My internet search on how to conduct a truly effective writing sabbatical turned up tips such as these: 1) Write every single day, for hours at a stretch – isn’t this why you’re taking a sabbatical? 2) Write only when you feel like it – forced-productivity zaps the creativity needed to produce a stellar book. […]
Read moreIF SITTING IS THE NEW SMOKING … (4 things to do about it)
May 17, 2013 
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… most writers are likely 3-pack-a-day-ers. And that’s not good. But instead of providing you with facts and figures you’ve probably already heard many times over (like from this TED-related article and this Discovery News piece), let’s talk about what I do to combat this trend, and then get your input about what you might […]
Read moreANOTHER BOOK ABOUT SYLVIA PLATH? Finally, A Book With Answers
May 15, 2013 0 Comments
When I heard that Scott Evans was writing a book about Sylvia Plath, I asked to read it. Then I contracted it. I was excited for this small press to get a book like Sylvia’s Secret – an honest look at both the poet’s life and struggles and the thing that should have saved her. […]
Read moreWHY SHOULD A READER CARE ABOUT YOUR CHARACTERS?
May 10, 2013 8 Comments
We should love everyone, agreed, especially if we claim to hold to some sort of religious belief – love as a reflection of what we believe – but sometimes people are less than interesting, aren’t they? Some are downright hard to love. Others, we love to hate, and still others are initially off-putting but then […]
Read moreTHE 7 THINGS THAT FLOAT THE BOAT AT PORT YONDER PRESS
May 9, 2013 4 Comments
What makes us go, coast, glide, slide, smooth along, drift, wander, peregrinate, range, bob, move gently, rest on water, sail, skim, slip along, stay afloat, swim, waft, tread water, glissade? (And isn’t a thesaurus a wonderful thing? ) 1) We’re INDIE! i.e., unaffiliated with a larger or more commercial organization. In simpler terms, we can make decisions based on […]
Read moreWHERE NO APOLOGIES ARE NEEDED
May 6, 2013 0 Comments
I was recently checking out a webpage of fellow publisher, Jeff Gerke. I was led there by a search term that popped up on my own blog: “christian publishing house drops fiction.” Well, I’m not even sure why PYP would show up in the search as we’re not a “Christian publishing house,” and we certainly […]
Read more12 QUESTIONS I ASK MYSELF WHEN MAKING A FINAL DECISION ON A MANUSCRIPT
May 1, 2013 5 Comments
I ask myself these questions, in no particular order, and without access to this written list – when making a final decision on a manuscript. It’s an intuitive thing, and though intuition is subjective, when combined with knowledge it becomes very powerful. My unwritten list, now written: 1. Does it read smoothly page after page? […]
Read moreFREE BOOK GIVEAWAY OF “SYLVIA’S SECRET” – Love Sylvia Plath? You’ll want to enter ….
April 29, 2013 6 Comments
ENTER TO WIN by leaving a comment! Random drawing on Friday. Read on for details … We’re giving away a FREE copy of “Sylvia’s Secret.” Do realize this has a typo on the front cover, and several italicized items on the back cover that shouldn’t be italicized. I ordered several of these books before I […]
Read moreUNIQUE AUTHOR, UNIQUE WRITING – 4 Things A Writer Must Do or Be To Become Immortal
April 22, 2013 6 Comments
The noise, the voices, the insistence to conform has never been greater. It’s everywhere. But conformity does not a thinker make, and it takes a thinker to be a writer who stands out. A couple thoughts: BE YOU, not somebody else. As someone said, “Be yourself; no one is better qualified.” But then someone else […]
Read more5 WAYS TO SPOT EVANGELICAL WRITING (And What to Do About It)
April 17, 2013 8 Comments
Over the past nearly 4 years, I’ve received hundreds of equeries, chapters, and manuscripts. I’ve read ’til my one good eye felt like this – a staring and patched mass of strained retinal tissue: And my head felt like this – BANG BANG BANG: I’ve read and liked, read and disliked, read and pondered, read […]
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- DO YOU REALLY HAVE A STORY, AND IF NOT, HOW TO GET ONE (With Examples From A Few Bestsellers)
- WHY WRITING MAINSTREAM OR CROSSOVER BOOKS PEGS YOU AS A SERIOUS WRITER (while writing “Christian” books often doesn’t)
- DOES YOUR NOVEL HAVE AN “INCITING INCIDENT”? (Let’s Look at Yours)
- PUBLISHING FACTS & FANCY (with a few surprises)
- A FOLLOW-UP AND THANK YOU on my blog post about how to be taken seriously as a writer if you’re a Christian
- RATCHET UP YOUR WRITING: Get Honest! (Helping Christians, Especially, Set Aside Their Fear of Baring It on the Page)
- FOR MEN ONLY: How To Improve Your Writing
- YOUR 2013 PERSONAL WRITING GOALS? Tell Me Yours; I’ll Tell You Mine
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Chila Woychik: Thank you, Lois - always appreciate your words....
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Jessica Thomas: Oh. I thought the writing sabbatical was a break f...
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CKoepp: Y'all have fun! My "writing sabbatical" is usuall...
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scmathisen: Getting your head out of other peoples stories may...
