Gleaning New Writing Projects from What You've Planted and Harvested in the Past

Gleanings!

This month "Gleanings" is on my mind. There's a reason for that.

On my other blog I've been studying and writing about the "Shemitah." I'm currently reading a nonfiction book about it titled The Mystery of the Shemitah by Jonathan Cahn.

I know what you're thinking: "What the heck is the Shemitah?!"

I'm so glad you ask. The Shemitah is a year-event and also a day-event. The Shemitah is the 7th year in a 7-year cycle on the Jewish/Hebrew calendar. And for those Jewish people following the Old Testament regulations, they let the land rest through the 7th year or the Shemitah year. Just as in the weekly calendar God instructed one day of rest per 7-day week, in the same pattern He instructed them to let the land rest through the seventh year in a 7-year "week" of years, Of course this also meant the people would rest through that year because they did not work the land. But they still had to eat, right?

What do they eat? Whatever grew. On its own. The gleanings.

They still had to do some work because they had to go out and gather the gleanings, but they do not work the land and all the land belongs to all the people to glean wherever they want to.

The whole Shemitah is really an exercise in faith. The Jewish people had to believe that God would provide for them during that year...and the next until they planted and another harvest came in.

The last day of the Shemitah year is also an event. At the end of this day, all the debts are forgiven. It's a national financial re-set. Whoever owes money is set free from that debt. And whoever is owed money releases it. It's an object lesson of how the Lord God releases the sin-debt of those who trust in Him and He gives us rest. The word shemitah translated means "the Lord's release."

Did you know we are currently living in a Shemitah year? As a matter of fact, because the Jewish calendar begins in the fall of the year (last September) we are almost half way through the Shemitah year, which will end Sunday, September 13, 2015. The exact mid-point of this Shemitah year is March 20th, so it seems appropriate to talk about the Shemitah and gleanings this month. (Plus, I only just now thought about applying this to my writing.)

Gleanings for Writers

Okay, I know what you're thinking: "Enough with the Bible lesson. What does that have to do with us as writers?"

My study of the Shemitah caused "gleanings" to be on my mind. Suddenly I realized I already am gleaning in my writing. (Tweet that!) But it also gave me an awesome idea to glean another project from my past writing. (Tweet that!) Let me explain, and then we'll toss around some ideas for how you might glean new writing projects from what you've already planted and harvested in the past. (Tweet that!)

Turn Gleanings into E-Books

How to Get Published

When I thought about gleaning in my writing, I realized I already am gleaning with my series of "Getting Published" e-books I'm releasing. You've already seen two of my titles that have released.

Glean from a Pamphlet

The first e-book I made, "How to Get Published," was gleaned from a pamphlet I wrote back in 2003, printed on 11 x 17 paper, folded as multi-page pamphlets, and sold at writers conferences. I  took the same information, updated it, and released it as a Kindle book last year. It continues to sell well on Kindle.

only $.99
Cutting the Passive Voice

Glean from an Article

The second e-book, "Cutting the Passive Voice," came out a few months ago. The information for this little Kindle book was gleaned from an article I wrote back in the '90s. It was published a few times in small Christian writer's magazines. It's still good and helpful information and I wanted to share it with more writers and make it available to a much larger audience. I still owned all the rights to it, so I renewed and refreshed it, added a little more information, and formatted it into a Kindle book. It's been selling quite well since its release, which is exciting and encourages me to do more.

Glean from a Workshop You Teach

You may remember I ask through a survey which e-book you'd like me to create next and I gave three options. Here are the results so far:

• Ten Tools for Marketing Your Book - 83% of votes
• The Shape of Story: How to Shape your Novel's Story to Make a Great Screenplay - 17% of votes
• Query Letters: How to Write the Query (and Cover) Letter You Dread to Magazine Editors and Book Publishers - 8% of votes

You can vote for more than one which is why they add up to more than 100%.

For the first two I will glean material from workshops I teach on those topics. The project on Query Letters I will glean from another pamphlet I wrote back in 2003.

Book Signings
Pre-Order now!

Glean from a Blog

While I waited for the survey results to come it, I've been working on another e-book. Book Signings: How to Set Up Your In-Store Author Event and What to Do While You're There! contains a ton of information I gleaned from three different posts on this blog.

While the material is already available for free here on the blog, I feel there's value in gathering it all together into one product for easy access instead of the reader having to hop around searching on this blog. Besides, I'm sure there are a lot of readers who don't even realize this information is available here so they don't know to go searching for it. Plus, readers can keep the e-book handy on their e-reader for easy reference when needed. Furthermore, I believe the e-book will reach a whole new audience of authors who can use the information but who don't even know about this blog. Therefore it may even bring new readers to the blog.

This e-book isn't completely ready to go at this date, but it is available for pre-order right now. That means you can order it and you will receive it as soon as it releases.

What has me especially excited right now is that while I was thinking about the Shemitah, and while I suddenly thought to apply "gleanings" to my writing, I realized I have a TON of information on my other blog about the Shemitah, the current tetrad of lunar eclipses (being called the "Blood Moons"), the 7 Feasts of the Lord on which these eclipses are falling, the solar eclipse on March 20 at the mid-point of the Shemitah year, and so much more along with the spiritual and prophetic meaning of it all. Again, all this information is spattered through many posts over the past year on my Bible Prophecies Fulfilled blog. So why not gather all of that information into an e-book?!

