NY TIMES CHRISTIAN BEST SELLERS

• THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #1 in Relationships; #2 in Advice, How-To & Misc.
• THE WAIT by DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good with Tim Vandehey (Howard Books) is #4 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith; #5 in Relationships.
• THE POWER OF I AM by Joel Osteen (FaithWords) is #5 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.
• BOUNDARIES by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (Zondervan) is #7 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

 

LES STOBBE HONORED

Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers' Lifetime Achievement Presented to Les Stobbe

In honor of 60 years of service to Christian publishing, the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Institute presented literary agent and former publisher Les Stobbe with their Lifetime Achievement Award on May 23. Fifteen presenters described his impact on their life as a writer, agent, publisher via video, audio, and written messages. Duo MCs were Austin Boyd, a client of Stobbe for 11 years, and Sally Apokedak, who joined him as agent three years ago.

RELIGIOUS WRITING

Religious writing. This is a genre wide open to freelance submissions—whether for articles, short stories, books, poetry or fillers. The publishers primarily are Christian, Catholic, or Jewish. If you want to write for any of them, you need to be affiliated with that religion and have a clear understanding of their beliefs and interests. The Christian publishers fall into two categories denominational (associated with a specific denomination, such as Southern Baptist or Congregational), and nondenominational (no denominational affiliation). Those publishers also fall into evangelical publishers, such as Southern Baptist, Nazarene, and Assemblies of God; and mainline church denominations, such as Lutheran, Episcopalian, and Presbyterian. Some of these publishers will accept an implicit Christian message where others insist on an explicit Christian message.

This genre includes publications for young children through senior adults. The market includes needs for religious adult publications, children's publications from nursery school through junior high, teens, pastors and leaders, missions, women, and devotional publications. There are about 500 religious publications. Generally speaking, most of these publications have small circulations and go from no payment, up to competitive payments from the larger publications.

There are also book publishers that publish books exclusively for the religious market. They cover many topics, but all must have a religious slant. Religious publishers believe they have a mandate to publish only religious books. Although there are denominational and nondenominational publishers, most of the denominational ones now publish books for an audience wider than only their denomination. They all make their books available in religious bookstores. You will find a list of Christian and Catholic publications and book publishers in the Christian Writers' Market Guide, http://www.stuartmarket.com. For a listing of Jewish publishers, go to: http://www.avotaynu.com/ajbp.html.

QUOTING COPYRIGHTED MATERIAL

The question that always arises with quotes, is how much can you quote without needing permission to include it. Unfortunately the copyright law does not give a definitive answer to that question. It basically comes down to how much is considered fair use. For example, if you are quoting a sentence or two that supports something you say in your piece, then you probably only need to give credit to the author and source. However, if you are writing on marriage and find a book on the ten steps to a happy marriage—and pull out those ten steps to list in your book—you are in essence pulling out the heart of the book and could only use them with permission. In other words, how important is the quote you are using in relation to the other book as a whole? Use your common sense and ask yourself if you would want to be asked for permission if you had written the quoted material.

If you need to ask permission, send a letter or email to the publisher of that author, and ask if they can forward your request to their author. They aren't likely to give out the author's contact information, but will be willing to forward your correspondence. In some cases, the publisher will control those rights and they are the ones who will have to grant permission. Your letter needs to indicate the exact passage quoted, listing page number, line number, starting with this phrase and ending with this one. If for a book, ask for permission to use it in this edition and any future editions (you don't want to have to go back for permission for every new edition.) The original author will want to know exactly what you are writing and how you will be using the quote, so be specific and show the quote in context. For more details on this issue, go to: http://www.psupress.org/author/author_copyright.html.

TOP 15 CHRISTIAN PUBLISHERS

        ShareFaith Magazine has compiled a list of the top 15 Christian publishers, based on the publisher's reach, history, and mission.

1. Baker Publishing Group
2. B & H Publishing (Lifeway)
3. Abingdon Press
4. Intervarsity Press
5. Crossway
6. Wipf and Stock
7. Moody Publishers
8. Tyndale House
9. Waterbrook Multnomah
10. Zondervan (incl. Thomas Nelson)
11. Baylor University Press
12. Harvest House Publishers
13. Concordia Publishing House
14. Ignatius Press
15. Paraclete Press

NY TIMES CHRISTIAN BEST SELLERS

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

THE WAIT by DeVon Franklin and Meagan Good with Tim Vandehey (Howard Books) is #4 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith; #5 in Relationships.

THE POWER OF I AM by Joel Osteen (FaithWords) is #5 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

BOUNDARIES by Henry Cloud and John Townsend (Zondervan) is #7 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith.

 

AND THE AUTHOR SAID . . .

“For the true writer, each book should be a new beginning where he tries again for something that is beyond attainment. He should always try for something that has never been done or that others have tried and failed. Then sometimes, with great luck, he will succeed. How simple the writing of literature would be if it were only necessary to write in another way what has been well written. It is because we have had such great writers in the the past that a writer is driven far out past where he can go, out to where no one can help him.”

--Ernest Hemingway, in recorded address, accepting the Nobel Prize for Literature, 1954

PERMISSION

Asking permission to use the text or art from a copyrighted source. If you are quoting from other published sources within your article or book, the question is whether or not you are required to ask permission—or is giving credit to the author enough? It all comes down to whether the quote falls under fair use. (See fair use for what qualifies.) Generally speaking, if the quote is brief and simply supports your premise, then you don't have to ask permission. However, if it draws a basic or important premise from the other book, you will need to ask permission to use it.

