Is There a Book Inside of You?

If you're following this blog, chances are you're a Christian fiction reader. Has this addiction somehow sparked your own imagination? Have characters invaded your mind? Is there a particular story you'd love to read, but it has yet to be written?

Perhaps you're contemplating writing your own story, but don't know where to start. 

When I began my writing journey, my pastor advised me to research how to go about publication. I was fortunate enough to find American Christian Fiction Writers (aka ACFW). I've been able to expand my craft, improve my writing, learn about the publishing industry, and network with other writers and authors. On this journey I've found encouragement, offered encouragement, and learned so much. 

For any writer pursuing publication in today's market, ACFW is a must. Here is a trailer to show you more about it. 

If you're interested in writing Christian fiction, I can't recommend a better a organization than this one! 

Fulfilling Your Calling or Blogging?

While this post is geared more for writers, I personally believe any blogger may benefit from it (more so, those of you who are just starting to blog). It's taken me awhile to discover this truth, but it's very liberating when put into practice.

A commonly known blogging rule is that in order for your blog to receive the most readership, you must blog often. I've discovered that waiting until you have time to blog doesn't work out so well. In fact, it usually results in few--if any--blog posts. 

Of course, there's a direct opposite to not blogging enough--which is blogging too often! While you are supposed to blog often, doing so takes a lot of time. For unpublished manuscript writers, creating content for a blog on a regular basis can become so consuming that they soon find their manuscript collecting dust. They exert all efforts into that blog while everything else fades from view. I know, because I've been there. 

Not too long ago, I felt as though God kept giving me a gentle tap on the shoulder. "Holly," He said, "Do you want to finish that manuscript and story I've placed inside of you, or do you want to only reach people through your blog? Are you a writer or a blogger?"

I considered the question for a second. Without any warning, (probably prompted by God) a strong conviction rose inside of me, making it very clear that I'm a writer who blogs. Yet, even with this new revelation, I didn't know how to return to writing more often than I blog. The truth is, blogging had become a stumbling block, hindering me from the completion of my manuscript because the desire to write a new post always struck when I least expected it--and it struck quite often. The only way I'd re-gain my writing time was to guard it jealously. So, God and I created what I call the "Preemptive Blogging Plan." 


STEPS TO BEING A PREEMPTIVE BLOGGER

If you want to be successful in writing full-time while meeting a quota of blog posts, you're going to have to toss the Seat-of-the-pants idea all the way to the next galaxy. The only way to truly blog is to plan.

1. Decide your goals every month. If your blog is like mine and you mostly write reviews, this should be an easier task. After all, you know what books you'll be reading and when those reviews are due. Regardless of whether your write reviews or certain content, it's a great idea to sit down and decide what kind of posts and content you'd like to include for the month. Do you want to change a few things on your blog or maybe add new features? Would you like to steer your blog in a particular direction or discuss a certain subject? Is there an event coming up that you'd like to share? Deciding all of this ahead of time will help you resist the overwhelming urge to blog every time a new idea springs up--which could be about as often as the sun rises or absolutely never. If you want to work on blog strategy and marketing, set goals for that as well and decide how--and when--you'll accomplish them.

2. Try to write posts only once a month. This doesn't mean you only write one post for the month. It simply means you're going to write all your posts for that month at one time. Pick a Saturday on your calendar (or whatever day works best for you), wake up early, and start writing. Don't stop until you've written every post and subject that you've planned in your goals. This also includes preparing and writing content for newsletters. Once you've finished writing all posts, take a break. When you return from your break, go ahead and start the re-writing phase. After you've completed re-writing, go ahead and edit, and then you can proof it. Then you can begin to work on posting pictures and links to all your posts. When you've finished, whatever you do, don't publish your posts! Keep them in draft format.

3. Decide when to publish your posts. Pull out a calendar and write the name of post titles on the days you choose to publish them to your blog. Is there a certain post that will receive better reception from readers on a particular day? Then pencil it in. 

4. Reminders and Alerts. Make sure you set reminders in your phone, Google calendar, or ipod to remind you of the dates you've chosen to publish individual posts. If the blog service you use allows you to set the date and time for it to publish a post without you prompting it, then at least set reminders so you can put the URL on social networks. 

5. Before you publish, do a quick read-through. It will be easier to catch typos and missing words after letting the post cool down for a while. 

6. Do allow exceptions for the unexpected. If something comes up that is a hot topic at the moment and you have a unique take on it, then don't wait until next month to write a post for it. By then, there's no reason to write it or publish it, because the buzz will have already died down. So, go ahead and allow yourself to do a SOTP (seat of the pants) post. Just don't make a habit of doing this. 

So, what do you think of the Preemptive Blogging Plan? I know it looks simple in writing, but I've learned that executing it is something different altogether. 

If God has called us to write a story, we can't allow our blog to get in the way. Using the Preemptive Blogging Plan will ensure you continue to get that story written and study your craft!

