Thirty Days of Peace and Quiet
Our Newest Book is Here!
Click on Book Cover for more information, sample pages, and how to order.
Thirty Days of Peace and Quiet
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Some nitty-gritty information on self-publishing.
If you are looking to self-publish or use any subsidiary publisher, we highly recommend you read Mark Levine’s book, The Fine Print of Self-Publishing. Levine names some of the more well-known self-publishing companies, gives your their low-down, and even tells you what is in their contracts. While we are a fairly new and small company, you will not find Writing for Gods Glory listed in Levine’s book. However, it will give you a good idea of how the self-publishing business works. You will be able to compare our prices and model with those reviewed in this helpful book. We do not sell the book, but the link below will take you to Amazon.com where you can easily purchase the book from one of their suppliers.
Why Self-Publish?
More and more authors are choosing to self-publish their books. While we believe there are times you might want to go with a royalty publisher, there are also situations where self-publishing makes a lot of sense. Some advantages to self-publishing include:
1. More profit per book in the author’s pocket.
2. Quick turn-around time from edit to printed book.
3. Freedom and control over content, style, cover copy, etc.
4. Creating an e-book.
The down-side of self-publishing is the marketing of the finished product. Many authors, however, need a quick turn-around time for a specific target market. Or they may want products for a book table to accompany a speaking career. Some authors want only a limited number of copies for a personal or family story. Or they may choose to market their books via E-bay, Amazon, or other online sales venues.
Whatever the reasons behind a decision to self-publish, we have staff members with experience in many areas of publishing. We offer free quotes, so why not drop us a line, tell us what your needs are, and let us give you a competitive quote.
New Book to be Available on Kindle and Nook
Our newest book, Thirty Days of Gratitude, will be available in paperback, this Friday, March 2, 2012. We have received many requests for the book to be available on Kindle and Nook. We heard you and we are making it happen. The ebooks will be available by Friday, the day the paperback book comes out.
To pre-order a paperback copy of the book, click here. Paperback copies of the book sell for $7.50, plus shipping and tax (Tx residents only).
Ebooks will be available for $6. To order an ebook for Kindle or Nook, go to Amazon or Barnes & Noble on Friday, March 2. Links to the book on these sites will be placed in a new post as soon as the books are available.
Thirty Days of Gratitude
Gratitude is not always easy to express. But the Lord desires our gratitude. He longs for it.
Authors Barbara Oden and Judy Vandiver have penned short devotions that guide you, the reader, toward looking at your attitude of spiritual gratitude. By following this simplethirty day devotional plan, within one short month, your heart can be more attuned to offering spiritual gratitude in your walk with the Lord.
The authors have kept the devotionals short so you can spend more time thinking about the scriptures, then use the journal style pages to express your own thoughts back to God.
This new book, Thirty Days of Gratitude, is set to release March 2, 2012.
The Strength of Paul
Today’s blog is by Scott Cundiff, who leads a Bible study class I attend on Sunday mornings. Last Sunday Scott shared a paragraph from his personal journal. The words spoke to me and (with his permission) I share them with you today. His words show the depth Scott puts into his study of God’s word and how he personalizes the messages the Lord has for him. Thanks Scott for sharing a bit of yourself and for being a good role model in our class.
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2 Corinthians 11:23-27
23 Are they servants of Christ? (I am out of my mind to talk like this.) I am more. I have worked much harder, beenin prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. 24 Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. 25 Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, 26 I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger from rivers, in danger from bandits, in danger from my own people, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger in the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. 27 I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked.
In verses 23 -27 Paul, in defense of himself, talks about all the trials he has been through for Christ. He shares this with the people because he feels he needs to get their attention. I look at this and think, “Wow, would I be willing to go through just a bit of that for Christ? I would hope so, in fact I will say, “yes I would.” I would like to think I would get angry and defend my Lord with the loudest voice and stand up and carry the message in the most outward way. However Christ has not asked me to be flogged or go to jail. He asked me to read His Word and pray. It seems that I struggle with that. So my prayer today is that the Lord will give me the strength of Paul in the small things so that I can have the strength of Paul in the big things. (Scott Cundiff)
Storyboarding
In my last blog, I promised to give you more information on storyboarding. Storyboarding has been used by artists, cartoonist, writers, and movie producers for a number of years. It is no more than getting your ideas from inside your head into a written form for organization.
