Cowboy Musing

The blind leading the blind

2012-01-29T08:06:00.002-06:00

I used to have the time to be very active in our local writing group, to the point that I was a two time President of the organization. Unfortunately these days I nearly always have a place to be working conferences and events when their meetings occur. But that’s beside the point.

I sat in so many classes and crit groups and talked constantly with other writers and amassed a level of knowledge that I was so confident in that I began to teach in the group. The information that I handed out was eagerly received.

Then came the fateful day that we had a bestselling author there to present. He also sat in on my session for beginners. After it was over he quietly said, “You don’t really believe all that garbage you were handing out, do you?”

Well, yeah . . . I did.

I was stunned. I took him out to eat that evening and we talked for a long time. I came to understand two things, first that I had ceased to learn and started to teach, and second that I was getting all of my input from writers who didn’t know any more about it than I did. We shared opinions with each other until we came to accept it as truth. I gave up teaching until I could reach the point where I could be sure of my subject matter and have a strong level of confidence that I could believe what I was saying was accurate.

Nobody has a handle on exactly how things work in this business. Every time I tell a group that in my experience something works a certain way, someone is sure to point out that some highly successful person did it just the opposite with phenomenal results. Absolutely, there is always the exception that proves the rule.

I’m not a gambler, but I understand playing the odds. If most of the time certain actions are going to produce certain results, I feel no need to try and buck the trend and do the opposite hoping that I can be successful where others are not.

Everyone has something to teach, and I try to be open minded to it all. But am I more likely to learn from someone who has had significant success, or someone who has studied and possesses a lot of information but has not been able to prove that information with results? That was me, I knew a lot, but much of it turned out to be a collection of opinions rather than someone sharing what had proven successful for them.

I was the blind leading the blind.

I teach again now, with many years of experience under my belt, but I don’t JUST teach, I try to constantly learn. I try to learn because teaching without learning means I am soon passing on stagnant information as fast as this business changes. And I constantly tell people in classes and workshops that while I am confident information I pass on is accurate, there is always another way to do everything.

We have to learn to filter and assign weight to people we are learning from based on how likely they are to know the truth of what they are saying, I know these days I sure try to do that.

Some good news

2012-01-14T10:43:00.003-06:00

I love it when things are happening.Three clients have debut novels with Oak Tara and have now signed with them for two more books each to make their books into three series. Congratulations to Pam Meyers, Lynda Schab and Suzanne Hartmann. On the left is a picture of Pam signing her contract with Ramona Tucker of Oak Tara.

On the left is the cover for "Path of Promise," a book in the new Stitches of Time quilting Series from Abingdon Press, to release in February 2013.

Bonnie Calhoun also has a book in the same series at Abingdon set to release in April entitled "Pieces of the Heart."

New Client Sharon Srock just signed with Harbourlight Press for the first two books in her Women of Valley View series. The first book is entitled Callie and the second one is Terri.

Max Elliott Anderson has two books coming out from Comfort Publishing and plans a special 'wolf' promotion for the two of them at once. The books are "Terror at Wolf Lake" and "Legend of the White Wolf." Should be fun.

Dee Yoder has a new contract from Kregel for her Amish book, "The Miting."

I love it when a plan comes together.

Steven Bly's Last Book

2012-01-05T13:43:00.002-06:00

The editor at Center Point Large Print sent me this note about Stephen Bly’s last book. Stephen was a good friend and I consider it an honor to help them get the word out on this last offering:

Center Point Large Print is proud to present Stephen Bly’s latest (and sadly, his last) Western fiction title, Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot. I've attached to this email, the cover art and the text.
Thrilled to be given the opportunity to publish Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot, we at Center Point Large Print were saddened to learn that Steve had succumbed to illness before completing it. So when Janet, Steve’s widow and a published writer, asked if she and her three sons could complete the work as a tribute to Steve, I couldn’t say “yes” fast enough. I’m sure you’ll agree that Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot is a tribute to both the character, Stuart Brannon - and to his creator, Stephen Bly. A favorable mention to your readers would be very much appreciated.
For those readers who would like to read the entire Stuart Brannon oeuvre, Greenbrier Book Company will reissue the six books that came before Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot in the spring and summer of 2012 (www.greenbrierbooks.com <http://www.greenbrierbooks.com>).

Stuart Brannon’s Final Shot
By Stephen Bly, with Janet, Russell, Michael and Aaron Bly
Published by Center Point Large Print
Available March 1, 2012

Synopsis
In 1905, at 58 years old, legendary lawman Stuart Brannon - now a rancher and widower - had no intention of leaving his beloved Arizona Territory to attend the Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition in Portland, Oregon, nor to participate in the celebrity golf tournament for the Willamette Orphan Farm. Even an emotional appeal for his longtime friend didn’t persuade him. His life no longer consisted of bloodthirsty men to track down . . . people trying to kill him . . . lawless gangs preying on the innocent.

Then the telegram came: Stuart, I need you in Portland. Tim Wiseman is missing. I think there’s a cover-up going on. Tell folks you’re going to the Exposition. Nose around. Find out how a U.S. Marshal can disappear and no one knows why. I’ll contact you there. T.R.
How could he refuse a request from the President of the United States?

Filled with humor and heart, adventure and romance, Stuart Brannon’s Last Shot is the story of a man who embodied the Code of the West. Christy Award-winning author Stephen Bly (August 17, 1944 - June 8, 2011) wrote 105 books including six Stuart Brannon novels. In Stuart Brannon’s Last Shot, we bid a fond farewell to the character - and to Stephen Bly, his creator.

To this I add, Happy Trails, Steven – we miss you.
Terry Burns

New Years Resolutions

2012-01-01T06:00:00.001-06:00

Did you make a New Year’s Resolution?

That’s the traditional way to greet the New Year. Personally, I think the only time I have kept such a resolution is when I resolved not to make any more dang fool resolutions. In our family it was eating black-eyed peas and sauerkraut to welcome the New Year and bring us luck. Well, actually the sauerkraut wasn’t in there, it came from my wife’s side of the family.

We do these things not because we think they will bring us luck but out of tradition. I don’t believe in Luck, I believe in being in God’s favor. Trusting in luck leaves God out of the equation.

All right, if I don’t believe in luck and don’t make resolutions, then starting a New Year is no big deal, right? I wouldn’t say that. Putting the old year behind us and facing the new one with hope and anticipation is a good thing. To me the mechanism for looking forward is not a resolution, but a to-do list.

This is nothing new, there is always a to-do list. Life is good when we are making progress working down the things on our list. Stress comes when the list starts mounting and we don’t seem to be making progress. When that happens it is often because the things on our list are too big, and they are overwhelming us. They need to be broken down into smaller tasks that are achievable.

Writing a book is too big. It needs to be broken into a time period in which we will write a couple of thousand words. Loosing weight is too big, it needs to be losing a couple of pounds in a certain time. Those chores around the house need to be achievable, or broken down.

And some things don’t belong on the list. I smile on a lot of the manuscripts I receive. The plot develops until the protagonist is forced to their knees, forced to admit that they simply cannot resolve the problem facing them. It is written in such as way as if the author has just figured that out for the first time. Probably not, but that might be the case. There are some things we will not make headway on until we admit they are beyond us and we can only turn them over to God.

But lists are immortal. We can never work them off. If we think we have, we look and find there are new items we just haven’t placed there yet. A list is never gone until we die, and even then, someone else has to take what is left on OUR list and add it to THEIR list.

As we face a New Year I hope you have the right things on your list, meaningful and achievable things, and I hope you make wonderful progress in getting them done. That’s what makes a good year.

My Daughter's wedding

2011-12-27T20:29:00.000-06:00

I gave David Piearcy one of the most precious things I have when I gave away my daughter Teri at her wedding. She was absolutely beautiful and I was absolutely proud.

Walking her down the aisle

Saundra and I with the bride and groom flanked by Teri's daughter Mandy and son Jacob.

Saying their vows

Leaving in a flurry of bubbles

My deadbeat Uncle

2011-12-14T07:35:00.002-06:00

My Uncle Jack has a problem with obsessive spending. He owes everybody but he can’t stop. When the bank cuts him off he starts writing hot checks and when that gets too hard he goes down in his basement and starts printing money himself. There’s only one way to make him stop, we lock him up where he can’t do it any more.

My Uncle Sam has a problem too. Like Uncle Jack he too is writing checks he can’t cover and he also has a printing press so he can print his own money. As attractive as it sounds we can’t lock him up where he can’t do it any more because there is one difference; people cover his losses. And what the people don’t give him, he can borrow from the world.

But more and more the world is having trouble too and the time is about to come when they quit loaning Uncle Sam forty cents of every dollar he sends. And if he just keeps running those printing presses after that the money he prints will keep getting more and more diluted until it is worthless. We’ve all heard the stories about how Germany did this after WWII until it took a whole wheelbarrow full of money to buy a loaf of bread.

There is just one thing left to do, the people have to give him more money. The problem is 8.6% of the people don’t have jobs so they are taking money from him, not giving it. No wait, there’s another 10% who have given up looking for work so they aren’t counted in those numbers and neither are the ones that are underemployed and also still getting money as well. That means at least one in five are not putting money in but are taking it out. Our response to the problem is illogical, we increase the credit limit to allow even more borrowing. What? Are you kidding me?

Every time our leaders make a speech it is about spending more money. Every time Congress gets in session they are talking about how to spend more money. Money we don’t have. Money we have to borrow. We don’t hear them saying it because we are distracted since they are not talking about spending money, they are talking about programs. A program is a good thing, right? We all want the things these programs offer, right? When I was a kid and walked into a candy store everything looked good too, but I didn’t have credit to borrow money and didn’t have a printing press so even though the candy was good I couldn’t have it. When did we forget that lesson?

Uncle Jack is under control, he’s locked up where he can’t spend money he doesn’t have. But what do we do about Uncle Sam, put it off until people quit lending him the money he needs to keep up his spending habits and the printing presses have run until money is worthless? Put it off until 30% or 40% of the people are taking money from the government instead of giving it? What will the money they are getting from the government be worth anyway?

We have to make my Uncle Sam quit spending money he doesn’t have, but how?

And when?

An Awkward Situation

2011-12-12T13:14:00.002-06:00

It's a lot like getting a divorce.

Over the past few years I have seen some friendships break up over writers working on a book together. I can't say it is something I have enjoyed being involved in. There are a lot of reasons it can happen, but it does happen.

I don't mean to suggest that it ALWAYS happens, there are some terrific books written by teams of writers who work well together and who end up maybe even better friends for the experience. But then there are these other ones...

I saw a two book deal go down the tubes because the writers could no longer work together. I saw not just one but several cases of ladies who had been friends for many years no longer on speaking terms. In one case, the authors weren't communicating and everything was being passed through me. Not fun. I'm dealing right now with a lawyer presiding over another break-up. That's what brought this blog to mind.

In the cases I have been connected with it has always been ladies but I surely don't mean to infer that is always the case. I'm aware of a number of situations where it has happened with male writers as well.

What's the answer? I believe it lies in having a clear understanding up front and getting it down in writing in a letter of understanding or a collaboration agreement. I think this is a really good idea even if the people that are planning the project together are wonderful friends and think it could never happen to them.

In the document there should be agreement on who is taking the lead and what happens if they disagree on changes to be made to the manuscript. There should be agreement on how the copyright will be listed, on who is going to do what in the writing. It should address things like who will arbitrate disagreements, how each will get paid. It should address if they are actually forming a partnership or have a disclaimer that states that is not their intention. There should be a statement that the term of the agreement would coincide with the life of the work.

Who has the say on expenses? Can they be incurred without mutual agreement? In the event that one or more is unwilling or unable to continue or complete the work the others may complete the task and the authors agree to discuss and modify the understanding in regards to the new pro-ration of work. If an understanding cannot be reached there needs to be an agreement to submit to arbitration.

Finally, the legalese:

The terms and conditions of this agreement shall be binding and inure to the benefit of the executors, administrators and successors of each of us. Our respective signatures herein below shall constitute this to be a complete and binding agreement between us. This agreement may not be assigned by any party without prior written consent of the others, except that any party may assign his share of the gross proceeds hereunder to a third person, subject to the terms and conditions of this agreement.

These things can be handled so much better before things happen than after there is stress and hard feelings involved, and having it spelled out in advance can avoid some of the situations. That's my take on it anyway.

Is age a factor in writing?

2011-12-05T11:54:00.002-06:00

People come up to me at conferences, programs and workshops and say "Am I too (old/young) to start writing? That depends, do we have something to say? Are we willing to spend the time necessary to learn our craft? Some tell me they are XXX age and don't have time to spend years trying to get a writing career established. If that's the case, publish it yourself, give a few copies to your friends and relatives and you'll feel better.

But if we are serious about wanting to write and write well, people aren't born knowing how to do that. Someone who can cook a good hot dog is not qualified to open a restaurant, and someone who can tell a good story is not qualified to write it in a manner that deserves publication. Not without learning some skills. With age comes experiences that can fuel delightful stories but if it means we are set in our ways and not open to learning these skills and not open to revision, then yes, we can be too old to get started.

Too young to get started? In a recent discussion in a big writing group I was struck by the number of writers who said they had started trying at a very young age and had remained determined. I first published in the Jr High newspaper and in a state-wide poetry anthology, so I can relate.

