Publishing
Are You Ready for Publication?
Not your manuscript. You. Here’s the test: Strip down to your pre-fall Garden of Eden nakedness and stand on the fifty-yard line during halftime at the Super Bowl while everyone submits critiques of your body on the JumboTron. If you can handle that without buckets of drugs and/or a lifetime of therapy, then you’re probably…
Taxes and Writers
Do I need to file taxes as a writer? The simple answer is it depends. Here are a few considerations in deciding whether or not to put your writing on your tax return. Did you receive any income? Many people think you need a certain amount of income to have to file, however, this is…
Handling the Big Rejection
Q: How do you handle rejection? A: Before or after I stick pins in my eyes and swallow hot coals? No, of course I don’t do that. I usually shave my head, exchange my clothes for sackcloth, and spend days of solitary isolation sitting on a heap of ashes. Okay, seriously, unfortunately, rejection is a…
What is Happening to the Book Industry?
Everywhere one turns these days, people are bemoaning the state of the book publishing industry. Even non-book people can be heard citing news reports of the downturn in sales for publishers and book stores. Downsizing, low sales, bankruptcy, returns, closures of independent mainstream and Christian bookstores–all bad news. And then one of the worst reports arrived in…
Write for the Reader
“I write what I would like to read–what I think other women would like to read. If what I write makes a woman in the Canadian mountains cry and she writes and tells me about it, especially if she says ‘I read it to Tom when he came in from work and he cried too,’…
Book Endorsements
The subject of endorsements seems to be a hot one, but especially among debut novelists and more and more often even among un-contracted writers. It seems that no matter what writing circle I am in, new and aspiring authors are stressed out about finding an endorser. As a debut novelist myself, I am nowhere near…
ACFW conference/booksigning
This week is the American Christian Fiction Writers’ annual conference in Minneapolis. I will be attending and actually this year presenting a workshop on how to write an inspirational romance. Talk about an interruption in my writing schedule!!! But a welcome one. I can’t wait to see everyone, and if you are attending, please stop…
Michelle Sutton On Publishing and Her First Release!
Like most new authors, I wrote my first book with enthusiasm, polished it, sent it out (to Steeple Hill) and got a rejection. I didn’t know why they didn’t want my fabulous book, of course they only take like 1% of the submissions they get. So I decided what I needed was an agent. I…
Sharing the Writing Journey
Be nice to your writing pals because the world of publishing grows smaller and smaller as you go. Not only do you want your friends beside you, but you never know where you will each end up years down the road. A few months ago I participated in a book signing at Barnes and Noble Cheyenne with…
I’ve Got Big News!
Sorry for the pause in the Fiction Friday column. Our wonderful columnist has been traveling A LOT this summer, but I have some great news to share! Check it out!