CONTEMPORARY FICTION NEWSLETTER

From Leeann Betts:

 

If you like contemporary fiction, you are probably exactly who I’m looking for. Beginning in May 2016, I’ll be putting together a quarterly newsletter on matters related to contemporary fiction. I’ll include an interesting writing-related or reader-related or market-related article, a book review of a contemporary book I’ve recently read, upcoming news of conferences and events I think you’d enjoy, and a short devotional piece.

 

You can click here to go to the website and sign up. And while you’re there, take a look around. There’s lots of interesting stuff.

 

I promise not to contact you more than once a quarter unless there’s some exciting news that I know you’d want to hear right away.

 

And I promise not to sell, trade, or give away your contact information. Not even for chocolate. Scout’s honor.

 

And to thank you for trusting me, once you subscribe you’ll receive a link to a free short story about everyone’s favorite forensic accountant, Carly Turnquist. If you’ve never read one of her adventures, this is a nice way to dip your toes into the shallow end of the pool. And if you have read her books, this is a special separate, stand-alone story that Carly’s husband Mike refers to often when he’s trying to get her to see reason and keep out of whatever mystery she’s running headlong into.

 

Special story for a special person – you!

 

Just click here and go directly to the form.

 

Leeann Betts

 

Stories that Brighten Your Day

 

 

AND THE AUTHOR SAID . . .

“Everybody else is working to change, persuade, tempt and control them.
The best readers come to fiction to be free of all that noise.”
—Philip Roth

HOW-TO BOOKS

 This type of nonfiction book tells the reader, in detail, how to make or do something. Such books won't just give you a step-by-step plan to accomplish the task at hand, but will offer their advice based on the author's extensive experience, and knowledge of the process. Some publishers will focus on a specific category of how-to—such as how-to books for married couples or technology how-to—while others may deal more with how to make specific types of items, such as furniture or craft items. With Christian publishers, it may be such topics as Bible study, effective prayer, or how to teach Sunday school. One plus in the how-to market is that there is an endless array of how-to topics that can be addressed.

In the marketing process, you will find that even among the publishers who publish how-to books, they may vary in how they want the book formatted. Some will accept books that simply narrate the appropriate advice; some will want numbered steps that take the reader through a process step-by-step; still others will require the addition of photographs or diagrams that actually illustrate each step.

One possible downside of writing and selling how-to books is that if you think you have spotted a particular interest or trend that would require a how-to book, chances are it is already too late to get a book written and on the market before that interest or need has already passed. You will find lists of book publishers interested in how-to books in Writer's Market and in the Christian Writers' Market Guide. For a list of how-to books specifically for writers, go to: http://www.stuartmarket.com.

For step-by-step help on writing a how-to book, go to: http://www.alpineguild.com/how-to_book.htm.

NY TIMES CHRISTIAN BESTSELLERS

 

• MORE GLIMPSES OF HEAVEN by Trudy Harris (Baker Publishing) is #6 in E-Book Non-Fiction.
• TRIED BY FIRE by William J. Bennett (Thomas Nelson) is #11 in E-Book Non-Fiction.
• THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #1 in Relationships and #4 in Advice, How-To & Misc.
• FERVENT by Priscilla Shirer (B&H) is #4 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.
• THE WAIT by DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good with Tim Vandehey (Howard Books) is #5 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith; #6 in Relationships.
• THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES OF CHILDREN by Gary D. Chapman and Ross Campbell (Northfield/Moody) is #6 in Family.
• I SAID YES by Emily Maynard Johnson. (Thomas Nelson) is #8 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.
• BOUNDARIES by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (Zondervan) is #9 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.
• CATCH A STAR by Tamika Catchings with Ken Petersen (Revell) is #9 in Sports.
• IMAGINE HEAVEN by John Burke (Baker Books) is #10 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.
• THE WEDDING DRESS by Rachel Hauck (Thomas Nelson) is #14 in E-Book Fiction.

 

AND THE AUTHOR SAID . . .

“If the book is true, it will find an audience that is meant to read it.”—Wally Lamb

GALLEY PROOFS OR GALLEYS

A typeset copy of a book manuscript used to detect and correct errors before the final print run. At this point, the type on the pages will be formatted the way it will look in the final copy, although the pages will not be cut to size. This copy will be used by the editors at the publishing house to do a final edit, but it is also the copy that will be sent to the author for his final edit. The publishing contract should actually state that you will be sent the galley proofs and given a chance to edit them and return them in a specified number of days. The number of days will vary, from 7 to 30, usually depending on whether or not they are behind on the production schedule—and how far behind. Do not assume that because their editors are doing a final edit that you do not need to. As the author, you are the only one who might notice that some material is missing or out of order, or that some content meaning was changed in the original editing process. Make the review of the galleys a priority. For a detailed discussion, go to: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Galley_proof.