Again, this is a ton of writing and research I have already completed. I can organize all this information for easy reading in one place so readers can find it easily and keep it on their e-reader for easy access. I can reach a whole new audience. This will give me another income stream. And I can bring readers to my blog who don't know about it right now. Why didn't I think of this e-book before?! You can bet I'll be at work on it to get it out as soon as I can.

What Do You Have to Glean?

So the question for you is, what material do you have that's already written that you could re-purpose into a Kindle e-book and share with the world? (Tweet that!) And it doesn't have to be material that has already been published. What about that project of your heart that never got published? You can make your material available on platforms other than Kindle through Smashwords.com. I learned how to format for Kindle by printing out their instructions. It's not that hard. In fact, I put those printed instructions in page-protectors and in a small notebook and I refer to them and walk through them step by step whenever I'm making a new Kindle book.

Turn Gleanings into Videos

If you follow my other blog, you saw in my December posts that I created videos for my posts for the Christmas Advent season.

What material can you glean that you can turn into videos? You can take your writing material and tell it to your laptop's camera, edit it on YouTube.com, and upload it to YouTube. Then you can share that video on your blog, your web site, on Facebook, and probably other places I haven't thought of.

When you say it in video, you reach an entirely new audience. Many people don't want to read. They want to see and hear. So glean material from your books, articles, blogs, and more and make a video. Even if you're only reading your article or a section of a book!

I've been asked to make some of my Bible Prophecy Fulfilled blog posts into videos by just reading them. I haven't got that far yet but I'd like to. That way busy people can hear me read my own blog posts while they are busily doing something else.

It works. It's a whole new audience. What material do you have that would make a great video or series of short videos?

Turn Gleanings into Articles

Perhaps all writers have an abundance of material we've gathered and researched for writing projects. What work have you already done that you can glean articles from?

Or, can you take some material you've put into articles and create other material from it, such as an e-book or series of blog posts?

Can you take your fiction and make it into a series of short stories for your blog or a series of short e-books? (Tweet that!)

Turn Gleanings into Books and More

We've talked about gleaning material you've written and creating e-books. But what about print books? Do you have an abundance of material you can gather together and have enough for a print book? (Tweet that!)

You could add more material, if you want. Update it. Freshen it.

What can you add? Maybe add an appendix, list, or chart. For my new Book Signings e-book I added a list I use when preparing for an in-a-bookstore book signing. That list is material that I haven't published before. It's not on this blog. So it's added value to the e-book.

For the e-book on the Blood Moons and all that related information, I think I'll add a Leader's Guide to the back of the book. That will be new material I will need to create, but it will help readers share the incredibly important information in the book. It will make it easier to lead a discussion with a group of interested people.

Maybe you can glean from stories you've written and use them to create a screenplay or take your nonfiction and make a documentary. The ideas truly are endless.

Renew and Release

Take a fresh look at the material you've already produced. Take a special look at the unpublished material you've created that has never found a home to be published in. Review it. Glean from it. Renew and refresh it. Reuse it. Re-purpose it. Then release it to accomplish that purpose for which it was created.

May your gleanings of new writing projects from what you've already planted and harvested in the past provide you with an abundant blessing of new products, new readers benefiting from your work, and new income streams!

Keep Your Eye on the Ball: One Sentence that Can Elevate Your Writing to New Heights

I'm a football fan. Are you? For this analogy, pretty much any sport will do. I love to watch professional and college football in the fall and winter. My husband is a big baseball fan. One thing I've notice over and over again is that if a ball player does not keep his or her eye on the ball (or puck or whatever), they are not going to catch that pass or hit that ball out of the park.

You've got to keep your eye on the ball. Look it all the way in – to your arms to catch that pass, or to your mitt to catch that ball, or to your bat to get that hit.

When a player misses a catch or swings and misses, watch the replay. Watch his or her eyes. Most of the time, their eyes leave the ball before it gets there. They are already thinking about what they are going to do once they get the ball and their eyes betray that thought. They begin to take that action, but… They don't actually have the ball yet. And so they drop the ball, or don't catch it, or don't make contact. Consequently they never get to make the move they had planned out in their head.

It's all about focus.

How do you fix it? Sometimes it's a great idea to go back to basics. In fact, I don't think we get back to basics nearly often enough. If we could remind ourselves of lessons learned in the past more often, we'd probably do much better in the now.

All of this applies to writing. One of the best things I learned about writing very early in my career in a writing class I took was about "Thesis Statements." (Tweet that!) I don't hear much about thesis statements any more. But they have not lost their importance, so let's talk about a good thesis sentence.

It might be a common thought (I'm not sure. You can check me on this one.) that thesis statements are most often thought of for nonfiction writing, especially, for example, the essay. But I think writers who create a thesis statement for whatever they are writing, whether it's for a nonfiction book, or even if it's for fiction whether short stories, books, or screenplays, come out with a much stronger piece of writing. (Tweet that!)

