CHRISTIAN FICTION BLOG is on a good roll. We’ve also been featured in Library Journal. This is a big birthday gift to me, because of my huge crush on libraries. Thank you all for hanging in there with me, as I’ve tried to adjust my time to continue to accommodate you, meet me writing obligations to my publisher, honor my client work, and have time for those that I love. I really appreciate you. Seven years. Right!
Here’s the link to read this great article about what Christian Fiction is NOW.
The 2011 Christy Awards presentation was held Monday evening, July, 11, 2011, at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Atlanta during the International Christian Retail Show. The banquet featured a keynote address by celebrated screenwriter and director Randall Wallace and was emceed by New York Times best-selling and Christy Award-winning author, Liz Curtis Higgs.
Congrats to the 2011 Christy Awards.
by DiAnn Mills (Tyndale House Publishers)
by Nancy Rue (David C. Cook)
by Chris Fabry (Tyndale House Publishers)
by Anne Elisabeth Stengl (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
by Lynn Austin (Bethany House Publishers, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
by Julie Klassen (Bethany House, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
by Steven James (Revell Books, a division of Baker Publishing Group)
by Jill Williamson (Marcher Lord Press)
by Nancy Rue (Zondervan)
Happy Veteran’s Day!
For those of you like me, who like to read stories befitting of the day, I recommend Sarah Sundin’s A Memory Between Us.
About the Book: Major Jack Novak has never failed to meet a challenge--until he meets army nurse Lieutenant Ruth Doherty. When Jack lands in the army hospital after a plane crash, he makes winning Ruth's heart a top-priority mission. But he has his work cut out for him. Not only is Ruth focused on her work in order to support her orphaned siblings back home, she also is determined not to give her heart to any man.
As the danger and tension of World War II rise to a fever pitch, Jack and Ruth will need each other more than ever. Can Jack break down her defenses? Or are they destined to go their separate ways?
From the English countryside to the perilous skies over France, A Memory Between Us takes you on a journey through love, forgiveness, and sacrifice.
An interview with Cindy Woodsmall
Cindy Woodsmall is a New York Times best-selling author whose connection with the Amish community has been featured on ABC Nightlineand on the front page of the Wall Street Journal. This fall she sat down with Christian Fiction Online Magazine to share about her new novel series and some truths about Amish culture in Christian fiction. Following is part two of a two-part series. This month she shares writing wisdom and novel-building techniques. I encourage you to save this and refer to it often. Click here to read on.
Thank you for reading my MD column at Christian Fiction Online Magazine.It has been a joy sharing some wonderful writers and stories with you. As this year begins to close, I thought it would great if we could present a community authored Christmas story for my December article.
It’s a story whereby a group of people create a story together. We would take turns, sentence-by-sentence, writing the story. I’ve participated in them on blogs and on Facebook. Thought it would be fun to see what we come up with. And since I only have 1200 words this would definitely not take up your time.
Moreover, I would monitor and move the direction of the story so that we have a clear plot with a definite ending. So if you’re game for some festive fun and a completely unique story. You can do this with me, but BEWARE, the more authors involved, the merrier it can get!
If you would like to join me, leave a comment here with your Facebook profile link. I have created a Writing Project Facebook Group to house the project. You can jump in and add your sentence at any time. I will cap the story at 1000 words so that I have room to mention every author participating.
I will begin the story and provide details on November 1, 2010. My deadline for this project is November 17, 2010. And Yes, I’m doing Nanowrimo, too. I hope you join me.
Monday Christian Fiction in the ABA Spotlight 
Title: Flaws and All
Author: Shana Burton
Flaws and All synopsis:
Faith, family, and friendship have always been top priority to lifelong friends Lawson, Reginell, Sullivan, Angel, and Kina, but each one is about to be put to the test during one turbulent year.
Lawson Kerry is a struggling single mother who has finally gotten her life together. Now, a fierce custody battle with her ex threatens to the tear apart everything she’s built.
Reginell Kerry is a starry-eyed singer determined to make it to the top of the charts, but will she change her tune when a chance at fame means shedding her clothes and her self-respect?
Sullivan Webb is the pampered wife of a charismatic pastor with political aspirations, but she just might destroy her husband’s campaign and their marriage if she can’t control her wandering eye.
Angel King has dedicated her life to nursing following the destruction of her marriage. Can she maintain her professionalism when she discovers that her newest patient is the woman who stole her husband?
Kina Battle has had enough of her husband’s verbal and physical abuse. When she’s pushed to the edge, the situation heads in a deadly direction, and there’s no turning back.
Nothing is sacred, all bets are off, and the lives of these ladies will never be the same. Will they have the strength to hold on to their friendships and put their trust in God?
