Edie Melson's Blog, page 144

Memories—and Books—Are Made of This

by Ane Mulligan @AneMulligan

Cloudy Fall days call to me with a nostalgic song of … what? I hadn't stopped to examine why I love them so much. But this morning, as I set out to run an errand, that feeling of well-being and happiness overtook me. Today I realized why. 
It takes me back to my childhood.
I was, as most writers are in their youth, an avid reader. My mother had been a teacher, so at a very early age, she taught me to read long before most children. By first grade, I read at a fifth grade level, and I read every book I could get my hands on.
We moved right after my tenth birthday, and I discovered the world of the public library. That's where I found my first Trixie Belden mystery. As a tomboy, I identified with Trixie. When we moved, I left my lifelong best friend and there weren't any children in our neighborhood. Trixie and Honey became my friends.
Maybe the cloudy Autumn days call to me because of those books. The woods stood between Trixie and her brothers' house and that of their best friends, Honey and Jim. Most of the stories took place, it seemed, in Autumn when leaves fell to cover the path they walked, adding a crackling crunch to their footsteps. Smoke curling from a chimney perfuming the air. Hot apple cider to warm them when they came inside.
Those books left an impact that remains with me decades later. And that's what we as writers want to create in our books. That's why incorporating the five senses into our writing is so important. We all have a unique range of senses. Our sense organs take in the stimuli and a mental image or reaction results. 
As a ten-year-old, I wanted to solve mysteries like Trixie and her friends. I never found any good ones, so I lived vicariously through those books. And even now, a crisp cloudy day harkens me back to those times.
What sense evokes memories in you? Is it an aroma? A sound? What are some of the memories you recall? 
TWEETABLEMemories—and Books— are made of this. What do you remember about a book years after you read it? @AneMulligan on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)
Ane Mulligan has been a voracious reader ever since her mom instilled within her a love of reading at age three, escaping into worlds otherwise unknown. But when Ane saw Mary Martin in PETER PAN, she was struck with a fever from which she never recovered—stage fever. She submerged herself in drama through high school and college. Years later, her two loves collided, and a bestselling, award-winning novelist emerged. She resides in Sugar Hill, GA, with her artist husband and a rascally Rottweiler. Find Ane on her website, Amazon Author page, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Pinterest and The Write Conversation.

5 Tips for A New You for a New Writing Year

by Tammy Karasek @TickledPinkTam
We have been taught as writers to always have an online presence in some way. Most of us aren’t particularly fond of having to do so, but it’s something that comes with the writing gig. We press on and do the best we can. 
As we prepare for 2022, which is just around the corner, we should take the time before the year ends to make sure we are putting our best and most up-to-date selves out there. After all, you’ve spent the time writing quality pieces—whether that’s articles, blog posts or books—shouldn’t your writer information be quality as well? That's where social media for writers comes in to play.
I say it should. 
I have made a list for myself of what I believe requires some attention or at least a double check to see if they are current. I’d like to go into the New Year with my cyber connections all updated and ready to meet new people. I need to remember this is my opportunity to make that first impression to a new person reading my work for the first time. 
Here are a few things on my Social Media To Do list:
1. Website Landing Page: When a person types in your website address, what does that first page do for them? Have you given good instructions on where to find what you have there? Check all your social media links to make sure they actually do link. Sometimes with upgrades they don’t play well together and your links may need an update to link again. 
2. Website About Me Page: When was the last time you updated that? If you changed your brand or niche, does your About Me Page match what you are now doing? I know it’s a simple thing, but we often forget to go in and give it a good clean up. You don’t need a novel length About Me Page, but readers like to get to know you a bit and what this website is all about. 
3. Headshot for your Website and Business Cards: Don’t look for a paper bag to breathe into, I’m not suggesting a Headshot appointment in December! But you might look at your photo and add that to your To Do list in January to schedule an appointment before it’s conference time and there’s no time to get one for your updated business cards. You’ll thank me later, I promise.
4. Your Bios: I can’t tell you how many folks’ Bios I’ve read lately on blog posts and articles that are so yesterday. Make sure every December, if not twice a year, you look over the Bio you use to send along with guest blog posts or submissions to various articles and writing submission outlets. If you’ve changed positions in your writing group, change that. If you have added a writing related award to your resume, add it to your bio. Bottom line, look at your Bio you are including each and every time you send a submission. Is it up-to-date and relevant to your writing career?
5. Your Social Media Photos: If people look at your profile photo on all your Social Media locations, will they know that it’s you? Here’s where that recent headshot comes in handy—spread that fabulous headshot all over. It’s important that you use the same photo especially if someone met you at a conference or in a Zoom webinar and they are looking to connect with you. Maybe they think they remember your name, but they know they remember your face. Make it easy for them to find you.
This is a manageable short list to complete before the end of the year so you are putting your best foot forward as we move into 2022. I hope it helps challenge you to do a once-over of your online presence. 
What might you add to the list above to help our online presence be ready for a new year? 
TWEETABLE5 Tips for A New You for a New Writing Year - encouragement from @TickledPinkTam on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)
You’ll find Tammy using humor and wit to bring joy and hope to every aspect in life. She’s gone from down and defeated from a past filled with bullying and criticism from family to living a Tickled Pink life as she believes there is always a giggle wanting to come out! All because of HIM.
She’s the Social Media Coordinator for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. President of ACFW Upstate SC, Past-President and current member of Word Weavers Upstate SC and Past-President of Cross N Pens Writers Group. She’s a member of My Book Therapy/Novel Academy. A writing team member for The Write Conversation, contributor for the Learn How to Write a Novel Blog and others. Published in the Divine Moments Compilation Book—Cool-inary Moments.
She’s married to her college sweetheart Larry, a mom to their grown daughter, Kristen and excited to add a son-in-law in 2021. Born and raised in Ohio, she now lives in South Carolina. Connect with Tammy at HTTPS://TAMMYKARASEK.COM.

