Christian Publishing Tips is excited to introduce the Christian Author Bootcamp, a ten-week book promotion blitz. Over the summer we’ll be handing out one assignment a week to help authors whip their book publicity into shape. Watch this video to get the details.
So don’t forget to come back here on Monday, June 21 for your first assignment in the 10-week Christian Author Bootcamp. For reminders on Twitter, be sure to follow @ChristianPubTip.
We introduced you to author Paulette George with her post, How to Find a Literary Agent. Now we’re giving you a chance to win a signed copy of her new book, Good Morning Beautiful and a signed copy of Steve Holy’s album Blue Moon, which contains the hit song Good Morning Beautiful.
In Good Morning, Beautiful, published by Ambassador International, Paulette shares her family’s journey through the violent storms of epilepsy and autism. Hanging on to hope as their daughter Christina’s life was being ripped away by more than one hundred villainous seizures a day, the story chronicles their miraculous discovery of a diet with roots in Scripture that helped her and her husband hang on to hope. Theirs is a story of enduring love, unstoppable courage, and overcoming faith in the God of miracles. The book also explains the remarkable role the hit country song Good Morning Beautiful played in her daughter’s recovery. Hearing the family’s story, recording artist Steve Holy has become a close family friend to the George’s and an advocate to Christina.
There are three chances to win this fabulous prize pack. Just make sure you leave a comment every time you do one of these things:
1. Follow author Paulette George on Twitter and send out a tweet about this giveaway. Feel free to use this tweet: Enter to win the book Good Morning Beautiful by @Paulette_George & a signed copy of @SteveHoly album Blue Moon! http://tinyurl.com/yh5dm3m.
Author Laken Lovely Wrote Through Greiving the Loss of Her Brother
Today Christian Publishing Tips is excited to introduce author Laken Lovely. Laken’s new book, Through Charlie’s Eyes, published by Ambassador International, will hit store shelves on October 30, the day her brother Charlie would have turned 17. Laken shares the power writing can have to heal a heart and work through grief.
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Writing has been proven to be a very powerful therapeutic tool. In fact, therapeutic writing has helped even people that don’t necessarily enjoy writing cope with their emotions and life situations.
In my personal experience, I have found that writing as you move through the grieving process can be very difficult and emotional, but it is also extremely therapeutic and sometimes comforting.
My life changed dramatically when my little brother, Charlie, was diagnosed with leukemia the day after he turned sixteen. Sixty-two days later, he passed away.It was devastating.
The day after Charlie’s services were held, I pulled out his composition notebook he had been writing in since his diagnosis. I also started watching hours of footage of Charlie in the hospital. You see, I had made a promise to Charlie. No matter what the outcome of the situation, life or death, I would help Charlie tell his story to inspire and give strength to others. If he lived, we would compile all of the footage of his hospital experience and create a documentary.If he passed away, I would write his story for him.
It took me about six months to finish writing his story, officially titled, Through Charlie’s Eyes. In the process of writing my little brother’s story, I went back through and re-hashed every moment of the emotional roller coaster ride his cancer diagnosis took us on, but this time, I was experiencing all of it from his perspective. There were times in this writing process when my tears soaked the paper I was writing on and the pages in Charlie’s journal. However, by the end of the process, I felt even closer to Charlie than I had ever felt before. I had gained a better understanding of this event that had dramatically changed the path of all of our lives, Charlie’s, our families and mine.
I don’t believe that the grieving process ever really ends. A day will never come when you don’t miss your loved ones that have already passed on.However, acceptance and understanding can help you keep moving forward with strength and hope and writing can help give you that.
The following is a book trailer about Through Charlie’s Eyes.
You don’t need a big publisher behind you or even printed pages to get your children’s book in the hands of young readers. A new product is helping little-known authors get their books read by thousands of kids– just as long as their parents own an iPhone. President of FrogDog Media, Graham Farrar, knows too well the allure an iPhone can have on a child. “I have a three-and-a-half-year-old daughter,” said Farrar in a Publisher’s Weekly article. “and we used to bring books for her on airplanes and road trips. Then my wife and I both ended up getting iPhones, and my daughter wanted to play with the phone. At first it was video games and Baby Einstein, which was fine in small doses, but not what I wanted her to spend her time with. But convenience was winning out over content.”
That’s how the idea for his product, iStoryTime, came about. So far there are about ten ebooks available for download as an app. Many more are on the way. The price per download is just $1.99 which is part of the reason why company officials are sticking to lesser-known authors.
According to reports, FrogDog buys rights for electronic mobile distribution which means that authors are still able to sell that same book to a print publisher. “We’re trying to keep the price point down, which lends itself to people without an established market,” Farrar told PW. And for many parents, $1.99 is a small price to pay to keep their children entertained, while still helping them establish a love of books.
