages. Leave the rest in a pull-down menu. I have three call-to-action buttons: Read the Blog, Buy the Book, Contact Me.
3. Do only what you can do. You don’t have to pay money for a professional site. But you need a site that looks professional. If you can do that using YouTube, go, you!
4. Listen to the Novel Marketing Podcast.
Why is it important to use a paid rather than a free website host?
I’m not sure it always is. If you can’t afford a paid host, I think you can still have a site that looks amazing. However, your web address will have the host’s name. Even though I owned the domain fightwrite.net, my actual address was fightingwrite.blogspot. And that was all I needed for the first few years when information was my only product.
Once I began teaching and writing for Writer’s Digest and booking more conferences, I needed more than the free site.
To overhaul my site, I went to Stormhill Media. They specialize in author websites. And, if you use them, tell them I sent you. You might get a wee discount.
It took a while to get traction on your site. What helped?
Thomas Umstattd. Seriously, I owe him a great deal. And, as I said, tweaking my SEOs has doubled my traffic in a month. SEO is Search Engine Optimization. It’s a tool that helps you rank higher on search engines. Whenever anyone Googles “writing fight scenes,” my SEOs help my site to pop up toward the top of the search results.
What incentives did you use to attract followers?
I give them something they need that’s just not out there in the way I present it.
Did you try marketing strategies that did not work for you? What did you learn from them?
First and foremost, I try to make quality blog posts. A problem I had at first was coming up with a blog idea and then trying to create a good SEO to make my post pop up whenever anyone searched for the topic. After listening to the Novel Marketing Podcast, I learned to FIRST look at what people were searching for and THEN create the blog.
Which aspects of marketing do you enjoy the most?
I like making IG posts. I’m kind of artsy.
Which aspects do you find most challenging?
All of it. Marketing myself or my book isn’t something I’m naturally good at. I have to really work at it.
What marketing advice can you give bloggers or podcasters that you wished you had gotten, or that you wish you would have heeded?
Everything happened for me in the time it should have. For others, do your research. Take courses on marketing your book, making a site, optimizing SEO. Take notes and have one goal at the time. And be patient with yourself. Rome wasn’t built in a day and neither is a web site.
How do you come up with new ideas for your podcast and blog?
I ask writers what they are looking for and I use AnswerThePublic.com. It’s a brilliant tool!
What’s involved in getting a trademark and why was that important to you?
The more work I did under the brand, the more aware I was that people could piggyback off my hard work. Getting a ™ is a matter of paperwork and fees. It can take a year or more for the ™ to become ®. A ™ is simply a place holder which announces to the world that you are seeking registration for something. The sticky part is if that ™ is challenged by another entity wanting a similar trademark or if another exists that is too similar.
Please share how you keep your site in the top 100 of Writer’s Digest sites for writers.
I can’t say for sure what WD is looking for in its Top Sites for Writers list. And, I don’t know if I’m on it until the list comes out. What I do know is that my site is the only of its kind.
Is there anything else you would like to share with our readers about your marketing or writing journey?
Don’t give up. Mohammed Ali estimated that over the course of his career he was struck some 29,000 times. Since then, research has shown that number is closer to 200,000. There are two things we can learn from that. One, Ali was more interested in moving forward than keeping up with the punches he took. Two, he never saw himself as less than the greatest of all time even when another fighter was able to tag him. Getting hit was just part of it of the process. He wasn’t the fighter he was despite the punches he took. He was who he was because he took them.
Your work will be criticized. You will be turned down. You will be discouraged. And that is good. It is all part of being a writer. Like Ali, you won’t be the writer you should become despite the punches. You will be the writer you should become because of the punches. Don’t give up. Consider the tough times as simply part of the process. And, there may be tough times when you may have to back away from writing. That is ok. It’s not a race. There’s enough success to go around.
I was pegged an expressive analytic in a personality test I took through my company. I know it sounds like an oxymoron, but it’s true. I couldn’t survive without expressing my creative imaginings. Yet, I’m a retired, introverted actuary who receives her energy from being alone in her home office, spewing words into my laptop to expand my story ideas.
Do you have a theme, message, or goal for your books?
I write from a Christian world view.
Through my romances, I hope to entertain, spur laughter, and touch hearts. My heroes and heroines are Christians or become Christians and do what Christians do, such as enjoy a quiet time with God, read the Bible, and make mistakes.
From my blogs posts and my published book on writing, my passion is to share what I learn about writing principles and techniques with others.
My purpose in re-self-publishing my two books of Christian allegories (second book releasing soon) is to share the funky stories I wrote to explain to myself Biblical principles I’d heard or read as a new Christian.
The speculative fiction I’m working on takes place sixteen months after the rapture. This two-book series grabbed me and stretched me. My hope is it will do the same for others.
How long have you been writing?
Does my cowboy story—a whole paragraph—count? I was nine. Since then, I stored many uncompleted manuscripts under my bed. Then came the two books of short allegories I self-published before the self-publishing craze. After an agent signed me and publishers rejected four romances, I received my first contract at age sixty-four.
Tell us about one of your greatest joy(s) in your writing career.
I learned a colleague accepted Christ after reading the first allegory I wrote. After publishers rejected four completed manuscripts, I sat in a workshop led by an agent. He said it takes writing four completed manuscripts to learn to write, and usually the fifth one receives a contract. At that time, I was working on my fifth manuscript, and it was the novel that received a contract. The joy was realizing those rejected manuscripts had great worth. They prepared me to write a novel that merited a contract.
Tell us about one of your darkest moment(s) in your writing career.
Before I received my first contract, I’d labored many months on a manuscript. I went through the first pages one more time and changed a word or two. After I sent it to my agent, I looked over the first pages again. To my horror, the word shift was missing the f. I shot off an email to my agent. She emailed all was fine. She and the editor enjoyed a chuckle. I realized agents and editors weren’t statues whose alabaster fingers were ready to chop my manuscripts to pieces.
Rejection is a common experience for writers. How do you overcome rejection? How has rejection shaped you or your career?
I had worked about a year on each of my four rejected manuscripts. But just like for the contests I entered, rejections or low scores never depressed me or made be angry. I entered the contests for the feedback and was happy to have it. True, I sent manuscripts hoping for a contract, but I took in both the good and the need-improvement comments to learn to do better on the next manuscript. Editors told me in their rejections they liked my ideas. Some invited me to submit another project. I learned I naturally have good story ideas, but I needed to learn how to write them into a readable story.
In what ways has God led you to mentor other writers? Were you surprised when a certain skill or connection led to mentoring opportunities?
God made me to be expressive, but I dislike being chatty on social media. When I knew I had to have a blog, I wrote on how to be creative—something I understood. As I learned writing techniques, I excitedly shared what I’d learned in my blog posts. This fit my gift of teaching. I learn from applications, so I always included lots of examples. This led to presenting writing workshops to writers’ groups, at conferences, and on Zoom.
