I remember the day I gave up gossip.
For me, it was part of my spiritual journey. Every time I saw gossip in a list with murder, adultery, stealing, and other vile practices, I felt smugly “safe” from all the …
Writing from a Place of Gratitude
What if writers stopped writing from a place of inspiration and instead wrote from a place of gratitude?
As we turn the corner from a season marked by words like thanksgiving, thanks, grateful, Books & Such Literary Management doesn’t only …
Ready, Set, Send
It’s not far into childhood before we learn the “Ready, Set, Go!” game. Parents, arms extended, could simply say, “Jump!” and the toddler would happily respond. But even the rhythm and anticipation of “Ready” (not yet), “Set” (not quite), and …
Speaking and Writing
Speaking and writing. They seem closely related, don’t they? And yes, they often are. A speaking ministry can lead to published books, and authors often find the need to polish their speaking skills to help connect with audiences who will …
The Baseball Approach to Writing
‘Tis the season for baseball. And for taking a look at the baseball approach to writing.
Whether you and your family follow major league baseball, Little League, your local minor league team…or even if you are not a fan of …
Does Word Count Matter?
Some writers find it surprising–or even constricting–to discover that publishing houses, agents, editors, and even readers care about a book’s word count. Why does word count matter? If my novel is 140,000 words rather than a traditional 90,000, is it …
Comes and Goes
Comes and goes? How does that subject line relate to writers and the publishing industry?
Sometimes a word picture or metaphor will communicate a hard-to-understand truth, which is why this blog post relies on two.
Much of the issue that …
Slice and Dice
When your work in progress is too long, as in WAY too long, how does a writer slice and dice words that are just shy of precious?
A client who gave me permission to share this but will remain anonymous …
Day Hikers
Cynthia Ruchti
In his book Letters from the Mountain (Rabbit Room Press), author Ben Palpant writes to his writer-daughter about this ascent up the mountain called writing. Page after page of this intimate encouragement of a well-traveled author-dad for his …
Set for a Reset
I’m borrowing inspiration today from one of my clients. As one year draws to a close and another is peeking over the horizon, she was compelled to consider, “What’s next?”
Rather than merely wonder, she pulled together a plan to …