By Cindy Sproles @CindyDevoted You signed on the dotted line. It’s your first contract with a traditional publisher, and you’re beaming. This is one of the most exciting moments for a debut author – signing that first contract. You’ve waited for this moment. Savor it. [tweet_box design="default" float="none" inject="#writingcommunity #BRMCWC…

by: Shannon Redmon @shannon_redmon We all love to get packages under the tree with our names on the top. Secret treasures hidden underneath colorful wrapping and fluffy bows. Unfortunately, I can’t leave a package under your tree but I can provide a few gifts and treasures I wish I’d known…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin Many writers believe writing a book will make them famous. They believe getting their book into the market will make them well-known. This idea is a publishing myth. The reality is without the author’s promotion, something terrible happens—nothing. What are you doing to increase your connection…

by Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes, Ed.D. @khutch0767 Don’t Fall Apart “He is before all things, and in him all things hold together” (Colossians 1:17 NIV). I recently received a string of rejection letters in rapid succession. Usually, they discourage me and can sometimes derail me for days as I experience crushing feelings of…

By W. Terry Whalin @terrywhalin In 2007, America’s Publicist Rick Frishman invited me to participate on the faculty of MegaBook Marketing University in Los Angeles, California. At that time, I was running a small literary agency and representing authors in Scottsdale, Arizona. Mark Victor Hansen, co-author of Chicken Soup for the…

by Katherine Hutchinson-Hayes, Ed.D. @khutch0767 Jamaica is a beautiful exotic island. I was blessed to grow up being able to visit my family there regularly. But since we stayed with family, we enjoyed the experience of living like a local, not a tourist. Some of these experiences meant it was unlikely…