Once upon a time a man carved a block of wood into a butterfly for his sister. His sister loved the butterfly. “You should make one for Mother,” she said, “she’ll be so happy.” The man made another butterfly, and his mother held it close to her heart. “Everybody I
Macguyver was the all-time master of double use. Watch what he does with this paperclip, for example: I can’t promise writing a book proposal will save you from certain death, but doing so definitely has more uses than pitching an idea to traditional publishers. Writing a book proposal will help
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has.” ~Margaret Mead, cultural anthropologist Whether it’s Benjamin Franklin’s Junto, C. S. Lewis’s Inklings, John Wesley’s class meetings, or the Latin American base communities, one thing is clear.
In the fall of 2011 I invited some folks to get together for the purpose of nourishing creativity. Honestly I didn’t know what would come of it. I was so nervous I literally trembled in our first meetings. I desperately wanted us to gel and support each other, but it
A while back two commenters asked how big a platform was big enough. “How many Twitter followers, Facebook fans, email subscriptions should I be shooting for? What’s the goal I should have in mind?” In a guest post over at that Books and Such blog, I address these questions. The
Recently I participated in a Q & A session for writers at Baker Book House—a very fine Christian book store in Grand Rapids, Michigan. (By the way, if you don’t already subscribe to Louis McBride’s “Baker Book House Connection,” it’s worth your time. While you’re at it, check out the
For those who have been following along as Gary Neal Hansen and I work through a book proposal together, I wanted to give you an update. For those who don’t know what I’m talking about, here’s a brief setup: In December 2012 I started a series of posts on how to
Guest Blogger: Josh Mosey (joshmosey.wordpress.com) Whether you have just started writing or have ten bestsellers under your belt, you have something to gain from a writers conference. Here are four ways a writers conference can help you become a better writer. 1. Encouragement Writers conferences by their very nature are
I do quite a bit of traveling for my job. In the past when I arrived at an airport, I immediately beat feet to my next gate. If it was meal time I scarfed something down on the way or at my gate. I realized at some point that this
Guest Blogger: Natasha Crain (www.christianmomthoughts.com) We all know Facebook is the largest social media network in the world. Our intuition tells us it can be a powerful tool for book marketing, but how do you use it effectively? In a word, it all starts with fans. The more fans you
It’s an iconic line from an iconic movie. Maverick and Ice Man break the chill between them whilst maneuvering their F-14 fighter jets in a dogfight against a group of Russian MiGs. Each of them helps the other with life-saving aeronautical stunts. Back on the ground, mission accomplished, Ice Man
It’s the oldest trick in the book for a cave tour guide. Ours, who halted us deep within Mark Twain Cave (near Hannibal, Missouri) shut off the lights and talked about how utterly dark it was. “To demonstrate,” he said, “try waving your hand in front of your face.” He