A Writer’s Time Out for Thanksgiving

by Emme Gannon @GannonEmme
In the south, we always have meat and two vegetables for supper, one green and one yellow. Potatoes don’t count. Of course, no meal would be complete without something sour. Pickled beets, peaches, or watermelon rind will do nicely. On Thanksgiving, however, our repertoire expands like our bellies. On that grand day diets are ignored along with my brother’s corny jokes and Uncle Ferd’s unpopular political views.
Memories arise of the army of relatives that would somehow squeeze around my grandmother’s dining room table to partake of the Thanksgiving meal. We knew not to touch a morsel of food until we bowed our heads, folded our hands and blessed the meal. Sumptuous aromas of turkey, gravy, dressing, and homemade yeast rolls wafted in harmonious circles and tantalized our taste buds as we listened to my grandmother’s prayer of thanksgiving, going all the way back to her gratitude for family members who, it seemed, settled in the original Virginia colony. 
After dinner we children would be held captive for a while longer while each person shared one thing they were thankful for. At last, dismissed from the table, we would empty the game box and play Monopoly, serenaded by adult laughter as our parents reminisced over another cup of coffee. Their laughter covered our childish hearts with a shield of peace. And we knew what thankful felt like.
When my grandmother was no longer capable of the arduous task of preparing a Thanksgiving meal for our growing gang of hungry vultures, my mother took on the honor. She cleverly divided us into two groups, where the first group served and cleaned up after the other. The one constant rule was that no one would dare contribute food that had not been made from scratch. Even so, my aunt and cousin persisted in trying to disguise their box cakes with whipped cream and crushed walnuts. After one bite, my mother knew. Not to be stymied, mother finally announced that from that year on she would cook all of the dinner. After slight objections on the part of the guilty parties, they all agreed. 
Mom thought Thanksgiving dinner improved after that. We wondered. But my mother’s idiosyncrasies were forgotten on Thanksgiving, for every lonely stranger within shouting distance had a seat at her table. After dishes were done, we’d gather in the living room, where my mother would plop into her favorite chair in an exhausted heap and nap away the evening, waking only to bid all goodbye and receive the compliments she deserved.
Life has its seasons, as the writer to Ecclesiastes reminds us. My grandmother and mother are no longer with us. My husband, aunt and uncle, and brother join them in the glory of everyday praise and thanksgiving to our Holy Lord. We kids are now adults and have our own families, all scattered along the east coast and hardly within driving distance of one another. For some this year has brought loss and sadness that cling like the tentacles of a vine, still wrapping around our hearts, threatening to cut off our joy and our sense of being. For some of us, grief continues to strike like driving rain, falling like bullets upon our already wounded hearts. 
God understands. He knew. He provides, even now as we remember those times of love and laughter. God calls us to a life of gratitude and thanksgiving. Even though the sound of laughter may be absent from our lives this Thanksgiving. Even though we praise Him while in the throes of broken hearts and dreams. Even though there is an empty place at the table. 
Psalm 69:30 reads, “I will praise the name of God with a song. I will magnify Him with thanksgiving.”
David wrote this psalm during a difficult time. He tells God in verses 1-4 that he is weary from crying out to Him. His eyes are dim from waiting on God. And then, he praises God and magnifies the Holy One who is with him in his sorrow. 
Life may be good. Praise Him. Our dreams for our family and for our writing may or may not be going the way we planned. Praise Him. Let gratitude and thanksgiving reign over the day. For He is worthy to be praised.
A blessed Thanksgiving, dear writers.
TWEETABLEA Writer’s Time Out for Thanksgiving - @GannonEmme on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)
Emme Gannon is a wife, mother, and grandmother who loves to write stories that stir the heart. Her award-winning writing has appeared in Focus on the Family magazine, several anthologies, and numerous newsletters. She just completed her first novel.