Because the term "thesis statement" often causes people's eyes to glaze over, I sometimes call them "focus statements." More recently the term "a one-sentence" has cropped up with the advent of "one-pages." (Tweet that!)

What is a Thesis Statement?

A thesis or focus statement is stating the single main idea that you want to communicate through your nonfiction article, book, or fictional story in one sentence.

It is a specific sentence, not a vague one. It is a complete sentence, not a word or phrase.

Not: We should all create a thesis statement.

But: When writers created a thesis statement or focus sentence, their writing becomes more focused, better communicates what they set out to say, and leaves concrete thoughts for their audience.

A good thesis statement limits your content to communicating only what is relevant in this piece of writing. A thesis statement not only gives the idea of what you're going to write about, but also hints at your position on the topic as well as your purpose in writing.

Nailing Down a Thesis Statement

Sometimes a writer knows exactly what he or she wants to say and can state it right off the bat (pun intended). I think this is a talent, and for writers who have that talent I think it is one many writers don't know they possess.

For me, more often than not I have to write and rewrite and brainstorm and toss out and re-do a thesis or focus statement before I find it. This, for me, is pure agony. (Tweet that!) But when I finally find it, it's that sweet feeling just like you get when you hit the ball with the sweet spot on the bat and you know you just knocked it out of the park. (Tweet that!)

For some of you reading this I suspect you think that's crazy. What do you mean you don't know what your thesis statement is? Don't you know what you want to write about?!

I know. It sounds crazy to me too. Writing a thesis statement has always been a bit of a mystery for me. (Tweet that!) I should know what I want to write about, shouldn't I? I should know what I want to say. I guess the way I'd try to explain it would be to say that ideas are vague. They float around in the air and refuse to be captured. They are elusive. And so I can't capture a solid idea until I nail it down. And I can't nail it down until I get it on paper.

It's a struggle for me. So if this comes easy to you, you're one of the lucky ones.

What To Do With a Thesis Statement 

Thesis Statements for Nonfiction Writers

When I'm writing nonfiction, especially a short piece like an article, most of the time the thesis statement will fit into the article somewhere close to the beginning. It's part of introducing the idea of the article.

It's possible for a thesis statement to come more toward the end of an article, probably as part of the wrap-up, but that's rare. I can't think of a time that worked for me.

For nonfiction book writers, the thesis of the book most probably fits at the beginning of the book as the subject is introduced. But the nonfiction book writer then has much more work to do, because there would also be a thesis statement for each chapter in the book. That's one thesis statement for the overall book and a separate thesis statement for each chapter.

Even though I've been writing for over twenty-five years now, I have to confess that to this day at times I still forget to write a thesis statement. I blame part of this on the fact that it is not a natural thing for me to do. That's because I still think I should know what I'm writing about and what I want to say when I start writing, right? So for me to have to stop and figure out what it is I really want to say or what I'm really trying to say still feel crazy to me. But I can tell you this: If I will remember, and stop, and go back to basics, and write a thesis statement, then my writing becomes much easier! Then I know what I'm trying to say. I've nailed it down. And I can say it. In words. On paper.

After that agonizing exercise, I can then spend my time writing and fleshing out and explaining to the reader why that statement is important and relevant to them.

So what do you do with your thesis statement? After figuring it out, after writing it down, then print it out and tape it to your computer monitor so it is right there in front of you all the time. Keep your eye on your thesis. This will help you focus. It will help you stay on track. You'll instinctively know when you're headed down a rabbit trail and you can get back on track. This will save you writing time, effort, and many unusable words. (Tweet that!)

When the time and place is appropriate, you can stick your thesis statement into your writing so that your reader will know exactly what you're saying, what you're doing, and where you're going. That's a great place to be, and after that you'll most likely knock it out of the park!

Thesis Statements for Fiction Writers

Most of the time I've heard thesis statements discussed (which is pretty rare, actually), the discussion has been for or about nonfiction writers. But I believe this same principal applies to fictions writers also, whether you're writing a short story, a novel, or a screenplay.

Every story has a thesis. (Or it should.) Even though it's fiction, it's still going somewhere. It still has a message. A story without a message is just a bunch of happenings with no meaning.

And if you try to put too much into your story, then you're trying to cover too much and the true meaning of what you want to communicate gets muddled and lost.

So if you're a fiction writer, I would still encourage you to perform this exercise of writing a thesis or focus statement for your story. (Unlike for nonfiction writers, I don't believe you need a separate thesis statement for every chapter because your story is one cohesive whole, unlike a nonfiction book where each chapter speaks to a different aspect of the whole.)

Here, I think we can take a lesson from screenwriters. When writing a screenplay, screenwriters are often required to also write a "logline." In my mind, this is pretty much the same thing as a thesis or focus statement.

A logline is a one-sentence summary of the story. It's what you see on your TV guide that describes the movie or episode.

It is a complete sentence. It doesn't need to name your characters but it does need to give an idea of who the main character is, the journey she is on, the story problem that needs solved, and hint at the resolution. (That's probably not a comprehensive idea of how to write a logline. But it's a start.) Here's my attempt at an example. See if you can figure out what story it is for:

A lonely Kansas farm girl is whisked away by a twister to a fantasy land and must find her way back home.

