By Deb Haggerty, @DebHaggerty   As an editor, I read—a lot! And I find I get impatient with certain contrivances authors tend to overdo. I realize part of what we do as writers is our voice, but I also realize part is trying to impress or to ensure our readers get…

By Emily H. Jeffries, @emilyhjeffries   At age 28, I quit my job as an upper school theology teacher to write books. For a decade, I had studied theology and gained teaching experience. After graduate school, I had landed the perfect teaching job with a small private school in my…

By Michelle Medlock Adams, @INwritergirl   Just as I was finishing up my booksigning at the International Christian Retail Show (ICRS) in Orlando a few years ago, I noticed a woman waiting at the edge of the Guideposts booth. “We just ran out of books,” I explained, as I walked…

Tamela Hancock Murray,@Tamela_Murray   1.) The agent hates me. Unless you approached her and said something along the lines of, “You and your kids are ugly and you have lousy taste in manuscripts,” a rejection shouldn’t be personal. But if you are worried that you unintentionally offended an agent or…

by Edie Melson @EdieMelson I love all the Christmas specials that come around every year during the holidays, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer has always been one of my favorites. I identify with his lack of self-confidence, his heart for his friends and especially his gumption when Santa called on him to step up and…

By D.L. Koontz, @DLKoontz   Description involves the creation of mental images that allow readers to fully experience our stories. Appropriate description sets the tone, enabling the fullest reader impact. Critical Point: Appropriate description does that. Inappropriate description, however, does something completely different. Appropriate description is as important to books, as…