Tips to Judge Whether a Writing Contest is a Scam or Legit

by Crystal Bowman
Many decades ago, when I first started writing in hopes of getting published, I entered one of my children’s poems in a contest. I was beyond excited when I received a letter congratulating me for placing fourth in the children’s category. I was invited to attend a weekend conference in New York so I could receive my trophy at the awards ceremony on the final day. My mind raced with anticipation as I picture myself at this conference with the bigwigs in publishing. But when I added up the cost of conference, hotel, and airfare, my excitement quickly diminished. I also discovered that there were dozens of fourth place winners, thrid place winners, second place winners, and who-knows-how-many first place winners! Though the conference was probably legit, the contest was a scam to get writers to attend the conference.
In another scenario, a close friend of mine submitted a picture book manuscript to a contest. The guidelines were very specific, and she followed them exactly. The prize for first place, which she won, was a royalty contract with a reputable publisher. Having her first book published as a result of the contest launched her writing career. 
So how do you know if a contest is a scam or an opportunity to get your work noticed and possible published? 
Do your homework and consider these tips:If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. If the grand prize is million-dollar contract and a trip to the Virgin Islands, don’t fall for the scam.If the cost to submit your work is unreasonable or unaffordable to you, pass.If you don’t recognize the name of the publisher or organization and cannot find it by doing a google search, pass. If the magazine or book publisher is one you recognize, or easily located online, consider submitting your work.A call for manuscripts or stories is not the same as a contest. It’s an open opportunity for you to submit your work to a magazine or compilation book such as Chicken Soup for the Soul. If your story is accepted, it will be included in an upcoming publication. Chicken Soup for the Soul pays $200 plus 10 free copies to the author. Before you submit your work to a contest or call for manuscripts, be sure to read the fine print to find out if you retain the rights or if the publisher will own the rights. With some magazines, the rights revert back to the author six months after publication, but that is not always the case.The bottom line:There are numerous opportunities for writers to submit their manuscripts to contests. The contests may be legit, or they may be a scam. The bottom line is to do your homework and gain as much information as you can before getting your hopes up too high! I’m glad I didn’t spend $1500 to fly to New York to receive a $10 trophy, even though I was a fourth place winner! 
TWEETABLETips to Judge Whether a Writing Contest is a Scam or Legit, Insight from Crystal Bowman on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)
Crystal Bowman is an award-winning, bestselling author of more than 100 books for children and four nonfiction books for women. She also writes lyrics for children’s piano music and is a monthly contributor to Clubhouse Jr. Magazine. She loves going to schools to teach kids about poetry. She also speaks at MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) groups and teaches workshops at writers’ conferences. When she is not writing or speaking, she enjoys going for walks, working out at the gym, and eating ice cream. She and her husband live in Michigan and have seven huggable grandkids. 
WWW.CRYSTALBOWMAN.COMWWW.FACEBOOK.COM/CRYSTAL.BOWMANWWW.FACEBOOK.COM/CRYSTALJBOWMANWWW.INSTAGRAM.COM/CRYSTALBOWMANAUTHOR