Again, for you fiction writers, write your focus statement out and tape it to your monitor as your work. Unlike nonfiction writers who would include it in their written piece, your focus statement may never actually appear in words. However it will keep you on track to tell your story. It will keep you from chasing rabbits. It will help you focus on the story you're trying to tell and will keep all other thoughts from creeping in and muddling your main, focused idea. You'll come out with a much more cohesive story.

Thesis Statements are Different from Topics, Themes, and Tag Lines

To help define a thesis statement, it's helpful to know it is not a "topic," a "theme," or a "tag line."

A topic and a theme are most often a single word or a simple phrase.

These are topics:

• Homelessness
• Domestic Abuse

These are themes:

• Love conquers all.
• Hope never dies.

A tag line for screenwriters is not the same as a logline. A logline is the term used for a one-sentence summary of the story that an employee at a production company used to log in a script when it arrived in the mail. (Not sure that's done much anymore because we don't mail scripts much anymore, but that's where the term came from.) A "tag line" is what goes on the movie poster.

This is a tag line:

• Every man dies. Not every man truly lives. (Braveheart)

Again, a thesis statement or a focus sentence, like a logline, is always a complete sentence.

What To Do With Those Rabbit Trails

I know what you're thinking. You're thinking about all those wonderful thoughts, ideas, story threads, characters, etc. that you discover along the way of writing that don't fit within your thesis statement. What about those? What should we do with those? Surely we don't just take all those wonderful ideas and throw them away! No, of course not.

You are likely to have many "left overs" (post Thanksgiving Day pun intended). Don't dismiss or throw those away. They are so wonderful and useful. Just because they don't fit (according to your thesis statement) into what you're currently writing doesn't mean you can't use them.

Here are some ideas of what you can do with what doesn't fit:

For nonfiction writers: 

• Use them for a sidebar to accompany your main article. 
• Use them for an additional article. 
• Possibly make a series of related articles.

For fiction writers: 

• Use those ideas for a sequel* or a prequel.* 
• Use them for another story in a series.* 
• Or use them in another story all together. As I was developing one story I want to write, I had one scene in my head that I loved but it just didn't seem to fit. I lifted that scene out of my story and guess what? I built a completely different, unrelated story out of that scene.

*A sequel follows a story. A prequel predates a story. A series is the same related story with the same characters but doesn't require following the first story; stories in a series can be read in any order.

More Help

If you're able to write what you believe is your thesis statement right off the bat, that's great. But don't be afraid to work with it, massage it, refine it. You might come out with a deeper thesis that takes your writing to another level.

If you're like me and struggle to nail down that thesis statement, then understand that often it emerges with the writing, thinking, and brainstorming. This means I might be constantly rewriting and refining my thesis statement well into the writing process. Still, I push to nail my thesis as early as possible because having that statement clearly expressed in concrete terms guides everything else. So having my statement nailed down can save me a lot of wasted work of writing what is not on target.

As with your larger writing of articles, chapters, books, and screenplays, when it comes to your thesis statement: Rewrite. Revise. Repeat.

When you finally hit that thesis statement that is what you're really trying to say, you'll know it when you nail it.

Now, if I could just remember to write a thesis statement or focus sentence every time I begin developing an article, book, or story. I'd rather forget about it and avoid it, because for me it's such hard work. But when I do it, everything after is so much easier. I guess I need to type out "Write a Thesis Statement!" and tape that to my monitor. Or perhaps tattoo it on my forehead.

SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT: 

Another Helpful Back-To-Basics Technique

I'm very excited to let you know that I have a new e-book coming out on Kindle! It is titled Cutting the Passive Voice: How to Convert Passive Voice to Active Voice to Improve and Add Power to Your Writing.

Book 2 in the
"Getting Published" series

If you remember my article “Cutting the Passive Voice,” which was originally published in 1996 and was reprinted several times and that I used as a handout in some of my workshops, that is the basis for this little e-book. I added to it and fleshed it about a bit more. I added a few more exercises.

I wanted to make this information accessible to many more people, so I'm making it into a small e-book that costs only $ .99. I can reach a much larger audience and get this helpful information to many more writers with an e-book on platforms like Amazon.com. However I'm keeping it inexpensive so there will be absolutely no barrier for anyone who needs it to get it.

As we're talking about "back to basics," this is a great technique to use as you edit, revise, and refine your writing (both fiction and nonfiction). I go through my manuscripts searching out the passive voice as one of my final revisions. I can't tell you how much this will improve your writing.

Using passive voice is a natural way most writers write. I see it over and over again in beginning and advanced writers. If you don't recognize passive voice, you won't know how to change it. But I can testify from personal experience that if you cut most of the passive voice in your writing, people will notice! They won't know what you have done, but they will notice your writing is more lively, fun, and exciting.

Cutting the Passive Voice e-book is not for English majors who already know what passive voice is and what to do about it. This is a guide for the rest of us.

This little e-book not only explains in easy-to-understand layman's terms what passive voice is, it gives you several easy ways to change it into active voice that brings your writing alive.

Trust me. This will be the best .99 cents you every spent on your writing.

