Quick Guide to Christian Literary Agents, Publishers, and Writers Conferences
Finding the right literary agent or publisher who publishes what you write and who shares a similar set of beliefs can be a challenge. It's not that you need to agree on everything, but you do want to feel connected, like-minded, and equally yoked on the things that matter most as you fulfill the assignment God has called you to.
#Pubtip: Make Your Online Self Easy to Find
When I was an acquisitions editor, I would see creative and weird names authors would use to identify themselves online. They didn’t make themselves easy to find, and their online branding didn’t make a good case for why I should consider publishing them.
Not Clearly Establishing a Target Audience Will Ruin Your Writing
One mistake I see authors consistently make is trying to make their book relate to everyone. You cannot write for everyone. Choose a target and hit it on the bulls'-eye. Let the residual or secondary audience present itself organically.
Your Book Is a Business
Each book is like its own business unit. The book proposal is like a business plan. Publishers are your investors. Readers are your customers and end users. How do you think an investor would look at a business if it hadn't thought about its competition and the market it is seeking to enter?
The Secret to a Great Book Proposal
One of the things I noticed in my years as an acquisitions editor is that sometimes book proposals don't capture the personality and passion of the author. They are dry and sterile, and they don't really say much. Oftentimes, in-person meetings end up in book publishing deals easier than if only the book proposal is submitted.
Guest Blogger: Sheridan Davis, Author of Pretty for a Dark-Skin Girl
I invited Sheridan Davis, author of Pretty for a Dark-Skin Girl, to write a guest post for my blog because her book and her passion to encourage and heal people in areas concerning race dovetails closely with what I'd like to see myself do in this next season of life.
4 Ways to Overcome the “Multicultural Kids’ Books Don’t Sell” Mind-Set
In a Chicago Triune article, Nara Schoenberg quotes Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, an assistant professor at the University of Pennsylvania: “Fewer than 40 books by African-American authors for adolescents were published in 2015….Every year thousands of books for kids and teens are published, and every year we don’t seem to be able to get that number much over 100.”
Scholastic Book Fairs: My First Month in Review
The move from twelve years in adult Christian publishing to mainstream children's book publishing was pretty monumental. The only place I've left after years and years of being there was home. Oh and when I moved away from the town I grew up in to come to Florida for the job I held for twelve years then left for this new thing at Scholastic. Yeah, pretty monumental for a tiny person like me. What may seem like everyday, noneventful occurrences not worth talking about are quite the opposite for me.
I Took the Leap and Here's Where I Landed
Yesterday, I left my career home of twelve years. I was a baby when I started and I am still sort of a baby now (at least that's how I feel). And those who are interested want to know what's next. "Where are you going, Jevon?" It's hard for me to just say the company and the job title without sharing the weight of what I feel this next season is all about for me, and, really, for anyone who has an ear to hear what the Spirit is saying to them during what I believe is a time of major transition for God's people around the globe. So I'll start with a little background.
It's Time for Me to Take That Leap
There's something interesting that happens with transition: you literally have to leap to the next opportunity holding on to nothing of the past or you will not cross over into the next thing. I believe that to transition successfully you have to be willing to lose all that you gained in a previous season to seize what is ahead of you in the next season.