Schedule Your Bookstore Holiday Author Event

Susan U. Neal RN, MBA, MHS @SusanNealYoga
Most bookstores enjoy hosting author events. If the author has a following, they can bring more customers to the store, and the author becomes exposed to a new set of readers already in the store. These events are a win-win for both the author and bookstore. It is wise for writers to take advantage of this superb opportunity. Getting to know bookstore owners and managers is beneficial for an author’s long-term marketing goals. Here are some tips to get your author event scheduled during the busiest time of the year. 
Pre-Book Event TipsBecome a bookstore customer. Purchase your books locally instead of online. Bookstores appreciate their patrons who help support the store, since independent bookstores are having a hard time surviving. If your local store is a general market one, see if they have a religious section where they carry Christian books. If they do, they may be interested in conducting an event for a Christian book. 
Before approaching a bookstore about an author event, ensure your books are published on the Ingram platform so they are available to retailers. For author events, some bookstores may ask you to bring your own books, but most stores like to order your book themselves (i.e. Barnes & Noble). Go online and make sure your book can be ordered there. 
You can contact a bookstore via email, but an in-person request is better. Dress professionally, carry a selection of your books, and ask to speak with the store manager or the person who schedules local-author events. Be sure to hand the manager a media sheet with your bio, headshot, and listing of books. If the person is unavailable, introduce yourself and your purpose. Request the contact information of the scheduling person and either call or email them. Patience may be required, as these individuals are very busy and wear multiple hats. Some stores may list information about booking an author event on their website. When setting up the event, suggest having a book reading or specific topic that you can speak on. Book events are usually better received by customers than book signings. 
Best Time for Author Book EventsThere is no better time to conduct a book event than from Black Friday through the first week in January when stores are their busiest. Most people wait until the last few weeks before Christmas to get their shopping done. Therefore, that is the best time to have a book event. It is amazing how much traffic is in a bookstore during this six-week holiday shopping period. In fact, the week after New Year’s is busy too because people receive gift cards for Christmas, and they come to the store to make their purchases.
When scheduling your holiday book event, if you live in the south, you could suggest setting up a table outside if the bookstore is opposed to book events because of the pandemic. I enjoy asking another author to join me during book events. That way, there is more synergy with two people and a larger selection of books for customers to choose from. 
Create a publicity plan for your event. Post social media graphics and create a Facebook event page. Barnes & Noble usually creates the Facebook event, so promote it as much as you can. You could write a press release about the event and send it to your local media. I’ve printed event postcards and dropped them off at the store for patrons to pickup at the checkout counter. Hopefully, a few customers will return to the store for your event. 
To get more people to come to your table, conduct a giveaway. Wrap a box with beautiful Christmas wrapping paper and ask people to drop their name and email into the box. You could give away one of your eBooks. Having a giveaway gets more people to come up to your table to interact with you. And that might be all they need to get them interested in one of your books. 
Be sure to bring your book banners. I have a small table-top banner for Healthy Living Journal , which won best inspirational gift book, and a tall floor banner of my best-seller 7 Steps to Get Off Sugar and Carbohydrates. Bring book marks and insert one into each book on your table.
This could result in future sales, especially if it includes your website or information about more than one book. My bookmark promotes my Healthy Living Series with three books on one side of the card and the megabook on the second side. It promotes four of my books on one bookmark. Bring an excellent pen for autographing your books. When the book event begins, take photos and post on social media. Be sure to let your followers know how long you will be at the event. I’ve had some readers see my Facebook post and bring me their book to sign. 
Post-Book Event TipsAnnually, I schedule book events at four local and regional bookstores during the holidays. I drive 75 minutes one-way to a store. Conducting book events allows authors to get to know the bookstore manager and staff, which is beneficial to your long-term success. Occasionally, stop by the store and bring them some goodies—handmade cookies or a tray of assorted nuts. At the end of your event, be sure to thank the manager. Tell him or her you would be happy to come back for any local author events they plan for the next year. I’ve been invited to a large local author event at Barnes & Noble that included about ten writers. It was fun meeting other local authors and store patrons.
Successful authors understand that relationships are a key factor within the publishing industry. Every year, when I return to these four stores, I find they continue to carry my books. In fact, the Destin Barnes & Noble even made a special sign for one of my books, Solving the Gluten Puzzle . They created a hand-written book category called Celiac Disease/Gluten-Free and put it right by my book, which was placed at eye level with the cover facing outward. Now that is advertising! So call or email the bookstores in your area today to set up your book event. 
TWEETABLESchedule Your Bookstore Holiday Author Event from @SusanNealYoga on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)
Susan U. Neal, RN, MBA, MHS: Susan’s mission is to improve the health of the body of Christ. She has her RN and MBA degrees, as well as a master’s in health science. She is a CERTIFIED HEALTH AND WELLNESS COACHwith the American Association of Christian Counselors. She published five books, the Selah award winner 7 STEPS TO GET OFF SUGAR AND CARBOHYDRATES, CHRISTIAN STUDY GUIDE FOR 7 STEPS TO GET OFF SUGAR AND CARBOHYDRATES, HEALTHY LIVING JOURNAL, SCRIPTURE YOGAa #1 Amazon best-selling yoga book, and YOGA FOR BEGINNERSwhich ranked #3. She published two sets of Christian Yoga Card Decks and two Christian Yoga DVDs that are available at CHRISTINAYOGA.COM. Her digital product HOW TO PREVENT, IMPROVE, AND REVERSE ALZHEIMER’S AND DEMENTIAis a great resource. To learn more about Susan visit her website SUSANUNEAL.COM You can also connect with Susan on FACEBOOK, TWITTER, and INSTAGRAM.

