Kathy Ide's Blog, page 20
March 7, 2016
Hart Hall
A warm welcome to my guest blogger, Sherry Kyle, a contributing author to 21 Days of Love: Stories that Celebrate Treasured Relationships.
What do you like to do when you’re not writing?
When I’m not writing or reading, I enjoy talking long walks by the ocean, going out to coffee with family and friends, decorating my beach home, and helping people find homes to rent or buy.
When do you have your devotional time with the Lord, and what do you do during that time?
My devotional time is in the morning after my husband leaves for work. I receive daily devotions in my inbox from http://thelife.com/dailydevotions. They are very insightful and help me start my day.
Briefly share one of your favorite Valentine’s Day memories.
One of my favorite Valentine’s Day memories is when I was a freshman in college while dating a cute California surfer. On Valentine’s Day, we got all dressed up, me in a fun red dress and Doug in a light blue suit, and we went to a couples’ Valentine’s dinner on campus. I don’t remember what we ate that night, but I do remember the sweet kiss he gave me in front of my dorm, appropriately named Hart Hall. That first kiss led to many as we’ve been married twenty-seven years!
What interesting jobs have you had?
I’ve been a busgirl for Marie Callender’s restaurant, a cashier for LaBelle’s catalogue store, a bank worker, a preschool teacher, a speech pathology assistant, an oral surgery assistant, a treatment coordinator for an orthodontist, and a mom to four kids, now almost grown.
What else have you written?
I have seven published books—two contemporary novels, one historical romance, and four books for tween girls, including my new and upcoming releases, The Girl’s Guide to Life, and Love, Lexi: Letters to God. You can see a complete list on my website here.
Share one of your most rewarding moments connected to your writing.
One of my most rewarding moments was when I heard I won a Gold Mom’s Choice Award for The Christian Girl’s Guide to Style, my first published book for tween girls. I love that the judges saw the value of helping our girls dress appropriately on the outside and shine from within.
What inspired you to write the story you submitted for 21 Days of Love?
First Peter 4: 8 was the inspiration for “Love Deeply.” The verse says, “Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers a multitude of sins.” I wanted to show what that might look like for a couple with a strained marriage.
Which actor/actress would you like to see playing the lead character from your most recent book?
I would love Alexis Bledel (Rory from Gilmore Girls) to play the part of Anna Lewis in my historical romance Watercolor Dreams. That would be amazing!
How has God used fiction to touch your heart or change your life?
and make me think of my core values and the decisions I would make if I were in the character’s situation. I really value reading Christian stories because I not only share the same worldview, but it strengthens my relationship with God.
Sherry Kyle is the author of books for tween girls and novels for women set along the coast of California, where she makes her home with her college sweetheart and their four children. You can visit her at www.sherrykyle.com, Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest.
February 29, 2016
Go to the Source
After a recent extraction of a decayed tooth, my dentist prescribed antibiotics for me. The paperwork that came with the pills instructed me to take one pill every six hours, four times a day. Even after my Novocain-induced mental fog lifted, I couldn’t figure out how to follow those instructions without setting an alarm to wake myself up in the middle of the night just to take a pill. And that didn’t seem logical.
So I went online and did a search. I found numerous forums where people asked the same question I had. Some said the “every six hours” was most important, even if that meant taking just three pills a day. Others said “four times a day” was most important, even if that meant less time between pills. A few people said both were equally important and a middle-of-the-night dose was crucial enough to set that alarm.
Frustrated, I did what I should have done in the first place: call the pharmacy. In far less time than it took me to search the Web for people’s opinions, I got the official answer. (Four times a day, spread out over the course of my waking hours … which made the most sense.)
This experience reminded me of what many writers do when they’re not sure how to punctuate a sentence. I’ve been on numerous author e-mail loops and seen countless posts with punctuation questions. The answers almost always differ from one another because they’re based on personal opinion and experience. “Here’s how I’ve always seen it done …” “Here’s what makes the most sense to me …” “This is what my neighbor who teaches high school English told me …”
Those things drive me nuts. Because there’s a definitive source for punctuation questions: The Chicago Manual of Style (for books and popular-style magazines) or The Associated Press Stylebook (for newspapers and journalistic-style publications). Since those resources can be cumbersome or confusing, I wrote Proofreading Secrets of Best-Selling Authors, which highlights the punctuation, usage, grammar, and spelling rules that most authors struggle with and provides answers from the US publishing industry’s standard reference books. (It also contains tips from multi-published authors on how to proofread for typos and inconsistencies.)
The next time you find yourself wondering how to properly punctuate a sentence, don’t just ask a bunch of people who have the same question you do. Then you’ll know you have the definitive answer. And you’ll actually get it more quickly!