Cutting the Passive Voice is scheduled to release on December 17, 2014, but you can pre-order it right now. It will then be delivered to your Kindle device (or computer with the free Kindle reader) as soon as it releases. So order now! And please invite your writing friends to check it out as well. (Tweet that!)

"Getting Published" series:

• How to Get Published by Magazines & Book Publishers: Find Markets, Submit Your Manuscripts, and More (Getting Published 1)
• Cutting the Passive Voice: How to Convert Passive Voice to Active Voice to Improve and Add Power to Your Writing (Getting Published Book 2)

"In Between" Times - Time to Refresh Your Heart and Spirit

Morguefile.com

Most of the time when we attend writer's conferences, we're looking for help to get our writing careers moving. We want to find out how to take the next step, how to open the next door of opportunity. Or maybe we've found the opportunities already and we're looking for information, skills, or techniques to maximize them: how to use social networking to get known, how to sell more books... But sometimes, we're in an "in between" time. Maybe we're in between major projects, or major disappointments. (Tweet that!) Or maybe we're simply in between where we have been and are deciding where to go next. Possibly we're tired, headed for burnout (or already there), and need our hearts and spirits refreshed somehow. (Tweet that!)

That's pretty much where I was this year leading up to the Colorado Christian Writers Conference. After experiencing some major disappointments, after seeing work I had lined up evaporate before my eyes (like so many others), I'm in an "in between" time. In between projects. In between disappointments. That's not a bad place to be. It's a good time to re-evaluate, and perhaps gain a new or fresh perspective.

So when I went to the Colorado Christian Writers Conference this year, I didn't schedule any appointments to meet with any editors or agents. I didn't plan to pitch any new ideas. As a faculty member, I met with other conferees who wanted my help and advice, but I also blocked off times for no meetings so I could attend workshops. And even with that, my time slots to meet with others weren't filled completely like they often are. While it was still a very busy time, I took time out to seek what I wanted and needed.

So what did I want or need? This year, I wanted something refreshing. Instead of more "how to" information on how to write a better book or how to sell more or how to get a foothold in a larger chunk of the publishing world, I wanted something refreshing like a cool drink of water for a parched and thirsty soul. I didn't know what that would be, but I was hoping to find it.

I wasn't disappointed.

Before the conference, I looked at all the workshops offered, hoping to find something new to fill that dry, empty place in me. I found a couple of continuing sessions that looked refreshing. (A "continuing session" is five workshops - totaling 6 hours - throughout the conference by the same presenter on the same topic.) I settled on the one offered by Allen Arnold called "The Heart of the Storyteller." Allen also was the keynote speaker Thursday morning, and he titled his talk "Awakening the Writer's Heart." Allen's workshops were everything I was hoping for.

I'd like to offer you a taste of what I gleaned from Allen's first workshop and his keynote.

Allen began by talking about our "calling" as writers. He meant, of course, our calling from or by God. I realize not everyone who reads this blog is a Christian. If you're not a Christian, I hope you won't tune out. I hope you'll read on, out of curiosity if nothing else. Because I guess I'll just go ahead and admit here publicly that whenever Christian writers begin to talk about being "called" by God to write, I get the nervous crawlies in the pit of my stomach. (Tweet that!)

That's because in my opinion hearing a "calling" from God can be tricky business. Some Christians carefully discern what they hear from God and that's good. Sometimes people make assumptions that what they "hear" is from God. When people talk about "callings," it's hard for the rest of us to tell the difference, so it's important to be discerning ourselves.

I liked that Allen Arnold talked to us about being "called" by God to write. In twenty-five years, I've heard little or no talking done about it. And it's such an important topic. Doesn't it deserve some discussion, if not some training in how to discern whether or not we've been called by God to write? (Or been called by Him to any other area?)

In my experience, it seems that when you jump into Christian publishing, if you stick around for a while then there's an assumption that you've been "called" to write. (Some people come to Christian writers conferences and discover they have not been called to write, and that's okay too. That's an important discovery to make, and it's progress on the journey to whatever path God calls us to.)

I can't tell you how many times I've heard someone say to me, just in passing conversation, that I've been called to write. Again, the nervous crawlies in my stomach. Not so fast there, partner. Just because I'm doing this, and have been for twenty-five years now, doesn't mean we can assume God called me to write.

Honestly, I've never know what it sounds like to hear God call a person to write. So it was really interesting to hear some of the others in the class talk about how God called them. Some of they heard it "audibly," as in that Voice you can hear in your head sometimes that is clearly outside of you and is clearly God speaking to you alone. Some of you have experienced that. Others described circumstances that made it clear this is what God wanted them to do. One described actually seeing the Lord when He told her to write.

It must be nice to have such wonderful, concrete assurance that writing is what you're "supposed" to be doing. ("Supposed" is in quotes there because God loves us right where we are, meaning He loves us even if we're not "doing" for Him. But anyway...)

Allen Arnold challenged us to go  back and remember when and how God "called" us to write. Then he followed that by asking us, "Why did you say yes?" (Tweet that!) Because the "why" behind something is more important than the "what," he said.

Allen said that another way to think of a "calling" from God is as an invitation to join Him. What is He inviting you to join Him in creating?

