4 Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Editor

by Harrison Demchick @HDemchick

We all need editing.

So after many months, and maybe even years, you’ve finally completed your very first manuscript. You’re proud of what you’ve accomplished, but at the same time, when you read through your work, you know you’re not quite where you want to be. Something isn’t clicking, and you don’t know what or why, so you’ve made the decision to bring on an editor.

Great idea! We all need an editor. (Even those of us who are, in fact, editors.) But if you’re new to the publishing industry, odds are you don’t really have a clear idea of what you should be looking for. The internet is filled with eager and enthusiastic people claiming that they, and only they, can enable you to complete the very best version of your story. Who do you pick? How do you know?

Why Using Networked Blogs isn't Helpful for Building an Online Platform

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson

Lately I've seen a resurgence of an old Facebook app, Networked blogs. Truthfully, I didn't think anyone still used this. But it's come up, so I thought it would be a good idea to share what is involved with this app.

This is an app you sign up for on Facebook. Over time a new post is published, Networked Blogs picks it up, publishes it to Facebook and also to Twitter. 

On the surface it looks like a great idea.

So What does Writing Lead to?

by Beth Vogt @BethVogt

Just having a bit of fun here today. I read this quote and thought: Where else does writing lead to?

Writing leads to … late nights and little sleep.

Writing leads to … the red pen. (I’m an editor. What did you expect?)

Writing leads to … a serious break with reality sometimes. (The voices in my head are talking louder than the real-live voices.)

In Your Words: Your turn. How would you fill in the blank? Writing leads to _______________________. Writers, tell us where you’ve ended up. And everyone else, tell us what you imagine — or what you’ve discovered by watching your writer-friends.

Be sure to leave your thoughts in the comments section below!

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So what does #writing lead to - thoughts from author @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)

Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” A nonfiction writer and editor who said she’d never write fiction, Beth is now a novelist with Howard Books. She enjoys writing inspirational contemporary romance because she believes there’s more to happily-ever-after than the fairy tales tell us. Connect with Beth on her website, Twitter, Facebook, or check out her blog on quotes, In Others’Words.

Taking the Question Out of Query Letters, Part 1

by Vonda Skelton @VondaSkelton

Query letters. I hate them. You hate them. Everybody hates them. But the ability to write a good query letter can mean the difference between publication and rejection. 

Over the next two posts, I'll be sharing a five-step formula for writing query letters that will create interest and increase the chances of seeing your name in print. 

I’ll present a query letter study for a proposed article, but the basic concepts would work for a manuscript cover letter, too.

One Writer's Salute to Librarians

by Warren Adler @WarrenAdler

From the moment I entered the hushed, sacred precinct of the Brownsville Children's Library in Brownsville, Brooklyn, back in the mid-1930s, I have been a passionate advocate of the public library.

My most profoundly joyous memory is walking through the crowded, noisy, aroma-filled atmosphere of Sutter Avenue, between rows of pushcarts selling anything edible and wearable, on my way to that vine-covered magic castle of books. It was like crossing a moat from the reality of a contemporary world of struggle and strife, to a paradise of storytelling, which opened infinite possibilities and aspirations in a young boy confronting a strange and scary future.

Sisterhood of the World Bloggers Award

I’ve been nominated for the Sisterhood of World Bloggers Award by a writing friend, Elizabeth Van Tassel. 

Elizabeth and I met at ACFW last year and hang out on a lot of the same blogs. I was pleasantly surprised to find an email in my inbox yesterday saying she had nominated me.

I love the way Elizabeth shares life with her readers by bringing spiritual insight to every day experiences. You should check out her blog at Elizabeth Van Tassel 

There are some rules with this nomination. 

Throw Out the Crutches When You Write

by Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted

I buggered up my knee. It wasn't one of my more graceful moments and of all things, I let the competitive side of me win. "Let Grace have the chair. You don't need to win the game."

But noooo! I made a dash for sole surviving chair. It was between Grace and me . . . Grace won. Me, well, I caught my boot on the carpet, sailed into the air, and landed like a half-ton of bricks on my knees. Short version: torn ligament, broken patella. Yep, I needed crutches. I declined them and decided to push through, and find better ways to walk and strengthen my knee.

Early in my writing career, I had writing crutches . . .  words that, though they sounded really spiffy, were a lazy form of writing. I needed to push past them to improve. They were words that sounded well placed but as time and experience taught, proved to make my writing stilted and wordy. I learned not to write to impress, rather write to improve.