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WELCOME TO PENS OF PRAISE CHRISTIAN WRITERS GROUP
Tuesday, August 20, 2019 Introductions for new guests. Pass around the sign-in sheet. Devotion—Susan Marlene GRAMMAR TIDBIT—Rebecca McLafferty LET THE TEACHING BEGIN PUBLISHING PEPPERED PAGES is our lesson this month. Susan Marlene will be facilitating. PROMPT: Discouragement Turned Blessing No matter how old you are, no matter if you caused a situation or didn’t, write a piece that you could turn into a devotion, short story, or article! Focus on how you were encouraged in your discouragement! ANNOUNCEMENTS: Let’s Keep In Touch: If you’d like to share a WEB page, blog, or social media address, with Pens writers, please send to susanmarlenewrites@gmail.com so that contact information can be added to the announcement and handouts. You are invited to visit and make a comment! That would be especially nice! 😊 Becky McLafferty writes on Thursdays for “Fill My Cup, Lord” (A FB page.) Becky McLafferty https://www.beckymclafferty.com/ Susan Marlene www.susanmarlene.com; Susan Fink https://www.facebook.com/susan.l.fink https://susanlfink.blogspot.com/ Kate Jungwirth https://www.facebook.com/kate.jungwirth.7 Debby Erdmann https://www.facebook.com/debby.erdmann?fref=pb&hc_location=friends_tab Mary Janes Farm magazine is looking for articles. Thank you, Kathy Leist!!! TheFamily.net WEMI FM https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/recommended-reads/books-for-writers/Thanks, Sue F. Write to Publish Conference http://www.writetopublish.com/ June 17 – 20, 2020 Christian Devotions is looking for devotions. This is not a paid site, but one to give to the Lord and share your message with others! www.christiandevotions.us https://www.paperrater.com/ Northwestern Christian Writers Conference, http://www.northwesternchristianwritersconference.com/ July 24 – 25, 2020 www.grammarly.com free download https://www.loc.gov/about/ Library of Congress website REMEMBER: Inspired reader = happy reader + excellent take-away = return reader! God’s abundant blessings to you as you write for His glory!
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Tidbits from author Steven James TROUBLESHOOTING YOUR NOVEL Essential Techniques for Identifying and Solving Manuscript Problems. The book is as entertaining and yes, essential as this man, himself. On the first page, he focuses the reader on “Readers need to know (1) who they’re supposed to cheer for or against, (2) what threats are present, (3) why the story’s outcome matters, and (4) if they can trust you with their time. Discussion time!
On page 330, Steven James said, “Keep in mind the subtlety of every word’s meaning. Discussion time! Editing jewel from Agent Cyle Young: look over the beginning word used for each of your paragraphs. Change repetitive first paragraph words. Discussion time! If you take advice from the masters, your pages will be seasoned just right! How to connect with traditional publishers…by attending writers conferences and being involved online and with publishing to those interested in your genre. Gathering a following of readers from your social media is extremely important. Especially for those who are just starting out. But there is another way to become published that everyone from a seasoned to a new writer can consider and take advantage of. Independent Book Publishers who can also be called self-publisher, book packager, subsidy publisher, custom publisher, or maybe a helpful friend. Possibly you can strike out on your own and become knowledgeable about every level of the publishing journey. As did Becky Melby, who spoke with our group a couple of years ago. INDEPENDENT PUBLISHERS OFFER – a variety of services and involvement. Looking over THE CHRISTIAN WRITERS MARKET GUIDE 2019, by Steve Laube will give you a list of what these Indie publishers expect, provide, and even the number of books that they publish per year. There are around 59 of these types of publishers listed in this MARKET GUIDE, and