My blog posts sparked an editor and an agent to encourage me to write a book on writing from my posts. Not wanting to dump blog posts into a book, I took a workshop on how to write a book from blog posts. I wanted to aid beginning writers who had or were starting manuscripts to avoid repeated rejections. I structured the book to help writers transform their manuscripts to shine in thirty days so they could pitch their manuscripts to agents and editors or to self-publish. My surprise came when I asked writing and publishing professionals for endorsements. I hoped for two or three. Nine professional agents, editors, conference directors, award-winning authors, and aspiring writers sent me wonderful endorsements. I believe in that book’s ability to help new writers.
Tell us about a facet of mentoring that particularly excites you.
An editor friend arranged an opportunity for me to teach a four-day, two-hour class to eight participants at a writers conference. I based the class on the teachings in my book on writing. Participants’ “aha” cries thrilled me. One had signed up for a critique. My heart slumped when I saw how far her writing was from workable. I prayed and prayed for guidance to help her without discouraging her away from writing. I poured many hours into the critique. I presented the critique as gently and honestly as I could. She seemed to eagerly accept my suggestions, but I worried discouragement might crush her writing spirit back in her room. The following day during personal writing time, she handed me a revision of her critique’s pages. How joyful she and I were when I told her, she understood what was needed and was on her way to writing a readable story.
What venues/methods have you found most effective for meeting and mentoring writers?
For me, teaching workshops and webinars using slides and many examples works best.
Have you organized or led groups to support writers? (Retreats, ACFW chapters, etc.) How has that experience helped you to mentor writers?
I’ve dreamed of having retreats in our cabin on a lake. I’ve held a few small spiritual and writing retreats so far. I recently retired from a two-year stint as the treasurer for ACFW Virginia. I’ve taught workshops for our monthly webinars and for our conferences.
Have you organized or directed a writers’ conference? Tell us about that experience, and/or share an anecdote that illustrates how you saw writers being mentored and encouraged through the event.
While on the ACFW Virginia chapter’s board, I helped organize two conferences. At two conferences, I held mentor appointments. Not having done much of this type of mentoring, I wondered if I was qualified to help anyone. I prayed. A young woman told me the trouble with an aspect of her story. Immediately, a suggestion came to me and I shared it. She said, “That’s it!” I became more relaxed as we brainstormed together.
If you speak at writers’ groups or conferences, what are some of your favorite topics to speak about?
I enjoy presenting:
Make a Scene of Your Scene: 4 Improvements to Make Your Scene Stand Out
Help Your Reader Commit Identity Theft with Your Character: Learning to Write in Deep Point of View
Make Your First Five Pages Shine: Avoid Mistakes New Writers Make
For Whom the Edits Toil: 7 Edits to Create Reader-Charming Paragraphs
Share Your Writing Journey as Part of Your Marketing Plan
What advice do you have for writers as we interact with our peers?
Find a critique group that works for you. I suggest you keep the group small, or you’ll spend more time critiquing than writing. Work on thickening your skin so you can hear suggestions. I say to myself, “I may not agree with a partner’s (or judge’s) suggestion, but if this sentence stopped the reader from reading on, I need to discern whether:
the sentence (paragraph) is necessary or
I can improve it.”
What can we do to be better supporters and mentors of our fellow writers?
Share titles of writing books we found helpful.
Write honest book reviews.
Share writing tips that improved our writing.
When critiquing, speak truth in a way that is non-threatening.
Help fellow writers understand we are God’s co-author. (See Allen Arnold’s book below.)
Do you have a favorite resource or two that you recommend to beginning writers?
Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in Thirty Days by Zoe M. McCarthy
Hooked by Les Edgerton
Do you have a favorite resource or two that you recommend to writers who are struggling with discouragement?
The Story of With: A Better Way to Live, Love, & Create by Allen Arnold
What are common mistakes you see aspiring writer’s make?
Starting their books in the wrong place.
What they are imagining is not making it to the page.
Failing to ground the reader.
Dumping the backstory they need to know, but the reader doesn’t.
The protagonist is unlikeable or whiny.
Misunderstanding the difference between suspense and creating confusion.
Not writing scenes, and the paragraphs within them, linearly.
What advice can you give aspiring writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wished you would have heeded?
I wish I had heard the agent’s wisdom earlier that it takes completing four manuscripts to learn to write. I would have been energized in an additional way to write those four manuscripts.
Zoe M. McCarthy is a full-time author and speaker. She has seven contemporary Christian romances involving tenderness and humor. Believing opposites distract, Zoe creates heroes and heroines who learn to embrace their differences. She’s the author of a book of Contemporary Christian allegories. Her non-fiction, Tailor Your Fiction Manuscript in 30 Days, helps writers write their stories or ready their manuscripts for publication. She teaches a community Bible study and writing workshops. Zoe and her husband live in the Blue Ridge Mountains of Virginia. They enjoy canoeing the New River, spending time at their lake cabin, and entertaining their six grandchildren.
The Cottage on Lighthouse Lane, Kensington Books, April 2021
Sometimes life flips the script . . .
Billy Walker is a North Carolina boy whose Hollywood star is beginning to shine. His rough past is in the rear view. Now seeing the world from the back seat of a limousine, Billy has no regrets about what he had to do, and the choices he made, to get there. But all it takes is one death-defying moment for Billy’s world to shift. When an on-set accident leaves him shaken, plagued by haunting dreams, he’s in desperate need of a rest cure. Given keys to a getaway cottage on Lighthouse Lane in Miramar Bay, he’ll regroup, relax, and recover. Yet as Billy’s dreams grow darker and more fearful, his only promise for light is in a stunning, mysterious, and uniquely gifted stranger . . .
And your next act is rewritten . . .
Mimi has never forgotten her tragic childhood in eastern Ukraine. Violence, a vanished family, abandonment, and a hard-won struggle to escape. Miramar Bay couldn’t be a more beautiful or unexpected refuge. In yoga, teaching dance, and imbued with a talent to read the unrestful visions of others, Mimi has a seemingly divine ability to comfort. She may be everything Billy desires, but Mimi knows what Billy needs. He must confront his troubling past—and not just in his dreams. As their connection deepens, Billy finds himself falling in love, and waking up to something he’s never felt before. But when the real world comes calling again, how can he say goodbye to a woman who’s changing his life one illuminating sunrise at a time?
Poignant, powerful, and surprising, The Cottage on Lighhouse Bay is a love story for every wounded heart that hoped for a second chance.
Why do you write? Do you have a theme, message, or goal for your books?
It seems like I transition from one theme to the next every three or four years. In my current version, I’m looking at stories based around the idea of lost hope, the unexpected opportunity to renew. Lighthouse Lane is book five in the Miramar Bay series, which is based around a mythical town on California’s central coast. Whoever finds their way to this place is offered a second chance at what is most important, what vital element is missing from their lives. If only they manage not to make the same mistakes all over again.