Does that sound like a totally new take to you? It did to me. A refreshing new take. Allen said (please keep in mind this is from my own memory and so filtered through my own thoughts), that no matter what profession (or "calling") you are in, the real thing God is calling each of us to is intimacy with Him.  (Tweet that!) I know that is true.

So when you look at "calling," and the question "What is God calling me to?," it becomes more of a question of "What can we create together?" And in that act of creation, together with God, we work with Him and get to know Him better and so we come to a more intimate relationship with Him.

To me, this is such a refreshing idea! Why? Because it takes the pressure off. Instead of having a list of...or several piles of...projects sitting out there before me, and instead of asking, "Okay God. Which of this projects are you calling me to complete?," the question becomes, "What do you want to do together?"

God is inviting (calling) you to do something with Him. Together. Just the two of you. And it may be for just the two of you. Or it may be something you will share with the rest of us when you're done. It doesn't matter. What matters is spending time with Him, your loving Father, and doing something together that let's you spend time together. That lets you discover more of Him -- His gentleness. His kindness. His amazing creativity. Perhaps at the top of the list of importance is discovering that yes, He wants to be in conversation with you. Speaking with you. Communicating with you! Creating with you.

I remember Allen paining this beautiful scene with his words to us: Imaging that you're in a beautiful place, and before you is a coral with a couple of horses. They are all saddled and ready to go. At the far end of the coral, sitting on the top rail, with his cowboy hat shading his face, is the Lord God. And He simply asks you one question: "Do you want to ride?"

Everything is there. He has provided it all. It's waiting. It's ready to go. And if you want to go for a ride with Him, then get on a horse and let's ride. But if you don't want to... If you're not ready, or if you're afraid, or if there's any other "if," that's okay. He's not going to be upset with you or angry. He'll wait. In the cool of the day, in the beauty of the surroundings, He's just asking, "Do you want to go for a ride?"(Tweet that!)

I love that.

So this month, as the cool beauty of spring heads into the heat of summer, I hope you'll take some time "in between." Get some rest. Enjoy the beauty around you. Refresh. Remember why you're writing. Have you been "called" by God? If yes, when? How? Why did you say yes? (Tweet that!)

If not, or if you're not sure, ask Him. Ask God what He has invited you to do with Him. Not for Him. Not to give to Him when it's done. But create with Him. Then really listen. These may be ideas that you need to wrestle with Him about. I know I do. And believe it or not, I find that wrestling refreshing.

Thanks, Allen Arnold, for your teaching last week. I'm still drinking it in.

As a matter of fact, I purchased all five of Allen's workshops on CDs so I could hear them again (and again) and hear the parts I missed due to other conference happenings. Even if you weren't there, you can order these CDs here: Colorado Christian Writers Conference 2014 CD Order Form. You want to order the first line under "Continuing Sessions": "Heart of the Storyteller - Allen Arnold" (C1A through C1E). That's five CDs.

So what do you say? Do you want to ride?

Related Articles:

You may also be interested in this interview with Allen Arnold by Donna Brennan.

• Nurturing the Heart of the Storyteller - Part 1
• Nurturing the Heart of the Storyteller - Part 2

Reminders and Fun New Stuff !

• If you haven't seen it yet, my newest book is now available. You can find it at the usual online stores or order it from your local bookstore. See it here on Amazon: Prophecies Fulfilled in the Life of Jesus. When you get it, read the last seven chapters first! That's where I wrote about the lunar eclipses. The first of the four occurred on April 15th. You can learn about their spiritual importance in those seven chapters on the seven Feasts of the LORD.

• Remember my new e-book for beginners wishing to get started in publishing. This is a new, updated copy of my popular "The Basics for Beginners" pamphlet sold at writers conferences. You can find it on Amazon for Kindle: How to Get Published by Magazines & Book Publishers. It's only $2.99. No Kindle? No Problem.

• Looking for a fun new way to share your books, blogs, or other products? My new Moo mini-business cards were a huge hit at the conference. Moo will print up to 100 different images on the back of a single pack of mini cards using their "Printfinity" option. I used this to put the covers of my three latest "Prophecies Fulfilled" books on new cards, and then on the other side I put information about my new "Bible Prophecies Fulfilled" blog.  If you want some Moo mini business cards, please use my affiliate link here:  

Shop MOO MiniCards

• Finally, if you haven't checked out my new blog yet, you might be interested in it: www.BiblePropheciesFulfilled.blogspot.com. Thanks for stopping by!

How to Write and Get Published by Magazines and Book Publishers

© Medaphoto | Dreamstime Stock Photos  

I have some news to share that I'm very excited about! Very soon I'm going to release the first in a series of new e-books.

(Update 2/7/2014: This e-book is now available!)

The title of the first e-book in my "Getting Published" series for writers is:

How to Get Published by Magazines & Book Publishers: 

Find Markets, Submit Your Manuscripts, and More

How to Get Published by
Magazine & Book Publishers E-book

Last month I promised we'd talk about the basics of getting started in publishing whether you want to write for magazines or books. That information is below under the headline "The Basics of How to Get Published in Magazines and Books." It is excerpted from the new e-book. Between here and there is more information about my coming new series of e-books for writers. If you prefer to go straight to the "How do I get published?" information, please feel free to scroll down.