I had a great experience a couple of years back doing a workshop for the Groom Texas school district. There were kids from the fifth grade through high school. It was a delightful experience and they asked great questions and showed a lot of interest. Well, the older high school kids were far too "cool" to show open interest, but the rest did. The following year the writing group in this area, the Panhandle Professional Writers, sponsored a writing contest for young people. In blind competition where the judges knew nothing of the identity of the person submitting, the Groom kids practically swept the field. One teacher in the district is an active writer and I'm sure had a lot to do with that. I hope I had a little to do with it as well.

There are some writing opportunities specifically open to younger writers. A number of them are writing more than they realize with the advent of blogs, chat rooms and online opportunities such as Facebook and Twitter. You would think perhaps young people don't have the patience to develop skills and to endure the rejections that are an integral part of getting published, but I find just the opposite is true. Because of their age they expect more of this, and the ones that are committed expect to have to build experience and skills and calmly go about doing so.

I don't think age works against them, but it is true that lack of experience can. I recently had a book proposal from a teenager wanting to publish a book that contained deep philosophical insights. The writing wasn't too bad, but I'd never be able to convince an editor that someone of his age had the experience base to form all of these "deep philosophical insights." We may be missing the boat, but I know what the odds are and need to spend my time where I've got a better shot.

Can we be too young or too old to get started? Yes, but do you see what they have in common? One has a wealth of experience but maybe is an age where undertaking a substantial learning effort to get the skills they need is more of an investment than they want to make. The opposite pole is young people who are used to learning but lack the life experiences that they need. This makes me believe it isn't about age at all, but about learning what they need to know to be successful and being willing to do it.

What's your 'voice'?

2011-12-02T13:13:00.002-06:00

How did you find your unique writing voice? Did you struggle to find it or did it come easily to you?

Let me put my writing hat on for a minute, the one in the picture, I don't get to wear it much these days. In my opinion if somebody is struggling to find "their writing voice" they're trying to force it. My writing voice is not the way I talk, my West Texas Drawl, it is who I am.

It's the sum total of my education, my upbringing, my faith, my family, my experiences and it comes through in the way I write, even when I am trying to craft dialogue where the character speaks far differently than how I would speak myself. Some of my characters would speak much as I do, others speak far differently, but always no matter what is going on in the dialogue there are ways I would phrase things and ways that I wouldn't. There are things I would allow in my writing and things I wouldn't. The way I craft sentences, the pacing of my writing, these are the things that make up voice, not the way I speak or make my characters speak. I think far too many writers mistake dialogue for "voice."

--How would you describe your unique writing voice? What is it that you do to make sure your writing "sounds like" you?

My writing style is simple, because that's what I am, a simple old cowboy. If I tried to write complicated literary fiction it wouldn't work because then I would be outside my voice. I write simple, fast-moving stories and even if I'm not trying to do so, my faith is still evident. As long as I stay true to my upbringing I don't have to worry about my voice, it'll be there.

--When reviewing submissions, what do you as an agent look for in others' writing? How do you identify a writer's voice?

I look for the same thing, is the writing natural? I don't try to identify a writer's voice and style but I can tell when it is contrived, when it is not natural. When it is forced it can seem pompous, the story doesn't seem to flow easily, it sounds like the writer is using words and phrasing they are not comfortable with. It feels very much as if they are trying to be something they aren't.

--What advice would you give to beginning/intermediate writers to help them find and develop their unique writing voice?

Don't over-think it. Tell your story, then look at what you've written and see if it sounds like you or if it sounds like you are trying to be someone else. Not the dialogue, we all try to be someone else in the dialogue and sound the way we feel that character should sound, but in the general tone and style of the writing. Does it feel natural, or does it feel like you are trying to write like somebody else? If someone were sitting there with you, is this the way you'd tell them a story?

That's voice.

Christmas Campfire Companion

2011-11-25T10:51:00.001-06:00

JUST IN TIME FOR CHRISTMAS!

Have a reader on your list that likes Christmas? Or likes westerns?

Or Both?

Fourteen of America's top western writers publishing today have contributed delightful Christmas stories to this collection, fourteen saddle-hardened writers who reached down to give a glimpse of their sensitive side. Each story is a gift, and each a take on Christmas . . . a western Christmas.

Livia Reasoner (Livia J. Washburn) has been writing award-winning, critically acclaimed Western, mystery, romance, and historical novels for more than twenty-five years.

Troy D. Smith has published eight books and more than fifty short stories and magazine articles and was a 2001 winner of the Spur Award, the western writer's equivalent of the academy award.

Frank Roderus is a well-published author of over 300 books, twice received the most prestigious award
a western writer can receive, the Spur Award.

Tim Champlin (pseudonym of John Michael Champlin) is the author of 30 historical novels over the past 30 years as well as 35 short stories and non-fiction articles.

Larry D. Sweazy won the WWA Spur award for Best Short Fiction in 2005, and was nominated for a Derringer award in 2007 and has published over 50 non-fiction articles and short stories.

Robert Vaughan sold his first book when he was 19 years old, and, under his own name and several pseudonyms, he has sold more than 400 books, including approximately 200 Westerns. He has hit the NY Times, Publishers’ Weekly, and USA Today bestseller lists numerous times, and is the recipient of the
Spur Award (SURVIVAL, writing as K.C. McKenna).

Douglas Hirt won the Colorado Authors’ League Top Hand Award. His 1998 book, BRANDISH,
and 1999 DEADWOOD, were finalists for the SPUR award given by the Western Writers of America.He is short story writer, and the author of thirty-two novels and one book of nonfiction.

Dusty Richards is the author of a hundred western novels under his name and pseudonyms. He’s won two Spur Awards, one for a novel called “The Horse Creek Incident” and the other a short story on Amazon.com, “The Comanche Moon.” He also received the Cowboy Hall of Fame and Western Heritage Center’s Wrangler award for his book, “The Sundown Chaser.”

Kerry Newcomb was born in Connecticut but had the good fortune to be raised in Texas. Newcomb is a New York Times bestselling author with over forty novels to his credit. He has been published in several countries.

Matthew P. Mayo’s short stories appear in a variety of anthologies, and have been finalists in both Western Writers of America Spur Awards and Western Fictioneers Peacemaker Awards. He also contributes to several popular series of Western and adventure novels and has a number of non-fiction books.

Robert J. Randisi is the author of more than 540 books in the Western, Private Eye, Men’s Adventure, and Horror genres under a number of pen names. As J.R. Roberts he is the creator and author of the long
running series “The Gunsmith.” He also wrote and created the Tracker, Angel Eyes, Bounty Hunter, Mountain Jack Pike.

Rod Miller is author of Things a Cowboy Sees and Other Poems, published by Port Yonder Press. Other recent work includes a historical novel, The Assassination of Governor Boggs as besides poetry and
fiction, he writes nonfiction, magazine articles, book reviews, and essays.

James Reasoner has been a professional writer for more than thirty years. In that time, he has authored several hundred novels and short stories in numerous genres. Best known for his Westerns, historical novels, and war novels, he is also the author of two mystery novels that have achieved cult followings, TEXAS WIND and DUST DEVILS. Writing under his own name and various pseudonyms, his novels have garnered praise from Publishers Weekly, Booklist, and the Los Angeles Times, as well as appearing on the New York Times and USA Today bestseller lists.

They even allowed me to hang out with them in this collection:

Terry Burns writes Christian fiction with a western theme and has over 40 books in print, including 10 novels. He has a two-book set from Port Yonder Press, included in The Sagebrush Collection. These contain the best of his short stories and a Young Adult book, Beyond the Smoke, won the Will Rogers Medallion in 2009.

How long has it been since you read stories from such well know authors? Well, that's too long.

It is now available for order at http://tinyurl.com/campfire-companion

It's Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T06:00:00.007-06:00

Oh yeah, turkey and dressing, side dishes, deserts and good friends to share the meal, then there is the football game coming up and . . .

and . . .

what am I thinking? Thanksgiving is not about food and football.

The name says it all. Thanksgiving is about stopping to count our blessings and to give thanks to our creator for all He has given us, and I don't know about you but Saundra and I have been blessed far beyond what we have any right to expect.

The greatest blessing, that I'm afraid we Christians too often take for granted, is the gift of our salvation. We didn't earn that and there is nothing we could do to deserve it. It is an unthinkable gift from a loving father, one we don't stop to give thanks for often enough.

Then there is our health, we are indeed blessed there. Sure, at our age we have some small issues, but overall we have been blessed in that department our entire lives.

We're blessed with family, five kids, ten grandkids, one great-grandson and yet another great grandkid on the way. What a huge blessing, and they are all happy and healthy and we are immensely grateful.

We have a nice home that is paid for and fits our needs very well. We don't have a lot of money but our finances are stable and we have what we need. Oh sure, there are things that we want, we wouldn't be human if there weren't things we'd like to have, but I can't think of a thing that we REALLY NEED that we don't have.

We really miss mom, particularly on holidays, but we console ourselves knowing how wonderfully happy she is and who she is with. Today of all days I remember a statement she made to me once, "I've never been hurt, never been mistreated, never been hungry. I've walked with the Lord all my life and it has been a wonderful life." She said something like that just months before she passed on, and thinking back on it that would pretty much go for me as well. I've had some hard times, but overall have been blessed my entire life and like mom have walked with the Lord for all of it.

I'm going to cut me off a big slice of gratitude and completely cover it with praise gravy because that is going to be my main focus today, giving thanks. And maybe having a little dressing on the side.

What have YOU got to be thankful for?

"Soldiers Serve with Heart" to present Wogbook's to Deploying Soldiers at DFW Airport in USO Event

2011-11-20T06:00:00.000-06:00

Dinner and entertainment are provided while the soldiers receive orders of their deployment. “As a veteran it is heart warming to see the response of so many volunteers wanting to show their support of our Military families on a day when most are thinking about being home,” said Ryan Lynn, founder of Soldiers Serve With Heart. “Last year I actually ran into a soldier from my unit who was re-deploying, it was awesome to connect with him on this special day.”

In addition to dinner, gift bags will be provided to the Soldiers by Monster Energy Drinks, and Crossover Publications will provide copies of its latest release, WOGBOOK - The KJV400NT Edition books.

WOGBOOK, the Words of God in a book, (written by Terry's client Randall Mooney) provides a uniquely spiritual reading experience. By removing the verse numbers and reworking the structure into a more fluid flow of information and dialogue, we have created a New Testament book that can be read in only a few days. This structure allows one to read the book many times over and to find the inspiration and wisdom for life’s journey. Discover the Words of God in a refreshingly new way. This unique approach to reading the New Testament allows the reader to experience the whole story of Christ and the Christian life in a book format.

For more information about Soldiers Serve with Heart, WOGBOOK, and Crossover Publications, visit the site and link at www.crossoverpublications.com.

Is Amazon putting coal in small publishers’ stockings for Christmas?

2011-11-16T12:04:00.000-06:00

Some authors’ books which last week were listed as available (ship in 1-2 days) are now listed as 5-8 weeks or 6-9 weeks or some 1-2 weeks. There doesn’t seem to be any discernable logic about what is marked with what availability. It doesn’t take a genius to see what marking a book as ‘available in 5-8 weeks’ means at this time of the year. So, what’s the deal?

Many of these books marked with such a delivery time are available right now, and if an order is placed at Amazon, it will indeed ship right away, but how is the public to know that? And if someone is ordering a book as a Christmas present how would they have any faith that they would receive it in time with the delivery date marked like that?

Amazon is the big gorilla in book sales expected by some to sell over 80% of the books in the market. What’s the old story about “where does a 500 pound gorilla sleep? Anywhere he wants to. Is that what’s going on here?

Actually, I can’t think of any reason Amazon would want people to think books they could be selling would not be in stock until after Christmas. Selling those books is what they do. Another small publisher told me when he saw that on some of his titles he quickly ordered a copy through them and it updated immediately. That’s the kind of thing that makes it look like a software glitch, not some kind of action they have taken.

As we get closer, you can expect me to talk about Christmas not being about gifts, but rather to remember whose birthday we celebrate. I very much believe that, and bristle every time someone tells me “Happy Holidays” instead of “Merry Christmas.” But even if we put our priorities in the right place we do have to take care of business too.

Retailers make or break their year on Christmas sales and it is important to booksellers, publishers and authors as well. In today’s economy with money very tight we don’t need software problems throwing roadblocks in the way of making the most of the season. I’m told that they are working hard to correct the problem and I hope it gets resolved very soon.

Is this a good time of the year to send proposals?

2011-10-29T06:00:00.003-05:00

You know that I am often asked a question that I feel it would be good to answer to others as well. One of my clients just asked such a question. Is this time of the year a good time to send a proposal?

The answer is yes and no.

The publishing industry pretty much goes dead between Thanksgiving and after the first of the year, at least for the larger houses. However, a lot of editors use that time to catch up on their reading. But they have a lot of trouble moving on something because they can't get the necessary meetings together to make acquisitions because of holiday scheduling. So they are reading but probably not buying? That's how it tends to work.

That means they are probably only responding to the ones they are going to pass on. It's a time for cleaning off their desk and narrowing it down to the ones they want to try and move on when everybody gets back to work. It's a good time to get something read, but we don't want them responding because a response would probably be negative.