Be especially careful of using material that shows up on the internet as “anonymous.” Do not assume that it is actually anonymous, as after being forwarded and copied any number of times, the author's name may have been dropped along the way. Do your own research to verify whether or not the material is actually anonymous. The same is true for printed material appearing as anonymous.

For answers to all your questions about when and how to obtain permission, go to: http://www.copyright.gov/help/faq/faq-fairuse.html.

NY TIMES CHRISTIAN BEST SELLERS

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

FERVENT by Priscilla Shirer (B&H) is #4 in Religion, Spirituality & Faith; and #15 in Advice, How-To & Misc.

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.

UNASHAMED by Lecrae Moore (B&H) is #19 in Hardcover NonFiction.

 

CHANGES AT ALIVE LITERARY AGENCY

Rick Christian, President of Alive Literary Agency, announced today his move into a new role as Founder and Chief Executive Officer and the appointment of agents Bryan Norman and Lisa Jackson as President and Executive Vice President, respectively. “We’ve been working on our transition plan for the past year, and both Bryan and Lisa are extraordinary talents who can shepherd Alive and our elite roster of authors and industry relationships for decades ahead,” said Christian, 62. In addition to Norman and Jackson, Alive’s leadership team consists of long-time CFO Sonya Stricklin and Agent Andrea Heinecke, who will become an officer on Alive’s Board of Directors.

OFFICE SET-UP

Every writer needs an office, or at least an area set aside where they can go to do their work. Although lap-top computers make it possible to work anywhere, it helps to have a designated place where you are psychologically prepared to go to work. An office can be in your home or at an outside location. Your office space should include the following: (1) A desk-top or lap-top computer; (2) a desk or work table; (3) a comfortable desk chair; (4) a printer; (5) telephone or cell-phone; (6) office supplies (paper, envelopes, file folders, ink cartridges, etc.) (7) postal scale and stamps, or access to an online postage program, such as Stamps.com; (8) book shelves and a filing cabinet; (9) a library of how-to books for writers. (See book list in appendix). You will also want business cards, and possibly letter-head stationery (although you can create your own on your computer). For additional instructions on how to set up your office, go to: http://www.ehow.com/how_4744666_set-up-writers-office.html.

NAMING CHARACTERS

Selecting appropriate character names is as important as developing well-rounded characters. (1) Names must be appropriate for the time and the culture in which the story is set. Even people from different regions of the United States will have different common names. Do your research. (2) Don't pick names that are so unusual that they are a distraction to the reader. (3) Avoid names that are hard to pronounce, causing readers to stumble over them. (4) Avoid using names that are so much alike that the readers will have a problem keeping the characters straight. (5) You'll want the names to fit the characters. Romeo and Juliette would never be quite as memorable if they had been called Butch and Gertrude. A name-your-baby book is a good source of names for your characters. Look for one that gives the country of origin, if you have characters with roots in foreign countries. For another list of rules for naming characters, go to: http://www.writersdigest.com/online-editor/the-7-rules-of-picking-names-for-fictional-characters.

SPEAKING TIP OF THE DAY

Nerves can cause your voice to come across high and squeaky.

Be conscience of that and work at lowering your voice.

MAGAZINE EDITORIAL CONTRACTS

A contract sent by a publication to cover the terms of a submission they are buying from the author. Not all publications require or supply such a contract. These contracts are usually short, one or two pages. Typical terms indicate the topic, cover the rights they are purchasing, amount of payment and when it will be paid (a specific date or whether payment will be on acceptance or publication), due date, and length of article. In addition you are swearing that the material is original with you and has not been published previously. Publications that do not send a contract will send a letter or email that will basically include the same information. For samples of this type of contract, go to: http://www.keepyourcopyrights.org/contracts/samples/13, or: http://www.rocketlawyer.com/document/writing-contract.rl.

NY TIMES CHRISTIAN BEST SELLERS

• THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #1 in Relationships; #2 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 #11 in E-Book Fiction; #18 in Combined Print & E-Book Fiction.

 

 

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

A good place, for beginning writers especially, is to submit reactions and opinions to a publication's letters-to-the-editor column. Although most publications don't pay for these, the fact that a writer's letter was chosen to be printed can be an encouragement to that beginning writer. It has also been a path to regular publication in that periodical when the letter shows an intelligent grasp of the topic discussed. Some publications put a limit on the number of words they will accept, such as the 150-word-limit set by the New York Times. For samples of current letters-to-the-editor, go to: http://www.publishaletter.com.

SPEAKING TIP OF THE DAY . . .

When speaking, stand tall, plant your feet a few inches apart,

and maintain a good posture throughout your talk.

JPEG

Jpeg files (Joint Photographic Experts Group). A common file format for digital photographs and

 

 

 other digital graphics. This is a good format for keeping your PR photos in, which can then be used

 

 

 on your Website and emailed for various promotional purposes. For more, go to:

 

 

http://www.scantips.com/basics9j.html.

 

WHAT IS ICRS?

ICRS/International Christian Retail Show. An annual trade show that draws Christian bookstore owners and buyers to purchase books from publishers who have set up booths to display their current titles. Additional booths include greeting card, gift items, and other merchandise to be sold in the stores. This show is not open to the public, but authors can attend if they get a ticket from their publisher or a Christian bookstore. Authors often take advantage of this opportunity to meet with the editors or agents to pitch a new writing project. Such meetings are limited, and should be set up prior to the show opening. Visit their Website at: http://christianretailshow.com.

NY TIMES CHRISTIAN BESTSELLERS

THE WEDDING DRESS by Rachel Hauck (Thomas Nelson) is #3 in E-Book Fiction

THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #1 in Relationships; #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.