Writers often ask, “Do awards really matter? Are some writing awards more valuable than others? Let me address those questions today.
Awards do matter for a number of reasons. Let me count some of the ways in a quick list …
Awards
Laura Ingalls Wilder and Racism
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Last week the American Library Association (ALA) announced that the Laura Ingalls Wilder Award, a prestigious children’s literature prize, would henceforth be called the Children’s Literature Legacy Award. You can read the announcement on the award’s …
Professional Jealousy
Blogger: Mary Keeley
This is the time of year when contests will be won and awards will be announced. A few will get the prize; most will not. Since I am out of the office attending BEA this week, I …
Trade Show Overview
Blogger: Mary Keeley
The 2015 International Christian Retail Show, ICRS, held in Orlando, came to a close yesterday. This annual trade show is a switch in gears for agents from the writers conferences we attend during the year. Instead of …
Contests: To Enter or Not
Blogger: Mary Keeley
Over the holiday weekend I spent time debriefing after serving on faculty at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. Up until now, I’ve had vacillating opinions about the long-term value published and unpublished authors reap from …
The Best Best of the Worst
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Last week I invited you to come up with the worst first sentence with which to open a book in our Best of the Worst Contest. Goodness! You are a creative community indeed. We had 206 entries …
The Best of the Worst
Blogger: Wendy Lawton
One of the things you may not know about me is that I won the infamous Bulwer-Lytton Fiction Contest in 1999 for the worst first line in children’s literature.
My line read:
The greedy schoolbus crept through …
The Author-Agent Partnership: Finding the Right Fit
Blogger: Mary Keeley
What should a writer look for in an agent? What does an agent look for in a client? It’s tempting for a writer to go with the first offer of representation because it means you’ve crossed the …
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Professional Jealousy: Immunize Yourself from Its Bite
Blogger: Mary Keeley
At one point or another we’ve all been bitten by that green-eyed monster, otherwise known as professional jealousy. Ever hovering, seeking whom he may devour, he attacks by surprise at an unfortunate moment when defenses are weakened.…
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How to Set Your Writing Goal for 2013–and Achieve It
Blogger: Mary Keeley
You’ve heard the axiom, plan your work and work your plan. Sound advice but so often glossed over or under-applied. Now is the time to begin thinking . . . and preparing. You have three months …
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