That's what I mean by yes and no.

Books and Covers

2011-10-24T12:53:00.003-05:00

Having four authors with books coming out from one publisher within days of each other is not a normal function around here, but it's kinda cool. Oak / Tara Publishing is releasing "Thyme for Love" by Pamela S. Meyers on November 14th. "April Love has always dreamed of being a chef. But she didn't expect a former fiance' or murder to be part of the recipe for her new job." This is the first book in a three book series.

Lynda Lee Schab's "Mind Over Madi" is set to release November 15th from Oak / Tara. This is the first of the The Madi Series, Delightful. Witty. Entertaining. Real. Poignant.Light-hearted Women’s Fiction at Its Best.

Madi McCall admits her husband lacks a little in the romance department, but all in all, he’s been a good husband, a good father. Now, though, she suspects Rich is having an af air with Fawn Witchburn, the mother of one of his fourth-grade students. To say Fawn shows of her “assets” more than should be legally allowed in public is an understatement, and Madi’s insecurities kick into high gear. When, in a heated moment, she asks Rich to leave and he complies, Madi is forced to deal with her issues. Issues of love and trust she’s tried so hard to avoid. Issues that trail all the way back to her childhood and make her act like a total moron.

Suzanne Hartmann's "Peril" is set to release from Oak / Tara November 18th. This is the first of a three book series.

A top secret agent with enhanced strength must use her extraordinary abilities during several high-profile assignments from the White House to NASCAR tracks. When unwanted publicity threatens to expose her, she herself becomes a terrorist target, with danger surrounding her on all sides.
“Plenty of action and unexpected twists.”
Foreword by Jimmy Makar, General Manager of Joe Gibbs Racing
Also endorsed by the founder and director of Midwest Raceway Ministries.

Jonathan Wakefield's "Fatal Reality" is set to release from Oak / Tara November 18th. This is the book that best-selling author James Scott Bell said "Grabs you from the start and doesn't let go." Fatal Reality is an action-packed reality show in a book in a contest where only the winner will be allowed to live. When media celebrity Kyle Borders wins a spot on Extreme Mortality, the biggest reality show ever, he's determined to live out his faith before a worldwide audience.

In addition to the above titles, Randall Mooney's "WOGBOOK" releases on 11/11/11 at 11am from Crossover Publications. Randall feels that fewer teens are not reading the Bible much because they don't relate to the language. There are a lot of translations out there that deal with this but the WOGBOOK (Word of God Book) is a New Testament that is true to the King James Bible but written not as a Bible but an easy to read book. None of the verses have been omitted and the author has made no effort to offer a private interpretation of the words or text. This is something truly unique and is intended to easily be read over and over again.

Max Elliott Anderson's "Terror at Wolf Lake" is releasing from Comfort Publications. Max is the author of 36 middle reader "books for boys" and has a very strong following. Eddy Thompson was known for one thing and one thing only. Eddy was a cheater. He cheated on anything, anytime, anywhere, until something happened up at Wolf Lake. It wasn't the brutal cold. It wasn't when he fell through the ice. It wasn't even when two scary men arrived at their remote cabin. What happened would change Eddy's life... forever.

Interesting New Development

2011-10-14T12:30:00.002-05:00

Interesting new development indeed

I was at Lifeway Christian Store to get a song to sing Sunday and it was the first time we’ve used Lifeway’s new system to burn accompaniment tracks in house. Several thousand songs that you just look up and if they have it you can listen to it and then burn the track right there.

Too cool.

It immediately made me think that it won’t be long until books will be printed that way too. A number of larger stores can already do it. I was talking to the Mardel’s rep at ACFW and they are already putting the POD systems in their stores.

It’s a brave new world. Authors or artists still earn their royalties just like a print book and they can AFFORD TO SHELVE AUTHORS THAT THEY WOULDN’T HAVE ACQUIRED IN PRINT FORM because they didn’t have the name identification to merit the expenditure. I think that’s going to be a win-win. Even new authors can be shelved in stores they formerly did not have available to them. Not only that, but it means they will be able to keep our backlist available for sale.

Author who have backlist titles know how difficult it is, even with a new book out, to have places that will allow us to sell backlist titles while we are having a signing for the new one. Now they can go over and have the book run off and bring it right over to be signed.

I know this capability is starting to be available but don’t know how quickly we will start seeing it, particularly outside of the major stores in the large cities. But it is interesting to think about, isn’t it?

Confession Time by Emily Reynolds

2011-10-12T08:42:00.000-05:00

Re-posting with permission from the blog of the Wayside Press imprint of Written World Communications. http://waysidepress.blogspot.com/2011/10/confession-time-by-emily-reynolds.html

Emily C. Reynolds is not only an assistant to agent Terry Burns of Hartline Literary Agency, but she is also the recent winner of Novel Rocket's Launch Pad Contest for contemporary romance. (There, you must call her Mme Hendrickson.) I asked her to share her timeline for success as she continues her writing journey. I hope her words encourage you. You'll find Emily at home here.

Occasionally, other voices will show up here. Perhaps even yours. If you have something you'd like to say about writing or editing, about the process or the wait or the frustration or the joy, leave a comment or send me an email and let's talk about it.

Normandie Fischer, Editor, Wayside Press

An Insider's Look

It’s confession time.

For quite a while, I didn’t talk about being a writer, and not merely because writing is a solitary pursuit. First, I’m not published, and there are some who’d dismiss me as a poser. Second, it takes a long time to create a novel from start to finish. And once you do, the process has only begun. It goes something like this:

1) Write the Masterpiece. This takes a long time. For most people it takes at least a year -- if they’re good at it. For many, the process may take up to ten years.

2) Have the Masterpiece critiqued. I call this “unleashing the hounds.” This is where you straighten your spine and let several trusted critique partners have at your ‘baby’ because they’ll tell you the truth. They’ll go to work, pointing out all the plot holes and narrative slumps, the scene/sequel issues and character arcs, and—my personal weak area—issues with goals, motivations, and conflicts.

3) Rewrite the Masterpiece. Now, you have to go back and rewrite most of the story at least once and more likely several times. My first book was gutted and rewritten 7,359 times. I counted. But the writing's better, which keeps me from regretting the blood, sweat, and tears.

4) Pitch the finished Masterpiece. Hopefully, you’ve been scouting the industry for a while now and have a good idea of who might best fit your project. You've taken courses and read writing blogs and learned about different agents. You know which ones represent your genre and what each requires for a submission.

You write a synopsis (one page summary of your entire book). That alone can take several weeks. You poke and prod and tweak those first three chapters of your book until they SING, because they’re your one shot. That’s all an agent is going to look at to make his/her decision. If you’re blessed, the agent will love it and request the full manuscript.

5) Wait. You wait for so long you wonder if you really did hit ‘send’ on that email query. While you wait you start working on your next Masterpiece. Eventually the rejections come. You soldier on with book 2, trying not to let the rejections of your Masterpiece rattle you. Eventually, your query finds the right agent. Maybe the agent wants substantial edits. Now you have to rewrite some more. (see point 3) and resubmit.

6) Agent starts shopping the Masterpiece. This takes even longer. Months and months as the agent tries to prove to a publishing house editor that your project is just perfect for that house.

7) Wait some more. And work harder to learn everything you can about the craft of writing. You continue to go to conferences to make connections with industry professionals and talk to editors about your writing projects. You continue to write, you read everything you can in your genre (and outside your genre), and you wait.

And that’s where I am right now.

It requires more patience than I ever imagined. It requires being okay with the process and not merely with the end point, something I’m not very good at.

Here's an interesting thing I learned not too long ago: when the Israelites escaped Egypt and headed to the Red Sea they walked right up to it and then had to WAIT until God moved. I had never picked up on that part before. God didn’t part the waters as the people headed that way. They got to the edge of the Red Sea first, and took a good long gander at that vast expanse of oceanfront. With the Egyptians (interestingly enough a symbol of the world and our struggles against the flesh) coming right up behind the Israelites in a less-than-friendly manner, God made them wait right there on the brink. They couldn’t go forward and they couldn’t go back.

One might say, stuck.

God drove them to the threshold and made them wait. They had to exist in liminal space, the place between what was and what will be.

Like taking a step of faith . . . except without the step-taking part.

Waiting. Being. Resting in the knowledge that He’s got you right where He wants you.

“I’m going to show the courage not to retreat back to what was and I’m going to be patient not to jump into what I think ought to be, but I'm going to stand in liminal space. I am going to trust that as I stand on the threshold it is pregnant with the possibilities of God.” –David Jensen

It’s hard, standing on the edge and looking out over the possibilities, trying to be okay with the “spaces in between” that sometimes feel heavy enough to crush you. I’m trying to be at peace on the threshold, trying to stay at peace as I wait on the cusp of this writing adventure. Because I don’t have a clue about this wild ride God is taking me on.

My first movie premier

2011-10-06T14:00:00.003-05:00

I was invited to the premier of a delightful Christian movie entitled Footprints. The premier was being held in the oldest continuously operating movie theater in the State of Texas in Mineola, Texas. It was being held there because the community theater group there gave actor/screenwriter/director and producer Jim Huggins his start in theater. It was quite a gala affair and Saundra and I enjoyed it tremendously.

So why me? Why was I invited?

Actually Jim contacted me some time ago and said he had been told that I was the guy to take his screenplay and turn it into a novel to accompany the movie. I have done some of that before, but never when I had an actual movie to look at as I worked on it.

A shot of Saundra and I with the cast members that were present.

A shot of me with Jim Huggins who wrote the screenplay based on his own life. He produced and directed the movie. Usually a screen play is adapted from a book so maybe they try to make the movie follow the book as well as they can. In this case the movie came first and it was essential for the book to match up with it as much as possible. Since it was a fictionalization of real events that made it more important to be a close fit.

The book is now in the hands of several publishers who are strongly considering it. The movie is going into distribution now and a DVD version should be able to be ordered soon. It will make you run the gauntlet of emotions but is a powerful story of God's redemption as well as a story of how to think out of the box when it comes to being a witness for God. You can email info@newshepherdfilms.com to be put on a list to be notified when the DVD is available, and yes, maybe my hat got a little tight when there was a full screen credit at the end with my name and telling people to look for the book.

My Alumni Club

2011-10-05T22:56:00.001-05:00

A number of those who have worked with me have gone on to make their mark in publishing. Just goes to show I associate myself with good people.

Kristine Pratt – my first editorial assistant – has gone on to found her own publishing company, Written World Communications which is showing some remarkable growth.

Linda Glaz – editorial assistant – has worked her way up to be a full agent with Hartline Literary agency.

Randall Mooney – one of my early clients has gone on to establish his own publishing company, Crossover Publications.

Normandie Fischer – editorial assistant – has become the Executive Editor of the Wayside Imprint of Written World Communications.

Jennifer Hudson Taylor – client – has become the in-house publicist for Hartline Literary and has established her own publicist company.

Tammy Barley – client – has become the Executive Editor of World Talk, the international book and magazine imprint of Written World Communications.

Meeting at the Arch

2011-09-27T08:50:00.003-05:00

American Christian Fiction Writers is the premier organization for Christian Fiction Writers with over 3000 members, nearly 700 of which gathered under the Arch in St Louis for their annual meeting. It was an amazing event.

I was very proud that my good friend and client Bonnie Calhoun won the prestigous Mentor of the Year Award. It was so well deserved as Bonnie is the computer guru not only for me (invaluable on both my personal site and the Hartline site) but answers computer and blogger questions for countless members in the organization. Her Christian Fiction Online Magazine is an irreplaceable resource for Christian Writers. Well done, Bonnie.

We were also very proud that Hartline Founder Joyce Hart was one of three finalists for the Agent of the Year Award. Joyce has been a leading agent in the Christian writing community for longer than the ten years ACFW has been in existence and had a lot of people pulling for her.

I was proud to have nine of my clients there in addition to the clients that were there represented by the other Hartline agents. They spread out working the conference like pros, attending classes, gathering publishing information that they will all feed back to be used by all of us, and networking like crazy. They are from left to right, Emily Hendrickson (my editorial asst who writes as Emily Reynolds), Linda Glaz (Hartline agent as well as a client), Teresa Hooley Slack, Cheryl Linn Martin (who had not one but two 3 book offers to choose from while at the conference), me looking like a thorn in a rose garden, Linda Schab peeking over Pam's shoulder, Pam Meyers, and Bonnie Calhoun holding her Mentor of the Year award. Not pictured but with us at the conference was Kevin Parsons, Suzanne Hartmann and Regina Smeltzer.

It was a fast paced conference with great faculty and content. Each day featured uplifting worship opportunities and a constant stream of opportunities to pitch projects. Now I have to turn my attention to making all of the submissions my clients were able to get requested in these sessions.

See you next year in Dallas

We need a knight on a white horse!

2011-09-15T08:13:00.000-05:00

We do.

I have often said that I am a life-long independent. I do not owe allegiance to any political party and never have. But anybody would have to have their head stuck in the sand to not realize that the current administration’s policies have sent our debt out of control and have caused the size of government to grow exponentially. Even members of their own party are recognizing that. And the solution to the problem is throwing MORE money at it and raising taxes? I don’t think so. The definition of insanity is continuing to do something that doesn’t work and expecting different results.