Why I’m Thankful To Be a Writer—My Top Twenty List

by Katy Kauffman @KatyKauffman28
With Thanksgiving and pumpkin pie just around the corner, are you thankful to be a writer? Even though so much hard work goes into writing and promoting, I would like to share twenty reasons why we can be thankful to be writers. (I was going to share just twelve, but the list kept growing.) 
See if your reasons are the same as mine. (These are not in any particular order.) Even if we write in different genres, we have a lot to be grateful for.
Why We Can Be Thankful To Be Writers
1. We have the privilege to share with others the invaluable lessons God has taught us.
2. We can work at home. (Enough said.)
3. Our longing to write is fulfilled daily, and we don’t have to stuff it down because other things take time.
4. At writers’ conferences and through social media, we have the adventure of meeting incredible people. 
5. Because of writer friends who can turn into guest writers, we don’t have to blog alone! 
6. Our blogs are an ongoing way to publish our writing and encourage people’s hearts (without having to wait a year for a book to come out).
7. Eventually, the books can get published, even if we self-publish.
8. Because life is filled with funny stories, daily struggles, and multitudes of blessings, there will always be something to write about.
9. Writing Bible studies, articles, and blog posts can be a time of fellowship with God.
10. It’s not illegal to cross over into another genre.
11. We receive books for free (when we plan to review them). 
12. We have the chance to promote our friends’ blogs and books and see them flourish on the path God has for them. 
13. Writing contests are held annually, so if we don’t win something this year, we can try again next year. 
14. Receiving critiques trains us to have thick skin, sensitive hearts, and the willingness to adjust what we write. 
15. Pushing ourselves to make a deadline deserves the reward of some kind of dessert.
16. When someone asks us what we do, it’s fun to tell them, “I’m a writer.”
17. When we see a devotion we submitted weeks ago suddenly appear in published form, the joy is hard to contain. 
18. Poetry is free therapy.
19. We know we are on the path God has for us and He walks with us. Every step. Every word.
20. When we write by God’s power and guidance, He can use our words to transform someone’s sorrow to joy, fear to faith, grief to peace, hopelessness to purpose, and struggle to victory. 
Why are you thankful to be a writer? Did you identify with one of the twenty reasons above? Tell us in the comments below, and don’t forget to join the conversation!
TWEETABLEWhy I’m Thankful To Be a Writer—My Top Twenty List from @KatyKauffman28 on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)
Katy Kauffman is an award-winning author, an editor of REFRESH BIBLE STUDY MAGAZINE, and a co-founder of LIGHTHOUSE BIBLE STUDIES. She loves connecting with writers and working alongside them in compilations, such as Feed Your Soul with the Word of God, Collection 1 which is a 2020 Selah Awards finalist.
In addition to online magazines, Katy’s writing can be found at CBN.COM, thoughts-about-God.com, and three blogs on writing. She loves to spend time with family and friends, talk about art and crafts in her group MY ARTSY TRIBE, and tend the garden in the morning sun. She makes her home in a cozy suburb of Atlanta, Georgia. Connect with her at her blog, WINNING THE VICTORY, and on FACEBOOK and TWITTER.

Would a Book Giveaway Help?

