Latest posts from Chip MacGregor
-
Making Yourself Comfortable
Dana asked an interesting question: "What kinds of physical challenges have you faced in the daunting regimen of writing, and how have you compensated?"
I don’t know that I’ve found the writing and agenting life to be all that daunting, …
-
Sex and Language in Religious Books?
Elizabeth asked this: "With the rules relaxing on language in many general market books, it seems the rules have also relaxed as far as portraying sexuality in Christian books. I know you don't just represent religious books, but can …
-
How to Study the Market
Clovis asked, "If you are seeking a market for a particular idea, how do you study the market? What steps are critical in matching the work to the right publisher? How much do you rely on the guidelines, samples, catalogs, …
-
NEWSDAY TUESDAY …
Recently a friend said to me "it must be so cool to get paid to read
manuscripts for a living." I knew then that he really had no idea what
my job entailed. Reading manuscripts and reviewing proposals is an… -
Making Money through Articles
Kerry sent me this question: “Is it realistic to think an author can still sell articles and get paid for them? It seems like magazines and journals are all moving to unpaid, web-based forms.”
I started out in magazines, and …
-
A Dirty Dozen Notes on Agents
We had several interesting comments sent to us on that last post. Let me offer a dozen comments…
1. One author's suggestion to "do your homework" before selecting an agent is key. DON'T sign up with somebody just because they …
-
More on working with an agent…
After my recent post on agenting, a couple people said they didn't see why anyone would need an agent. One author suggested that all you need is a good proposal, and another asked, "What can an agent do for a …
-
Understanding the Financial Side of Writing
Amanda asked, “What do beginning writers need to know about the financial aspects of writing?”
There are only a few thousand people in this country who make a full-time living at writing. Don’t assume, just because you’re hanging out at …
-
Waiting. Waiting. And Waiting some more …
News around here is that publishing is operating at a s-l-o-w-e-r than its usual s-l-o-w pace now for a few weeks. I'm trying to take advantage of this by catching up on submission reading. And I'm getting there, though still …
-
Leftover Questions about ICRS
I'm finding a bunch of leftover questions regarding ICRS 2010…
A couple people wrote to ask if there were author signings… A ton of them! The convention keeps some "personality booths" busy, so conventioneers could get autographed books from the …
-
The Last Word on ICRS 2010
Just back from ICRS 2010 in St Louis. As cities go, St Louis was really nice, so long as you don't want to do anything but look at an arch. And it was 100 degrees (though I'll admit that was, …
-
NEWSDAY TUESDAY …
With a lot of general market editors at the Library Convention and CBA editors (and Chip) off at ICRS, it's been quiet around here. Or as quiet as it can be when you work from home, have decided to finally …
-
Advice from a Successful Self-Publisher
Steve Henry, a successful businessman with a book idea, came to one of our marketing seminars recently. He left the seminar, completed his book, then began marketing it to his audience. The book has been so successful that I wanted …
-
15 Trends Shaping CBA Today
I'm about ready to get on a plane and fly to the International Christian Retail Show (the big religious book show) in St Louis. Since I've had several folks ask me what sort of trends we're seeing in CBA, I …
-
NEWSDAY TUESDAY …
The sun came out today! (Exclamation point intended.) Seriously. Around here, lately, that's very big news.
But I know YOU didn't come here to talk about the weather. You're wondering if we have any news.
WHY YES, WE
… -
Ten Notes for Today's Writer
1. Lots of big news this week, including something nobody seemed to have sniffed… THOMAS NELSON WAS BOUGHT OUT by an equity company, Kohlberg and Company. Remember, Thomas Nelson is one of the largest Christian publishers in the world, and …
-
More on the industry
Mark sent me this: “It
seems that slowly the CBA is selling out. Is this true? Is it the ABA getting
greedy? What does this signal for the future?”It signals that the general market has recognized the value of …
-
CBA Trends
A little
bit ago, Shawn wrote and asked about the Christian industry. Here’s his
question: “Is the biggest trend in religious publishing the fact that none of
the Christian publishers are owned or run by ministries anymore?”I've been saying …
-
-
Writing Basics: Write What You Know
Ever read a bestselling novel in which
the hero was a construction worker?Me neither.
It's a story-telling basic that writers
– even published authors – tend to forget. It's the reason
Stephen King's characters tend to be novelists. It's …