Sure, our President was dealt a tough hand, but you can only blame Bush for so long. That old song started getting ridiculous some time ago. They’ve had three years to start turning things around and things have done nothing but get worse. It’s a basic policy thing. They think the solution to every problem is more spending and more government and most of the country believes that it is small business that is the primary job creator.

So why do I say we need a knight on a white horse? Because to be what the country needs and do what the country needs done they may in the process condemn themselves to being a one term President themselves. To rein in our out of control spending and the unnecessary layers and size of government will probably make unemployment worse instead of better by putting some government employees in those lines until the private sector jobs start taking those numbers down.

That would take political courage and would take someone who genuinely puts the needs of the country ahead of political aspirations. I’m not sure anybody in Washington is willing to do that these days.

It wasn’t intended to be that way. It amazes me that over 200 years ago a group of men sat down and designed a nation that is the greatest nation on earth. But, with the possible exception of Thomas Jefferson, it never occurred to them that there would be such a thing as a professional politician. They were supposed to come to Washington, do the job, then go home and live under what they had done. And they sure didn’t have in mind exempting themselves from everything they passed. Something tells me if our congress had to be under social security or on our medical, they would get the programs fixed immediately. And to earn a full retirement for life just serving a few years in Congress? They would be appalled.

We must be a nation of sheep to let them keep feeding us this. I applaud the Tea Party for starting to shine a light on some of this mess and holding a hard line on it. Demonizing them for doing it is ridiculous as well. Some of our nations strongest politicians whining about how a bunch of housewives and small business owners are kicking them around? Give me a break!

Sir Lancelot, where are you?

What makes a best seller?

2011-09-13T06:00:00.001-05:00

I’ve heard this discussed a lot and it is hard to say... a major effort? Luck?

It’s just my opinion on the subject, but I think there are several major paths to a book becoming a best-seller:

First: The most common path is the book is by a previous best-selling author. There is a huge readership base built up and the author really has to drop the ball for the book to FAIL to achieve best-seller status. In addition, based on the track record of the previous books the publishing house throws major advertising, promotion, and the full distribution and placement support behind the title. Occasionally a book fails to live up to this promise and in spite of the publisher support does not get the job done.

Second: An author, maybe regardless of the strength of the writing, has so much name recognition and such a huge platform that the book has major potential. Presidents, politicians, major sports figures, and other celebrities would fill the bill on this. Once again, based on this potential, the publishing house throws major advertising, promotion, and the full distribution and placement support behind the title. Once again this does not always work and sometimes in spite of the huge name identification the public does not respond in the necessary numbers.

Third: A publisher can decide when they acquire a book that it is going to be a best-seller. The editor that acquires it goes into committee and convinces the PR people, the marketing people, and the company leadership that the book has the potential to do it. Even though it is a debut author that does not have a large platform, the publishing house decides the book justifies it and puts major advertising, promotion, and the full distribution and placement support behind the title. Yet again in spite of the faith and confidence of the publisher this does not always work.

Fourth: Even if the publisher has not pegged the title as a potential bestseller and the author does not have name identification, the author themselves may generate so much word-of-mouth publicity, or buzz, and may on their own pursue so many avenues of publicity and promotion that the book begins to produce much better than anybody thought. Even if a publisher has not planned major support for a title, they will respond when a book starts to attract notice and will begin to match or exceed author efforts. There generally isn’t a large number of authors that achieve this but it can work, and again ends up with the publisher putting advertising, promotion, distribution and placement behind the title. On occasion a book starts producing so strongly in a small house that a major house comes into the situation, taking the efforts to a whole new level. That’s what happened with ‘The Shack.’

So, is it luck? Yes, I’d have to say some luck might be involved.

For Christian authors is it something ordained by God and beyond our control? No. Ordained by God, yes, but the Lord works through people and it is possible that we fail to do what He wants us to do in order to achieve His purposes. How often we fall short of what the Lord wants us to do. If God wants it to happen, it will, as long as we do what He needs us to do in the process.

Do publishers decide what books will be bestsellers or not? That one is both yes and no. If I am correct in my assumptions above, it is very difficult to reach best-seller status without a publisher that believes in the book and throws their support behind it. But we also see whether they decided it was a possibility up front or came to give that support later that it did not always guarantee success.

But how about these books that go straight to ebook and go viral – achieve best-selling status with no publisher involved at all? I’d have to say these comments are about traditional print books reaching that elusive status. I’d have to address doing it in ebooks in a separate blog – as soon as I come to understand what really causes one of the titles to stand out that strongly there.

Bonding

2011-09-03T11:38:00.001-05:00

His name is Micah, the first great grandson, or great grandkid period.

He's visiting us for the first time. Oh, we were there when he was born, proud as any great grandparents could be, but now he has come for a visit. What fun!

His momma, Shanda, and her sister Kasey used to come visit when they were younger, maybe spend a week or so with us without their parents. We really had a terrific time when they did. Micah is not old enough to visit by himself but we are so happy Kenneth and Shanda came too. Makes for a great holiday weekend.

Micah, GiGi (for great-grandmother) and Po.

It makes quite an excursion, the amount of luggage required is daunting to say the least. We weren't the ones to pick them up at the airport but somehow I have a mental picture of an airplane landing pulling a u-haul trailer.

Micah and GiGi

Well, I don't really have time to write on a blog right now, he will be up soon from his nap and we will go back to . . . bonding.

Why do submissions take so long?

2011-08-22T10:11:00.000-05:00

Sometimes I get a question from a client and instead of just answering it I realize it is an answer I need to share with others. I mentioned the other day that I had spent the whole day trying to get a couple of submissions out on a client and was asked why it took that long.

The client in question had given me the name of several publishing houses they thought would be appropriate and all I had to do was shoot them a proposal, right? Not that easy.

You see, there is generally more than one editor acquiring at a publishing house, the larger ones there may be a dozen or more. So if a client tells me that Random House has published a book that is a great comparable for their manuscript that is a good tip, but it is a long way from being the correct intel for a proper submission.

First, Random House has multiple imprints and chances are only one of them is right for it. Send it to another one and it will be promptly rejected. Second, in the proper imprint there are multiple editors, and if I send it to the wrong one it will probably be rejected. I need something that tells me a particular editor is the right person for what I am trying to pitch. This research is what takes time. Finding that right person can be very difficult.

On occasion one of my clients talks to an editor at a conference and finds out such a lead for me, the right editor for a project. A number of the sales that we have made started with just such a lead.

Third, the timing has to be right. A similar book can show us an editor has interest in a certain area, or it can be an indication that they just published one and is not interested in doing another one. Hard to tell which one of those two possibilities it might be.

Fourth, I am often in possession of more information. A client may see something that looks like a great possibility but in my database I have info that says they are only doing published authors, or maybe are no longer taking a certain thing even though the market guide lists that they are. Or maybe I know they are not actively looking at submissions until a certain date. There are lots of factors like this that all of us at Hartline share with each other to help us stay on top of the rapidly changing industry. And the things clients pick up in their writing groups and at the conferences they attend often contribute to the picture to help us stay on top of things.

No, it isn't as easy as just looking in the market guide, pulling out everybody that lists a certain genre and shooting off submissions. If we did that our agented submission would stand no better chance than one just coming in blind, except it would probably get looked at a little quicker.

Doing something well means doing it right. I tell people who follow up on submissions they sent to me within a fairly short time that I can give them an answer right now if they want, but the only fast answer I can give is no. A yes takes more time. It's that way with the editors I make submissions to as well.

I don't like the word

2011-08-18T11:34:00.002-05:00

One of my clients made it all the way through committee and they were supposedly putting the deal points together when it suddenly got nixed from somewhere upstairs. "We haven't had much luck with apologetics," was given as the reason.

The client's response was that the book was NOT apologetics, but I told him they had read it and if they thought that was what it was, then arguing with them about it would be futile.

But it did cause me to think. I know what apologetics are, defending a position (usually our faith) with logic and reason, a rational explanation against objections and alternate views. But I don't like the word, never have. It sounds too much like apology or apologizing to me and I never have and never will apologize to anyone about my faith.

I wish there were another title we could get the genre label switched to. It's a lot like evangelism, but that word has a little different connotation. Maybe some word that had iron to it and didn't sound like passive defense but more like strong offense. I don't know what the word would be, do you?

Of course it will never happen and I will just have to continue to live with it, but...

I don't have to like it.

Is it Animal, Vegetable or Mineral?

2011-08-11T09:31:00.000-05:00

I give up, what is it?

I just got a submission for a steampunk manuscript, the first I have received. Do I handle steampunk? I don't know.

I had kind of a general idea what the genre was but I needed to know more. I googled it and came up with a blog from Lena Nelson Dooley on the subject. Lena is a good friend and a Hartline client (Joyce's) and generally a pretty reliable source of information. She says, "Early templates for what steampunk would become include Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea and H.G. Wells' The Time Machine. So far modern film examples have been pretty lacking and not received strong critical responses, but they include Wild, Wild West, The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen, Van Helsing, and some even argue the new Sherlock Holmes film can be included because it uses technology far ahead of its time, explained with older methods."

Okay, I'm quite familiar with all those and enjoyed all of them. So it is books set in the past but uses technology far into the future, or at least far in the future for its time. That's a little closer definition than the rather nebulous one that I was working with. Our agency submission guidelines say that we do not work in the science fiction or fantasy markets so that would rule it out, right?

Not that clear. Is it sci-fi because it is melding technology into the story that did not exist at the time? Or is it just a historical with a twist? We do historicals. I saw Wild, Wild West, was it a sci-fi? Or an imaginative western?

I finally reluctantly turned it down, not because of the sci-fi definition, but because I didn't know where to go with it. Looking through the exhaustive editor databases that I have I just don't see that I am working with any editors that have shown an interest in it. And I don't sell to publishing houses, I sell to editors that I know and have established a working relationship with.

But I'm open to the idea, and will be exploring it further. Maybe someday when the future technology catches up with my historical editor preferences . . .

An honest question

2011-08-04T06:00:00.001-05:00

The question was honest and it was simple: “Having followed your interest and willingness to help new authors, what would be your advice as far as a "first" step in publishing?”

How do I give an honest answer that would probably entail a dozen different writing courses in one email? I came up with the following:

I see how you to have a message or a story to tell but of course what I don't see here is how you have prepared yourself to tell it. Starting to write without the preparation is like opening a restaurant because you cook a great hamburger on the grill. You may have done so, and it is just not mentioned here.

When I started writing I took college courses, online courses, Writer's Digest courses, got into online writing groups and a local writing group and critique group. I started learning my craft, and I got rejected . . . a lot . . . which was also part of my learning experience. I published a lot of small stuff, but it took me six years of hard work after I started trying to get it published to get my first book length work in print. Having a story to tell or a message to present and knowing how to write it in a manner that it will be published are totally different things.

I get several hundred submissions a month and other agents and editors get at least that many, a lot of them many more than that. None of us can handle or publish that number of course. That means having a good book is not good enough. It has to be an exceptional book that stands out from the crowd. It has to be a unique subject written in a unique voice aimed at a market that the person it is being submitted can see and feels they have the right contacts to sell the book into that market. That is the hurdle the author is trying to clear.

As to what the odds are, a book has to be presented to the right person at the right place at exactly the right time and has to be on the subject that person is looking to handle. That means even with a great project that all of those pieces being in place right at any point in time is slim. There may only be one place in the entire industry where a project fits right at any given moment which means a lot of doors will be knocked on where one or more of the pieces are not in place. Patience and persistence may be as important to getting significantly published as talent.

I also encourage new authors to pitch to both agents and editors. A lot of authors publish before they manage to make a connection with an agent. However those publishing submissions need to be to small houses that will work directly with an author. The larger houses require an agent so if an author manages to get rejected at one of those and later gets an agent they will find those bridges have already been burned.

None of us really want to do the business part of this, we want to write, but to get our writing out we have to do the business. We have to be constantly working to improve our craft, and have to be learning how to do a professional job of pitching our work and have a good professional looking proposal to pitch it with.

I hope this helps.

Terry

Getting Published

2011-07-28T17:46:00.000-05:00

There's a concept we need to get a handle on, "Publishing isn't a selection process . . . it is a survival process."

Really?- Yes, I believe the biggest secret to publishing is the ability to get the RIGHT PRODUCT to the RIGHT PERSON at the RIGHT PLACE at exactly the RIGHT TIME. There are bestseller quality manuscripts that will never be published because the only person who can write them never makes this elusive connection. They give up.

You see, the odds on all four of these ingredients being in place when we make a submission is not good, so even if we are pitching a wonderful project it is going to miss on one of these a lot of the time. That's when we hear the dreaded "Sorry, not a fit for us at the present time."

We all know some books that were printed that we wonder about. The only reason for that is that it was the right subject and it hit the person, place and time. Maybe we send a much better book on the same topic right after it has been purchased and is on its way to press. Since ours is much better they'll stop the presses and do ours instead, right?

Wrong, hitting all four of these correctly is the whole game, miss any one of the four and it's NO SALE, no matter how good the manuscript is. It's like a jigsaw puzzle that has several dozen pieces, and if one is missing the puzzle can't be finished - which means publishing doesn't happen. MOST OF THE TIME these pieces are not all there. We're hunting that elusive place where all the pieces fit.

