Kathy Ide's Blog, page 26
January 13, 2015
CONGRATULATIONS TO LYNETA SMITH!
January 6, 2015
Happy New Year!
December 22, 2014
Hidden Gems
December 15, 2014
New Writers’ Conference
December 8, 2014
Christmas Gift Ideas
December 1, 2014
FICTION STORIES ABOUT CHRISTMAS
November 17, 2014
PENCON 2015
November 10, 2014
WANTED: Short Fiction Stories!
I just signed a four-book contract for a fiction-lover’s devotional. It’s a collection of short fictional stories followed by brief Life Applications, suggesting how the lessons inherent in the stories can be applied to the reader’s daily life. Bios of contributing authors will be featured at the end of each chapter, so readers can get something new from the novelists they already know and love, as well as samples from other authors they can add to their favorites list.
The contract is with BroadStreet Publishing. They’re doing the devotionals as hardback gift books. The first one will come out in June, just in time for summer. Working title is 21 Days of Grace: Stories that Celebrate God’s Unconditional Love. Book 2 will be for Christmas, Book 3 for Valentine’s Day, and Book 4 for Mother’s Day.
I already have submissions from some well-known and beloved novelists (including Angela Hunt, Deborah Raney, Cecil Murphey, Lynette Sowell, and others). But I’m going to need some more captivating, well-written stories to put into these books!
Guidelines are at kathyide.com/devotional-guidelines.
You may send submissions on any topic at any time. However, if you have something that would specifically fit with one or more of the upcoming titles, please submit prior to the deadlines below.
21 Days of Grace: Stories that Celebrate God’s Unconditional Love
submit by December 1, 2014
21 Days of Christmas: Stories that Celebrate God’s Greatest Gift
submit by January 1, 2015
21 Days of Love: Stories that Celebrate Treasured Relationships
submit by May 1, 2015
21 Days of Joy: Stories that Celebrate Motherhood
submit by August 1, 2015
I’m going to need a lot of stories for this project! So please pass the word on to other fiction writers you know.
November 3, 2014
Even Best-Selling Authors Need Good Editing
“You know, I’ve always been a huge fan of hers. I’ve read every book she’s ever written and loved them all. Until this last one.”
My heart sank as I heard those words from the director of a writers’ conference I’d just spoken at. She was referring to an author I dearly loved myself: one of my all-time favorite authors and someone I’d met at several conferences and knew to be a sweet, lovely woman.
“The concept was intriguing,” she went on. “But it was so poorly edited and filled with mistakes, I couldn’t get into the story.”
“Do you know who published it?” I asked.
She got out her cell phone. Moments later, she confirmed what I had expected.
“That’s a subsidy publisher,” I explained. And not a small startup press. This company had been in business for years and had a positive reputation among industry professionals. I’d recommended it myself to several of my own author-clients.
“Didn’t anybody edit the book before they published it?” Her tone held incredulity.
I cringed at the thought that one of my most beloved authors had published something that had the potential to lose loyal fans instead of gaining new ones.
My friends, this story is not fictional! It actually happened, just as I related.
PLEASE DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!
If you’re a multi-published author with a huge fan base, and you’ve decided to dip your toes into the exciting new world of “indie” publishing, self-publishing, or “hybrid” publishing, please don’t risk losing your faithful followers by putting out a book that has not been as professionally edited as your traditionally published books.
I can help you maintain the level of editing professionalism you (and your readers) have grown accustomed to. For details, please check out http://kathyide.com/helping-authors/.
If you’re not a multi-published author (yet), I can help you too. Please check out http://kathyide.com/helping-writers/ to see what I can do for you.
I’m not the only professional freelance editor out there, and I’m not the perfect fit for every author and every book. So if you’d like some other options to choose from, check out the Christian Editor Connection. Just go to the website (www.ChristianEditor.com) and fill out the form for Authors Seeking Editors.
You’ll be doing your readers—and yourself—a huge favor by getting your manuscript professionally edited.
EVEN BEST-SELLING AUTHORS NEED GOOD EDITING
“You know, I’ve always been a huge fan of hers. I’ve read every book she’s ever written and loved them all. Until this last one.”
My heart sank as I heard those words from the director of a writers’ conference I’d just spoken at. She was referring to an author I dearly loved myself: one of my all-time favorite authors and someone I’d met at several conferences and knew to be a sweet, lovely woman.
“The concept was intriguing,” she went on. “But it was so poorly edited and filled with mistakes, I couldn’t get into the story.”
“Do you know who published it?” I asked.
She got out her cell phone. Moments later, she confirmed what I had expected.
“That’s a subsidy publisher,” I explained. And not a small startup press. This company had been in business for years and had a positive reputation among industry professionals. I’d recommended it myself to several of my own author-clients.
“Didn’t anybody edit the book before they published it?” Her tone held incredulity.
I cringed at the thought that one of my most beloved authors had published something that had the potential to lose loyal fans instead of gaining new ones.
My friends, this story is not fictional! It actually happened, just as I related.
PLEASE DON’T LET THIS HAPPEN TO YOU!
If you’re a multi-published author with a huge fan base, and you’ve decided to dip your toes into the exciting new world of “indie” publishing, self-publishing, or “hybrid” publishing, please don’t risk losing your faithful followers by putting out a book that has not been as professionally edited as your traditionally published books.
I can help you maintain the level of editing professionalism you (and your readers) have grown accustomed to. For details, please check out http://kathyide.com/helping-authors/.
If you’re not a multi-published author (yet), I can help you too. Please check out http://kathyide.com/helping-writers/ to see what I can do for you.
I’m not the only professional freelance editor out there, and I’m not the perfect fit for every author and every book. So if you’d like some other options to choose from, check out the Christian Editor Connection. Just go to the website (www.ChristianEditor.com) and fill out the form for Authors Seeking Editors.
You’ll be doing your readers—and yourself—a huge favor by getting your manuscript professionally edited.