About My New "Getting Published" Series of E-Books

You may have noticed that sometimes in this blog I write on topics where I've learned something new and interesting and I think it will help you in your writing too (such as using social media like Twitter, Facebook, and Goodreads to promote our writing). Other times I post on topics that I've been asked over and over again in my twenty-five years in this business, One of the questions I get a lot is from people asking me how they can get started in writing for publication and get published by magazines and/or get their books published.

I always love to help someone else get started and I love to share what I've learned, but I find I'm giving out the same information repeatedly to one person at a time. Wouldn't it be great if I had some way to give people the information they're seeking without me having to go through it again and again? Wouldn't it be nice--and more efficient for me--to have a place to point people to where they would find all the information I have to offer already there waiting for them?

Through the years I've looked for, and have developed, ways to give the information. In 2003 I developed and wrote five pamphlets in my "Help for Writers" series that I printed on 8 1/2 x 11 inch paper, 8 to 12 pages each, and sold at writer's conferences for $3.95. Hopefully they are inexpensive enough that anyone who needed one could afford it. They have been, and continue to be, very good sellers and I've received many wonderful, positive comment from writers on how these pamphlets have helped them. While I intend to keep them available, I also intend to update and revise where needed since a more than a few things in publishing have changed in the past decade.

Also in 2003, I taught a one-day seminar a couple of times on "Writing for Publication." We recorded that presentation and I've sold that on cassette tapes bundled with the handouts.

I continue to offer the original five pamphlets and the taped seminar (though supplies of the seminar are limited). The titles are:

• The Basics for Beginners: How to Find Markets, Submit your Manuscripts, and Keep Track of it All (c. 2003, $3.95)
• Conquering the Dreaded Query Letter: How to Write Query and Cover Letters (c. 2003, $3.95)
• How to Market Your Reprints (c. 2003, $3.95)
• How Do I "Show, Don’t Tell"? (c. 2003, $3.95)
• Should I Become a Writer? How Can I Decide? (c. 2003, $3.95)
• and the "Writing for Publication: How to Find Markets and Submit Your Work" taped seminar (c. 2003, $24.99) 

  

Making the New, Revised "Getting Published" Editions More Easily Available!

While these products have been wonderful to take to writer's conferences or wherever I teaching writing seminars, making them available to many more people has been more challenging. I can and do ship them upon request and payment through PayPal, but that process is cumbersome, as is the job of simply letting people know they are available. (I haven't done much of that lately, so you may not have even known about these products.)

There has to be a better way, right? Well there is. I am converting these pamphlets to e-books, and revising and updating them in the process. The first e-book will release very soon--just as soon as I have it and the new cover ready.

I'm very pleased that I'll be releasing not only these five pamphlets and the seminar in e-book form, but I also will make available several more products based on workshops I've taught and other writing I've done. Here's a glimpse of some of those topics:

• tools for marketing your books
• strategies for how magazine writers can sell more articles
• beginning screenwriting, as well as shaping your story to work great as a movie

I hope those topics excite you! Which would you like to see sooner rather than later? Leave me a comment and let me know.

I'm making these new products available as e-books for Amazon's Kindle, because that's the easiest, most cost-effective way for me to do this. Don't have a Kindle? No problem! Your PC, Mac, tablet, or smart phone can read Kindle books (Amazon's e-books) if you simply download a free ap. Please visit the page on this blog called "No Kindle? No Problem" for links to download what you need.

As with the forerunners of these e-books, my series of "Help for Writers" pamphlets, these new e-books will be inexpensive enough that hopefully anyone who needs them can afford them*. I also plan to put them on sale from time to time (as allowed and limited by Amazon), so do watch for that if you need even more of a break on the price. The pamphlet-length e-books will be priced as low as possible--mostly likely $2.99. The workshop-length e-books will be a bit more.

If you're not familiar with Amazon's Kindle pricing structure, the best opportunities for authors are when their e-books are priced between $2.99 - $9.99, so that is why most Kindle books fall within those prices. It is possible, though, to price e-books outside of those price points ($ .99 minimum), and so you'll see that for various reasons--even when the book is not on sale. Amazon also allows Kindle e-books to be put on sale or made available for free for a limited number of days per annual quarter.

When the e-books become available, if you get one it would help me immensely if you would consider leaving an honest review. Reviews let others know if the product is truly helpful, valuable, and worth their investment. Reviews can be short--even a couple of sentences will do. I thank you for that in advance.

(*If you need one of my e-books or printed pamphlets but cannot afford it, please contact me privately and we'll see what we can do.)

The Basics of How to Get Published in Magazines and Books

Last month I promised we would talk about the basics of getting started in publishing whether you want to write for magazines or books. Maybe you're far from a beginner. Then you probably get asked for help from beginners like I do. The next time you meet someone who wants to get started in publishing, now you can send them to this blog post for help in doing just that.