So, how do we improve the odds? How do we rule out sending to the wrong places? How do we give our manuscript a better shot when it gets there? I believe it means being brutally honest about our work, and about how it is going to be looked at. This is no place for rose-colored glasses or unrealistic optimism. Sometimes we have trouble really hearing feedback we get on our project because we think we pretty well have it nailed, but do we?

Or does it need some work in order to be the "right product"? Have we really done the research necessary to insure we are sending to the "right person" at the "right place"? If we have, then telling them what we found out that makes us feel it to be true is very valuable in a pitch.

Then finally is our pitch itself helping or hurting us? Does it present us as a seasoned professional (even if we aren't we should look like one)? If you need a little help on your pitch or your proposal I do have a book on the topic entitled "A Writer's Survival Guide to Publication" that can walk you through the process a point at a time. You can find it at Amazon or in the bookstore at my website at www.terryburns.net - or there are a number of other good books on the subject.

Bad Submissions

2011-07-23T06:00:00.001-05:00

It happens every day.

I open my inbox and there they are, submissions that shouldn't even be there. There's really no excuse for it. Our submission guidelines are very clear on markets that we don't work in at present. Not that we have anything against them, just that we can't spread ourselves that thin and have to make some choices. It says at present we aren't working in sci-fi or fantasy, in markets for children (below middle reader), poetry, short fiction, screenplays, scripts or magazine articles. It says we are probably not the right place for your literary fiction nor for books with extraordinary violence, profanity or gratuitous sexuality. It's all spelled out.

So why do people send them anyway? They wouldn't apply for a job without reading a want ad or something that would tell them what the job is so they would know whether it was worth their time to apply or not. The submission guidelines at our agency as well as other agencies or publishing houses are our 'want ads' as to what we are looking to see.

Maybe it is a genre we would consider but it is simply not ready to submit. Maybe the word count is way too large for any market we work in or perhaps too small. It could be the formatting is just not professional or that it has far too many typos, grammar problems, opens too slow or doesn't have good story flow. Someone sent it before it was ready, and such a submission just can't compete with others that are coming in polished to a fine point needing little work from an overworked editor or agent.

It could also be that it is just not unique enough. It is unfortunate that we often see a large number of people choosing to write very similar books at exactly the same time. Something probably happened in the news that gave each of them a similar idea. It isn't their fault that they have spent a huge amount of time writing a book that a thousand other people were writing as well. No way to know. Not fair. But the reality is that the first books to get to the market get the contracts then the market is saturated. Any time we start opening submissions that are too much like a bunch of others we are receiving, it tells us the market is not going to be there because everybody else is also receiving the same type of submissions.

It's hard for a writer to have someone pass on taking their work, but guess what? It's hard on us too. It's depressing to have to spend the morning turning down submission after submission, knowing that it isn't just a letter but the actual hopes and dreams of the author. Even when it something that should not have been sent in the first place it takes time to work and it takes a toll on us having to do it as well.

I don't understand why people don't check submission guidelines and send what editors and agents want in the manner that they wish to receive them. Failing to do so can't help but make the recipient wonder if the person who doesn't look at, or even worse ignores the guidelines, would be a difficult author to try and work with. I wonder about that when my guidelines say I don't take hard copy submissions and people send them anyway. Why?

I hate proposals pasted into an email. They are hard to read and generally it destroys the formatting. Some people WANT to receive them that way, but that information is readily available in the submission guidelines as to who wants it which way. A proposal is a single, well-formatted document that looks professional, not a dozen files attached or a link to a place online where you can find the information. We can't pitch a project that way so those are useless to us.

I suppose it boils down to the fact that I turn very few projects down. A lot of what is coming in takes itself out of consideration. Some days we get more than others, such as today, which prompted this little epistle. But then there is the submission that is beautifully prepared and formatted, that tells me why the person submitting thinks I am the right choice for it, what it is and the word count. I'm interested. The 2-3 page synopsis tells me it might be a unique story idea. I'm intrigued. The first page pulls me in and and by page ten I am invested in the story. I'm hooked into asking for the full. The flow, the voice and the story do not let me down.

Those are the submissions we are digging through the pile looking for. And that's what the clients I represent used to make me a believer in their work.

Don't read this if you don't want to talk about politics

2011-07-12T14:22:00.000-05:00

Here’s what I want,

I don’t support either party, I am a lifelong independent and I’m not all that happy with either party but I am diametrically opposed to liberals wanting to give us more and bigger government no matter which party they are in, and they are in both.

I don’t believe it is about raising the debt ceiling and defaulting on debt, the government has enough money coming in to take care of current bills. I believe it is about giving the government even more money to spend after they have already spent like drunken sailors. The amount the government has to spend should be cut, not expanded. Both sides are playing politics for the next election, not trying to fix the problem and treating us like idiots trying to manipulate us doesn't go over well with this country boy.

If we can identify a list of billions in duplicated services why didn’t Congress or the administration go to work eliminating the duplications THE SAME DAY IT CAME OUT. I want that done NOW.

Why do we keep giving money to people all over the world when most of them don’t like us. I think we ought to stop doing that TODAY. I particularly don’t understand giving foreign aid to China so they can turn around and loan it to us at loan shark interest rates. How insane is that?

I do think the rules should be changed so that Congress cannot exempt themselves from all the laws they pass and yes, I think that means they ought to have to be on social security and the same health care as the rest of us. They'd have more insights into the problems the ordinary citizens have if they had the same problems. Also I don’t believe serving one term in Congress should entitle them to a big pension the rest of their life, that is disgraceful. People in the real world have to work many years to earn a pension.

If nearly 10% of the people in this country are out of work why aren’t 10% of the bureaucrats laid off too? There’s some significant savings right there.

I support a balanced budget amendment. That forces politicians to toe the line here in Texas and it works very well. Families have to live within their budget, no choice, and government should as well.

I do not support raising taxes on anybody, but I would support tax reform to get rid of our jumbled tax code in favor of a flat tax that EVERYONE pays.

I do support repealing the health care law and starting over from scratch.

I know that “separation of church and state” means the government should not mandate religion, it doesn’t mean Christians should not have a say in the way they are represented and it DOES NOT MEAN EVERY VESTAGE OF FAITH SHOULD BE REMOVED from our buildings, from our money, from the pledge of allegiance and from all of the other places we seem dead set on causing that to happen. This has always been a Christian nation and while we have always felt that freedom means everyone could worship who they wish and how they wish, I am very, very upset that the government seems to be setting itself up as an opponent of Christianity.

I believe in standing with Israel, philosophically and from a religious standpoint. I have no confidence that our current leadership will do that.

I believe in the constitution and resist any efforts to do so many things which are not in the spirit of that document. More and more I see actions being taken that in my mind are unconstitutional and nobody is standing up and challenging that.

I’m sorry, but I can’t trust a President who surrounds himself with advisors who are raving liberals instead of people who have down to earth experience in some of the problem areas we are trying to navigate.

They tell me the election will depend on where the independents choose to place their vote. I don’t know how other independents feel but I have no interest at all in campaign rhetoric, I care about what people are doing right now to cut our debt and DRASTICALLY reduce spending, to grow jobs, and who are working to get us off this radical liberal course we seem dead set on achieving.

I almost never blog on politics, too volatile, and gets in the way of other things I am involved in, but I believe now and then we just need to stand up and be counted. So, politicians on both sides, want my vote? Quit politicking and clean this mess up.

Let's talk about movies for writers.

2011-07-09T06:00:00.001-05:00

Today I'm taking my agent hat (the really nice silver beaver stetson) off and I'm putting on my writing hat ( the battered sweat-stained Stetson). Yes, I'm thinking more as a writer. You see, I collect movies that I think have a particular lesson to teach to writers or that I think contain some good examples for writers. Today I'm going to give you a top ten list in my mind of such movies.

My personal favorite writer movie is "Sixth Sense" with Bruce Willis. It made the list when I was so thoroughly fooled by the plot resolution and had to immediately watch it again to see if I had been fooled all along or if they had simply lied to me. Going back the clues are all there, they simply push me gently to make false assumptions, which I did. This would be an important skill for a writer.

I guess I would give second place to "Deathtrap" with Michael Cain and Christopher Reeves. I got to see it off Broadway and a road show version as well as the movie. In it, an old experienced writer (Cain) is undergoing writers block and is attempting to steal the work of Reeves (and kill him) as he mentors him. The mentoring is great for writers watching, but the amazing constant plot reversals is the real lesson.

3. If we are studying plot reversals and gently misleading the reader or viewer I would submit that the next things to study are virtually any movie by Alfred Hitchcock. He was an absolute master at giving us a minimum of visual clues and engaging our own imaginations. He scared an entire generation to death with a shadow on a shower curtain and a little cake coloring in a bathtub drain in "Psycho" with Janet Leigh.

4. Perhaps his best in my mind is "North by Northwest" with Cary Grant and Eve St Marie. This one has witty dialogue and maintains an absolute breakneck pace. A great study in how to keep the reader/viewer into the story without respite.

5. A close one to that would be "Vertico" with Jimmy Stewart and Kim Novak. This one is the exact opposite of the above with slow, surreal scenes that nonetheless that shows how to keep the reader/viewer glued to the storyline

6. "Murder 101" with Pierce Brosnen. He was a college professor lecturing on how to write a murder mystery even as the steps he was lecturing on was happening to him in real life. It's an excellent writer's movie as it actually shows story structure plot point by plot point.

7. "Adaptation" with Nicholas Cage and Meryl Streep is a story of a writer hired to adapt a bestselling book to the screen only to find it is absolutely un-filmable. The insights of the writer in the movie is terrific for those struggling with the craft. [storyline]

8, "Delirious" with John Candy is a study in rewrites. It's kind of a goofy thing but it is a good study in plot development.

9. "Stranger than Fiction" with Will Ferrell is a study in narration (that only he can hear) and really shows us what the text we write (as opposed to dialogue and action) really is to the reader. [narration]

10. "Funny Farm" with Chevy Chase shows a writer dealing with writers block (a favorite topic for writers) and how easy he was to distract from his task [writers block].

There are a dozen other Hitchcock movies such as "Rear Window" or "The Birds" that could have just as easily made the list. Some other movies that make various top ten lists for movies for writers include "Finding Neverland," where Johnny Depp plays playwright J.M.Barrie and is a fascinating look how storylines are developed as he comes up with his play Peter Pan. [storyline] "All the Presidents Men," "Almost Famous," "Capote," "Factotum," "Frida," "The Hours," (Saundra and I hosted the author of that bestseller at a conference although we didn't really care for the book and haven't seen the movie) and "Stone Reader". Some of these I have seen (or read the book) and some I haven't.

I spend my day immersed in writing or writing-related tasks. To "turn it off" I have to watch something that can get my mind off it. If I can do that and still learn something about my craft, more the better. I do collect these DVD's and I'm always on the lookout for more. Is there anything you would recommend for the list?

Client Richard Brown's new title releases

2011-07-02T06:00:00.000-05:00

Trusting God With the Rest of Your Life, a new book from author Richard Brown is set to release July 4th from Crossover Publications. Publisher Randall Mooney said, "I believe it is a really great book and can help a lot of "mature" folks mature in Christ even more. Of all the great moments in the book I still chuckle at 'Remember Lot's Wife's Husband.' I pray God opens the doors for this work in more ways than we can make happen on our own."

Richard has been a Youth Pastor/Christian Education Director (5 years), a Senior Pastor (19 years), college professor and Dean of the Simpson Graduate School of Ministry (12 years), then moved to Vice President of Spiritual Formation (1 year) which was ultimately joined to his present position as Vice President for Student Development at Simpson University, Redding, California. During those years of pastoring and teaching, he had an up-close look at the faith development (or lack of development) in many lives. This experience gave him plenty of illustrations to use of people who did or did not learn to trust God with the rest of their life.

Congratulation to client Suzanne Hartmann

2011-06-24T06:00:00.001-05:00

Congratulations to Suzanne Hartmann on signing the contract for her "The Race That Lies Before Us" with Oak/Tara Publishers.

A top-secret agent with enhanced strength must use her extraordinary abilities during several high-profile assignments—from the White House to NASCAR tracks—but struggles with trusting God to protect her secrets when unwanted publicity and interest from a NASCAR champion threaten to expose them. As the danger builds, she becomes a terrorist target and realizes the only way she can save her life as she knows it is through death.

This novel will appeal to those who love character-driven suspense stories and readers who enjoy Ted Dekker’s books. The novel will also draw readers from the 75 million NASCAR fans.

Suzanne has a B.A. in Composition and Linguistics, is an editor with Port Yonder Press, and operates the Write at Home Critique Service. Milliken Publishing included four of her short stories in one of their reading workbooks. She is a member of the 2000 member American Christian Fiction Writers, actively involved in several critique groups and on-line writers’ forums, and maintains a blog that goes out to over 1500 contacts.

The novel will be released on a yet to be determined date in 2012

Client Jonathan Wakefield signs contract

2011-06-19T16:38:00.000-05:00

Jonathan has just signed a contract with Oak/Tara for his title "Fatal Reality."

Kyle Borders simply wanted to share his faith with a huge audience as he participated in the first reality show broadcast live on the Internet. But that faith is tested when Daniel Vats—the show’s creator—thrusts Kyle into a fight for survival, kidnapping the contestants and forcing them to run a race on a South Pacific island where only the winner will be allowed to live.