How long have you been writing?
I have been a published author for twenty-eight years. Before that, I wrote for nine years and finished seven books before my first was accepted for publication.
Which of your books is your favorite?
Some of the frequently-asked questions are so tough to answer honestly. Just two days ago completed a new first draft. It has dominated my life through this loooonnnng UK lockdown. Right now, I can’t see much further than this newest story.
Do you have a favorite character or scene in one of your books?
I had a book, a legal thriller, that came out last September entitled Burden Of Proof. I wrote the first sixty pages seven years ago. They were powerful, really potent stuff, but I couldn’t find a way to make the rest of the concept live up to what I had done thus far. So I set it aside. Seven years passed, every now and then I’d reread the pages, until finally…
I was under huge unexpected pressure. My publishers had an empty slot in their list, another author was late delivering, could I help? It meant giving them a story in seven and a half weeks. Just as I was about to write and say no, literally staring at the email, ready to say so sorry, not a chance, it hit me. The missing theme came as one scene. The pivotal moment I had waited seven years to find.
How long does it take you to write a book?
As you can see from the last answer, it can sometimes take as little as two months. I do tend to write a lot. I think it comes from being so determined, so desperate, to make it work. During those looooonnnnnggggg nine years of struggle, I ran a consulting group based in Germany and operating through all Europe. I was in two, sometimes three countries every week. The temptation to quit, give up, go back to my well-paying day job was just so intense. I had no choice, not if I wanted to make this my professional life. I had to write every day. Become a regular, disciplined writer, accept this as a SECOND JOB. Whether I liked it or not, whether it felt good or not, this had to happen. I learned to write in taxis, airports, waiting rooms, hotel lobbies, wherever I could carve out ten or fifteen minutes. I developed a series of triggers to help me depart from the outside world and re-enter the story, the emotional state, the creative mood. I use these still.
So what’s the end result? Okay. Revealing secrets here. In the past twelve months I have written…
Wait for it…
Two full-length novels,
And
A feature-length screenplay,
And
A new series pilot,
And
The second series episode,
And
The season one bible (used in series to establish the character and story arcs for the season)
And
Half a Christmas novella
All because of the discipline learned in sheer desperation during those initial years.
What has been your greatest joy(s) in your writing career?
The creative bliss. The unexpected moments when I become lost in the new story. When it becomes alive and I become transported. Elevated. Reformed in union. Bliss.
How many times in your career have you experienced rejection? How did they shape you?
I have been rejected over forty times in the past twelve months. If you are going to keep growing, push beyond the boundaries that the commercial world wants to use as defining traits, this is going to happen. Learning to live with rejection, moving beyond, continuing the creative struggle, all are crucial to success.
Who is your favorite author to read?
I am researching a new story. As usual. What I look for on the non-fiction side are authors who manage to make the situation live for me. Who are not afraid of emotions. Who do not feel it necessary to write from a dry, dead-as-last-autumn-leaves perspective. So right now I’m reading Ben Mezrich’s amazing new book, Bitcoin Billionaires.
On the fiction side, I’m studying two authors who have taken their success as screenwriters and allowed this to refashion their approach to sentence and scenic structures. These are Robert Crais and Michael Crichton.
What advice can you give aspiring writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wished you would have heeded?
My very first mentor was Arthur C Clarke (2001, A Space Odyssey). When we started out, he required two things of me. One was, write a new page of new first draft every day. Second drafting, adding to what was already written, did not count. He forced me to confront the challenge of the empty page each and every day.
The second was, read at least one book by a living best-selling author in my chosen genre every week. The aim was for me to come to terms with what was working in the market in this present time.
A very wise man.
Davis Bunn’s novels have sold in excess of eight million copies in twenty-four languages. He has appeared on numerous national bestseller lists, and his titles have been Main or Featured Selections with every major US book club. In 2011 his novel Lion of Babylon was named Best Book of the Year by Library Journal. The sequel, entitled Rare Earth, won Davis his fourth Christy Award for Excellence in Fiction in 2013. In 2014 Davis was granted the Lifetime Achievement award by the Christy board of judges. His recent title Trial Run has been named Best Book of The Year by Suspense Magazine. Lately he has appeared on the cover of Southern Writers Magazine and Publishers Weekly, and in the past three years his titles have earned him Best Book and Top Pick awards from Library Journal, Romantic Times, Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and Kirkus. His most recent series, Miramar Bay, have been acquired for world-wide condensation-books by Readers Digest. Currently Davis serves as Writer-In-Residence at Regent’s Park College, Oxford University. Until Covid struck, he was speaking around the world on aspects of creative writing.
As a writer, a teacher, and a SCBWI regional advisor, Kiri Jorgensen has observed an evolution in children’s publishing over the years.
On the Chicken Scratch Books website, she writes about the observations that led her to launch her own publishing company:
More and more books published by the mainstream publishers had themes or conflicts directly connected to the trending issues of society… Where were the new ‘traditional’ books?
Can I tell you how many times I’ve asked the same question? At first, I thought I was simply out of touch with my readers. But in talking with other writers, parents, teachers, and librarians, I realize I am not alone.
I am thrilled to have had the opportunity to connect with Ms. Jorgensen and ask her a few questions about her work.
KM: Filling the void left between mainstream and religious publishers is not a small undertaking! You cover the “why” you began Chicken Scratch very succinctly on your blog. Can you tell us a little about *how* you plan to fill this void?
KJ: I love traditional children’s literature. Over the years I’ve read, and read aloud, hundreds of wonderful novels that clearly spread the joy of story. My kids and students have responded in engaging ways. But I started to notice a shift. Stories that I’d loved were starting to feel less engaging. I realized that it wasn’t the storylines themselves, or the characters, but rather the language that wasn’t connecting with my students.
Kids today are raised on a crisp information diet that combines written and visually concise input. This isn’t to say that they won’t benefit from some elaborate descriptions now and again, but the language they readily engage with is more succinct than what it used to be. For information download to their brains, kids use tools that specialize in quick delivery and thorough placement. This is not the way of classic literature.
Authors today are producing a myriad of wonderful traditional stories in all genres, with new writing styles. The material is out there. And I believe the market is still out there too, as long as gatekeepers know where to look for the new style, clean, traditional stories they can trust.
At Chicken Scratch Books, we only publish new traditional children’s novels. What that means is, the books we provide fit the mold of ‘traditional’ in regards to their characters, story, and themes, but they also fit the mold of ‘new’ in the structure of their language, pacing, and delivery.
We’ll fill the void between classic traditional and ‘new mainstream books’ by giving kids and their gatekeepers the assurance that new traditional is all we do.
