Biz

POD And Self-Publishing

Rescue Ship, Sinking Vessel, or Floating Raft

Mention your book, the plot, and the characters, and people start to show interest. Tell them it’s put out by Publish America, and suddenly you’re talking to thin air. A lot of negative rumors are running around about PA. I’m not really here to defend Publish America as much as to...

Bookclubs

A Day In My Life

“Brittany, I’m going to get the tables and chairs ready for the meeting tonight. I’ve got to change out of this uniform and into street clothes. Call me if you need help.” I’m in a hurry, hoping no one will recognize me out of uniform—that’s the plan anyway. It works for Clark Kent.

ECPA Bestseller Lists

Notice it says plural lists! That's right...we have ALL of the ECPA lists now, including their Archives. Check out the latest in hot reading across all Christian spectrums.

Agent Column

To Be An Agent

Do you remember the first time you fell in love? How your eye caught a glimpse of him or her and returned for a second glance? How you relished spending time with the new person in your life? You wanted to talk about your special someone; you wanted everyone to appreciate that person’s qualities. You couldn’t help yourself. And your enthusiasm was contagious—even your mother started to like that person.

Word For Words

The Aret Of Editing In Writing

Editing, like other disciplines, is as much art as science, and viewing it that way can make it easier and more enjoyable. That’s the underlying principal of a workshop I do called “The Art of Editing in Writing.” It focuses on the six “Rs” of editing—research, reading, revising, rewriting, reconstructing, and rereading. I mentioned a couple of these tools last month, but to get a handle on how they work and when to use them, it’s best to understand all of them.

Randy Rooney

All A-Twitter

“Explain to me again why you aren’t using Twitter,” my editor said.

I tightened my grip on the phone. “Explain to me again why I should.”

“Well, it’s supposed to be a great marketing tool for writers. It’s the new hot thing. That’s what everybody says.”

“Right, and two years ago, everybody said real estate was going up and up...

Screenwriting 101

The Beat Sheet

Box office hits like Star Trek use beats to grab the audiences’ attention and bring structure to the storyline. Most cinematic stories have 40 – 45 beats and are distributed within the 45 – 60 scenes it takes to tell the story (110 pages). The backbone of the story structure consists of 16 beats.