Are you Coming?
Maranatha Christian Writers’ Conference will hold their 35th annual conference on the shores of Lake Michigan, near Muskegon. The 2012 conference, which takes place Sept. 24-28, is an opportunity for writers to improve their writing and consult with authors, agents, editors, and publishers. Each day is jam-packed with information and inspiration. The schedule enables participants to come for the entire week or for a shorter time.
Maranatha Christian Writers’ Conference is the largest annual Christian writers’ conference in Michigan. The conference features pestigious keynote speakers and other experts who teach a multitude of genres at elective sessions. The five keynote speakers for 2012 are Eva Marie Everson, Dave and Neta Jackson, Kathi Macias, and Cecil Murphey.
“Our full-time faculty members come for the week, and each shares a specific area of expertise.” Verna Kokmeyer, conference co-director said. “Other experts join the conference fewer days..”
On the first day, attendees will hear several keynote speakers. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday mornings begin with a panel discussion. Each panel features a different genre such as fiction, nonfiction, or writing for magazines and periodicals. Mornings also include continuing courses for a more in-depth study of a favorite genre, while afternoons focus on an opportunity to choose from 43 elective workshops and a manuscript make-over session. Evenings feature speakers who have used writing skills to share their unique stories. The Friday morning Scramble gives participants an opportunity to learn from a number of faculty members during a short amount of time.
“We include in the tuition personal consultations with the various editors and publishers,” Kokmeyer said. “The process of getting your work published can be difficult. Publishing companies don’t always accept unsolicited proposals, but our conference can provide direct contact with a publishing company.”
Many attendees have benefited from meeting editors and speakers one-on-one at the conference. In 2010, attendee Glenys Nellist had been looking for a conference and decided to attend the Maranatha Christian Writers’ Conference after finding an internet advertisement.
“I was hoping to meet one-on-one with the editor from Zondervan, to show her my proposal for my children’s Bible story book,” Nellist said. “I took my proposal back to Zondervan, and my book will be published in 2014.”
However, becoming published is not the only goal of the conference, according to Kokmeyer. “We want to help writer’s improve their skills,” she said. “Maranatha Christian Writers’ Conference is a laboratory for learning. Publishers are looking for good writing and when writers excel in their craft, publication opportunities often follow.”
The conference continues to grow as writers of all skill levels attend. Although writers who come often write for the business or secular market, there is a common bond in using talents to the glory of God.
The conference has online registration. Scholarships and discounts are available. .Contests as well as a free book contract are featured for early registrants. Detailed information can be found at www.WriteWithPurpose.org.
Lindsey Smart
10 Things to Know About Speakers Bureaus
If you’re a speaker, or you’re trying to build yourself into one, then your most immediate challenge will be, “How do I get speaking engagements?” In your quest to get bookings, you’ll probably want to know whether you need to consider joining a speakers’ bureau. Here are a few things to know before you get started:
1. It can be helpful to be part of a speakers’ bureau since it’s one way to get potential speaking engagements, but its usefulness will depend on who you are, how “in demand” you are as a speaker, and who your speakers’ bureau is.
2. Speakers bureaus are NOT a magic ticket to lots of speaking engagements. Most of them are not proactive, i.e. there is nobody out there “pitching you” as a speaker. Most are basically a listing service.
3. If you’re gaining a reputation as a great speaker, AND if you have an effective, dynamic website with plenty of information about your speaking topics, a speakers bureau can be valuable for getting more traffic and increasing your bookings.
4. Speakers bureaus used to be much more necessary and effective before the days of the Internet. Nowadays it’s more common for speakers to do most of their bookings on their own through their websites.
5. Many speakers feel the best thing a bureau does for them is manage the billing and the event contract, which can be valuable and save a lot of headache.
6. A speakers bureau is probably worthless if you’re not yet an accomplished speaker, or if you don’t have a compelling website.
7. You could be rejected as a potential client by a bureau. Most won’t take you on if you’re not already commanding a minimum of $3,000 to $5,000 per booking.
8. It’s usually not a good idea to sign an exclusive agreement with a bureau, which would mean they’re the only ones allowed to book you. Maintain the freedom to book your own engagements independently, and to sign with more than one speakers’ bureau.
9. Whether or not you’re with a bureau, always have a “speakers packet” ready to send upon request. Have an electronic version available that you can email, and a print version to mail if they want a hard copy. Some speakers have their complete “speakers packet” available online as well.
10. Getting to know other speakers and networking with them, both in person at conferences and online, is much more effective than waiting for a speakers bureau to book engagements for you.
If you want to know more, I recommend you ask as many friends as possible: what speakers bureaus are you with? Are you happy with them?
Are you a speaker, or planning to be? How are you getting bookings? Any experience with bureaus you’d like to share?