Congratulations to Kaye! She’s the winner of Your Right Job Right Now, a new hardback by Brian Golter. Kaye has her own blog called SandwichINK.com where she writes to provide information and encouragement to Baby Boomers who are providing senior citizen care to their parents while also helping with their grandkids. Kaye left a comment saying she was praying for several out of work friends:
I am currently praying for 4 people who are either out of work, or in a job they aren’t happy with and are thinking of changing. Over the last year, I have been praying for 10+ friends for the same! DEFINITELY a tough market and great timing for this book. Thanks for the chance to win it. It will be well used by being much passed around.
Using Random.org, she was chosen as the winner! We hope this book encourages Kaye and her friends looking for their right job right now! If you’d like to purchase your own copy the publisher, Ambassador International has offered an incredible deal to Christian Publishing Tips’ readers. Use coupon code RJRN40 at checkout to receive a whopping 40% off your copy at Ambassador-International.com!
Thanks for reading and thanks to all who entered our latest giveaway. If you’d like to read more about the author, Brian Golter, visit his website, YourRightJobRightNow.com. And Kaye, let us know how you like the book!
When Brian Golter wrote his book Your Right Job Right Now, he had no idea how needed and timely it would be. His book, released this month by Ambassador International, is a survival guide for the new job market. It’s not only a great read for those on the job hunt, but also for those feeling like they’re not reaching the full potential God has in mind for them with their current job. Today Brian joins us to explain why he wrote the book, and how his mission changed as the economy changed.
**Keep reading for your chance to WIN Brian’s new book!**
When I wrote this book in 2008, I was writing to those rare individuals who wish to see their careers as an opportunity to transform themselves. To overcome their deep-rooted fears and inadequacies, and become the man or woman they had always dreamed of being. It was a book about turning fear into courage, mistrust into trust and inadequacy into confidence.
But as the saying goes, “that was then and this is now”. Since the time I completed this manuscript, we have entered into one of the most difficult job markets in modern history. This book is no longer for rare individuals. It has become a survival guide for the new job market. Understanding how to bring your absolute best to the job market is no longer a luxury. It has become a necessity.
The old rules simply no longer apply. If you’re looking for a job, it’s no longer enough to get on the computer, send out your resume and expect to get a job. The days of just “showing up” to the interview and getting an attractive offer are over.
Quite simply, if you are experiencing a lack of motivation, enthusiasm or confidence, you are not going to find the job you want. No, faking won’t help you either. In this market, employers have their choice of hundreds of candidates. Of course, they will eliminate people on the traditional criteria: by experience, skills and salary. But what most job seekers don’t realize is just how large a role expectations, confidence, risk-taking and attitude play in getting the job they want. They play a larger role than education and experience. This has always been true. Today’s serious candidates have to pay attention to those deep places in themselves: those places that determine how other people experience them. The days of covering up the real you and still getting what you want are slowly but surely coming to an end.
For those of you willing to do the work of overcoming your fears and inadequacies, there is a silver lining. And what a wonderful silver lining it is! It’s truly a new day in which you can reach for what you know is true and rewarding. A day in which you can no longer get away with, or be rewarded for, the very things you don’t like about yourself. A day when you can become the man or woman God designed you to be.
For those of you who refuse to take up this challenge, it could just be the death sentence of your career. It’s time to get real and dig deep. To use the adversity you are experiencing to become so honest with yourself, so humble, that you will get the right job, right now.
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Win a copy of Brian’s new book, Your Right Job Right Now. Simply leave a comment below for one entry. Tweet about our giveaway to be entered a second time, and blog about to be entered a whopping FIVE MORE TIMES! Sorry guys, but this giveaway is only open to US entries. A winner will be selected on June 12. Tell your friends!
We are pleased to announce the winner of the brand new George Beverly Shea authorized biography is Mark Harvey! Congratulations Mark! We hope you enjoy the book! If you did not win, but are a Bev Shea fan or have followed the Billy Graham ministry, this book is a great read. Pick it up at Ambassador International’s website for $24.99.
Christian Publishing Tips is pleased to present our guest blogger today, author Phyllis Benigas. Phyllis serves on the Assemblies of God World Missions Board and enjoys speaking at women’s meetings, retreats and conferences. Be sure to check out Phyllis’ website and pick up a copy of her book, Intimate Moments with the Shepherd. Today Phyllis writes about the intimidating and pressure-filled experience of pitching your book idea to an editor.
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The opportunity of presenting, often called “pitching,” a book idea to an acquisition editor of a publishing house is daunting, to a new author. I found myself in this position a few years ago while attending the International Christian Retail Show. Even with the certainty that God was directing me to put into print the ever-comforting message of the Shepherd’s care in our lives, I faltered as I looked into the knowing eyes of an editor who had heard it all. My idea was not a new, earthshaking concept-David handled it quite well in Psalm 23-but when we truly grasp its truth, our world is never the same.
I had the understanding that acquisition editors will politely give five minutes to an author to present an idea, but all may be lost if the author has not grabbed their attention within the first 30 seconds. No pressure! While grooming and a winning smile are all part of the package, my acceptance that day was more or less hanging on 30 seconds. I’m not sure whether or not my understanding of this process is completely based on fact, but my personal experience at ICRS seemed to confirm it.