by Lucinda Secrest McDowell @LucindaSMcDowel
I wanted more interaction on my social media accounts and was especially hoping to build up my followers on Instagram. I had seen some Book Giveaways and decided to try one. Let me just say here, that I would much prefer to actually be writing than talking about it on the socials. But interacting online is simply a necessity, so I’m game.
Doing such a thing was “out of the box” for me and a techno challenge.
but here’s what I did:I invited 4 other authors to join me so we could give away a grand prize of 5 signed new books.I chose authors I admire who write in a similar vein as I but who have a different tribes of followers so that we could introduce each other and our work to new people.I picked authors whose latest books compliment my own newest book – we called the giveaway “Nourish Your Soul.”I emailed an invite to all four of them together so they would know who might be involved. Explained a plan to last 10 days. (Next time I would do it only for a week.)When they all committed to the giveaway and the time frame, I sent each one exact instruction of what to post each day (and no posts on some days.)I developed a total of 7 memes: one with all the bookcovers stating the rules for entry and the prizes (see attached), one for each of the authors and their books (sample attached,) and one after we named the winner including the actual stack of books as a gift. Each participant was sent all memes to use.Each author signed a copy of her newest book and mailed it to my home. I shipped the final package of 5 new signed books to the winner at the end of the contest.The rules were that anyone could enter by following all five of our Instagram Accounts. At the end of the 10 days, we drew a random IG follower who had followed all five accounts and sent her the books.Each day of the giveaway all of us posted (the script I had sent) on both our Facebook pages and our Instagram pages at different times of the day since we were in different time zones. Two of us chose to also send the giveaway info to our entire newsletter list that week.Each individual author and book was featured on one day of the giveaway and we other posting authors shared about her and her book.Full disclosure – this whole process was way out of my comfort zone, but we all had fun doing it and each of us got between 125-145 new followers on Instagram.The best part is that now new people are hearing about us and our books and one IG follower has 5 new books for the holidays!What New Thing will you try in your Writing and Speaking in the days ahead?
TWEETABLEWould a Book Giveaway Help? insight from @LucindaSMcDowel on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)
Lucinda Secrest McDowell, M.T.S., is a storyteller and seasoned mentor who engages both heart and mind while “Helping You Choose a Life of Serenity & Strength.” A graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and Furman University, McDowell is the author of 15 books and contributing author to 30+ books. Her award-winning books include Soul Strong, Life-Giving Choices, Dwelling Places, and Ordinary Graces. Lucinda, a member of the Redbud Writers Guild and AWSA, received Mt. Hermon “Writer of the Year” award and guest blogs monthly for ‘The Write Conversation.’ 
Whether coaching writers and speakers, pouring into young mamas, or leading a restorative day of prayer, she is energized by investing in people of all ages. As a communications teacher, she has served on the faculty of Speak Up Conference, Mount Hermon Christian Writers Conference, Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference, Florida Christian Writers Conference, Asheville Christian Writers Conference and co-directs the annual spiritual retreat reNEW – retreat for New England Writing & Speaking. Known for her ability to convey deep truth in practical and winsome ways, McDowell shares words from “Sunnyside” cottage in New England and blogs weekly at WWW.LUCINDASECRESTMCDOWELL.COM