Wrecked – a Challenge to See Life Wrong-side up
Christian literature has a problem with suffering. We don’t like it. Suffering is contrary to a hybrid Americanized gospel that revolves around the blessings of hard work, and the reward that ultimately follows. Some (distasteful) strains of Christian faith even preach that God wants his people to be healthy and wealthy, and to be otherwise is a sign of personal failure. The apostle Paul preached a warning about following “other gospels” and I think these populist ideas qualify, but I digress. As a result of our aversion to personal trials, seculars and sacreds alike attempt to build lives from behind which we attempt to banish suffering.
Jeff is a rare writer who dares threaten the golden calf, and suggests that suffering is an integral part of real Christian living. Getting “Wrecked” is his synonym for what happens when suffering (your own or other’s) bumps into your life in a way that can no longer be avoided or ignored. I love his story about Telly the Tortoise, featured wrong side up on the cover of the book. You can find it here, http://wreckedthebook.com/tortoise/ . If like me you’re not a fan of book introductions and forwards, Telly will connect you to the heart of the book. We all need to be like Telly.
Wrecked is a must read for comfortable Christians wondering why they aren’t more connected to their faith, and for the uncomfortable who need encouragement to do more. When I have a pain in my foot, joint or hand, it’s a sign that I should see the doctor. Pain is a blessing, a physical messenger that something may be wrong in my body, and ignoring it can lead to deeper problems. Getting “Wrecked” is a sign that something may be missing in my spiritual life, a sign that I need to seek the Great Physician in a new light.
7 Bad Habits of Successful Authors
Great article from Literary Agent Rachel Gardner. Thanks for your positive perspective on foibles which hide in most writers’ closets, like mine.
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One of my favorite blogs is Copyblogger. I’ve recommended it before and once again I’m suggesting you take a look if you enjoy reading about ways to have a successful website. Recently I read an article there called The 7 Bad Habits of Insanely Productive People, and it was so good, I got permission to steal the idea and adapt it here.
Can you do all the things everyone tells writers *not* to do—and still become a successful author? I spend a lot of time on this blog giving you tips on how you “should” be. Hundreds of other bloggers are doing the same… not to mention all the books for writers and all the teaching going on at conferences.
But the truth is, we’re all just muddling along. Even the most successful of us have habits and/or traits we know we shouldn’t. Nobody is doing everything exactly right.
So below are what I think are the most common foibles to which writers fall prey… and somehow they are still able to succeed. I give you this list not so you can gloat and feel superior (not for more than a minute anyway) but so that, if you happen to have any of these particular traits, you now know, unequivocally, that you can no longer use it as an excuse for not reaching your goals. Accept your weaknesses, and carry on.
Herewith, 7 bad habits of successful authors:
1. Impatient.
Everyone knows that it can take time to build a platform, time to get an agent, time to sell your book. It takes time for agents and editors to respond to you. It takes time to write a good book. Even self-published authors have to take the time to build their readership.
Everyone knows this, but it doesn’t matter. Once a person adds the word “writer” behind their name, it’s all over with. Any patience they enjoyed heretofore in their non-writerly life flies out the window. Almost all writers are, shall we say, less patient than they wish they were. But still, somehow, they make it through.
The upside: Patience may be a virtue, but impatience can be a motivator: Write another book. Build your platform. Do something different.
2. Inclined Toward Panic.
All of the foibles of the writer stem from their deep desire not just to be published, but to do it well, to be read by many, and to make a living doing it. So any time any of the specific goals seems threatened, even successful authors tend to get that cold-sweat feeling and wonder if it’s all over. This is when they call their agent or dash of an end-of-the-world email begging for reassurance that life as they know it really isn’t over.
The upside: Well, if you’re panicked at least you know you’re breathing.
3. Ruled by Reviews
While there are a few wise, brave and totally inhuman writers out there who swear they stay away from reviews both positive and negative, most writers are mere mortals and find that their moods live and die by the latest review on Amazon, Goodreads, or any of the professional review outlets up to the NYT and PW. Bad review = a bad day. No matter how many times we remind them that it’s all subjective, that every book gets some negative ones… it doesn’t matter. Many authors still find themselves slaves to the “stars.”
The upside: It’s nice when you’re getting a lot of great reviews. Otherwise… well, nevermind, that wouldn’t be the upside anymore.
3. Addicted to Bookscan sales reports
We tell them again and again, “Stay off of Bookscan.” We warn them, “That stuff’s like meth. It’s crack cocaine. It makes you feel horrible and ruins your life.” And yet they keep going back for more. We tell them those reports can have a low accuracy rate (depending on the genre of your book). Checking the numbers every 20 minutes isn’t going to help you. Alas, it’s to no avail. Crack is crack.
The upside: The one good thing about carefully tracking your sales is you may be able to tell if specific promotional efforts created a spike.
