When Your Writing Career Feels Stuck: What to Do When Other Writers Are Moving Ahead

From Edie: Feeling stuck in your writing career? Discover how to stop comparing your journey to other writers and find purpose and progress in the waiting.

When Your Writing Career Feels Stuck: What to Do When Other Writers Are Moving Ahead

By Edie Melson @EdieMelson

I don’t think there are many (actually any) people who read this blog who think publishing is easy. But within that difficulty, there’s a particular kind of hard that comes with watching someone else get the thing you’ve been praying for.

Especially when that someone is a friend.

We really are happy for them. We celebrate when they sign with an agent. We cheer when they announce their first book contract. We whole heartedly share their cover reveal and buy their book.

And we mean every bit of it.

Why Publishers Reject Books: 5 Reasons That Have Nothing to Do with Your Writing

From Edie: A.C. Williams shares five reasons publishers reject books that have nothing to do with writing quality, from marketability and audience to production costs and timelines.

Why Publishers Reject Books: 5 Reasons That Have Nothing to Do with Your Writing

by A.C. Williams @ACW_Author

Are you ever frustrated with publishers?

It’s okay. You can be honest. How can publishers keep putting out the same kinds of books over and over? Don’t they understand how many fresh, new authors are producing compelling, original stories? It’s easy to take rejection personally, and the more you pitch to different publishers, the more it feels like none of them are grasping your vision, your capacity, or your potential. 

How Christian Writers Can Find Joy When Writing Feels Like Work: The Fruit of the Spirit in Publishing

From Edie: Lynn Blackburn shares how Christian writers can hold on to joy when deadlines, expectations, and exhaustion make the writing life feel more like work than a calling.

How Christian Writers Can Find Joy When Writing Feels Like Work: The Fruit of the Spirit in Publishing

by Lynn H. Blackburn @LynnHBlackburn

Fruit Under Pressure: Deadlines, reviews, comparison, the silence after you hit send. We’re on month two of a nine-month exploration into what it looks like to live out the fruit of the Spirit as we navigate the pressure system of publishing.

This month, we’re talking about Joy.

How to Share a Message in Fiction Without Sounding Preachy

From Edie: Sarah Sally Hamer shares how to share meaningful themes in fiction without sounding preachy—and trust your story and your readers to discover the message naturally.

How to Share a Message in Fiction Without Sounding Preachy

by Sarah Sally Hamer @SarahSallyHamer

A conversation I had with a writer a while back has stayed with me, partly because we both have experienced a particular type of situation.

She was talking about a manuscript she'd been working on and mentioned that several of her critique partners had used the same word when describing parts of the story. They all felt certain scenes were becoming preachy. She wasn't upset because they were criticizing her work. She was upset because that had never been her intention.

Self-Editing for Writers: How to Know If Your Book Really Works

From Edie: PeggySue Wells shows writers how to self-edit your manuscript for structure, flow, clarity, character development, and reader impact before polishing the words.

Self-Editing for Writers: How to Know If Your Book Really Works

by PeggySue Wells @PeggySueWells

“Great writing. Great story. But what’s it about?”

That priceless feedback came from a skilled fellow author who kindly read my completed novel.

I spent so much time inside the manuscript that I understood connections the reader would not. There was what I meant, and there was what I wrote. Self-editing is the process of making sure what you meant and what you wrote are the same.

How to Use AI to Stay Safe Online (Part 2): Fact-Check Images, Posts, and Online Claims

From Edie: Learn how to use AI to fact-check images, social media posts, and online claims while protecting your personal information and verifying trusted sources.

How to Use AI to Stay Safe Online (Part 2): Fact-Check Images, Posts, and Online Claims

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Last time, we looked at using AI as a safety tool to help identify possible online scams.

But suspicious messages are only part of the problem.

Today we also need to deal with fake photographs, misleading social media posts, impersonation accounts, recycled stories, manipulated information, and posts that contain just enough truth to make the lie believable.

And I'll confess something. Sometimes I want the message to be true. Often the words confirm something I already believe. Maybe what I’ve written is a great story. Whatever emotion the message triggers, that reaction makes me more vulnerable.

How to Use AI to Stay Safe Online (Part 1): Detect Scams Before You Click

From Edie: Learn how to use AI to spot online scams, identify common red flags, analyze suspicious messages, and verify information before you click or respond.

How to Use AI to Stay Safe Online (Part 1): Detect Scams Before You Click

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

I’ve been online for a long time.

I remember when social media felt a lot like walking into a room filled with people we knew—or at least people who knew people we knew. Yes, there were problems, but most of us didn’t approach every friend request, email, direct message, or interesting post wondering whether someone was trying to steal our identity.

Those days are gone.

Scams have become more sophisticated, and artificial intelligence has made some of them even harder to recognize. Messages are better written. Images are more convincing. Fake accounts look more legitimate. And scammers have gotten very good at pushing the emotional buttons that make us react before we stop and think.

But there’s another side to AI.