10 Tips to Saving Money on Books

1. Invest in an E-reader Digital book sales are starting to make a high rise among the masses. If you're anything like me, you find sheer pleasure in curling in bed and holding a softcover book in your hand. Despite skepticism from die-hard eBook critics, I've actually found my Kindle makes it easier to curl into bed with that story and it's just as homey. Right now Christian Fiction e-books are selling for prices as low as $10--almost $4 less than the average softcover. While e-readers are high-priced, if you're constantly buying books it will pay for itself within several purchases. The best deal I ever received was when I paid $11 for Ted Dekker's The Bride Collector, which sold for $27 in hard-back (as a newer title, hardback was the only option). 
      Plus, Christian publishers are more generous in offering some great freebie titles on an almost weekly basis! I've been a proud Kindle owner for almost nine months now, racking up 153 fiction items on my device. Out of those 153 titles, I've only paid for 18 of them. The books I did paid for have never cost more than $11.00. I usually paid $3, $6, and even $7 for them (I bought David Platt's Radical for $1 in a limited deal). Almost all e-reader stores have some kind of freebie titles they offer regularly for their devices. Some of the best and most popular e-readers to choose from are the Kindle or the Nook. If you'd like to learn about the various e-readers to choose from, here's an article from PCWorld published in December. To learn more about the Kindle or freebies, click here. 


2. E-reader apps. Not ready to purchase an e-reader yet, but still want the deals? You have several options. Amazon offers their Kindle apps for free! Their apps are compatible with the Blackberry, Android, Iphone/ipod, Windows phone 7, Windows PC, and Mac. Another great option is to use Christian Book Distributors' free CBD Reader, which is also compaptible with your PC, ipad/iphone/ipod touch, or Android. Not only is CBD Reader compatible with your smartphone and PC, but also with various other e-reader devices to help you save on deals the device retailers may not be offering. Another option is to download Adobe Digital Editions onto you desktop and read e-books from there.

3. Mark your calendar! One of the best stores actively promoting Christian fiction is LifeWay. Twice a year they hold special Fiction Days filled with great titles for $5 bargains, 25% off coupons, and lower prices on newest titles. You'll find some awesome bargains! They usually host the Fiction Days sometime in October and May. A great way to stay updated on their events is to subscribe to their LifeWay Fiction Community blog. They will keep you apprised on newest releases and fiction sales. You can even print coupons from their blog!  

4. Subscriptions. Remember the days when you would receive circulars in the mail? Am I the only one who found the endless subscriptions more of a hassle than a deal saver? While you can still subscribe to retailer circulars, these days you have more options than mail coupons. Rather than receiving mail from your favorite retailer, go to their website and subscribe to their e-newsletters and updates. You'll find some great savings in these newsletters. If you ever want to stop receiving the updates all you have to do is unsubscribe--it's as simple as that! Don't want to wade through tons of emails to receive coupons and deals? Then check out the website DealNews.com. DealNews allows you to create a profile and select certain stores to add to it. When those stores offer deals or coupons, they'll alert you. If you don't want your inbox crowded with endless alerts, you can have it sent as an RSS feed instead. Also, don't forget about your Facebook and Twitter options. Following your favorite or most frequented retailer through social media is a great way to learn about new deals. 

5. Bookswaps  Book-swapping is becoming a social trend. While there are some great sites to swap books, such as Bookmooch, I tend to stick with the social networking site Goodreads. Some more book-swapping sites are Paperback Swap, Title Trader, and Read it Swap it.

6. Libraries The greatest way to save money on books is through libraries. If your public library offers a limited selection in Christian fiction titles, you can always request they order the title you're interested in. Most libraries will allow you to do so. 

7. Bargain Books Most retailers have some type of Bargain books on a regular basis. While some stores, like Barnes and Nobles, will display these books in a highly visible area, you may have to search to find them in others. When a store has multiple copies of the same book sold as low as $3.29, usually it means they have too many unsold copies--and they need to get rid of them! The best time to find overstocked books is when publishing companies are about to release their newest titles (usually done seasonally or monthly). The release of new titles forces the store to either re-locate these books somewhere in their store or on someone else's shelf--particularly yours. LifeWay usually displays some of their bargain books in the front, but I recently found a whole bunch of titles (even newer ones) tucked away in the back. Books-A-Million usually does a good job of displaying their bargain books on a long table or even off to the side. 

8. Enter Giveaways While this tip is more of a gamble, it's still an ideal way to save money. Most blogs, authors, and even publishers will offer some type of giveaway. Blogs usually offer giveaways on a weekly or monthly basis. Authors do it frequently, but not as often as blogs. Publishers. . . well, whenever they feel like it. If you subscribe to feeds from your favorite book blogs, then you should receive an update on their giveaways. Shelf Life is currently offering a monthly giveaway. You can also discover a list of giveaways on Goodreads, where you can browse their books by tag. For blog giveaways on Goodreads, you can find a great list here. Some other sites are Free Blog Giveaways, The Giveaway Galley, The Giveaway Corner, and Prizey.

9. Read the First Chapters As people who love books, we know that the first chapter has the power to hook you and determine if you want to buy the book or not. While most retailer websites offer first chapter previews of a book, sometimes they offer precious little to read. If you plan on making a digital purchase or even heading to the store to buy a book, make sure your interest is well invested in the book. Scribd offers lengthy previews of certain books. Definitely set up a profile to see the first chapters. I think it's well worth it. 

10. Book Reviews While this method is the most time consuming, for those who enjoy writing and are experienced enough in what makes a good story, I highly recommend this. For most publishers, you must have a blog with active readers. Some great programs for book reviews are the Waterbrook/Multnomah Blogging for Books, Thomas Nelson's Booksneeze, and Tyndale's Blog Network. 


So, what tips do you have to save books? I'd love to hear about deals that you've found. 

A Simple Suggestion

I'm writing this blog post from my mobile--which is awesome!


Anyway, I thought I would use this time to drop a suggestion to those of you who read these posts.