February 22, 2016
The Storyteller
A warm welcome to my guest blogger, Nanette Thorsen-Snipes, a contributing author to 21 Days of Love: Stories that Celebrate Treasured Relationships.
She wrote “On the Mountaintop.”
Tell something about yourself as a person and as a writer.
I am a mother of four and a grandmother of eight, and I have contributed stories to more than sixty compilation books.
What do you do to relax or blow off steam?
Spend a weekend in the mountains at a bed-and-breakfast and explore the countryside. I especially love the waterfalls.
Tell something that’s quirky about you.
I love teaching my cat to play fetch (ice, milk lids, etc.) He thinks I’m his mother.
When do you have your devotional time with the Lord, and what do you do during that time?
My husband and I are up at 4:30 a.m. and at 5:30, we read our Bibles separately and then together. Afterward, we pray for our families, friends, coworkers, and acquaintances. As the week goes on, we pray for people in our Sunday school class, missionaries, our country, Israel, etc.
What book(s) are you currently reading?
The Battle Plan for Prayer, by Alex Kendrick.
Briefly share one of your favorite Valentine’s Day memories.
My husband is not much of a romantic, so the Valentine’s Day when he surprised me with red roses and two kissing teddy bears holding a heart that says, “Be My Love,” is one of my favorite memories.
What interesting jobs have you had?
My first job was as a secretary for a cemetery. The job only lasted a year.
As a child, what did you want to do when you grew up?
A storyteller. I never had a desire to be an actress, though.
What else have you written?
One Arch Book for children, Elijah Helps the Widow. Many stories and reprints in Christian magazines. More than sixty stories in compilation books. Work-for-hire stories. Stories and photos for a regional magazine. Columns for weekly newspapers.
Share one of your most rewarding moments connected to your writing.
A story I wrote for Georgia Magazine brought in $15,000 in donations to a nonprofit that cared for wild animals.
What inspired you to write this particular story in 21 Days of Love?
I wanted to write about my own experience of being a single mom coupled with my love for the mountains of North Georgia.
Are any parts of this story taken from something that happened in your own life or the lives of people you know?
Yes. At one point, my husband and I struggled to make ends meet, and I had nothing to give my daughter for her birthday when she turned sixteen. I thought of the stud earrings that my mother had given me, and I gave her those.
How has God used fiction to touch your heart or change your life?
When I was young, God used books with dogs to touch my heart. I read all the Big Red books, Lassie, The Haunted Hound, and others. As a result, I love animals—all animals, but cats have become close to my heart.
Besides Jesus, which person from the Bible would you most like to talk to, and what would you ask or say?
Paul. I would like to hear his many stories of survival and how God worked in his life to overcome everything he suffered.
What story in the Bible do you wish had a different ending? Or in what biblical story do you wish you knew what happened next?
I love the book of Revelation, and I can’t wait to see it come to fruition with the rapture of the saints. I look forward to seeing what heaven’s like.
Have you read 21 Days of Grace or 21 Days of Christmas? If so, which story was your favorite and why?
I have read most of the stories in both, and I am unable to pick one that I like more than the others. They are all heartfelt stories, and they’ve blessed me.
As an editor, Nanette specializes in children’s fiction, nonfiction, and particularly memoirs. She has been professionally editing since 2004. She offers a range of editorial services including proofreading, copyediting, and developmental editing. She has edited for authors who have been published by Tyndale, Zondervan, Revell, among others. She is a member of the Christian Editor Connection (www.ChristianEditor.com) and The Christian PEN: Proofreaders and Editors Network (www.TheChristianPEN.com).
Website: www.FaithWorksEditorial.com
February 15, 2016
When Social Media Feels Downright Unsociable
I lay awake at three a.m. with lyrics going through my head from one of my favorite musicals, 1776:
Is anybody there?
Does anybody care?
For years, I’ve been hearing about the importance of social media for authors. For years, I’ve been touting the importance of social media for editors through The Christian PEN’s online courses. Whenever I hear a new idea or a fresh perspective, I’ve tried to incorporate it into my own social media.
A few years ago, I realized I didn’t have time to do all that social media myself and still keep up with my editing and fulfill my other responsibilities (both work and personal). So I hired a virtual assistant to help me. While I provided the content, she made sure it got “out there.”
When I signed a four-book contract for a series of Fiction Lover’s Devotionals, I was ecstatic! And confident that my already well-established social media presence, added to the social media efforts of all my contributing authors in these compilations, would surely guarantee wildly successful sales figures.