Storyboarding can be accomplished using index cards, sticky notes, a computer program, or scraps of paper. Let’s say we are using index cards. Start with a large stack of cards. Write an idea you have regarding your book on one of the cards. Write another idea on another card. Set them aside. Keep jotting down ideas on the cards until you’ve transferred your thoughts into notes you can organize. Use a different card for each different idea.
At this point, there may not be a whole lot to the story. Start asking yourself questions. Who is the main character? What does he do for a living? How does he know other characters in the story? When you have a sizeable stack of index cards with notes on them, start arranging them in an order that makes sense. Which idea should come first in the novel? Which point or idea would be the climax of the story? You can arrange the cards on the floor, a table, or wherever it is convenient for you. If using sticky notes, it’s easy to put them on a wall. Computer programs let you cut and paste until you have the notes arranged like you want them. I like to use a computerized version of sticky notes. I can easily arrange them on my monitor.
When you think you have all the notes arranged in the order they should play out, read back through them. Where are there holes in the story? Where do you need something to bridge you from one idea to another? Write more notes on more cards. Put them where they go in the story. Keep working like this until you feel that you have the basis of your novel worked out. At this point I like to number my cards and put them in one big stack, securing them with a rubber band.
When I get ready to write out the story, I start with the first index card. The idea on the card becomes the basis for the first scene I write. Note: this may not end up as the first scene of the book in my final draft, but it’s a place where I can begin the story for now. I try to write an entire scene around the idea on the card. When I’ve finished, I take the next card from my stack and attempt to fashion a scene around the new idea. As I work, I try to transition and bridge the two ideas together. Sometimes I come up with a new idea as I am writing. I make notes on a new card and put it in the appropriate place in the stack. Since my cards have been numbered, I might number the new card with a letter following the number (i.e. 5a, 5b,5c.). I simply want to be able to keep the cards in the right order.
I continue writing the story using up all the cards and ideas I have. This becomes my first draft of the novel. It doesn’t have to be pretty and it certainly isn’t complete. The next drafts will work to fill in more holes and smooth out the scenes, but at least this draft will give me a good skeleton to work with.
When storyboarding a non-fiction book, I begin with working chapter titles or ideas. I write these on cards, then put ideas I have for each section on new cards with them. I sometimes use a different color index card for each chapter. Again, I arrange and rearrange the ideas (cards) until I have them in a working order. This now becomes my outline for the book.
I like storyboarding my ideas because it give me a framework for where I want to go with the book. It also helps me capture the ideas I have for the book that are running through my head. Storyboarding works for fiction and non-fiction. If you are an author who likes organization within your creativity, storyboarding your ideas might be a good tool for you to try.
Meet a new writer.
Last week my grandson, Austin, came over so I could help him get started on a story he wants to write. He asked me where and how he should start. As we talked, I discovered he had already started. He took a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it. Names, notes, arrows filled the page. He began showing me the name of his characters. Arrows pointed to their occupation where he had scribbled more notes. He had a full cast of characters outlined. He knew each one’s name, age, occupation, and how they related to each other throughout his story.
I asked Austin questions about his plot? He had answers for every question I threw at him. His plot had a beginning, a nice character arc, a problem to be solved. He went on to explain his ideas for clues into a mystery that the main character must solve. Then he told me how he had a twist to throw into the story at the climax of the plot. I’m thinking, “This kid has this well thought out and that’s a good ending.” Then he tells me that’s not the end yet and delivers an ending that is sure to please the reader and want another book from this young author.
I was impressed and asked Austin if anyone had ever told him how to plot a story and write a book. He said no one had, but that he had read lots of books and figured it out. Now that’s a good plan for all authors. Read what you like and study how and what the author did to make you keep turning pages.