As a brand-new publisher, we do things differently than anyone else. We reach out directly to our audience with access to not only wonderful new traditional books (print and ebook), but also tools to analyze and teach these stories even deeper. We work directly with parents, teachers, homeschoolers, and any other gatekeeper that loves middle grade stories. We give them access to the authors themselves through video and provide fun learning tools – both print and digital – to build on their stories. Our goal is to provide strong literature and the means to study it deeply in the modern world.
Every book we publish will engage, entertain, enlighten, lift, build, and delight. All without making anyone uncomfortable.
KM: I noticed you offer free courses for writers (full disclosure: I’ve completed one of these courses). Why do you offer these services for writers?
KJ: Although I’m a writer, editor, and publisher, I’m a teacher at my core. It wasn’t until I landed on the idea of providing learning opportunities for writers and readers that the formation of Chicken Scratch Books blossomed. To me, it seems obvious. We want to publish wonderfully crafted middle grade novels. We know what we want, and what it takes to create them. Why not guide and help writers produce what we are looking for?
We’ll be regularly adding to our offering of free online courses. I’ve been quite surprised at how much I’ve enjoyed producing them. We’re also working on more in-depth paid courses that come with different levels of individual support. The first of these should go live by the end of the year.
In addition to our online courses, if writers sign up for our email list they’ll receive our weekly WriteLetter. This follows a monthly topic and includes written and video instruction, as well as PDF downloads to help in the writing process. Our WriteLetter is also free.
KM: What’s on your To Read list?
I’m super lucky in that I get to read so many wonderful stories both pre and post publication. My library is mostly middle grade novels, and if you could see it, you’d know – mostly because of the sheer volume – that my ‘To Read’ pile is extensive!
I love traditional novels, so I always seek those out from any publisher. I’ve gotten pretty good at recognizing which ones fit my requirements, even before I read them. I have one newly published book sitting on my table – The Artifact Hunters by Janet Fox. I actually got to read an earlier draft of this one when it was just being formed, so I’m very excited to read the finished project. Also on my shelf is Irena’s Children, Young Readers Edition adapted by Mary Cronk Farrell. This is the story of Irena Sendler who smuggled 2500 children out of the walled Jewish ghetto in Warsaw, Poland during Nazi occupation. I’m so grateful that a young readers edition has been created for this vital story. Another book that’s on my ‘not purchased yet, but soon will be’ list is Premeditated Myrtle by Elizabeth C. Bunce. It’s a Victorian English tale of a girl obsessed with criminal science, and a mystery to solve. I’m already in love.
Kiri Jorgensen is the Publisher and Senior Editor at Chicken Scratch Books. She is also a writer, teacher, entrepreneur, and most importantly wife and mother. Her involvement in the world of children’s literature spans almost three decades from several different angles. She taught in the public schools for 16 years, from huge school districts to a two-room schoolhouse, and created writing curriculums for middle schoolers. She has written and produced over 30 stage plays for children, served as Regional Advisor for SCBWI Montana, and has taught writing in a variety of settings, age ranges, and genres. She lives with her husband and a plethora of pets in rural Montana, where she cooks her meals on a wood-burning cookstove and is grateful every day for being right where she is.
Kell McKinney earned a B.A. in journalism from the University of Oklahoma and an M.S. in documentary studies from the University of North Texas. She’s a part-time copywriter, double-time mom and wife, and spends every free minute writing and/or hunting for her car keys. Connect with her on Twitter @Kell_McK or kellmckinney.com.
I can’t imagine a life NOT writing. OR it’s those nasty voices in my head trying to get out. Do you have a theme, message, or goal for your books? Forgiveness and trust are probably the two key elements.
How long have you been writing?
I could be cheesy and say that first story in eighth grade hooked, but more seriously, about 28-29 years.
And how long did it take you to get your first book published?
My first novella was published 18 years after I started writing. It took me a while to ‘get it’, that I wasn’t all that good and a nickel!
Tell us about an award you won that was particularly meaningful.
Agent of the Year for ACFW. Meant so much to know that someone cared enough to write an essay that nominated me.
Tell us about a recent/favorite book or article you’ve published.
I have a client who writes historic romance, and she’s received numerous started reviews from Publisher’s Weekly. Having been a part of that has meant a lot.
Tell us about one of your greatest joy(s) in your writing career.
Having a patients at the clinic where I worked asked me to “Please” write a sequel to that first novella. I had thought to sit down and dash off a 500-750 word epilogue that would complete what happened to the secondary characters and give it just to her. Once I started, however, I realized that those characters had their own story to tell, so wrote another novella. She was so pleased.
Tell us about one of your darkest moment(s) in your writing career.
Writing a story about the bombing of the White House, but when I finished it, 9-11 happened and I was encouraged to shelve it for a while. Now, because of circumstances in the story, the theme is a moot point and I have to completely rewrite the entire arc. So until I have that moment when I simple ‘have’ to tell the story differently, I’m stuck waiting. Probably my best and fave writing to boot.
Rejection is a common experience for writers. How do you overcome rejection?
Perseverance and believing how important perseverance is. How has rejection shaped you or your career? I think it prepared me to be an agent more than an author. I know how much it hurts and try not to dish that out to new authors.
How has God led you to mentor other writers?
It’s just what I do. I’ve always taught in many arenas, and when your heart’s in it, you want to help others.
Do you speak at writers’ conferences?
Oh, yes. Love to. What are some of your favorite topics to speak about? Perseverance, Show vs. Tell, Writing first pages that Pop! and other topics.
Tell us about some of your favorite conferences and why you like them.
I tend to love the smaller more intimate conferences where you can really get to know people. But then, there’s the ACFW massive conference which is really awesome in its own right.
Have you organized or led other types of groups to support writers?
Writers groups, but I honestly prefer to leave that to folks with amazing organizational skills. Or, you DON’T want to see my office!!!
How else do you provide support for writers?
Seeing potential in someone and just wanting to help them get it right!
Tell us about a facet of mentoring that particularly excites you.
Starting to work with a new author, and then seeing them receive a contract from a publisher, then seeing readers go crazy for their novels.
What venues/methods have you found most effective for meeting and mentoring writers?
Conferences, for sure. And, of course, referrals.
What advice do you have for writers as we interact with our peers? What can we do to be better supporters and mentors of our fellow writers?
Do your best to show them that you are a professional. Learn to do things the right way first time out and it will show. What can we do to be better supporters and mentors of our fellow writers? Help by reposting new book releases for friends, take part in contests, help by becoming beta readers and being part of friends’ launch teams.
Linda S. Glaz is an agent with Hartline Literary Agency, and also the author of eight novels and two novellas, so she “gets” writers. She represents authors in both the Christian and secular communities. She speaks at numerous conferences and workshops around the country each year. Married with three grown children and four grands, she lives in a small town where everyone is family.
Leadership with a Servant’s Heart is about being a servant leader to equip the current and next generation of leaders.
Why do you write? Do you have a theme, message, or goal for your books?