some will publish your book within a month, while others will take longer even up to one year. DESIGN AND PRODUCTION SERVICES OFFER- book design and illustrations, website design, ebook formatting, etc. and many of them charge a flat fee or a custom fee or by the hour. NOTE: (Roseanna White – author, Whitefire Publishing (Traditional Publisher), & ROSEANNA WHITE DESIGNS (Independent book publisher.) Also, Bethany Press International is an Independent Publisher—a division of Bethany House. WESTBOW PRESS is a division of Thomas Nelson and Zondervan publishers. REDEMPTION PRESS https://redemption-press.com/ Excellent reviews. Quality service. WESTBOW PRESS https://www.westbowpress.com/ Excellent reviews. Quality service. RANDY INGERMANSON uses Scrivener to publish online. He is a writer to watch! BOLD VISION BOOKS Friendswood, Texas -Kathy Leist has information. SHILO RUN PRESS an Imprint of Barbour Publishing, Inc. Notes: Mine is the Night by Liz Curtis Higgs using Steven James “readers need to know “ list:
 July’s Northwestern Christian Writers Conference proved to be an exceptional and encouraging conference to attend! Rebecca McLafferty and I drove from her home in Wisconsin and of course visited the Laura Ingles Wilder Museum in Pepin, Wisconsin. We would almost pass it along the way anyway—wink, wink—what an excellent choice that was! We enjoyed stopping for this wonderfully set up museum! Later that evening we met with numerous aspiring and published authors, very few that we recognized, and were swept away with the worship and speaker, Gary L. Thomas. The next day, it was difficult to choose whose class to attend. The highlights for me were listening to Julie Klassen and Karen Schurrer on Author-Editor Relationship, Peter Nikolai on Understand Your Options: Traditional, Hybrid & Self-Publishing and Steven James speaking on Suspense Essentials: Secrets to Tapping into Tension in Whatever Genre You Write. Actually, everyone I heard was exceptional. I loved when Robin Jones Gunn spoke on her publishing journey and how her “Father Christmas” novel was turned into a Hallmark movie! I came home with some trade books and a couple of fun books too! I’m so glad that Julie Klassen and Robin Jones Gunn brought some to sell! Susie Larson’s shares were meaty and inspiring. This is a wonderful conference to attend—even though it is one evening and one day—the encouragement and direction for new or published authors is top notch. This is a highly recommended conference! PENS OF PRAISE CHRISTIAN WRITERS GROUP
July 16, 2019 Tuesday 6:00 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. Manitowoc Public Library Franklin St. Room 707 Quay St, Manitowoc, WI 54220 Street parking and parking in rear available. Wheelchair accessible. Franklin St. Room located on the first floor, to the left of the service desk. MINTS is our lesson this month. Sue Fink will be facilitating and BRINGING MINTS! Such as: DiscourageMENT, DisappointMENT, EncourageMENT—facets of a writer’s vocation. Sue’s request is that you come and even bring a friend! RSVP to sfink54220@gmail.com, so that we may have enough handouts! PROMPT: Write a paragraph or two about a favorite book , and the hope or encouragement it gave you. Let Susan Fink know if your attending so she can save a seat for you as well as knowing how many handouts to bring. sfink54220@gmail.com An inspired reader given excellent take-away = return readers! We are a safe place to share and Pens Meetings are free. As always, if you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact Becky McLafferty @ rebeccamclafferty@gmail.com or Susan Marlene@ susanmarlenewrites@gmail.com 2019 Write to Publish provided wonderful connection and information. In my opinion this was the most enlightening conference that I have ever attended. My focus this year—to learn as much as possible about Social Media. The teachers were professional and skilled and quite patient with us. Michelle Rayburn, I’m thinking about how you helped me right now! Many thanks.