I had one more question for Austin. “What,” I asked, “made you decide to write a book?” I expected him to say something about how much he likes to read, or that writing seemed to call out to him. Maybe he would even say that he was inspired by me, his grandmother. No. None of that is what drew Austin to want to be a writer.
“Well,” he said, “I need some money and I thought, ‘what can a twelve-year-old kid do that will make a lot of money?’ So, I decided to write a book.”
Austin has a lot of potential as a writer. I only hope he doesn’t get disillusioned by the low pay that writers generally make. But as he told me, “A little bit of money is better than nothing.”
I showed Austin how to storyboard the ideas he has for his book. We used sticky notes and jotted down all the characters, plot points, and clues he wanted to work into his story. We rearranged the sticky notes, until the storyline began to take shape and make sense. We numbered our sticky notes and he took them home. Last night he came over with the first chapter of his book done. I read it. Will it need editing? You betcha. But is it any good. Yes! He instinctively writes to show rather than tell.
Austin may be the next great American writer. Or he might sell a few copies of his book to family and friends. Either way, he is growing and learning as an author and as an individual. I’m so proud of him. And be on the lookout for his best-seller to be released in the future. The title – The Red Glove. It promises to be a page turner.
In my next post, I’ll share more on some storyboarding ideas for other would-be writers looking for a way to organize their story ideas. Until then, don’t forget to read the greatest story ever told – God’s Word. It, too, has a great cast of characters and an awesome ending.
The Legacy Lives On
My grandmother, Eva Etoile McCann, was an author and writer. She wrote short stories, poems, and one book. The book was never published, but writing was in her blood. We used to sit on her Louisiana porch or along a dirt levee as we fished and she would make up a poem about whatever we were doing. She could spin a good yarn in a moment’s notice. And as I sat at her feet, I was drawn to the world of story-telling. She passed her love of writing on to me and to a new generation.
I just received a phone call from one of my young grandsons, Austin. He told me he was writing a story and wanted to ask me a question. His question: “How do I start?” I shared with him that different authors go about writing in many different ways, but that storyboarding was a good place to begin organizing his thoughts. He’s coming over later today and I’m going to show him the basics of storyboarding as we put down his thoughts and ideas for his book.
Austin’s question is that of many would-be authors. “Where do I start?” I suppose I should have told him that it didn’t matter where he started. We can begin our stories in so many ways. The important thing is to finish. So, if you are like Austin, have a story inside you wanting to get out, start wherever you want. Just start. Keep going. Work on it. Polish it. Finish it. Polish it some more. And the world of story-telling goes on.
And today I have the privilege of passing on the legacy of writing to my grandson and to another generation of story-tellers.
Writing for God’s Glory adds E-Books
Writing for God’s Glory is happy to announce the release today of it’s first E-Book. Partnering for Greater Writing is now available on Amazon’s Kindle for the low price of $6.99. The electronic version of the book contains the same great advice and list of wonderful writer resources as does the hard copy of the book released June 2010.
Finding a good match for a writing or critique partner can spur you on to greater writing and greater success as a published author. A good writing partner understands a writer’s heart, fears, and thinking. It is someone whobecomes the other half of your writing journey; someone who knows and understands you. Your spouse, other family members, or friend may be supportive of your goal to become a published author but if he or she isn’t a writer, they will not understand the process and will probably think you are from another planet.
Authors, Barbara Oden and Judy Vandiver, share their experience of working together to more than double their efforts. In Partnering for Greater Writing, they share:
- Three realities of a writer’s life.
- Five reasons people fail to achieve their dream of being a published author.
- What to look for in a critique or writing partner.
- Where to find a writing partner.
- Why goal setting is important to your writing career.
- Advice on maintaining schedules.
- Fun things to spur creativity with a writing partner.
- Appendix of online resources for writers.
Partnering for Greater Writing will soon be available on Barnes and Noble’s Nook, and through Smashwords.