Writing for the Love

Please note: Info about the e-book is at the end of this post. I may have mentioned this several times now, but I'll go ahead and repeat myself. One message I have consistently received from the Lord for over a year now is humble thyself. How have I gotten the message? Via his Word, messages at church, worship songs, Bible studies, friends, and even in my prayer times. Not necessarily his audible voice, but the repetition certainly grabs my attention every time. The funny thing about attempting publication as a writer...there's a conflicting message to humility. A writer who wants to be published, and especially one who is already, has to sound their own horn. Or bang their own gong. Or use all the instruments in Dr. Seuss' How The Grinch Stole Christmas if they want to get attention for their book. How effective is that in the rest of life? The people I've been around who sing their own praises are often obnoxious, appear to be unaware of their own self-center...

The Conference! A lot has happened since my last entry. Namely, the FWA Conference was last weekend in Orlando. I am so grateful that I chose to attend for the second year in a row. Every workshop was excellent. The FWA consistently chooses fantastic speakers and authors to come teach the sessions. I couldn’t pick a favorite if I had to, but I’ll mention a few. The very first workshop I attended provided answers to questions about synopses that I’ve had for years. For those who wanted to bring a laptop with their current novel and its working synopsis, the speakers (Robert & Sharene Brown) went over several different types of synopses and showed us how to transform our novel into each of these. I got some one on one time with Sharene (a publisher) and she had such insight! Now, whenever the guidelines for submissions to an agent or publisher request any type of synopsis, I’ll have it ready. Another excellent workshop was on Point of View with Rebecca Melvin. She is a...