If anyone is interested in learning about the business of writing, how to write, and meeting those who enjoy assisting others to hone their skills, then this is your go-to conference. I wish to extend special thanks to Lin Johnson and her right-hand lady Jane Rubietta for their tireless work and sacrifices so that others can learn and grow their skill sets and take advantage of opportunities to meet agents and editors as well as numerous writers who understand that need to express thoughts and stories. Also, I'm so grateful for the numerous writer friends from the past and of course the new ones too! You all make the conference shine for me! WELCOME TO PENS OF PRAISE CHRISTIAN WRITERS GROUP
Tuesday, June 18, 2019 Introductions for new guests. Pass around sign in sheet. Devotion—by Pat Klein LET THE TEACHING BEGIN The Page-Turner’s “Secret Formula”, How to Write a Book That’s Hard to Put Down. Sarah Grosskopf will lead us into the mysterious hook that makes a novel a must read. PROMPT: Varying Tension Imagine that tension or excitement falls on a scale from 1 (dead boring) to 5 (edge of your seat exciting). While writing, you have a “tension meter” that goes from 1 to 5. Write a five-line poem or five-sentence story with each sentence set at a different level of tension, following the pattern 3-2-1-4-5. If time allows, we will also allow 5-minute readings from our writers as time allows at the end of the teaching. ANNOUNCEMENTS: Let’s Keep In Touch: If you’d like to share a WEB page, blog, or social media address, with Pens writers, please send to susanmarlenewrites@gmail.com so that contact information can be added to the announcement and handouts. Becky McLafferty writes on Thursdays for “Fill My Cup, Lord” (A FB page.) Becky McLafferty https://www.beckymclafferty.com/ Susan Marlene www.susanmarlene.com; Susan Fink https://www.facebook.com/susan.l.fink https://susanlfink.blogspot.com/ Kate Jungwirth https://www.facebook.com/kate.jungwirth.7 Debby Erdmann https://www.facebook.com/debby.erdmann?fref=pb&hc_location=friends_tab You are invited to visit and make a comment! That would be especially nice! 😊
REMEMBER: Inspired reader = happy reader + excellent take-away = return reader! God’s rich blessings to you as you write for His glory! PENS OF PRAISE CHRISTIAN WRITERS GROUP June 18, 2019
Tuesday 6:00 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. Manitowoc Public Library Franklin St. Room 707 Quay St, Manitowoc, WI 54220 Street parking and parking in rear available. Wheelchair accessible. Franklin St. Room located on the first floor, to the left of the service desk. The Page-Turner's "Secret Formula"; How to Write a Book That's Hard to Put Down is our lesson this month. Sarah Grosskopf will share quotes and secrets that can stir up interest for your readers in your writings. PROMPT: Varying Tension Imagine that tension or excitement falls on a scale from 1 (dead boring) to 5 (edge of your seat exciting). While writing, you have a “tension meter” that goes from 1 to 5. Write a five-line poem or five-sentence story with each sentence set at a different level of tension, following the pattern 3-2-1-4-5. This week let Sarah Grosskopf know if you will attend so that we can provide a printed lesson for you and also save a seat for you! sgrosskopf92@hotmail.com An inspired reader given excellent take-away = return readers! We are a safe place to share and Pens Meetings are free. As always, if you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact Becky McLafferty @ rebeccamclafferty@gmail.com or Susan Marlene@ susanmarlenewrites@gmail.com  This past month my computer broke down leaving me in the lurch concerning just what I would do for our Pens of Praise Christian Writers meeting lesson and handouts. Peace settled over me. Ideas began to thrum. In the meantime, was I able to use the tablet section my Surface computer to upload my manuscripts to the Google drive and email myself a bunch of my work. Still, I couldn’t print any of my writings and I couldn’t create any new documents. Since inspiration comes to me as I begin typing, that was a problem. A few ideas for the lesson developed, after all the title for this month was Promises, Promises. I definitely had to deliver! I’d promised.