The first acquisition editor I met glanced at my book proposal, listened to my pitch for…about 30 seconds and then started doodling on paper. This was not a good sign. At three minutes into my presentation, he handed my proposal back to me and said he wasn’t interested, and I knew that he wasn’t. Although my presentation was concise, my book proposal orderly, and my appearance, well, I did my best with what I had to work with, I failed to plant even a seed of possibility in his mind. This was not his fault.
I returned to my hotel room dejected, determined to return home in the morning. After sharing this experience with my husband on the phone he encouraged me to pursue what God had placed in my heart and to toughen my “thin skin,” and then he prayed with me. He asked the Lord to reveal what He knew would capture the attention of the editors and that my passion for this project would be evident. It wasn’t as though we hadn’t prayed over this in the past, but perhaps form and substance had stymied divine revelation.
Later, as I sought the Lord’s direction, He reminded me of a book by Philip Keller that I had run across a few weeks before in a Christian bookstore, “A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm.” He also brought to mind a conversation with a pastor friend who expressed the desperate need we have for the Lord to guide us through all the challenges in our homes and relationships. The faithful Shepherd had given me just what I needed.
The next day I had the privilege to meet with six acquisition editors, with a “pitch” that began, “Back in the 70’s, a man by the name of Philip Keller wrote a book entitled, ‘A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm.’ Over a million copies of that book have been sold, and my book is a 2lst century dimension of that same theme….” Well, needless to say, when an editor hears “one million copies,” you have his attention. I went on to share with passion the desperate need readers have for the Shepherd’s guidance. At the end of the day, five editors kept my book proposal and later responded. For a newbie like me, this was monumental. Strang Communications published my devotional book last year, “Intimate Moments with the Shepherd – Guidance Through the Challenges of Life.” With the many struggles we are facing today, we need Him more than ever.
My book is light-years away from a million copies sold, but as it moves out into the marketplace, I know from the dozens of testimonies I’ve received that it is touching lives, one by one. I will never forget that night in a lonely hotel room when the Lord guided me through my challenge. Whether it is a pitch, a query letter or a book proposal, our ideas can be presented with confidence when the Lord is directing our first 30 seconds.
By Phyllis Benigas
Visit Phyllis at www.shepherdmoments.com
“We are His people, and the sheep of His pasture.” Psalm 100:3
An article in today’s New York Times lays out the growing self-publishing business and why it may not be a bad thing. While large publishing houses rely on blockbuster books, self-publishing companies can make money on titles that sell as few as five copies because the other is investing in their own book.
According to Bowker, in 2008 nearly 480,000 books were published or distributed in the US. That’s up from 375,000 in 2007. Bowker says a large part of that increase is because of print-on-demand books. Here are some self-publishing success stories mentioned in the article:
Author Solutions, based in Bloomington, Indiana, operates iUniverse, AuthorHouse and Wordclay. In 2008 they published 13,000 titles, up 12 percent from 2007.
Blurb, a print-on-demand company saw revenues jump from $1 million two years ago to $30 million.
Author Lisa Genova wrote her first novel, “Still Alice” and was turned down or ignored by 100 literary agents. So she decided to have the book self-published. She paid $450 to iUniverse and sold copies to independent bookstores. Genova then met an agent and eventually sold “Still Alice” for a mid-six-figure advance to Pocket Books. The book debuted Sunday at number 5 on the New York Times trade paperback fiction best-seller list.
What do you think? Is self-publishing still seen as a negative for the publishing industry? Or does giving access to publishing to more people improve the marketplace?
Urgent calls have been coming into the Minnesota offices of Graywolf Press. The small publisher of literary fiction, poetry and essays now has a page in history after President Barack Obama picked poet Elizabeth Alexander, a Graywolf author since 2001, to recite a poem for the inauguration. Other poets to receive this honor include Robert Frost and Maya Angelou.
According to this Associated Press article, in the past the publishing company had considered selling 2,500 copies of an anthology of contemporary European poetry a knock-out success. But now it must fulfill demands for thousands of copies of Alexander’s inaugural poem. They plan to print 100,000 copies of the poem to start, by far the biggest print run in the company’s 35-year history.
Alexander’s poem, “Praise Song for the Day: A Poem for Barack Obama’s Presidential Inauguration,” will be released on February 6. The paperback consists of 32 pages and will cost $8.
RT @newerakara: Looking forward 2 signing my new book, "Are You Keeping a Secret?" at booth 2121 (Winepress) Tues 9am at #ICRS! See u there! http://twitter.com/christianpubtip2010/06/29
RT @AngeStar: First full-I mean FULL-day of #icrshow & great 1! Meetings books etc.Must go to popcorn cart &see Like Dandelion Dust trailer. http://twitter.com/christianpubtip2010/06/29
You don’t need a big publisher behind you or even printed pages to get your children’s book in the hands of young readers. A new product is helping little-known authors get their books read by thousands of kids– just as long as their parents own an iPhone. President of FrogDog Media, Graham Farrar, knows too well the allure an iPhone can have on a child. 
Thanks for the chance to win it. It will be well used by being much passed around.