 

Excerpt from Writing World Defined--A to Z, (stuartcwmg@aol.com)

FIRST PERSON VIEWPOINT

When a story, book, or article is written as if narrated by the author. Using that “I” viewpoint brings the reader closer to the character or writer. However, one difficulty of using a first person viewpoint is trying to avoid starting every sentence with “I.” Another consideration is that the person doing the narrating must be in every scene or at least know what's happening in every scene. Not all periodicals or book publishers accept submissions written in first person, so always check their writers' guidelines to be sure you are targeting the right market. To understand the use of first person in your writing, go to: http://www.the-writers-craft.com/first-person-point-of-view.html

ELLIPSIS

An ellipsis indicates that some part of the text has been omitted. Many writers are confused about when to use an ellipsis, and use a dash instead—or visa versa. You will most often see an ellipsis in poetry when the writer must leave out a word or two to keep a correct meter. You will also use them in the middle of quotes when you are leaving out portions of the quote to save space or because some of it is not relevant to your point. An ellipsis is always indicated by three dots with a space between each, plus a fourth if a period is needed to indicate the end of the sentence. For more than you ever wanted to know about the ellipsis, go to: http://www.quickanddirtytips.com/education/grammar/ellipses?page=all.

NY TIMES CHRISTIAN BEST SELLERS

THE WEDDING DRESS by Rachel Hauck (Thomas Nelson) is #11 in E-Book Fiction; #17 in Combined Print & E-Book Fiction.

THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #1 in Relationships and #6 in Advice, How-To & Misc.

FERVENT by Priscilla Shirer (B&H) is #4 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

THE WAIT by DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good with Tim Vandehey (Howard Books) is #5 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith; #6 in Relationships.

THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES OF CHILDREN by Gary D. Chapman and Ross Campbell (Northfield/Moody) is #6 in Family.

I SAID YES by Emily Maynard Johnson. (Thomas Nelson) is #8 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

BOUNDARIES by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (Zondervan) is #9 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

CATCH A STAR by Tamika Catchings with Ken Petersen (Revell) is #9 in Sports.

IMAGINE HEAVEN by John Burke (Baker Books) is #10 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

A BRUSH OF WINGS by Karen Kingsbury (Howard Books) is #19 in Hardcover Fiction.

NEW: GILEAD PUBLISHING

Contact: Nichole Parks (nichole@gileadpublishing.com)

 

(Wheaton, Illinois)  Two Christian publishing industry veterans announce the formation of Gilead Publishing, LLC, an independent publisher of fiction with Christian themes.

 

President and Publisher Dan Balow and CEO Bill Giarratana are co-owners and senior management for the new company with a main operations office in Wheaton, Illinois and an editorial acquisitions/management office in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

 

Susan Brower, former Executive Editor with Zondervan and Harper Collins Christian Publishing will serve as Vice-President of Editorial and manage the acquisition strategy through the Michigan office.

 

Counting on the flexibility of a small infrastructure – currently an initial staff of ten employees, Gilead will be assisted by several key strategic partnerships with service providers. The company is planning to release several titles launched as soon as Fall 2016, and 40-50 titles in 2017. 

 

Gilead is only considering proposals from recognized literary agents at this time.

Website: gileadpublishing.com

 

DEFAMATION

A written or spoken injury to the reputation of a living person or organization. If what is said is true, it cannot be defamatory. Publishers are especially concerned your manuscript does not include defamatory statements that would put them in jeopardy of being sued. In the book contract, you will be asked to swear there are no defamatory statements included in the book, and if the publisher is sued because you lied about that or your defamatory statement was incorrect, you will hold the publisher blameless, and the cost of such a suit—if there is one—will fall on you. For an extensive list of frequently asked questions about defamation and other related legal situations, go to: http://www.chillingeffects.org/defamation/faq.cgi.

CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER SYNOPSIS

For a nonfiction book proposal, a publisher will ask for a brief synopsis of the content of each chapter in your book. The synopsis of each chapter should only be about a paragraph long. The key to a good synopsis is being very specific about the content of each chapter. Keep in mind this is all an editor or publisher has to go by to determine what your book is actually about. For example, don't say the book covers ten steps to a happy marriage, be sure you include what those ten steps are. The biggest complaint publishers have about the chapter-by-chapter synopsis is it is not specific enough.

If you are proposing a fiction book, the synopsis is not done chapter-by-chapter. Instead they want a summary of the overall plot. For more, go to: http://storysensei.blogspot.com/2006/08/whats-chapter-by-chapter-synopsis.html.

BACK STORY

 The personal history of each of your characters in fiction, as well as the world in which it happened. Even if you created the characters yesterday, they still must have experiences in their background that contribute to who they have become. A well-crafted back story will help bring your character to life on the pages of your book. Often it is the back story from which the plot—or some elements of your plot—will emerge. Although you may create a full history for each of your main characters, few of those details will actually be revealed in your story. As the author, you will simply know how your characters will act or react based on their personal history. For a closer look at back story, go to: http://theeditorsblog.net/2012/03/30/when-to-bring-backstory-out-of-the-shadows.

ANONYMOUS SOURCES

The practice of attributing the source of information in an article to an unnamed or unidentified source. This is a questionable practice often discouraged by editors, who will need extra verification that the information is accurate. Here are some of the questions the writer and the publisher need to be asking: (1) Is it logical the source would have access to this information? (2) Does the source have any particular reason for revealing this information. (3) Does the source have any reason to give us false information? (4) Is the source known to the writer or the publisher? (5) Is there any information already available that would support the source's claims?

We hear a lot these days about whistle blowers being disgruntled employees. Beware of those. Some editors will insist the reporter verify the information in some other way before they run it. Most editors will also refuse to run what is simply a disparaging comment about another person. For more on why journalists need anonymous sources, go to: http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/columns/imperialcity/12025.

NY TIMES CHRISTIAN BEST SELLERS

BRUSH OF WINGS by Karen Kingsbury (Howard Books) is #10 in Hardcover Fiction; #14 in Combined Print & E-Book Fiction; #14 in E-Book Fiction

THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #1 in Relationships and #2 in Advice, How-To & Misc.

THE WEDDING DRESS by Rachel Hauck (Thomas Nelson) is #9 in E-Book Fiction; #16 in Combined Print & E-Book Fiction.

FERVENT by Priscilla Shirer (B&H) is #4 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

THE WAIT by DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good with Tim Vandehey (Howard Books) is #5 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith; #6 in Relationships.

THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES OF CHILDREN by Gary D. Chapman and Ross Campbell (Northfield/Moody) is #6 in Family.

I SAID YES by Emily Maynard Johnson. (Thomas Nelson) is #8 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

BOUNDARIES by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (Zondervan) is #9 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

CATCH A STAR by Tamika Catchings with Ken Petersen (Revell) is #9 in Sports.

IMAGINE HEAVEN by John Burke (Baker Books) is #10 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

 

NEW EDITOR AT AVE MARIA PRESS

Jon M. Sweeney named as Ave Maria Press’s new Executive Editor, Trade

Jon M. Sweeney has been named executive editor, trade, at Ave Maria Press.  In his new position—which he will begin in late June—Sweeney will acquire twenty to twenty‐five new books a year in all trade categories for Ave.

NEW PUBLISHER FOR IVP

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA Announces New Publisher for IVP

InterVarsity Christian Fellowship/USA (IVCF) has announced that Jeff Crosby, the current associate publisher and director of sales and marketing for InterVarsity Press, will succeed Bob Fryling as publisher for IVP and vice president for IVCF starting July 1, 2016. Fryling will retire in June after nineteen years of leading IVP.  Jim Lundgren, interim president for IVCF/USA, led the search process for a publisher. He said, “In announcing Jeff’s appointment, I am filled with thankfulness for the leadership Bob Fryling has given since July of 1997. The strength of InterVarsity Press today is in large part due to Bob and to the leadership team he has assembled. Jeff will be building on a solid foundation. “ 

WILLS

When you have books under contract, those book contracts become part of your estate, and you can leave your rights to someone in your will, the same as any other of your assets. The copyright of the book can be left to one person, and the royalties can be designated go to the same or a different person, should you die while the book is still under contract. The contract will indicate that should you die, whoever inherits the book contract must abide by the terms of the contract, as you would have to if still alive. In your will, you could also indicate whether or not you want someone to finish writing any works in progress at the time of your death, and indicate who your choice would be to do that. There are a number of sites on the Internet that will help you prepare a legal will. This is one of them: http://www.totallegal.com/wills.asp?m=legalplan&src=gwillfree_lastwill&gclid=CNyT-6zCpbgCFaODQgodvAUA_w.

