Category Archives: Uncategorized

Retail has long been a challenge for self-publishing authors. Local stores may or may not be willing to work directly with an author on carrying a book. You can make their lives easier by using a distributor they already purchase from (and know and trust), but even then, getting them excited about your book may [...]

This collection of book covers at the ThinkDesignBlog is a great source of inspiration. It’s also an effective reminder that you have to know who your market is. While they were all competently designed, I wouldn’t have picked up some of them in a million years. You have to know who you’re designing for if [...]

Make a point today to connect with one writer / blogger / twitter that you like. Not one whose audience you covet. Not one who has obvious synergies with your work. Just one you like. It’ll make it easier to be natural, and you’ll make a friend. If those other things happen to line up, [...]

“What attitudes, then, do we as Christian writers need to maintain to fulfill the Lord’s calling upon our lives and work? First and foremost, we need to remember that we are not masters, but servants; not celebrities, but crafters.” Penelope J. Stokes

That writer does the most for us who brings to our attention thoughts that lay close to our minds waiting to be acknowledged as our own. Such a man acts as a midwife to assist at the birth of ideas that had been gestating long within our souls, but which without his help might not [...]

I want to write, but more than that I want to bring out all kinds of things that lie buried deep in my heart. ~ Anne Frank

Here’s a great video from a blogger turned author. Beyond being inspirational, it also begs the question — is there a reason that you haven’t started blogging about the things you’re passionate about? You have every opportunity to test your message and evaluate how people respond. You can do it for free! So, are you [...]

Our access to information is historically unparalleled. You could start reading today and never stop, and you wouldn’t ever run out of material. So, why publish a book? For us, and for the authors we work with, it’s about transforming the world for Jesus. It’s about communicating an idea — new or old, better or [...]

Someone has directed and made publishing decisions about every book ever published. You can’t bring a book to market without making decisions about title, design, editorial standards, production quality, and marketing. What’s dangerous about self-publishing is you can bring a book to market without making informed decisions about those things. Authors who self-publish (and those [...]

The most valuable lesson I’ve learned about writing is that the old admonition “write your passion” is more than mere mantra—it’s essential to developing your calling as a writer. For years I wrote what I thought the market wanted, but then an editor said, “What are you dying to write?” That question—and the resulting book—gave [...]