It’s therapeutic and fun. It aligns with my personal life mission – to support and advocate for the dreams, goals and aspirations of others.
How long have you been writing?
19 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?
No book contracts – all of my books are independently (self) published. The 17 books that I written as the principal author, or a contributing author, have earned 23 literary awards. Goes to show that many traditional publishers don’t recognize or acknowledge talent.
Which of your books is your favorite?
Book #1 – Know God and Do the Will of God Concerning Your Life, published in 2001 and revised in 2011 and Book #17 – Leadership with a Servant’s Heart, released in 2019 and winner of 6 literary awards so far in 2020.
Tell us about an award you won that was particularly meaningful.
All are invaluable and quite humbling. The publishing industry and our readers are saying that they appreciate our literary skills and messaging. Here are links to a few so far in 2020:
It’s random, but usually carve out 90 minutes, 6 days/week to writing. No writing on Sunday’s – it’s my rest day.
What has been your greatest joy(s) in your writing career?
Comments from my readers and book tours where I meet people from across the USA
What has been your darkest moment(s)?
Unscrupulous public relations folks and social media experts that overcharge for their services. In both cases, these groups of people take advantage of what the author does not know.
How many times in your career have you experienced rejection? How did they shape you?
I have received over 30 rejection letters from traditional publishers. In hindsight, it was a blessing. At the time of the rejection, it really hurt.
Where do you get your ideas?
Study, research and reflection
Who is your favorite author to read?
Dr. Myles Munroe
What advice can you give aspiring writers that you wished you had gotten, or that you wished you would have heeded?
Get started, it’s the only way to finish.
What are common mistakes you see aspiring writer’s make?
Thinking that their book will be an immediate bestseller. It crushes their dreams
Where/How do you recommend writers try to break into the market?
Attend a writers conference near their home.
Reverend Kevin Wayne Johnson Celebration Church @ Columbia (MD) / Celebration United (a church development network)Pastor of Leadership Development / Deputy Director www.wininlife.comFaith Community Commissioner – Commission for SUICIDE PREVENTION (2019-2023)Governor Larry Hogan (Maryland) Board of Directors (National and Baltimore, MD) Nexus Youth & Family Solutions, Plymouth, MN (2019 – )Advocating for people with disabilities, at-risk youth, and their families www.nexusfamilyhealing.org Founder/CEO/Publisher – Writing for the Lord Ministries
The first thing a beginning writers often hear is “write what you know.” Good advice! But once you have exhausted what you know, how do you find other things to write about? Is it possible to write about things you don’t know?
Of course it is. You just have to know how to locate information that can make you a temporary expert!
1. Research. These days we have research at our fingertips. Start with an online search on a topic you would like to write about. Read the information but don’t stop there. Locate the sources in the bibliography of the article and go to some of them. The closer you can get to the original source of your information, the more accurate it will be.
2. Interview others who are experts on your topic. There are websites that can connect you with experts in every field. Local directories can give you contact information of those experts in your area. Social media is now a quick way to find people who are knowledgeable on a certain topic. If you still can’t find enough for your article, try colleges or local educators. Often they can give you the information you need or know someone who is knowledgeable in that area.
3. Look in your newspaper. People who write articles for newspapers and magazines have already done research and if they have already written about the topic you want to write about, they can be a gold mine of information.
4. Spend some time learning about the subject. For instance, Barbara Ehrenreich wanted to write about the welfare system in our country. She got a job and tried to live off of her meager salary as she researched that system.
At one point I wrote a soccer handbook. I had no idea how to begin or even what the rules for soccer were. My sons friends who played on the high school soccer team stopped by almost every afternoon to see what questions I had about the game. Those young men made it possible for me to complete my assignment and do it well.
Perhaps you are writing about a character in your novel and you are not familiar with the occupation of one of your characters. Ask to shadow someone for several days who has the same job. You would be surprised what you can learn in just a few sessions with someone who is knowledgeable.
As you can see there are lots of ways to write about something you don’t know about. So maybe we should rephrase our subject. If you are a beginning writer, write what you know and write what you can learn.
LindaGilden is an award-winning writer, speaker, editor, certified writing and speaking coach, and personality consultant. Her passion is helping others discover the joy of writing. Linda recently released Articles, Articles, Articles! and is the author of over a thousand magazine articles. As director of the Carolina Christian Writers Conference, Linda helps many writers take the next step in reaching their writing goals. Linda’s favorite activity (other than eating folded potato chips) is floating in a pool with a good book surrounded by splashing grandchildren—a great source of writing material! www.lindagilden.com
I’ve
always loved books about far flung places. It’s a wonderful way to expand
horizons. I decided to talk with YA author Felicia Bridges about her
experiences and ask her advice about writing about other cultures and
countries.
Felicia believes life is a great adventure written by the Author and Perfecter of our faith. Her adventures as an Army BRAT included living in eight states and two foreign countries by age fifteen. Along with a strong foundation of faith, this nomadic childhood created a passion for missions and travel which leads her writing to exotic places. Felicia has a degree in Psychology, but her experience as a short-term missionary, HR Manager, mother of four, and pastor’s wife provide her most unusual tales.
DJS: I’ve always found studying and learning about different
countries and cultures fascinating. When learning about and researching other
cultures for fiction writing, what do you feel are the most important things to
keep in mind?
FB: Bearing in mind that while customs which are unfamiliar to us
may seem odd, they usually have a logical basis. It’s critical to keep digging
until we can portray another culture authentically in a way that helps broaden
our readers’ understanding.
DJS: What was the most interesting or surprising thing you
discovered as you were delving into your research for your books?
FB: There have been so many surprising and amazing discoveries,
it’s impossible to pick one. One of my favorite discoveries was in researching
Czech folklore. They have such a rich history and I would spend hours one the
internet reading one story after another. The most surprising discovery was the
legendary story of Campbell Bridges that I wove into KenyaQuest. This real-life
Indiana Jones figure lived a fascinating life and I was honored that his widow
and son worked with me to ensure I portrayed that accurately. In BoliviaKnight,
the most amazing discovery was the Salar de Uyuni, the world’s largest salt
flat. This amazing place forms a giant mirror during the rainy season providing
stunning pictures of the sky reflected on the salt. This place tops my bucket
list of places I’d love to visit!
DJS: It’s so important to respect other cultures. How can an
author make sure to stay authentic when writing about a segment of society they
are not a part of?
FB: In today’s world it is absolutely critical to be respectful in
our depiction of other cultures. Failure to recognize and eschew stereotypes
can literally ruin your career with a single tweet. I’ve spent the past ten
years pursuing a greater understanding of my own biases and privilege, and a
deeper understanding of the perspectives of marginalized people groups. Since
my series necessitates portraying people from different cultures, I’ve tried to
be intentional about researching the culture and avoiding stereotypes. We also
need to communicate well that authors of fiction are working from our research
plus imagination.