4. Thin-skinned.
It’s like this weird poetic justice. As if #2 and #3 aren’t enough, many writers also take everything hard (in their cute, thin-skinned way) so those unhappy reviews and sales numbers hurt all the more. We tell them, “Develop rawhide!” Thicken your skin! It’s a tough road ahead! It doesn’t matter. We are what we are, right? It’s a rare writer who actually has a thick skin.
The upside: That thin skin is what allows people to truly feel things, to experience every up and down of life… and consequently, probably makes them better writers.
5. Insecure
It’s a well-known fact that all writers think they can’t write. One book in, six books in, 47 books in… every writer is convinced, over and over again, that it was a fluke, they’re not a writer, they’ve lost it, they can’t possibly do this again. Ah, insecurity is beautiful, isn’t it?
The upside: If channeled properly, the insecurity can help a successful writer stay humble.
6. Unscheduled
Impossible to believe, but contrary to ubiquitous writing advice, many writers do not have a set schedule by which they write every day. In fact, numerous successful authors are squeezing the writing in with their day job or even homeschooling five kids. (You know who you are.) My hat’s off to them… I wouldn’t recommend it but somehow they get it done.
The upside: If you can get large amounts of writing done with a less-structured schedule, then your flexibility speaks volumes to your ability to be creative and productive under less-than-ideal circumstances. That is nothing short of awesome.
7. Easily distracted
Even the successful authors are susceptible to Twitter, Facebook and reading those darn agent blogs. We’re all easily distracted these days, to our detriment I’m sure, but we can be productive nonetheless.
The upside: You never miss the latest post on the fabulous pie your cousin Mildred baked in honor of Uncle Fred’s colonoscopy.
What are some of YOUR bad habits that you’re willing to share with us?
Publishing Opportunity for Christian Writers
Earlier this year the Maranatha Christian Writers Conference decided to publish a book filled with stories of how God has worked in writer’s lives through writing conferences. We have a great team ready to compile the manuscript, and I am trusting Him to help pull the details together.
I’m posting this announcement to invite you to write a story for the book, and / or to ask you to use your social media connections to promote this work to writers in your personal tribe. Would you:
* Announce it to your friends on Facebook
* Tweet about it
* Email any friends you know who have attended Maranatha in the past, and who might like to submit a story.
* Email writers who have attended other conferences. We are not limiting the content to only Maranatha conf aluimni.
Our goal is to get the stories rolling in. We have time to get this done, and the first step is promoting the project. Our deadline is June 15th in order to stimulate activity right out of the blocks.
Here is the link to the details.
http://www.writewithpurpose.org/site/?page_id=359
Five Struggles all Christians Face
cc licensed flickr photo shared by Phillie Casablanca
Christians today face many challenges. Some of these challenges have been around as long as Christianity has been. Others are new or worsened by society’s growing apathy towards organized religion and by technological advances that bring images and thoughts that assault our beliefs into our daily lives. The following are five of the worst challenges Christians most face each day.
Questioning One’s Faith
From the beginning days of Christianity, there have been doubters. One of the first examples, of course, was the disciple Thomas, who did not believe that Christ had been resurrected. He told the other disciples that he had to see and touch the wounds of Christ himself before he believed that he had truly risen.
Like doubting Thomas, at one time or another, most Christians question their faith. It might occur during a time when nothing seems to be going right or during a terrible tragedy. It is then when Christians often ask God — like Job and even Jesus did — why did He forsake them?
The truth is Jesus Christ never promised Christians that life would be easy. In fact, he said it would often be hard. But Jesus promised that he would be with His believers during these difficult times. Like the famous poem, “Footsteps” says, Christians do not see Jesus’ footprints walking alongside of them during these times of trouble because he is actually carrying them.
Being a Living Example
It is easy for a person to say that they are a Christian. But it is much harder to live like one, especially in today’s society where bad behavior often goes un-penalized and is even sometimes rewarded. Although, God does not expect Christians to be perfect — because as humans, they cannot be — He does desire for them to be a living example of Christ.
Living in a Less Christian Nation
According to a survey done by CNN, fewer people today call themselves Christians than they did 20 years ago. The study, which was conducted in 2009, revealed that about 75 percent of Americans considered themselves Christians. That number was 86 percent in 1990.
As the nation has become less Christian, the pressure to be a Christian has lessened and so people have started to stray from the church. This is especially true of the younger generation who are seeing less of their peers attending church and so wonder why it is okay for them to be non-religious and possibly even non spiritual. As the nation becomes increasingly less spiritual, more people seem to be falling away from the Church.