WRITING TIP OF THE DAY

Always title your article in a way that indicates you understand what it's about.

VERIFICATION OF QUOTES/FACTS

When your writing includes quotes from sources, Bible quotes, references to historical or current events, or any other information gleaned from your research, you must always verify the quotes or information to be sure it is completely accurate. Misquotes or errors in facts will tarnish your reputation as a writer, as well as upsetting your editor. Editors need to believe you can be trusted to verify everything before submitting your manuscript.

Do not make the mistake of assuming everything you read on the Internet is accurate. Always check additional primary resources to verify that your facts are correct. For tips on verifying your facts, go to: http://stevebuttry.wordpress.com/2010/10/28/tips-on-verifying-facts-and-ensuring-accuracy.

U.S. GOVERNMENTS PUBLICATIONS

The U.S. Government puts out publications on a wide variety of topics, and can be an excellent source when researching a topic for your articles or books. The Catalog of United States Government Publications gives a list of all the publications available. One of the advantages of quoting from these publications is that you do not have to seek permission or pay a fee for those quotes. However, you do need to give credit in your foot notes or bibliography. For guidelines on how to write the citation, go to: http://www.memphis.edu/govpub/citweb.php.

BELIEVERS BOOK SERVICES - NEW CONTACT INFORMATION

Dave Sheets
BelieversBookServices
719.641.7862 (c)
719.313.9543 (o)
dave@believersbookservices.com
@davesheets

WRITING TIP OF THE DAY

Being a writer means you have to deal with rejection on a regular basis. It’s never easy, but it helps to realize that in most cases the editor is not rejecting you—just saying that this particular piece of writing does not fit their current needs.

NY TIMES CHRISTIAN BEST SELLERS

THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #1 in Relationships and #2 in Advice, How-To & Misc.

THE WEDDING DRESS by Rachel Hauck (Thomas Nelson) is #3 in E-Book Fiction; #9 in Combined Print & E-Book Fiction.

FERVENT by Priscilla Shirer (B&H) is #4 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

THE WAIT by DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good with Tim Vandehey (Howard Books) is #5 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith; #6 in Relationships.

THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES OF CHILDREN by Gary D. Chapman and Ross Campbell (Northfield/Moody) is #6 in Family.

I SAID YES by Emily Maynard Johnson. (Thomas Nelson) is #8 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

BOUNDARIES by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (Zondervan) is #9 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

CATCH A STAR by Tamika Catchings with Ken Petersen (Revell) is #9 in Sports.

IMAGINE HEAVEN by John Burke (Baker Books) is #10 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

 

THEME LISTS

A list of themes for upcoming issues of a publication. Such a publication will be planning each upcoming issue to revolve around a specific theme. Other publications that don't designate themes for each issue, will provide a list of various topics they hope to cover in upcoming issues. Your chances of selling to these publications increases when you submit something to fit one of those themes or proposed topics. Always mention in your cover letter which issue or theme you are targeting. If they give deadlines for specific topics, it's best to send your submission early rather than at the last minute—when all the slots may already be filled. You will find many theme lists on the publisher's Website, or you can request it by email or snail mail with an SASE. Check guidelines for their preference. Listings in the Christian Writers' Market Guide will indicate which publications provide theme lists.

CHRISTIAN COMMUNICATOR SHORT STORY CONTEST

Prizes
First Place, $100
Second Place, $50
Third Place, $25
First and second-place manuscripts will be published in a future issue.

Entry fee per manuscript: $10

Deadline: June 15, 2016

Topic: fiction about writing and/or getting published

Length: 650-1,000 words

Submission Guidelines

* Entries must be unpublished
* You may enter multiple times
* Email each manuscript (in proper format with all contact information and exact word count) as an attachment in Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or rich text format (.rtf) to acwriters@aol.com. Put "Short Story Contest" in the subject line.
*Before sending your manuscript, submit your entry fee via PayPal to American Christian Writers, RegAForder@aol.com, or via check to P.O. Box 110390, Nashville TN 37222. Entry fees are nonrefundable.
*Only entries that follow all these guidelines will qualify.