Writing tips King Lear – by Frederick Buechner There would be a strong argument for saying that much of the most powerful preaching of our time is the preaching of the poets, playwrights, novelists because it is often…
Publishing tips How to Work with an Agent by Tim Beals Once you’ve secured the services of an agent, don’t expect him to do all your career-building for you. Continue making and using professional contacts, gathering information, seeking…
Marketing tips Don’t Worry — You’re Normal (For A Writer, Anyway) by Kerry Connelly Who’s bright idea was this, anyway? They should have stopped me. Why didn’t they stop me? This sucks. Like, it literally sucks any sense of self-esteem…
Writing tips The Reasons We Give The reasons we give for writing spiritual memoirs are often more practical than this abstract, heartfelt longing. We say we want to pass our stories along to our children, or…
Writing tips The Cabbage Looper - from “The Writing Life” by Annie Dillard You write it all, discovering it at the end of the line of words. The line of words is a fiber…
Marketing tips, Writing tips Trust (part 2) When copies [of virtually everything can be copied] are free, you need to sell things that cannot be copied. Well, what can’t be copied? Trust, for instance. Trust cannot be…
Marketing tips, Publishing tips, Writing tips Flowing The Internet is the world’s largest copy machine. At its most fundamental level this machine copies every action, every character, every thought we make while we ride upon it. In…
Writing tips Is It Pertinent? - from “The Writing Life” by Annie Dillard It is the beginning of a work that the writer threw away. A painting covers its tracks. Painters work from the…
Uncategorized Silence – by Natasha Sistrunk Robinson Vulnerability can be dangerous in the same way water is dangerous. Like water, vulnerability can be the source of cleansing and renewal or it can be the source of drowning…
Marketing tips Moving A Blog to A Website Having a blog is an important element of online success. Even with the increasing importance of social media, you still need an easily accessible repository of your rich content. And…
Writing tips A Means to Engage That Creative Force It comforts me that I’m not alone. All sorts of people—elderly church-goers, prisoners, parents, teenage moms, recovering addicts, business executives, homeless people—are eager to put words to their spiritual journeys.…
Writing tips Do Not Write to an Audience On a retreat in Texas once, I heard Frederick Buechner say that he writes to people he loves and who really know him. “You use your real voice with those…
Marketing tips, Writing tips Father James Martin: “A Discussion on Spiritual Writing” The Rev. James Martin is a Jesuit priest, best-selling author, and editor at large at America, the national Catholic magazine. He is arguably the leading Catholic author. This extended interview…
Writing tips The Line of Words is a Hammer from “The Writing Life” by Annie Dillard When you write, you lay out a line of words. The line of words is miner’s pick, a woodcarver’s gouge, a surgeon’s probe.…
Writing tips Why Do We Write? What, then, could I do to ease my ache? If I prayed, God’s pervasive, dissatisfying silence only intensified my longing. Instead I dug into my jeans’ pockets for scrap paper…
Writing tips That Masterpiece Is In You by Patricia Kendalls A cool breeze tosses the sheer white curtain, allowing the sun’s rays to invade the tiny room. A sliver laptop and the aqua painted chipped mug…
Writing tips You Can’t be a Reader and a Writer - by Tony Jones A long time ago, someone told me, “The best writers are great readers.” The thinking was that if you read a lot — and read…
Publishing tips How to Pitch an Agent/Editor in 15 Minutes or Less - by Christopher Ferebee Often times when you attend a writers conference, you have an opportunity to sit down, speed dating style, for 3-15 minutes with various editors and agents.…
Publishing tips 5 Tips to a Great Book Proposal – by Angela Scheff When putting together your proposal, please put as much care into it as if it were going to be published itself. There are some things that immediately stand out to…
Marketing tips An Audience That Can Be Activated – by Mark Schaefer The key to assembling an audience that can be activated is to patiently build a meaningful and relevant emotional connection with them. This can occur two ways: passively or actively.…