DJS: I’d love to take research trips. Who wouldn’t? It sounds like
fun! Unfortunately, that’s not always possible. What advice would you give to
someone who wants to learn about other countries or cultures, but their
resources are limited?
FB: We are so privileged to live and write in a time where we can
virtually visit anywhere on the planet. Although nothing can compare to
actually walking in the places that you are writing about, I’ve learned so much
from building relationships with missionaries, from using technological tools
like Google Earth ™ and the internet to search out answers for any question
that arises. For the relatively small cost of internet service, we can zoom in
to street level in Prague, read a firsthand account of an expedition in the
Amazon, or see glorious pictures of the cultural festivals in Papua New Guinea.
I would advise them to research all they can online and save all they can to be
able to travel to their favorite places.
These are all great points and
suggestions! Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge.
Felicia’s series debut, The International Mission Force, features
the exploits of teenage missionaries around the globe and begins with CzechMate, which
is set in Czechia. BoliviaKnight and KenyaQuest carry readers to
Bolivia and Kenya. The next book in the seires, IslandGambit, is set
in Papua New Guinea and due to release in 2020.
Donna Jo Stone writes YA contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.
Tari
Faris’s debut
novel, You Belong With Me, is a multi-layered
contemporary romance that brought tears to my eyes and kept me up past my
bedtime. In our interview, Tari shares the inspiration behind one of the
story’s charming “characters,” a brass hippo named Otis who mysteriously moves
around the town square.
Amanda Barratt, Lauralee Bliss,and
Rita Gerlich join me to share a Behind the Scenes look at our latest
release, Homefront Heroines. Relive life on the American
homefront as four women of the WWII era join the workforce and discover romance
in surprising ways in this new novella collection from Barbour.
The
next Novelists Unwind Giveaway will
be announced on Saturday, February
1, 2020 at http://www.johnnie-alexander.com/. Be sure to
enter for your chance to win a print edition of an amazing inspirational novel.
Writers Chat, hosted by Jean Wise, Johnnie
Alexander, and Bethany Jett, 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.”
Writers Chat Recap for
November Part 2
Featuring…
Conducting Interviews
with Del Duduit
In
this episode, Del shares strategies for scheduling, preparing, and conducting
interviews. As an author and former sports writer, Del has held interviews with
celebrity and collegiate athletes. Success interviews happen more when you know
what to ask and then sit and listen. If you have interviews lined up in the
future, or are interested in conducting an interview, this is the episode for
you.
In this episode, Jean
Wise shares how we can enrich our writing through the use of metaphors. Jean
offers vivid examples of metaphor from the writing masters, along with tips on
how to correctly incorporate metaphor in your own writing. If you are looking
for ways to enhance your writing, this is show is for you.
Watch the November 19th replay.
JOIN US!
Writers Chat
is hosted live each Tuesday for an hour starting at 10 AM CT / 11 AM ET on
Zoom. Here’s the permanent
Zoom room link.
Participants
mute their audio and video during the filming then we open up the room for
anyone who wishes to participate with our guests. The “After Party” is
fifteen-minutes of off-the-record sharing and conversation.
Additionally,
you can grow your network and add to the conversation by joining our Writers Chat Facebook
Group.
Readers love stories about people. Because readers love stories
about people, newspapers, magazines, online publications, and websites love
stories about people. If you’re trying to break into these markets, a few
well-written profile pieces can be a great way to grab an editor’s attention.
But in order to write an article or profile piece, you first
must secure an interview.
Here are three tips for how to bag that elusive media
interview:
1. Email through a person’s website
Most websites have a Contact me link or
page. Sometimes the website will have an online form you can fill out that
includes your contact information and your question. This is the place to paste
a carefully-worded request for an interview, called a pitch email. Remember, even
though you’re filling in boxes on a website, you should treat this as formal
correspondence.
In the letter, include the following information:
When you need an interview (your time frame)
What publication you’re representing. If you’re a freelancer unassociated with a particular publication, say so.
What angle you plan to cover (slant/focus)
How much time the interview will take.
When the story will be published
Anything that sets you apart for doing the interview.
Your experience
Any point of connection
2. Through a publicist
Publicists are great, because they get paid
to book publicity opportunities. They know an article in a local paper or
website in advance of an event can provide much-needed exposure and raise the
number of attendees.
Speakers want people to attend their
events. Musicians want fans to come to their concerts. Writers want readers to
purchase their books. If you hear a well-known personality’s coming to town for
an event, reach out to their publicist and ask for an interview. A publicist’s
information is usually displayed on a celebrity’s website.
I’ve secured many interviews in advance of
an event by contacting the local sponsor and asking for the name of the
publicist or contact person handling the arrangements. Sometimes the local
contact is even willing to reach out on my behalf to request an interview. It’s
in their best interest to ensure that the event is well-publicized and
attended, so they’re usually motivated to help get the word out.
3. Through personal connections.
I secured an interview with Jack Easterby,
the character coach of the New England Patriots, through David, a dental
patient of mine. David suggested that Jack would be a great person to feature
in Reach Out, Columbia, the regional
magazine I edit. “I agree,” I said, “but how in the world would I get an
interview with him?”
“His father is in my Sunday School class,”
David said. “I’d be glad to ask him if he’d connect you.”
True to his word, David reached out to
Jack’s father, who emailed Jack. Imagine my surprise when he agreed to grant us
an interview the next time he was in town. The resulting interview generated so
much material that we featured him in a two-part series on the role of sports
in Christian families.
You never know who knows someone famous. Keep your ears open in conversation and don’t be afraid to ask people to connect you. I was surprised to discover that a man in my Bible study is the grandson of one of the women who started the Vera Bradley company. I haven’t asked for an interview yet, but I plan to.
After you’ve reached out through one or more of these
avenues, give it some time, then follow up. Be polite but persistent. If you’re
speaking with an administrative assistant or secretary but haven’t gotten a
response, ask if there might be a time in the future when the person’s schedule
might be lighter, then check back then. Don’t be discouraged if they don’t say
yes right away. Some interviews take months to set up.
Above all, pray. Ask God to open doors you could never open
on your own. Ask him to help your request find favor with the person who will
read it. Ask him to direct you to the people and stories he wants you to write.
If you surrender your writing life to him, he will guide your path.
Lori Hatcher is the editor of Reach Out, Columbia magazine and the author of several devotional books. Hungry for God … Starving for Time, Five-Minute Devotions for Busy Women won the 2016 Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year award. Her most recent book, Refresh Your Faith – Uncommon Devotions from Every Book of the Bible is due out in the spring of 2020. A blogger, writing instructor, and inspirational speaker, her goal is to help women connect with God in the craziness of life. You’ll find her pondering the marvelous and the mundane on her blog, Hungry for God. . . Starving for Time. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter (@LoriHatcher2), or Pinterest (Hungry for God).