More Christmas Book Marketing Ideas

by Karen Whiting @KarenHWhiting
Twenty-five percent of print books are sold during the holiday season, so it’s an important time to promote books. Consider who might want each of your books and what ones can be bundled. Create a gift catalogue if you have lots of titles plus special bundles.
Pin for the HolidaysCreate a Holiday Book Shopping Board. Use the word gift in the board’s title such as or Books by (your name) for Gifting. Make a pin with a Christmas background for each book and list reasons it makes a great gift. Share how you’ll wrap and send the gifts directly to the recipient. Create pins of bundled books with reasons why the bundle will make life easier or more fun for the recipient.
Make a second pin for each book with items that can be added to make it a gift basket or larger gift. This might include favorite drink items and brownie mix for fiction books plus a comfy blanket. For a cookbook add cooking utensils or spices. For devotionals, add a journal and stickers or colored pencils. For a kid’s book add a list of jokes or small toys related to the title. 
Extend the Pinterest fun by creating a group board for author friends to join, where you can all add your holiday pins. Ask each member to include pins that showcase each member’s catalog with a link to their buying page. One pin can have all the links in one place for easy shopping.
Freebies For BuyersEveryone loves something free. Offer PDFs and eBooks that can be emailed without expense, so consider grouping articles you wrote such as parenting articles, or create one sheets, such as tips on organizing. Create great tip pdfs of recipes, traditions, or patterns for crafts. These can be sent with a purchase, or receipt of purchasing online or at a store.
For fiction, consider creating printable cards or Pinterest boards from your characters that share their holiday traditions or express holiday cheer. Create some games to play for book clubs that read your books or children’s games to match your book. These freebies could be sent ahead with a note that here’s a Christmas freebie from (name of buyer); watch for your Christmas gift to arrive later.
If mailing print books, offer a specially made mug matching a book title, a fun pen to go with journals, or a toy to go with a child’s book. Note that you may need to mail books separately from items to save on postage.
Countdown to Christmas IdeasUse the 12 days of Christmas as a theme to share a daily tip and if you have a dozen or more books, tips related to one of the books with that book cover. Or choose a theme to use for the week such as a daily romantic tip, tradition, family fun/faith tips for the holidays, holiday organizing tips, or 12 mysteries related to Christmas like the unknown number of magi. 
Post one a day for twelve days before Christmas and start as early as December 1st. Make a meme for each and post it on Pinterest or Instagram and then other social media. Or create short live videos for each day with your Christmas theme.
More ideasContests. Play some games and share prizes that can be pdfs or an eBook. One could be holding one of your books while wearing an ugly sweater or standing by decorations or a nativity set. For photo contests, allow a few weeks before the deadline so people can buy a book.Post about your holiday fun on your blog and guest post on other blogs. Cross-promote with sharing posts or pins with friends.Hold an online Christmas tradition or recipe party where you and several authors share favorite traditions or recipes and have games and prizes for participants.Create your own cute gift cards for buyers to send a card with a choice of your books that are all the same price so #Christmas15 for books that are all $15 including postage.Add bookmarks the books you mail to share other titles.Include your newest bookmark with Christmas cards sent early enough for people to buy gifts. Include a link to your holiday shopping catalogue or site. For ecards attach the pin of a bookmark.Encourage people to buy books for angel trees and toys for tots. At bazaars and other live book events have a box for them to purchase and drop the books for you to deliver them. My newest releases include a devotional for boys and a family book on prayer and those types of books build faith all year. That’s the message you want to send in promoting giving books.If you have books that are great for ministry leaders or other church staff, suggest they buy a gift for those people.Team up with local authors and contact the media to print a holiday reading guide with links to the author websites.Ask readers to share a favorite holiday story to win a prize. Also ask permission to use the stories in future books.Use popular holiday hashtags like #Christmasgiftideas, #Bookgiftideas, or #Gifts for him (her or kids). Choose one or more ideas to focus on this shopping season. Also remember to focus on the reason for the season with sharing a faith-based tradition or the reason behind your writing.
TWEETABLEMore Christmas Book Marketing Ideas from @KarenHWhiting on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)
Karen Whiting (WWW.KARENWHITING.COM) is an international speaker, former television host of Puppets on Parade, certified writing and marketing coach, and award-winning author of twenty-seven books for women, children, and families. Her newest book, The Gift of Bread: Recipes for the Heart and the Table reflects her passion for bread and growing up helping at her grandparent’s restaurant. Check out her newest book Growing a Mother’s Heart: Devotions of Faith, Hope, and Love from Mothers Past, Present, and Future. It's full of heartwarming and teary eyed stories of moms.
Karen has a heart to grow tomorrow’s wholesome families today. She has written more than eight hundred articles for more than sixty publications and loves to let creativity splash over the pages of what she writes. She writes for Crosswalk. Connect with Karen on Twitter @KarenHWhiting Pinterest KarenWhiting FB KarenHWhiting

Working like a Well-Oiled Machine

Edie here. I want to congratulate Martin on his newest book, Don't Just Live...Really Live! All the info is at the end of the post, so be sure and give him a shout out!

Working Like a Well-Oiled Machineby Martin Wiles @LinesFromGod
He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love. Ephesians 4:16 NLT
Their schedule worked like a well-oiled machine. 
A week at our daughter and son-in-law’s house showed my wife and me how a well-oiled machine can work. With three kids, school schedules, scouts, church activities, teaching responsibilities at church, and a small baby, they must work together, or something will go lacking. 
On the refrigerator was stuck an erasable schedule, telling what they had planned for supper each night. My mom hated it when we asked her what she planned to cook for supper. I didn’t have to ask my daughter. The menu lay before me like a neon billboard. Our daughter cooks two nights a week, our son-in-law four, and they order out one night. 
And taking the kids to school? That, too, is scheduled. Our daughter takes them twice a week: on the mornings our son-in-law has an early morning men’s breakfast at one of the local Mexican restaurants and on the day he works a twelve-hour shift. Our son-in-law takes them the other three days, so our daughter doesn’t have to wake their infant son. 
When it comes to church work, they also team up, partnering together to teach a roomful of four-and-five-year-olds on Sunday morning and a marriage class on Sunday night. While they do this, their two older boys attend their respective classes. On Wednesday nights, our son-in-law takes them to the Awanas program at church, and on Thursday nights, he carts them to scouts. 
Bath nights are also scheduled—and on the nights they don’t have other activities. This way, they can still get in bed on time, which also comes with a schedule. 
When the older boys get home from school, our daughter gives them a little playtime and then helps them with homework. By the time, our son-in-law arrives from work, all this is done, and they are ready for supper, baths, and bed. 
About halfway through our week with them, I said to our son-in-law, “I’m impressed at how you two work together.” 
“It’s the only way we can get things done,” he responded. “Most of the time, everything works out, but now and then we hit a snag.”
Knowing my daughter, her organizing everything didn’t surprise me. She does it with everything. Nor did our son-in-law’s acquiescence to her organization. My wife and I have known him since he was a teenager and saw the same tendencies in him. They make a good team, and they work together well. 
Paul says the church should operate the same way. God gifts His people, and He wants us to use those gifts in harmony to advance His Kingdom across the world. No lone rangers exist in God’s world—and they don’t in the writing world either. We need each other. 
Having been in church all my life, I can testify that sometimes the church functions as God intends, but sometimes, it doesn’t. When it doesn’t, it’s not because the gifts and talents are defective—or that God has erred in some way. Rather, it’s because we let other things get in the way: jealousy, selfishness, greed, anger, unforgiveness, pride, misplaced priorities. But God can help us settle each of these hindrances. 
Ask God to help you put aside whatever hinders you from being a well-oiled machine that helps to advance His love in your little piece of the world.
TWEETABLEWorking Like a Well-Oiled Machine - Martin Wiles, @LinesFromGod on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)
Don't Just Live...Really Live by Martin Wiles
What does it mean to really live?
Using Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount as the blueprint, Dr. Martin Wiles answers some of the most pressing questions that Christians have about effective Christian living.
In this powerful work, Dr. Wiles shares eighteen insights for learning how to pray, handle our anger, love our enemies, overcome worry, have a healthy marriage, and so much more. Included are questions for personal reflection or group discussions. Don’t Just Live . . . Really Live offers a practical approach for discerning how to live out the Bible in today’s world.
Martin Wiles is the founder of Love Lines from God (www.lovelinesfromgod.com) and serves as Managing Editor for Christian Devotions, Senior Editor for Inspire a Fire, and Proof Editor for Courier Publishing. He has authored six books and has been published in numerous publications. His most recent book, Don't Just Live...Really Live , debuted in October of 2021. He is a freelance editor, English teacher, author, and pastor.