Fatal Reality will attract anyone who enjoys an action-packed thriller that also addresses challenging spiritual and cultural issues. This encompasses primarily a Christian audience, but it may also reach a segment of the secular audience seeking stories that delve deeper into morality and philosophy than what they normally read. Fatal Reality could be the perfect alternative for those who enjoy authors like James Patterson or David Morrell. And as reality shows continue to draw and fascinate a large number of viewers, a thriller focused on a reality show gone awry featuring a life-and-death struggle may attract some of those viewers.

The author has had short stories published in The Rose & Thorn, The Messenger, and Parables, has have written articles for various magazines and journals, including New Man, Men of Integrity, Live, The Gem, VP1, and the Richmond Times-Dispatch. This is his debut novel but he has a sequel well underway and is working on a third book. He is a member of the Christian Writers Guild and has completed the Apprentice, Journeyman, and Craftsman levels of their “What’s Your Story?” curriculum. He has trained under authors Jerry B. Jenkins, John Perrodin, James Scott Bell, Jeff Gerke, and Douglas Hirt.

Caron Guillo win Indie Award

2011-06-18T12:38:00.000-05:00

Client Caron Guillo's An Uncommon Crusade from Written World Communications was honored recently to win Religious Fiction category of the 2011 Next Generation Indie Book Awards - she now has that award on the front of the book which sports a terrific new cover (below).

It isn't the first recognition of this title, in the Amazon / Publishers Weekly "Breakthrough Novel Competition," ( the writing equivalent of Dancing With the Stars) Caron made the cut for the 5,000 to be considered, the 1,000 semi-finalists and on to the top 100 before losing out in the finals. Along the way she got terrific reviews and feedback.

A quick thumbnail of the book:

Elisabeth, Simon, and Hugo join an ill-fated crusade to liberate Jerusalem from Muslim occupation. Blinded by their desire for power, glory, and vindication, they pay a terrible price for their ambitions, suffering disease, hunger, shipwreck, and enslavement in Egypt. A work of fiction based on historical events that has strong implications for today's world. The author weaves an unforgettable story of hope and perseverance set in a very dark period of history.

Caron is a pastor's wife and a former world history teacher. Past publishing credits include numerous short stories, articles, and/or feature articles for Christian Woman, Choice, Church & Family, and Church Growth magazines. Authored “Real Family Values,” a parenting and family life column for Choice Magazine. Contributing author for God Answers Prayers Military Edition (Harvest House, 2005) and the “Line of Departure Training Journal.” She is currently working on a third full-length manuscript in between trips to lead tours to Italy.

Congratulations to client Lynda Schab

2011-06-16T06:00:00.000-05:00

Sincere congratulations to Lynda Schab for signing a contract for her "Mind Over Madi" with Oak Tara Press.

At twelve years old, Madi received her first lesson from her passive-aggressive, recently-burned mother that all men cheat. A lesson that included a tad too much information about Madi’s father’s numerous affairs. Twenty-six years later, Madi is convinced her own husband, RICHARD, is having an affair.

Lynda Schab got her writing start in greeting cards. From there, she went on to write articles, web content, and dozens of short stories, many of which have been published in articles and anthologies. Lynda has been a ACFW Genesis competition finalist for four straight years. She has also been a finalist in the RWA chapter’s Get your Stiletto in the Door and was a Page Turner winner at Faithwriters in 2009. Currently, she handles several monthly freelance assignments and is the Grand Rapids Christian Writing Examiner for Examiner.com.

More on Lynda at www.LyndaSchab.com
www.on-the-write-track.com

Congratulations to client Jennifer Hudson Taylor

2011-06-15T06:00:00.000-05:00

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Among this year’s winners of the Holt Medallion is author Jennifer Hudson Taylor’s Highland Blessings (Abingdon Press, May 2010), which received the honor of “Best First Book.”

Upon learning of the achievement, Taylor said “Winning the Holt Medallion Award in the Best First Book category is such an honor as it includes the first books from all the categories in mainstream romantic
fiction.”

Additionally, Highland Blessings, a romance set in 1473 Scotland, is a finalist in the Long Inspirational category.

“As an historical Christian romance author,” Taylor stated, “I hope more people realize that there truly is quality Christian romance that will appeal to readers beyond the CBA market. It's all about touching hearts, changing lives, and giving people encouragement to make it through their daily lives."

Since 1995, the Virginia Romance Writers (VRW) have recognized the achievements of published romance writers with the Holt Medallion Awards. According to the VRW website, medallions are awarded to the authors whose books are selected by a panel of romance readers as the best in each of twelve categories.

Jennifer Hudson Taylor is an award winning author of historical Christian fiction and a speaker on topics of faith, writing and publishing. Her work has appeared in national publications, such as Guideposts, Heritage Quest Magazine, Romantic Times Book Reviews, and The Military Trader. When she isn't writing, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, genealogy, and reading. Her upcoming novel, Highland
Sanctuary, releases in October 2011 from Abingdon Press.

For more information visit www.abingdonpress.com.
###
Abingdon Press fiction includes stories of faith, hope, and love which explore the gray areas of
life—situations that seemingly have no clear-cut solutions. These stories strive to illuminate the
human condition and express God’s enduring love and grace for all. Abingdon Press also
publishes resources for church leaders, scholars, and students engaged in leading congregations
and theological education, and inspirational books and study materials that reach a broad
audience. Abingdon resources are available in Christian and general bookstores and from many
online book sellers.

Highland Blessings
By Jennifer Hudson Taylor
Abingdon Press, May 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4267-0226-6 • Category: Fiction • Price: $13.99 • Format: Softcover

Guest Blog by client Pam Meyers

2011-06-14T15:28:00.000-05:00

My First Sale!!!!

About a month ago I received a call, known among the publishing industry as THE call, from my agent Terry Burns. The conversation started out like this:

Terry: Hi, Pam, how are you?
Me: Fine. How are you?

All the while I'm thinking that he never calls for casual conversations, especially when he's at a conference, so why is he calling me in the middle of the morning? The conversation continued.

Terry: "She wants the book!!!"
Me: "Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Are you serious?"
Terry: "Yes. She wants it."
Me: (sniffling and wiping my nose) "I am so amazed."

He then turned the phone over to Bonnie Calhoun, one of my crit partners who is also a client of his. She was at the conference and insisted she be with him when he called me. She screamed with me again and gave me my first congratulations.

Ramona Tucker, my editor & me signing the contract!

Then, outside of my closest friends, I could not tell the news until the contract was signed. I had to wait a few more weeks until last Saturday. Both Terry and the editor, Ramona Tucker, were at the Write to Publish Conference a short drive away from me. I drove there for lunch and after we ate, Ramona handed me my contract. Terry took our picture and now I can announce that my book, "Thyme for Love" has been contracted with Oak Tara Publishing. Release date to be announced later. I have not yet come down from the cloud I'm floating on.

But it's true! I'm sitting here with a copy of the signed contract in front of me along with a to-do list to get everything ready to roll on production later this summer or fall.

I give God all the glory for this. I've been writing for a long time and had some close calls, but never THE phone call I wanted. But God knows what is best for us, and His timing is perfect all the time. At the right time He allowed all the pieces to fall into place.

I'll keep everyone posted as to the release date. What fun. As ACFW's New Release Coordinator, I'll get to announce my own book!

Marshal Dillion rides into the sunset

2011-06-04T15:01:00.002-05:00

We lost a big man (literally) when James Arness died at the age of 88. I grew up watching Gunsmoke every week and it feels a lot like losing a member of the family.

Last month I posted here that we were in Dodge City recently and I got the chance to hang out at the Long Branch Saloon for a while. It's part of the Boot Hill Museum complex there. I felt like the spirits of Doc, Chester and Miss Kitty were looking over my shoulder. If I was back there now, Matt would be there with them.

I'm in a group of well-published western writers and they have had a lot to say about it yesterday. A lot of tidbits were being passed around, like the fact that they originally wanted John Wayne for the role, but he declined and suggested Arness instead. Now I can't imagine anybody else in the role.

His real name was Aurness, but he dropped the 'U' for show business reasons. When the war came along he wrote his draft board and asked to be drafted. He was wounded in the leg at Anzio, hospitalized for a year, and it left him with the slight limp that we all remember so well.

An intensely private man, his long time co-star Amanda Blake (Miss Kitty) said "I've worked with him for 16 years but I don't really know him." In an article that he wrote for "Persimmon Hill" Johnny Boggs reported that Arness said in a personal interview, "I don't think anybody could have predicted it (Gunsmoke) would last that long, but I did feel right away that it was going to be a high quality show because they had a core of really good writers. The stories that we did were not just shoot-em-up and ride by westerns. It was more character study."

One by one the members of the group recounted memories of sitting around with the family on Saturday nights and how those family memories seem strongly tied to the series. One member of the group that is a U S Marshal said Arness is one of very few non-marshals to be presented with an official badge after he did a recruitment video for the marshals service. I smiled when he said "I aspire to be half the Marshal Mr. Arness was."

He made over 30 movies in addition to his TV career, but is most remembered for his Gunsmoke role. Happy trails, Marshal, we'll remember you.

Hartline adds an in-house publicist

2011-05-30T06:00:00.001-05:00

We are pleased to announce that Jennifer Hudson Taylor has joined us here at Hartline in the role of in-house publicist and PR/marketing advisor to our clients.

Here at Hartline, we have been discussing what changes we might make to better position ourselves in this constantly changing industry. Now seems to be the time to move forward and make some of them. Jennifer Hudson Taylor is joining the agency as In-house Publicist and PR/Marketing advisor. Jennifer has been a publicist for a big non-profit agency for many years and is already making a major impact advising our clients on the steps and actions from contract to book-on-the-shelf that publishers want and expect from authors today. If there are steps the clients don’t feel they can do themselves, she has set up a company outside of the agency where they can contract for some of these things to be done for them at very reasonable rates.

Hartline has also set up a special online group Hartline clients only can access (the ones that wish to). In this group clients share in discussion their PR and marketing efforts (with input from Jennifer) as to what is working and not working, as well as share ideas on what they might want to try. In today’s publishing environment where advances are smaller or in many cases nonexistent, it is important to us and to our authors to maximize the royalties from their projects.

Joyce is interviewing to replace Tamela at the agency and while we are at it adding more than one agent may be in the cards. At present we have the main office in Pittsburgh PA with a field office in Amarillo TX and in Kannapolis NC. We are considering field offices in different parts of the country to make it easier to interface with regional writer’s groups. Stay tuned for more information on this process.

The ebook market is exploding and we are taking steps to assist our clients in taking advantage of the opportunities being offered.

We are increasing our contact with the movie industry, particularly Christian Film companies and are exploring more opportunities for our clients in this area.

These are just the beginning steps. Stay tuned as we evaluate and do some restructuring. Exciting things are on the way.

Susan B. Christians . . . an interview with Terry's Client Tim Shoemaker

2011-05-21T06:00:00.001-05:00

Last week you led a devotional for the Colorado Christian Writers Conference where you placed a couple coins in a volunteer’s hands and asked him to guess want kind of coins he held. He guessed quarters--but they were really those pesky Susan B. Anthony dollars. What was that all about?

People were always mistaking the Susan B’s for quarters. It was annoying. The government finally stopped making them. I asked the audience to imagine for a moment that Christians were dollar coins, and those who weren’t followers of Christ were quarters.

You weren’t suggesting Christians were more valuable or better than others, but that they were certainly better off.

Exactly. We have the Holy Spirit inside, bringing us love, joy, peace, contentment, and more if we let him. We have Jesus, who has promised to be with us always, we have access to the Father . . . the God of the universe. We have the promise of eternal life in Heaven some day . . . and so much more. Yes, there is an indisputable value to being a Christian.

So how does that tie in to the Susan B. Anthony?

Dollar coins need to look different from quarters. They need to be instantly recognized. Our government learned that lesson the hard way from the Susan B.

Trouble is--we’ve got a bunch of “Susan B. Anthony Christians” in our world today. They’re saved. “They’re a dollar”. They’re better off. But they’re living so much like the world people rarely see the difference . . . or the value. And tragically, Susan B. Christians miss so many benefits that are ours as believers. They don’t even experience the difference themselves.

Then you pulled out one of the older silver dollars . . . a big ‘ol 1923 “Peace” type, and compared it to a Susan B. Anthony. Quite a difference.

Night and day. The Susan B. was a poor imitation of the original dollar. Which brings us back to the whole Susan B. Christian example. Ephesians 5:1 reminds us to “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children . . . “ We’re to be growing more like God . . . not like the world.

You showed us the edge of the coins. The older silver dollar was solid silver, all the way through. But the Susan B., just like the quarters, had copper at the core--not silver. The silver was just a surface thing.

Bingo. At the very heart of the Susan B. dollar is compromise . . . and that is the real problem with many Christians. They compromise in areas of character, integrity, and in the way they obey God’s Word. They compromise when it comes to maintaining a Christian attitude at home and they compromise in the way they love.

It’s a heart issue. When we selectively ignore what the Bible teaches, we have a compromising heart.

Absolutely. We cut our own value, effectiveness, and happiness. Even our closeness with God. Proverbs 4:23 makes it pretty clear. “Above all guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.”