Sharing Faith Without Becoming “Scary”
Christians want to share their faith, but many are not sure how to do so without making people want to run away. Too many times in the past, Christians forced their views on others in ways that made them feel uncomfortable. Unfortunately, it still happens today. One of the worst examples of this is the Westboro Baptist Church, which attends funerals, holding up signs that are horribly offensive and gives all Christians a bad name.
While most Christians know that the Westboro Baptist Church members do not represent their faith and beliefs, many non-believers do not.
Not Being Judgmental
It is hard sometimes for Christians not to look down their nose at or avoid those they consider sinners. But Jesus did not walk away or shun sinners. Instead, he spent time with those who lived on the fringe, teaching them about his beliefs.
Christians have to understand that God does not want them to spend time only with fellow believers. He wants them to go out and be a living example of His word and show non-believers the gifts God can bring into their lives.
And Finally
While Christians face many challenges today to their faith, God has promised to be with them during their struggles. Christians never have to feel alone in these times, as long as their faith in God remains strong.
Terry Hamilton is a youth pastor and contributor at OnlineChristianColleges.com, a source of information about the best online Christian Colleges and what each school offers students.
I worship myself?! | Vicki Goes to Washington
I couldn’t have said this better myself, so here is the source from former SNL comedian Victoria Jackson.
Jesus talked to us about worship.
He said where your treasure is – there you heart will lie.
Where you heart is . . . that is what you worship.
http://vickigoestowashington.com/2012/04/i-worship-myself/
Gray Saturday
I wrote this many years ago and post it every Easter weekend as a reminder. May it speak to you in some small way.
SMO Periodic Table And App Map Help You Organize Your Social Media Campaign
If you rely on social media to market your website or blog, it is important to know which websites and tools to use to increase your following and connect with your followers. The SMO Periodic Table places the most useful SMO applications on a convenient table to help you see at a glance the benefits each website offers. The included App Map groups various social media apps by their use.
Both tools are conveniently located on a single printout with legends for each tool. You may not be familiar with every tool listed, so it will give you ideas on web-tools or apps to try. Most apps are made for Twitter, but some will also work with other social media websites. A few apps are no-longer available, but are included to show which tools have taken their place.
SMO Periodic Table
The SMO Periodic Table progresses from left to right with apps on the left helping you gain credibility, and apps on the right help you gain followers. It’s important to remember that both are important aspects of your social media advertising.
These tools help you research how you broadcast your message to listeners, whom are your target audience. These are the people who will visit your website and, hopefully, buy products from you.
The middle rows are Publishing Tools, which help you target posts to get the most return on each message.
At the bottom are Broadcasting Tools. These apps help you cull your followers to get a more accurate follower count. Use these sparingly, especially if you are new to Twitter.
App Map
The App Map groups like applications together. Most likely, you won’t have time to use every single application listed on the SMO Periodic Table, but this will help you choose the apps that will have the most benefit for your website. Apps are grouped together by theme, and a legend at the bottom explains how the apps are similar. Some apps belong to two or more categories, so these apps offer multiple benefits for users.
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God on a Bus
I attended the Christian Book Sellers (CBA) convention in 2003. The event was included as part of a Christian Leaders and Speaker Seminar (CLASS) conference for writers who wanted to learn about the publishing industry. The secondary goal of the seminar was to secure an audience with publisher’s acquisition editors. I met my publisher at this event, and a year later, I experienced a milestone in my publishing journey when the UPS man knocked on my door with two cases of my newly minted book.
While I walked the convention floor, looking for the perfect publishing partner, one of my most memorable events was a conversation with a house wife, and mother of a handful of young children that I met on the shuttle bus.
At the end of along day, I stood in front of the Indianapolis RCA Dome, waiting for the bus to our hotel. When the commuter bus arrived, I coaxed my tired feet up the steps, and found a seat toward the back. Across from me was a woman I remembered from the prior year’s Write to Publish writers’ conference in Chicago. She’d won the “New Book of the Year” award at the conference, and I remembered her because of the mental note I made as she went forward to receive her prize. “Someday, I would like to be in her shoes.”
I smiled and introduced myself, and as the bus lurched from stop to stop, we talked about the publishing process. Like most writers I’ve met, she seemed interested in passing along a bit of encouragement. As we talked about the submission process, she asked how many book proposals I’d sent out.
“Oh, eight, maybe ten.”
“Don’t give up.” she smiled. “I submitted the proposal for my first book 63 times. The award I won in Chicago was for my eighth book. Keep if up, you’ll find the right one.”
The crowded bus shuddered to a stop, and she said this was her hotel. As quickly as our conversation started, it came to an end. But nine years later, I haven’t forgotten that God-moment on an Indianapolis commuter bus. Sixty-two failures to get a “Yes” on number 63 could sound discouraging, but I took it as confirmation. I was doing the right things. I was walking a road that other successful writers had blazed before me. I could make it as a writer; it would simply take persistence, patience and perseverance.
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