This month I am trying out a new feature at Christian Fiction Blog called “Weekly Response/Weekend Chatter.” Instead of me blogging about everything Christian Fiction in the blogosphere I will share five key issues discussed along with my response to them. If you like this feature, let me know in the comments. If you would like to participate in the Weekly Responses use the hashtag #cfb in twitter or on facebook.
1. Does the Query System Work?
Literary Agent Rachelle Gardner responds blogs about writer complaints that the query system doesn’t work.
I actually think the query system works. It may be inefficient and time consuming, but it's incredibly democratic, which is something writers should appreciate. In the query system, everybody has access. All the other possible systems I've heard proposed are not nearly as democratic—they limit access somehow.
Some interesting comments came out of the discussion. The gist of them were that some believed the system was fine, because they had been successful and others don’t think the system works because they have not.
The main arguments were editors reject good books because based on the query they don’t think they can sell the book to the pocketful of editors they have business relationships with, that the agent won’t seek other editors—those they don’t know—to shop the book. Others thought the system wasn’t a sound business model, since the success rate of published books is around 15%.
My take, my personal take…
The query system works if you know how to work the system.
That’s not an opportunistic statement or a claim that I have cracked the code for query success. At DGP I offer proposal and query writing services, but I don’t guarantee a contract. That’s ludicrous.
What it means is that a writer must now understand the publishing business. And frankly, there’s no excuse that a writer shouldn’t in this day and age. The internet has afforded us a gateway into the publishing world. Literary agents, publishing house editors, literary publicists, industry insiders, bookstore owners are blogging and sharing this world to us. So why aren’t we taking advantage of it.
For the past two years I shopped my novel series to become published. In the beginning I submitted queries to agents and editors whom were referred to me or whom I personally knew. Every agent except one responded to my query. One. And I know these agents personally. One! The one agent told me that my writing had some work to do and thought it was too edgy for Christian fiction genre. Granted I have been reviewing Christian Fiction for Romantic Times and various other print publications for seven years and been a book critic and book awards judge for five. I know this genre like I know that I’m African-American. I have read and noted books released in CBA that shares the same theme, tone, and content that I had written. et…
But because I know this game. I know the words that is being said between the lines. What she meant was that the editors I close well with wouldn’t buy the book and don’t have the time or the resources to shop it to someone outside my circle. In short, I don’t know how to sell your book. Period.
Newsflash most agents don’t. Whether they want to believe it or not they have branded themselves. Editors know which agents will supply a certain type of author. The trick is finding an editor who is branded to shop your story.
Or you can shop the book yourself. I entered a writing contest, whereby the prize was to have my book read by an editor of a major publishing house. I won third place at last year’s Romance Slam Jam Contest. The contest facilitator gave me a referral to an editor whom I believed represented the publishing house that would champion my story.
Now this is where the tricky part came in. I had to submit a great query and proposal. I had to hire my own self to present my story to her in a language she would understand and with an answer to a question that all editors and agents want to know: Can we sell this book?
I answered the question in my proposal. She agreed. And now I have a 3 book deal.
It’s not as simple as I put it but the story behind the whole thing pretty much is.
A publisher’s goal is to sell books. The commercial writer’s goal is to sell their books. In order for both to achieve their goals they need each other. It’s like a convenient marriage. Therefore query process is sort of a flirt or pick-up line to see if there is a spark there between the two. Most publisher’s use agents as a sort of matchmaker.
This last statement is the rub. The publishing industry took a big smack last year, which affected everyone’s bottom line. Thus, some agents I know have facilitated safe matches with their current clients, so they could remain solvent. It’s a survival game right now.
But what about the wannabes? What about the authors who have great books, but no agents willing to escort them to the ball?
For many writers this arrangement is like being the red-headed step child or the lovely swan princess or different. But they shouldn’t give up. They should dig in and continue writing.
As the publishing industry has changed and morphed and shifted it’s paradigm, then why haven’t literary agents shifted? Change is a top-down process with major institutions or a massive grassroots change at the bottom. Self-pubs have headed the grassroots movement below. The question you should ask yourself is if the query system doesn’t work, then what will work in the future? Because the writing on the wall is that authors will either have to hire someone like me to help them craft marcomm to publishers or become independent, upon which then they have to do everything on their dime. Because that’s what it boils down to. The bottom line.
1. Bookgiveaways: Camy Tang is giving away Kristen Billerbeck's The Trophy WIves Club. Tamera Alexander(Bethany House) has a book giveaway. I didn't know she once lived so close to me. Click here for details. Another Bethany House book giveaway, Beverly Lewis' The Parting at Callapidder Days Blog.
I hate this thing they do in some publishing houses, writing by committee. A book is an artist’s vision. You don’t willy-nilly tell people take out this character and that character. Scripts are treated that way because movies are a collaborative effort. But a book is like a painting, you don’t say, “Monet, I don’t think you should use that pink. The focus group likes green. So, we’d like to see you use more green.” Yuck. If you listened you’d have a completely green canvas.
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