So we need to examine our hearts to see if we’re compromising in some way. To see if we’re a “Susan B. Christian”. If we’re truly doing it God’s way, we’re going to be different from the world.

Instantly recognizable. If I’d of put a couple of those older dollars in our volunteer’s hands he’d have known immediately that they weren’t quarters.

And he might have taken off with them.

That too. Which underscores just how much more valuable we are as Christians when we’re clearly different from the world.

It comes down to truly living according to God’s principles. Being the real deal. You mentioned you actually keep one of those old silver dollars in your pocket to prompt your memory.

Every time I reach in my pocket that dollar serves as a reminder of the Christian I want to be.

The kind we ALL want to be. I think some of our readers may want to do the same thing. Thanks, Tim for sharing with us!

Conferencing high in the Rockies

2011-05-17T15:21:00.000-05:00

I just returned from a week up in Estes Park at the Colorado Christian Writers conference and it was nothing short of awesome. Hope Flinchbaugh’s opening session Wednesday night and her “Focus on the Cross” was tremendous, and on Thursday morning Bill Myers gave the most memorable and thought-provoking keynote ever. Liz Babbs, Rusty Wright, Bob Hostetler, and William Agius all touched our hearts deeply with their message. And Friday evening’s “Write his Answer to the Issues that Concern Us” kept up the same degree of faith and involvement.

Marlene Bagnull and her dedicated staff of volunteers did a tremendous job although she reported that this year the enemy put her under attack more than any other year she could remember. There is such a level of commitment at this conference, and it is more than a writing conference but attending is guaranteed to provide a spiritual life as well. Meyer’s comments in particular were exactly what I needed to hear at this point in time.

Marlene Bagnull

Tim Shoemaker provided one of his fascinating devotionals that everyone looks forward to every year to see what sort of visuals he is going to use to make his point, but I have asked him to write a brief blog on that so I will wait to let him address it.

I taught a couple of sessions and moderated the agent’s panel and I found the level of involvement excellent and the questions that were asked in each on point and insightful. My appointments were filled the entire conference and I met with a number of people on the side who were not able to get a meeting with me. The caliber of the pitches that I heard were excellent and I have a large number of proposals headed my way.

My wife Saundra, Bonnie Calhoun

Suzanne Brooks Kuhn and Leah C. Morgan

It snowed on us right at the beginning and there was a sharp North wind, but it only made the surrounding countryside more beautiful. My wife is studying photography so we took two days making the 8 hour drive up there and at Estes Park and on the trip I think she filled up two or three camera memory cards. The pictures on this blog are hers.

This conference is one Saundra and I go to each year and I recommend it highly when you are filling out your conference schedule for next year.

Interview of client Frank Roderus

2011-05-11T06:00:00.000-05:00

For the Reader to Care: Frank Roderus on Writing the West

This interview re-posted from Booklifenow.com blog by Jeremy L C Jones

Bad Boys by Frank Roderus opens with a man about to tell the woman he loves about his wild and rowdy past. The novel ends… well, it ends where it needs to end. In between, the story ranges, in tone and content, from the romping good times of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer to the more mature The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn to the picaresque tales of highwaymen and outlaws. The prose is fast, tight, and as clear as spring water. Each chapter moves deeply into the life of the central character, Danny Southern, and then moves on with only the faintest hint of sentimentality and a steady maturation.
At the three-quarters mark, dread sets in—not simply because of some impending doom, but because it becomes increasingly hard to deny that the story will soon end. It’s hard to stop reading Bad Boys—hard to put it down while in you’re reading it and hard to accept that it’s over when you finish.

Frank Roderus has been writing novels full-time for more than thirty years. He’s written in a variety of genres—action-adventure, crime, mystery—but the majority of his 300+ books are Westerns. He writes both stand-alone and series Westerns. He’s been contributing steadily to the Longarm series (as by Tabor Evans) since #53 (in 1983).

When I asked Roderus what remained the same in all his novels–what was the constant–I was hoping he’d reveal to me the secret to writing a fresh and unique novel every time out of the gate.

“Oh, I do most earnestly hope there is no constant in them,” said Roderus, “at least not apart from reader involvement with my characters. Through the years I have been privileged to vicariously become a delightful array of people and professions. Cowboys, sure, but also badmen, telegraphers, storekeepers, drifters, snake oil salesmen… the list has gotten pretty long and I have enjoyed experiencing each of them. And hope to find more in the future.”

With Roderus, it all comes back to characters the reader can care about. Below, Roderus and I talk about writing fiction in general and writing the West in particular.

You’ve been writing Western stories since you were five, novels since the late 70s, and writing full-time since 1980… Are you still loving it?

Frank Roderus: I am still very much loving what I do and feel blessed to have had the opportunity for such a wonderfully enjoyable career. Writing has always been a joy for me and I did thoroughly enjoy my years as a newspaper reporter, but journalism is essentially a matter of finding something that is wrong and pointing that out to the readers. With fiction I can also point out that which is good in people. Besides, it is just plain fun to tweak the noses of the bad guys.

Where does a Western novel usually start for you–image, plot, character, historical event, somewhere else altogether? And how do you develop the novel from there?

Frank Roderus: My books nearly always start for me by way of a character. I will find someone in my thoughts and he will tell the story from there. I just sit back and mentally watch the show unfold bit by bit and put that down on paper as it happens. The situations these characters find themselves in can be prompted by a newspaper story or something read in a history book, by almost anything. Much of my pleasure reading is non-fiction and those, especially first person accounts from long ago, will sometimes influence my characters but they become very much their own persons. In fact, some of my best friends have been my own characters.

What does a first chapter need to do and how do you do it?

Frank Roderus: I would hope that my first chapters give the reader something to care about. Good, bad or simply setting a tone, for the reader to care is the important thing. Or so I believe.

Danny Southern, Harlan Breen, Lyle Wilson… What makes for a compelling protagonist in general and a compelling Western protagonist in particular?

Frank Roderus: There again, for the reader to care is most important. Notice that I do not say the reader has to like the character. He can hate the rotten lousy so-and-so, and that is quite all right, just so long as he wants to see the fellow get his comeuppance and sticks around for the ride toward that end. I have come to believe that as long as I care, I can create a character who the reader will also care about. But I must genuinely care in order for this to happen. I don’t think the protagonist in a Western is markedly different from a character in a crime novel, a noir piece or even a romance, though. Any differences are on the surface–does this guy ride a sorrel horse or drive a red Ferrari–the heart and the emotions are constants and those are the basis for storytelling.

And how about an antagonist?

Frank Roderus: Same thing. He can have shades of gray in his character but there should be an emotional involvement in one’s feelings toward him. The reader may even like him… but should want to see him fall as a matter of simple justice.

Any advice for writing action scenes?

Frank Roderus: Action scenes are generally easy to write. I watch them play out in my mind and put down what I “see” there. I do have my own emotional involvement though and am completely wiped out by the end of the scene, very much as if I had physically participated in them, just without the blood and the bruises.

The middle of your novels never sag. How do you keep the tension mounting, the plot moving, and the suspense building?

Frank Roderus: Oh, my. You can’t know how pleased I am for you to say that. Maintaining pace is not always a simple thing to do and I can’t always judge how well I have done it. What I try to remember in the middle of a yarn, when all the characters and the main direction of the story have been established, is to throw in some new problems for the protagonist to overcome. Those needn’t be central to the main story but they do need to be true to the character. You can also slip in something playful.

The end game… what does the final chapter need to do? How do you manage the fine balance between too many and too few threads tied up? How do you ensure the reader leaves satisfied and comes back for more when the next one comes out?

Frank Roderus: I probably am guilty of weaving too few threads, not too many. I just try to wrap up what is there so there is some closure for my protagonist, whether good guy or bad. Leaving the reader satisfied is always a goal but since I am not creating series characters there is no compelling reason for the reader to return. He knows he will not find someone familiar in my next book, but I do hope he will feel he can find someone interesting.

Speaking of the next one, what can we expect from Ransom?

Frank Roderus: Ransom is about relationships, man and woman, father and daughter, divorced man and his ex wife’s lover… and of course with a bad guy/kidnapper thrown into the mix.

Any parting words? Words of encouragement or caution for the writers out there?

Frank Roderus: Oh, encouragement, by all means. It has always been difficult to get into print, always will be, but it is worth the struggle. The thing a new writer must do is write something so darn good, so completely compelling, that an editor simply can’t turn it down.

As for caution, I would advise newcomers to avoid the easy route of e-pub until he has sold at least one book to a legitimate print publisher. There are two reasons for this. The first and more obvious is that the e-pub houses generally do not have staff to properly edit, and the writer needs the input of editorial staff in order to have his work fully judged. He really cannot adequately judge it himself. Secondly, and more important, the print houses have established distribution and distribution is the most difficult part of the publishing process. That said, writing is more fun than almost anything. Do it. Revel in it. And keep at it until you do get that miracle of an acceptance letter.

If I may toss in a bit of advice here, the Western Writers of America holds seminars at their annual meetings that can be invaluable to newcomers. While one must be published in order to become a member of WWA, you do not have to belong to the organization to attend the conventions. Check their website for details about those summer meetings. And once you are published, you might want to consider Western Fictioneers as a source of information, encouragement and fellowship also. It too has a website that may be of interest.

2011-05-07T06:00:00.002-05:00

It can get me down a little spending the day turning people down for representation when I know how much they want it, getting rejections for clients that I have to pass on to them. They get a few rejections, but I get a LOT of them. I record Gaither programs and later in the afternoon when it starts getting to me put one on. They really pick my spirits up.

I had one on today and they were talking to Linda Randle. Someone asked her "How did you get with the Gaithers? How did you get established in gospel music?"

She said, "You get with God and God will hook you up where He wants you to be." She said she doesn't care if she is considered the best southern gospel singer but now she just cares if she thinks she is centered in God's will, whatever that is.

That's the best advice I ever heard for a Christian writer when they are worrying about what editor, agent or publisher they need to hook up with. It's terrific. It's good advice for an agent too.

Terry

When our book is finished

2011-05-04T09:51:00.002-05:00

When we are finished writing a book, while everything is hot and fresh in our mind there are some VITAL things we need to prepare that will be used in every step of getting the book represented, getting it published, and later in sales and promotion . The first is called a concept sentence, promo sentence or logline. It is a single SHORT sentence that tells the main concept of the book written in a very compelling manner.

The second is known as an elevator pitch or cover copy. It is a slightly larger version of the logline, 2-3 sentences that are used to pitch the book to an agent or editor if we find ourselves with a very brief opportunity to do so. Later it is used as cover copy and still later in advertising and promotion. These first two items are commonly used in our cover letter as well.

The third thing is a short synopsis or story summary. This is a slightly larger version of the first two, ideally a half page single spaced. It is used to produce a one page sell sheet, along with a logline as an attention getter on the page and with a very short WRITING RELATED bio. This will go in the proposal and the primary use of a sell sheet or one sheet is to provide an editor taking a project to committee to try and get it accepted with a single page to use or possibly to hand out that can be used to sell the project.

An agent, editor or publicist can write these for the book but ideally the best person to write them is the person that created the work from scratch, the one who lived with it from the ground up. A person trying to create them based on a brief read or two will surely not come up with as strong of an effort as the author.

Finally we have the synopsis itself. Most commonly desired is a 2-3 page single spaced synopsis that gives the main points of the story including the ending or plot resolution. This is not a chapter by chapter synopsis which may be required by a few editors but is more common on a nonfiction work than a fiction. Editors reading a proposal may read a synopsis first before reading the writing itself, may read it after reading sample writing to decide whether the story carries out in a manner that they would like to ready the full manuscript, or some may not use it at all but it should always be provided. Some submission guidelines require them to be longer and the submission guidelines should always be followed.

Even though these are presented in this order, they are often produced in a reverse order boiling the story down to get the synopsis, boiling the synopsis down to get the short synopsis or story summary, boiling it down to get the elevator pitch or cover copy and reducing it further to get the logline.

To give our work the best chance of success we as the originator of the work need to give these tools to the agent, editor or publicist to give them the best chance of advancing the work to its final conclusion. It is critical to provide these tools and to craft them to the best of our ability.

Interview of client Raquel Byrnes

2011-04-29T06:00:00.003-05:00

Featuring Raquel Byrnes

Interview of Raquel by Anne K Albert at http://anne-k-albert.blogspot.com re-posted by permission:

Raquel lives in Southern, California with her husband of sixteen years and their six children. She considers inspirational fiction a wonderful way to minister to others. She writes romantic suspense with an edge-of-your-seat pace. Her first book of the Shades of Hope Series, PURPLE KNOT, is set to release from White Rose Publishing.com later this year.

Welcome Raquel! I’m so glad you could take time away from your busy life to drop by for a visit. What one or two lines best sums you up as an author?

Raquel - Inspirational romance with an edge-of-your-seat pace.

Anne - What activity consumes your time when you’re away from the keyboard?

Raquel - I homeschool my six children which takes up the bulk of my time.

Anne – Tell us about your most recent release.

Raquel – My debut novel, Purple Knot, introduces spunky private detective “Rain” Cruz who joins her ex-fiancé to track down her best friend’s killer.

Anne - Is there a message in Purple Knot you want readers to grasp?