Sometimes writers have a hard time sticking to one genre. I’d thought I see what Judy Christie had to say about the topic.
DJS: You’ve written in a variety of genres, the YA series Wreath, the small-town series Gone to Green, the Trumpet & Vine series, as well as nonfiction. Your new book, Before and After: The Incredible Real-Life Stories of Orphans Who Survived the Tennessee Children’s Home Society, was released last week on Oct 22. You co-authored this book with Lisa Wingate to tell the personal stories related to her bestseller, Before We Were Yours. You also are a journalist! What has been the greatest challenge about writing for different markets?
JC: Different genres mean recalibrating for different readers—and I have to make sure every genre aligns with who I am as a person and fits my writing brand. I try to keep readers in mind at all times, whether I’m writing a magazine profile or a novel. Hint: It’s easier to stick to one genre.
DJS: I know we aren’t
supposed to play favorites with our book babies, but which project seemed more
enjoyable or easier than others? What do you think made it so?
JC: Without a doubt, the new book, Before and After, is the most meaningful project I’ve undertaken; it was both hard to write and enjoyable. What a unique publishing experience—for a novel to inspire a true sequel. Being entrusted with these stories from such kind and loving people made the writing process extra intense. When I sat down to write, I felt like I was in the state of flow writers hear so much about. Plus, I had the pleasure of co-authoring it with the phenomenal Lisa Wingate, which was like playing with a friend while taking a master course in writing.
DJS: I’ve heard that a
novelist should stay in one genre, but many of us are drawn to different
stories and can’t help drifting into new territory. What has been the most
difficult or challenging thing about writing for multiple
genres and how do you think a writer can temper those disadvantages?
JC: I would definitely say: Don’t do as I do, do as I say. *smile* If possible, choose one genre and stick with it. Own it. Become the best at that genre so readers look forward to your next release and know what to expect from your work. An agent once told me that when an author changes genres, the reader feels like she went to her favorite Chinese restaurant and was served an Italian meal. I did not start out to write in different genres, but as I was building a writing career, I took opportunities that arose or wrote projects I was deeply interested in. The hardest thing is building a broad readership when you have a YA audience one time, a self-help audience another, Southern fiction the next. The way to temper that is to be true to who you are in everything you write so that your subjects and themes weave together in some way.
DJS: What’s the best thing about writing in
multiple genres and how can a writer make use of those advantages?
JC: Exploring topics and themes from different perspectives and learning all along the way. Playing with words in totally different ways…. My first book, Hurry Less Worry Less, was about slowing down and enjoying life more, a topic that was so important to me that I had to write about it. But I wanted to write a novel about a big-city journalist who took over a tiny Southern paper. I had so much fun with the Green series. I’ve written a book column for a newspaper for about six years, and that has kept me plugged into publishing in a different way and also keeps deadline skills in good form. Nonfiction worker lets you meet so many good people doing good things. I choose projects that matter to me.
DJS: I’ve often noted
a thread of encouragement in your writing. What encourages you to keep
writing?
JC: That is such a kind thing for you to say because that is my goal in whatever I write. I love telling stories, and that led me into journalism and has stayed with me all these years. Putting words together is a pleasure to me—whether in my journals, which I’ve kept since I was 11, or in a novel that I’m brainstorming. And it is my hope to encourage, entertain and maybe even enlighten.
Thank you, Judy!
Readers, if you’d like to read an interview I had with Judy about Before and After, visit my blog here.
Author Judy Christie has had 18 books published, including three Southern small-town novel series and is an award-winning newspaper reporter and editor. Sign up for her e-newsletter and a free guide to telling family stories at www.judychristie.com. Follow her on Facebook @judychristieauthor.
Donna Jo Stone writes YA
contemporary novels about tough issues but always ends the stories with a note
of hope. She blogs at donnajostone.com.
When I interviewed Dr. Gary Chapman, author of The 5 Love Languages and a bazillion other books, I prayed for a unique interview question to set the tone for our time together. As Linda Gilden shared in last month’s post, “Interviewing – An Article Writer’s Best Tool,” one of the greatest tools we have as writers is the interview. “Quotes from individuals strengthen your point,” Gilden wrote, “and let your readers know that even if you are not an expert on the subject, you know people who are well-versed, and you work hard to make the connection.”
Whether you’re writing an informational article that
includes quotes from an expert or a profile piece using original quotes, you
want to be sure to handle your interview well. Here are a few tips for a successful
conversation:
1 Do your homework.
Research your subject well. Learn everything you can about your subject/ministry/product/service before the interview so you won’t waste your (or their) time by asking for information you can easily find on the internet. Take notes and use your notes to craft your questions.
Sometimes you’ll discover unusual or
intriguing information your subject might be too modest to share. These facts
can chart the course of your interview and help you deepen and flesh out your
article.
Often you may have only ten or 15 minutes to talk with your subject. You’ll want to spend these valuable minutes asking questions to unearth unique quotes and information, not rehash stuff someone else has already covered.
2 Create interview questions that deliver a new twist to who, what, when, where, why and how.
Don’t be afraid to dig deeper, but respect your subject’s privacy. Ask questions your readers might be wondering about.
As I prepared for my in-person interview
with Gary Chapman, I asked his assistant what his love language was. She said,
“Acts of service.” I used this information in an unusual way when we finally
met in person.
Finally, conclude by giving your subject the
chance to talk about something they consider important that you may not have
thought of. Ask, “Is there anything you’d like our readers to know that we
haven’t covered yet?” or “Is there a question you’ve always wished someone
would ask you, but they never have?”
3 Ask permission to use a digital recorder, especially on a phone interview.
After a little small talk, I usually say something like, “I want to be sure I quote you accurately. Would you mind if I recorded our interview?” I’ve never had a subject refuse.
Once you have their permission, put your
phone on speaker, turn on your digital recorder, and place it near the phone.
If I’m interviewing in person, I use an inexpensive app called JustPressRecord,
which allows me to record, transcribe, and email the conversation to myself
later.
Occasionally someone will want to say
something “off the record.” When this happens, I pause the recorder until we’ve
moved beyond the subject in question.
4 Honor your subject’s time by sticking to the agreed-upon time limit.
Set a timer, and when you’re a few minutes away from the end of the interview, acknowledge this by saying something like, “Our time is almost up, and I want to respect your time. May I ask one final question?” Sometimes your subject will be willing to talk longer, but if they don’t offer, don’t presume. Wrap up the interview as soon as they’ve finished their answer by thanking them for talking with you.
5 If you know the date, tell them when you expect the article to be published and offer to send them a few copies or a link.
Ask for their address, and follow up with a hand-written thank you note. If you worked with a publicist or personal assistant to set up the interview, send them a note as well. Always leave a trail of gratitude and professionalism behind you.