Not that huge royalties were my main goal for these books. I passionately believe in this project, and I’m beyond excited to hear about how the Holy Spirit is going to speak to readers’ hearts through the stories God led me to include in each book.
Over the years, I’ve heard countless ideas for how to promote books—mainly through some kind of social media. I followed most of the advice, strategically planning different types of posts for different days of the week, always striving to provide strong “take-aways” that would benefit people rather than simply tooting my own horn or constantly promoting my own books.
Not wanting to waste my time, or my assistant’s time, I thought it might be helpful to evaluate my efforts. So I sent out a Facebook post recently, asking my many friends, fans, and followers what types of Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn posts they valued most, what they wanted to see more of and whether there was anything they wanted to see less of. I even asked for feedback on whether my social media came across as overly self-promotional.
And then I waited. Because I understand that people are busy and it takes time to get responses.
When I checked that post several days later, I could almost hear crickets chirping.
I received a whopping three responses. One from a dear friend who said she wanted to see more posts about my coming to Texas. A wonderfully sweet sentiment. But not really what I was looking for. One colleague posted a response that was so short and cryptic I didn’t even understand what it meant. Another dear friend wrote, “All of the above!” Which made me feel good—maybe I was on the right track after all. But really? Only three responses? Did no one else even see my post? Or did they see it and not care enough to respond?
Is anybody there?
Does anybody care?
Taking my sense of martyrdom to the extreme, I felt a bit like John the Baptist, crying out in the wilderness, and wondering if anyone was even listening.
These thoughts kept me awake for a couple of hours in the middle of the night. Disappointed, discouraged, and frustrated, I began to consider taking a complete social media sabbatical. If no one was reading my posts, why was I making myself (and my assistant) crazy coming up with something to write about every week? What’s the point?
The next morning, I read Cindy Woodsmall’s interview on Lena Nelson Dooley’s blog. (Both of these amazing best-selling novelists are contributing authors in my Fiction Lover’s Devotional series.) One of Lena’s questions was “What are the three best things you can tell other authors to do to be successful?” One of Cindy’s answers really struck home:
Don’t judge each day by the harvest you reap but by the seeds you sow. (Robert Louis Stevenson said that.) The most important thing we can do is remain faithful. That alone will reap quite a harvest because someone is always watching us, and faithfulness to ourselves and our dreams is impacting our friends and family. When others hit a rough patch in their lives and are tempted to give up, they may recall our faithfulness and find the needed strength for themselves.
My breath caught in my throat as I heard God speak to my heart. Don’t judge your social media by how many friends/fans/followers you have, or by their responses to your posts (or lack thereof). Don’t judge your promotional efforts by how many books you’ve sold. Simply be faithful with what I’ve called you to do. Then you will have a testimony that will encourage others to be faithful as well. People are watching … even if they don’t let you know about it.
That afternoon, I checked BookScan and saw that I’d reached the benchmark of 2,000 print copies sold on the first two books in the devo series. While that number may not be considered “wildly successful” in the publishing industry, I found it encouraging. So I e-mailed my virtual assistant and told her about it. She responded:
Think about those 2,000 people (and more!) who are being touched by this book!!! When you dreamed this idea, you promised God you would do it to touch people’s lives, right? YOU ARE. Right now. RIGHT NOW! This is it. Enjoy the moment.
Boy, did I ever need that reminder!
I then read one of the Amazon reviews for 21 Days of Christmas. The reviewer said it was a “great way to start discussions with kids about Jesus and faith. The stories even started me reflecting on my own faith and beliefs.”
I tell aspiring writers at conferences all the time to consider God’s definition of “success” with their writing. Sure, publishers need to make sure they’re selling enough copies to cover their costs and make a profit, or they can’t stay in business. But for an author, success isn’t just about sales figures. It’s about what those figures represent.
I probably won’t hear about all the ways the Holy Spirit uses these stories to touch hearts and change lives … not this side of heaven anyway. But whether I get responses or not, I’m going to keep doing what I sense God leading me to do, one day at a time, and trust Him with the results.
Weeping may last through the night, but joy comes with the morning.
(Psalm 30:5 NLT)
February 8, 2016
A New Idea
February 1, 2016
Excellence in Editing
January 25, 2016
The Conference that Almost Didn’t Happen
January 18, 2016
Promising Beginnings Winner
January 11, 2016
Demons and Darlings
January 4, 2016
What Are You Afraid Of?
Though we may not want to admit it, we writers are a fearful bunch. And who can blame us, really? The publishing industry can be downright scary! What if I spend hours, months, years of my time writing something that no one will read beside my mom and Auntie Mildred? What if I don’t have […]