Raquel - I want readers to know that you don’t have to be perfect to be a Christian; that ours is a God of grace and second chances.

Anne - Describe your home office as appears right now. Is this a good or bad thing?!

Raquel - I write in our homeschool room because that is where I spend most of the day. My counter has a half-finished Egyptian sarcophagus, a collage my daughter is working on, and research in various states of completion. Its controlled chaos and I love it.

Anne - Do you belong to any writer’s organizations, critique groups, and/or depend on beta readers?

Raquel - I meet twice a month with a critique group I co-founded called Sunday Morning Romance Writers. I also attend the San Diego Christian Writer’s Guild critique group in Temecula.

Anne - Of all the characters you’ve created, does one hold a special place in your heart? Why?

Raquel - I think Summer Corbeau, Rain’s best friend in Purple Knot, has the most pull on my heart. I’ve had friends in real life that have gone through what she did and all I could do was pray and hope. She rings true to me.

Anne - Are you a glass half-empty or half-full kind of person?

Raquel - More like suspiciously eyeing the glass and wondering if I’ve been poisoned.

Anne – Ah-ha! Not surprising that you write romantic suspense, then! Do you have any words of advice for struggling, unpublished writers?

Raquel - Hone your craft. Give yourself time to improve, but keep getting better. The key to publication is a well written story.

Anne - Outside of writing, what accomplishment are you most proud?

Raquel - I’m most proud of my children. They are sweet young people with a heart for the Lord. Nothing can surpass that.

Anne –I’d like to conclude the interview by mentioning you can read more about Raquel on her website or her blog.

Thanks so much for dropping by today, Raquel, and congratulations on the upcoming release of Purple Knot!

Guest Post by Kristine Pratt - ebooks in Libraries

2011-04-23T06:00:00.008-05:00

Kindle just announced they are making ebooks available through Overdrive in libraries. As for as the impact upon publishers to have library downloads, this has been the subject of intense debate not long ago.

In March of this year, HarperCollins announced that their ebooks had a limited license so that they could be downloaded only 26 times before disappearing. This caused an outcry against HarperCollins that called for a boycott of books by HarperCollins. The libraries were outraged, as, due to budget crunches, they certainly could not afford to re-purchase titles over and over.

There has always been an uneasy feeling between publishers and libraries. Let's face it, an author is hoping to make money by having copies of their book sold. To have people able to check out a single copy numerous times means that those are fewer royalties...to their way of thinking.

Some publishers specialize in books meant just for libraries, instead looking at it from the point of view that there are thousands of libraries and a copy of a book in every library in the United States is 122,101 books sold.

Keep that number in mind, it's the latest figure.

As a publisher, we considered the library aspect long and hard in how we determined our marketing efforts. Yes we do have books in the library system. And while each of those books counts only as a single sale let's look at the facts.

A book in the library is checked out an average of 54 times before it is retired. This is a print copy, an ebook would be able to go much further than that. But let's just look at the print number right now.

Of those 54 people who checked out that book, you now have created 54 people with an interest in your books.

The average wait for a new title, depending upon popularity of the book can vary from several days to several weeks or even months. How many times have you opted for the bookstore when you've discovered that it's going to be awhile before you can get the book you want to read? I know I have.

Granted there is no wait on an ebook...BUT the people reading that ebook are people who will become potential fans. People who will hunt down your other books, and want to read those too. People who won't chance a new author in the bookstore will always try them at the library.

There are facts and figures to support all that, but suffice it to say, it's been shown that books in library actually stimulate additional sales.

So...profit off of ebooks? I would say it comes from the fan base, it comes from the people who will turn out to see you (keep in mind a good relationship with a library can lead to appearances at the library, and chances to promote your books in that setting).

And let's not forget that great big number.

122,101 libraries in the United States today. Seems to me that if you sold a copy or your book or ebook to even half of those, you'd be doing pretty well.

And besides, 122,101 library books checked out 54 times each means you have 6,598,854 readers.

I don't know about you, but those numbers look pretty good to me.

OK everyone, ready for a little more information?

I called up the head of collection acquisition who happens to be in charge of all book buying for fifteen libraries in this part of Colorado Springs. She happens to do all the buying of fiction and children's books for all of these locations, so she knows her stuff.

The book buying process for a library is fairly straightforward. Now remember this represents how the big libraries to things. I'm sure it's much simpler than this in smaller ones, but let's see what we can do with this information to promote not only our writing, but to place God's word on the shelves and in the hands of people who so sorely need to hear it.

The library budget has not been affected considerably in recent years, something which surprised me, but perhaps that's because they say that library readership is up in the last two years. Speculation to this increase include thoughts that with everyone feeling the financial pinch, the library has become the first place to get a book, over purchasing either online or in bookstores. The percentages certainly show more people checking out books than ever before, which is good news for the library and reason to hold the budget strong.

So what does that mean for us?

The library purchaser looks at three things to determine if a book will be carried by the library or not.

1. She starts her day with reading several journals online. These are:

- Booklist
- Kirkus Review
- Library Journal
- Publishers Weekly
- School Library Journal
- Voice of Youth America

Any books with a good review will be bought immediately. Any book with a moderate review will also likely be purchased. Books that have one good review in one mag and one bad review in another will also be purchased.

Huh. Who knew?

2. The book MUST be carried by Baker & Taylor. She says that with the current time restraints on her job and as much work as she has there is no time to set up accounts with various publishers, even if they offer a better deal on the books. She says "We have more money than time, so it has to be with Baker & Taylor."

3. Amazon rankings help. If your book is NOT reviewed, but has an Amazon ranking of 100,000 or better you'll be purchased. BUT, a book with a ranking up to 500,000 will still be considered.

Now, a few myths to dispel.

- Any literature mailed, flyers, catalogs, or letters about your book will be ignored. They do not have time for them and those kinds of things hit the trash without even being opened.
- A book donated to the library will not wind up in any collection necessarily.
- Approaching them as a local author might hold some weight, but you might wind up in a special collection and not in general circulation

BUT

Here is where it counts. A card holder requesting a book will guarantee a sale of that book almost every time. Unless there is something really wildly wrong with it. They say they will even buy a book they don't think is well done, has bad reviews, is something they would never spend the money on if it is requested by a card holder. Why? Because they figure that someone wants to read it.

Hints here:

1. Look at your website first. My library has a form on their webpage that can be used to requesting books.
2. If they don't have someplace online, go in person and ask at the desk.
3. Be sure to be a card holder to give weight to your request. It never takes long to get one and usually all you need is ID to get one.
4. Usually they require the book be in print, be less than 2 years old, and available on Amazon at the very least (if not on Baker & Taylor)

I also want to note something:

My library buyer told me that she gets requests for Christian fiction all the time, but they are seldom reviewed in any of those library journals. She says she wishes that Baker & Taylor had a library journal just for Christian books because she winds up going to the publishers websites for all the big publishers to find out what's new and orders from that. She says it's awkward and time consuming to do that.

Hope this helps!

Kristine Pratt
Written World Communications

Guest Blog by Normandie Fischer

2011-04-20T06:00:00.000-05:00

ON 'VOICE'
Normandie Fischer, writer and editor

My favorite comments from the latest contest judges concerned my writing voice -- hugely encouraging. But they got me thinking about voice and how we learn it -- or if we learn it at all. Is the cadence of our writing bred into us like the language of our tongues?

I don't pretend to have an answer to that. I write, I've always written, the way I hear language. Yesterday I spent some hours revisiting an old story with Maryland's Eastern Shore as the backdrop. There I heard a different tone from my Beaufort stories, a different word patterning. The cadence of the South, which permeates conversation and thought as well as observation, fixes itself into the words of the Beaufort folk. Does that mean I as author see things differently when I'm in different places?

I think it does. I think the me who wrote from Mexico had images pressed into my mind that were slower, drier, perhaps friendlier. They held whiffs of deep sea and large expanses of open water and empty land, of mountains plunging toward the sea and whales cavorting off our bow.

The me who writes here in NC feels more confined to place. I'm no longer surrounded by the lilt or clip of foreign tongues or by the lazy days at anchor. Here, the world seems populated with issues that need to be solved, tempers that must be assuaged, emotions that must have reason...if only I could plumb deeply enough to discover them. Here, I'm awash in a world of care, which must translate somehow into the words I use to craft stories. (Or the ones I pluck from the moment to write on this blog.)

What are your thoughts on voice and writing? Do you think you've learned the voice with which you write, or is it merely you as you've always written on paper (or screen)? Please post a comment and let me know.

What should be in a contract?

2011-04-16T20:02:00.000-05:00

My friend, agent Les Stobbe did a great job of boiling down into simple terms what should be included in a book contract. Let me share it with you:

1. A Grant of Rights (explanation of who holds which rights)

2. A Delivery Date (when the author must deliver the manuscript)

3. Acceptance and Publication Schedules (a time frame for when the book will be published)

4. Warranties and Indemnities (that protect the editors from being sued)

5. Proofs the author will see

6. A Copyright Notice (that should be in the author‘s name)

7. Advance Information

8. Royalty Rates (these depend highly on the author‘s platform and the publisher)

9. Subsidiary Rights Percentages

10. Accounting and Payments (information on when the author gets paid)

11. Number of Author Copies (these copies should be for promotional purposes)

12. Reversion of Rights and Process (what happens if the book goes out of print?)

13. Bankruptcy Clause (what happens if the publisher goes bankrupt?)

14. Option Clause (this means that the publisher gets first right of refusal for the next book)

15. Agent Information, if applicable

Very Succinct, Les.

Agent Negotiates Civil War Truce!

2011-04-12T08:55:00.000-05:00

A beautiful sunrise is reflecting off the Platt River which runs below the lodge here at the Nebraska Writer’s Guild conference at Mahoney State Park. It is early Sunday morning and I sit here on the balcony, Starbucks in hand reflecting on the conference wrapping up this morning with a special session of displays and resources for particularly resource writers.

I celebrated the 150^th anniversary of the Civil War in this peaceful setting by finally negotiating a truce between Union and Confederate forces. Not necessarily an end to the war, but at least a truce. Not the usual negotiations that a literary agent is involved in.

President Sally Walker and her terrific team have orchestrated a great conference. A modest size and located in a writer-friendly retreat setting just outside of Omaha for travel convenience it opened on Friday night with a reading session giving Guild members the chance to do readings on their works in progress.

Saturday featured a balanced series of programs and workshops with something for everybody plus time for those who wished to pitch their fare to agents and editors (one of each). The food in the lodge was nothing short of excellent.

One of the attendees, Monty McCord is shown here trying to get an agent the easy way – with a gun and handcuffs.

A very economical conference, those in convenient distance in particular would do well to add it to your conference schedule for next year. More information may be found at http://www.nebraskawriters.org/ and I’m sure in a few months information for next years conference will go up there. I want to thank Sally and all of the NWG people for hosting Saundra and I so well, and for putting on an excellent conference.

PS. It is a real convenience traveling with a wife that is studying photography. Thanks to Saundra for these great pictures.

What? Terry is shy?

2011-04-08T22:30:00.002-05:00

Yes, I’m shy.

Lots of people find that hard to believe but it’s true. When I was in high school my wife had to invite ME out. I don’t order pizza, don’t take things back to the store and in a restaurant if they serve me a bad meal I won’t complain, I just won’t go back.

Then in college I had a speech teacher take me in hand and help me develop a public persona, and in that mode THAT GUY could do the things I couldn’t do. Johnny Carson was the same way, terribly shy off camera, when he puffed out his chest and got into character he was the ultimate entertainer.

I discovered that it is very common among writers as they tend to be people who are more comfortable expressing themselves in writing than verbally. Then I discovered that outgoing people often needed to develop such a persona as well, not because they were shy, but in order to understand how they needed to present themselves as professional writers. We all play different roles in our lives depending on where we are and what we are doing. It just makes sense that we would give thought to how we would present ourselves in a professional writing situation.

I’ve been leading a course on this for a lot of years now and people who have gone through it tell me it really helped them. I know it helped me. Some people actually change and become more outgoing, but my nature is still shy, it is just easier after all of these years to slip into my professional persona. If I’m not in it I am more likely to be sitting quietly on the sidelines, just watching what is going on. I just finished leading the course at a conference and at present am doing it as a month long online course for the American Christian Fiction Writers.

Sometimes it is useful to actually dress different to make the switch easier. One woman told me she bought a set of black, sexy underwear that she only wore when she was in writer mode to help her made the switch. I told her that was too much information but I hoped she was letting her husband in on it.

As for me I like to dress western, but I dress a little more so when I am in character. George Bush sent me some sort of stimulus check and I used it to buy a Gold Edition Stetson. I only wear it for special occasions or when I am being the writer or agent. How could a guy not be confident under a hat like that? People have gotten to the point where they ask me where the hat is if they come into a meeting and I don’t have it on.

I was talking to a group of my clients online, however, and they pointed out that I did the hat, belt buckle, boots and a nice western jacket as my ‘brand’ but then I carried a normal briefcase. “It doesn’t work,” they said, “you need to throw saddlebags over your shoulder, not carry a briefcase.” At one conference I attended a guy that was there to do a Will Rogers impersonation carried saddlebags over his shoulder, maybe they have something there. I ordered a pair and we’ll see how that goes.

I’m on a mission to help all fellow shy writers learn to step beyond their limitations.