Interviews can be scary, but they don’t have to be. If you
do your homework, write clever questions, use a voice recorder, honor your
subject’s time, and follow up with a thank you note, you’ll maximize your
interview and further establish yourself as a writing professional.
On the day I interviewed Dr. Chapman, I baked a batch of
cookies, packaged them up, and brought them to the interview. After I
introduced myself to Dr. Chapman and Debbie, his assistant, I handed them both
a box of cookies.
“I heard your love language is Acts of Service, Dr.
Chapman,” I said, “so I wanted to do something special for you. These are
homemade oatmeal pecan cookies. I hope you enjoy them.” He laughed, thanked me,
and we sat down to one of the best interviews of my career. Several weeks later
I received an email from Debbie thanking me for the cookies and asking for the
recipe. Now how’s that for a surprise twist?
Lori Hatcher is the editor of Reach Out, Columbia magazine and the author of several devotional books. Hungry for God … Starving for Time, Five-Minute Devotions for Busy Women won the 2016 Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year award. Her most recent book, Refresh Your Faith – Uncommon Devotions from Every Book of the Bible is due out in the spring of 2020. A blogger, writing instructor, and inspirational speaker, her goal is to help women connect with God in the craziness of life. You’ll find her pondering the marvelous and the mundane on her blog, Hungry for God. . . Starving for Time. Connect with her on Facebook, Twitter (@LoriHatcher2), or Pinterest (Hungry for God).
One of the greatest tool we have as article writers is the
interview. You do not necessarily have to do an hour-long interview to receive
great benefit to your articles. Quotes from individuals strengthen your point
and let your readers know that even if you are not an expert on the subject you
know people who are well-versed and you work hard to make
the connection.
Here are several reasons the interview helps the article
writers make their articles stronger.
The opinion of someone else validates your subject and adds value to the material. Interviewing someone who is knowledgeable in your subject broadens the scope of your reach and helps more people to personally identify with your subject.
An expert brings extra meaning to your article and gives credibility to your subject. Even if your article is not an academic one, having a quote from an expert let’s the reader know that there is deeper knowledge to be had if they want to pursue it.
Quotes show how your subject can be applied to daily life. If you are writing an article on depression, yet you have never experienced depression, having a quote or a sidebar from someone who has gone through depression will bring the human element into your writing. Likewise, if you are writing on running marathons and have never run one, seek out a marathon runner who can not only read your article and verify key elements, but he or she can also provide firsthand experience to illustrate your points.
Often
when you interview someone for a quote to go in an article, you find an aspect
of the subject that you didn’t even think to include. So, talking to others
helps you strengthen your outline and not leave out important parts.
Those
you include in your article will help spread the word about your writing.
Even if you only contact someone for a quote, remember your
manners and be respectful of their time. Be sure to write a thank you note.
Send them a copy of the published article and let them know where they can get
copies or find it online.
If there are parts of your conversation you aren’t able to
use for this article, file it away to use another time for a different article.
Never throw anything away because you never know when you may have an
opportunity to use it!
LindaGilden is an award-winning writer,
speaker, editor, certified writing and speaking coach, and personality
consultant. Her passion is helping others discover the joy of writing. Linda
recently released Articles, Articles,
Articles! and is the author of over a thousand magazine articles and 16
books including the new LINKED Quick
Guides for Personalities. As Director of the Carolina Christian Writers
Conference, Linda helps many writers take the next step in reaching their
writing goals. Linda’s favorite activity (other than eating folded potato chips)
is floating in a pool with a good book surrounded by splashing grandchildren—a
great source of writing material! www.lindagilden.com
Since we’re on the eve of Memorial Day Weekend, it only seems fitting to highlight Rick Barry’s WWII novels, The Methuselah Project and Gunner’s Run.
However, The Methuselah Project is much more than a military thriller. The protagonist, a German POW, becomes a guinea pig for longevity experiments. By the time he escapes, seventy years have passed but his appearance hasn’t changed.
Fun fact: The cover model is wearing Rick’s bomber jacket. In fact, those are Rick’s shoulders inside that jacket!
If westerns are more your style, then tie your horse to the hitchin’ post and take a listen as Jennifer Uhlarik shares how a Florida gal fell in love with this classic genre.
Barbour Books has published seven of Jennifer’s novellas in their popular historical collections.
Among other topics, Jennifer and I talk about the Sand Creek Massacre, the inspiration behind her first full-length novel which releases next year.
The Novelists Unwind June Giveaway will be announced on Saturday, June 2nd at novelistsunwind.com. Be sure to enter for your chance to win a print edition of an amazing inspirational novel.
Your Novelists Unwind host:
Award-winning author Johnnie Alexander creates characters you want to meet and imagines stories you won’t forget. Her award-winning debut novel, Where Treasure Hides (Tyndale), is a CBA bestseller and has been translated into Dutch and Norwegian. She’s also the author of the Misty Willow Series (Revell)–Where She Belongs, When Hope Arrives, and What Hope Remembers–and writes cozy mysteries and contemporaries for Annie’s Fiction.
Since talking about writing is so much fun, Johnnie hosts Novelists Unwind, which features videotaped interviews with inspirational authors, and Writers Chat, a weekly online show. She also teaches at writers conferences and for Serious Writer Academy. She is marketing director for the Mid-South Christian Writers Conference and past president of both the ACFW Memphis and ACFW Central Florida chapters.
Johnnie recently moved to Oklahoma with Griff, her happy-go-lucky collie, and Rugby, her raccoon-treeing papillon. Connect with her at johnnie-alexander.com and other social media sites via linktree @johnniealexndr.
When I asked Hannah to be my guest, she said, “We’re going to have so much fun.”
She wasn’t wrong!
Besides finding a lot to laugh about, we talked about crème brulee pineapple and hot & spicy cinnamon Oreos, embracing military themes and honest endings, glass bottles and shiny rocks, and how God doesn’t waste a hurt. Read more here, or watch the video below.
Introducing Jolina Petersheim
Jolina Petersheim is the bestselling author of The Divide, Alliance, The Midwife, and The Outcast, which Library Journal called “outstanding . . . fresh and inspirational” in a starred review and named one of the best books of 2013.
Learn more about the inspiration behind The Alliance and its sequel, The Divide, in our interview:
Your Novelists Unwind host:
Best-selling author Johnnie Alexander imagines heart-tugging stories in multiple genres. Her debut novel, Where Treasure Hides, has been translated into Dutch and Norwegian. She also wrote the Misty Willow Series: Where She Belongs, When Hope Arrives, and What Hope Remembers. Since Johnnie loves to talk about writing, she interviews inspirational authors for Novelists Unwind, co-hosts a weekly online show, Writers Chat, and teaches at writers conferences and on Serious Writer Academy. Johnnie recently moved to Oklahoma with Griff, her happy-go-lucky collie, and Rugby, her raccoon-treeing papillon. Connect with Johnnie on her website or her Facebook Author Page.