Still peace reigned in my heart and a small spattering of ideas flowed. Once the meeting began, I gave a very short blurb after the usual introductions, Grammar Tidbit by Rebecca McLafferty, and this month’s spur of the meeting request for Pat Klein’s partial chapter read in place of the devotion. We prayed and I passed out magazines on writing for all to pick an article and share or give a summary of. We discussed the topics and everyone was elated! The magazines I’d handed out were CHRISTIAN COMMUNICATOR and WRITER’S DIGEST and all the articles read that night were useful, informative, and encouraging. Success came with very little effort from me. WHERE WE MEET: Getting together at the Manitowoc Public Library has been such a blessing and a treat. Faith Free Evangelical Church was ever kind and accommodating for our meetings, but the library is so much closer for many of our Pens members. If you have an interest in writing memoirs, short articles or stories, or large fiction and or non-fiction you may find the support and encouragement that you need by attending our meetings. You may always write to our prompts. PENS OF PRAISE CHRISTIAN WRITERS GROUP May 21, 2019
Tuesday 6:00 p.m. – 7:45 p.m. Manitowoc Public Library Franklin St. Room 707 Quay St, Manitowoc, WI 54220 Street parking and parking in rear available. Wheelchair accessible. Franklin St. Room located on the first floor, to the left of the service desk. Promises, Promises is our lesson this month. Susan Marlene will share about the promises we make: to ourselves, others, publishers and maybe even the Almighty. PROMPT: Promises, Promises. What is your favorite promise yet? Let Susan Marlene know if you will attend so that we can provide a printed lesson for you and also save a seat for you! susanmarlenewrites@gmail.com or post a comment on her website in the www.susanmarlene.com An inspired reader given excellent take-away = return readers! We are a safe place to share and Pens Meetings are free. As always, if you have any questions or concerns don’t hesitate to contact Becky McLafferty @ rebeccamclafferty@gmail.com or Susan Marlene@ susanmarlenewrites@gmail.com Ever wonder how, why, or if you should share your writings beyond the boundaries of your desktop? Wonder how you can support your veracious thirst for conferences, research, and books of all sorts? I’ll share with you some new thoughts I’ve been turning over, because maybe they will work for you also.
SELL YOUR BOOK like WILDFIRE THE WRITER’S GUIDE TO MARKETING & PUBLICITY by Rob Eagar Topic of discussion: CHAPTER 13 NEWSLETTERS: When for example: monthly; be consistent—Tuesday or Wednesday around 2:00 pm. Or choose a time when people will be checking their email and are active online. Newsletters keep you connected with your readers and the goal is to be available and provide a useful and relative message. Here are some examples: Laura Frantz--she is a historical fiction writer. She includes a short personal note; photos of her books; giveaways; what is going on in her life and how she prays for her readers and how she appreciates them (that is always a great idea! For we all need prayer!) She offers perks for signing up for her newsletter: “Be the first to see my new book covers, writing updates, subscriber-only giveaways, and recipes straight from my kitchen. Plus, get my free guide 10 Beloved Books That Inspire Me Professionally and Personally. ( Newsletters sent monthly )” Other newsletters to take a look at: Amy Robnik Joob ; DiAnn Mills; James Scott Bell; Steve Laube You will find their newsletter sign up on their websites. HOW TO WRITE SHORT STORIES AND USE THEM TO FURTHER YOUR WRITING CAREER by JAMES SCOTT BELL Offering short stories to interest people who enjoy your type of writing can build your email list for your newsletters. This is my plan. I love the power and pacing of a short story and to offer this to a reader who wants my newsletter is a reward for me! How to Make a LIVING as a WRITER by James Scott Bell In chapter 13 “What You Need to Know About Marketing” James Scott Bell’s #1 strategy for marketing is quality writing. Don’t rush or cut corners on you writing skill. As quoted from this chapter,’ “Mickey Spillane, once put it, “Your first chapter sells your book. Your last chapter sells your next book.”’ Bell provides a list of how readers pick authors on pages 128 – 129. He suggests that he thinks a regular email is better than a fancy newsletter. Brief and personal with relevant information. Each email should have a link to a new deal or reminder for an older one. Something amusing. How Do We Handle All of This Without Going Berserk????? DREAM--I’ve read somewhere and have always believed that we should take timeout for ourselves to write something that makes us thrive and our hearts beat faster…children’s book, poem, devotion, Biblical short story—whatever engages your heart and jumpstarts your day! Begin with Resting & Growing in the Lord, and here are some links that can help you do this: https://www.christianpublishingshow.com/ link on Steve Laube newsletter. (Examining your motivation.) https://www.faithgateway.com/author/cheryl-wunderlich/ Author of Finding the Sabbath in the Everyday, Sacred Rest. |
Words are not just words. They are thoughts and inspiration that have been behind every relationship and every deed--good or bad throughout time. If you have that burning desire to communicate and explore, come peruse my pages, teachings, and short stories. Allow inspiration to anchor your dreams on the written pages of memoirs, devotions, poems, or stories, both short or long! Luxuriate in the creativity you were born to share! Archives
July 2019
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