Counting on Numbers for Your Writing Success

by Beth K. Vogt @BethVogt
Writing success seems to be driven by the numbers, doesn’t it?
Author life How many books have you written? How many awards have you won? Sales numbersHow many books have you sold? How much money have you earned?Social media numbers How many followers do you have? How many likes do you have? How many shares do you have? How many subscribers do you have?I’ve always had an aversion to numbers, going all the way back to elementary school math. As an adult, I realized there’s no dodging numbers in my daily author life.
Every author must market their books. (Add collective groan here.) I’m learning what I’m good at, while also pushing myself to improve my marketing skills. Social media is not optional, and to some degree, it’s a numbers game. I’m determined to manage the stress of social media as much as possible. 
How?
Here’s one simple step I’ve taken to help me enjoy—yes, enjoy—the numbers associated with my writing life:
When I see an uptick in my social media followers, no matter how small, I pause and say thank you.
I thank God for each new Instagram follower. Each new Facebook follower. Each new BookBub follower. Each new subscriber to my Words of Encouragement monthly letter. 
I also thank God for each book review—although I rarely read reviews. Skipping reviews is a mental health choice for me. I don’t want to set my ego on positive reviews, and I don’t want to allow negative reviews to shape my self-image, either. But still, reviews add up and make a difference. (Amazon algorithms, anyone?)
Becoming an author has taught me so many invaluable lessons. One of the best? Not to overlook the validity of slow growth. 
To frame that truth into a math equation for you:
1 + 1 + 1 = readership
Some of you may wonder what I do when my numbers dip because yes, that happens. People unfollow us. People unsubscribe. 
It used to feel personal—lower numbers made me feel less than. But then I decided to not let a lower number define me. It’s a number, not a judgement. I whisper, “Bless you” for the person who has moved on and leave it at that.
How do you feel about your writing success being driven by the numbers?
TWEETABLECounting on Numbers for Your Writing Succes - @BethVogt on @EdieMelson (Click to Tweet)
Beth K. Vogt believes God’s best often waits behind the doors marked “Never.” Having authored nine contemporary romance novels and novellas, The Best We’ve Been, the final book in Beth’s Thatcher Sisters Series with Tyndale House Publishers, releasers May 2020. Other books in the women’s fiction series include Things I Never Told You, which won the 2019 AWSA Award for Contemporary Novel of the Year, and Moments We Forget. Beth is a 2016 Christy Award winner, a 2016 ACFW Carol Award winner, and a 2015 RITA® finalist. An established magazine writer and former editor of the leadership magazine for MOPS International, Beth blogs for Learn How to Write a Novel and The Write Conversation and also enjoys speaking to writers group and mentoring other writers. Visit Beth at bethvogt.com.