The following is excerpted and condensed from the first e-book I'll be releasing soon. For this first e-book, I revised and updated my "Help for Writers" pamphlet titled "The Basics for Beginners: How to Find Markets, Submit your Manuscripts, and Keep Track of it All." Besides updating it, I added information to that pamphlet by combining it with my taped seminar,"Writing for Publication: How to Find Markets and Submit Your Work."

How Do I Find Magazine, Book, and Online Publishers that Want My Work?

The main way professional writers find online outlets, magazine editors, and book publishers who want their stories, articles, novels and nonfiction books, is through a "market guide." In publishing, a "market" is a place where you can sell your writing, in other words a publisher that buys work from writers like you.

Two well-known market guides are:

• the Writer's Market, published annually by Writer's Digest. This book mostly contains publishers in the general market, although it contains some markets that want Christian material
• The Christian Writer's Market Guide which contains markets that want Christian material.

These guides are like phone books containing all sorts of information for hundreds of publishers, such as all their contact information, editor's names, mailing and e-mailing addresses, and web sites. They also list important and valuable information about what the market publishes, who their audience is, whether they pay and if yes, how much.

You can buy a market guide or borrow one from your library. My advice is that your first task should be to find and read the "how to use this book" section these guides usually include. Otherwise much of the entries will be like trying to read code.

How to Know What Magazines and Book Publishers Want You to Send

After you find markets to submit your articles, stories, or books to, the next thing you will want to do is either visit the publisher's web site or contact them, if necessary, to obtain or request their "writer's guidelines." You can often find these online today.

Writer's guidelines are the instructions the publisher wants you to follow when you submit to them. If you want to get published, you need to get these before you send them anything, and then carefully follow their instructions. This is a step many writers skip, and then they wonder why their submissions are rejected. If you submit without reviewing and following the guidelines, you're probably not going to make any friends at the other end. This could brand you as amateur and cause you problems right off the bat. Professional writers do it the smart way: they get the guidelines first...and follow them.

You will also want to obtain "sample copies" for magazines and periodicals (regularly published papers) or "book catalogs" (now online) from book publishers. You'll want to study these materials carefully to determine if your material will fit the publisher. If your material currently doesn't fit, you can either tweak it to fit the publisher or find a different publisher. Never try to get a publisher to bend to fit what you're doing--that simply doesn't work. Send them only what they'll be interested in.

"Theme Lists" are editorial topics that will be covered in future issues of a magazine. When publications use a theme list, you should see if your piece of writing will fit a future theme and then let the editor know. This increases your chances of placing your writing in that publication. Another way to use theme lists is to see what themes they'll be covering and write something especially for that theme. While it doesn't guarantee the editor will purchase it, you've increases your chances and the editor will appreciate it!

Included in the e-book is more detailed information on theses topics as well as how to send for these materials whether by postal mail or e-mail, a sample request letter, tips to organize these materials, and more.

Here's a hint: As you obtain writer's guidelines, record the date on them. Occasionally editors changes these and you'll eventually end up with more than one copy in your file. You'll need to know which is the most recent.

How to Submit Your Manuscript

What you do next depends on how the publisher wants you to submit your manuscript. Some magazines allow you to submit your manuscript to them directly and at any time. Some magazine and other periodical publishers want you to send a “query letter” first.

A query letter is a one-page sales letter “selling” the editor on your article or book idea and asking for permission to submit the full article manuscript or book proposal. How to write a query letter, what to include, etc., is a detailed topic of its own. I have a helpful pamphlet on this topic with several example query letters. I'll be creating an e-book from that pamphlet in the future. Contact me for the printed pamphlet if you need that sooner.

If you are submitting your writing to a magazine or periodical publisher who works in print, here are some basic guidelines for formatting your manuscript:

• Name, address, phone, e-mail in the upper left corner. (Don't include your SSN. Keep that secure. If they need it, they'll officially request it.)
• Rights* offered and number of words in the upper right
• Title, by, and name centered, each on their own line, about a half way down the first page
• About two thirds of the way down the page begin your article
• Indent paragraphs using the ruler at the top of your word processor (not the tab key and never, ever spaces)
• Double-space your submission from the title down. (This means set your line spacing to "2." Do not hit the enter key to skip a line.)
• If submitting a hard copy via postal mail, print on one side of white paper using black ink.
• When you open your word processor (such as Word), most likely you should just leave the margins, font, etc. alone. They are already set as they should be.
• On page 2 and beyond use a header to include the title of your article (or partial), your last name, and the page number. This way if your printed pages get separated someone can put it back together.

The e-book gives tips on if you need to mail a hard copy of your manuscript, which is rarely done anymore, but sometimes that's what a publisher or literary agent wants.

If you're submitting to an online publication, basic differences from the above are:

• Rights* offered and word count also go on the left side under your contact info. (Nothing in the upper right.)
• Title, byline, and all text are left justified (nothing centered).
• No indents for paragraphs. Use "block style" and insert an extra line between paragraphs instead of indenting.

 

You can find additional helpful  information in my April 2013 blog post 8 Tips for Formatting Your Manuscripts So Editors Will Love (Not Hate) You

If you want to submit a book manuscript to a book publisher or literary agent, you will most likely need to produce a "book proposal" first. A book proposals tells the publisher or agent all about your proposed book and allows them to decide if they want to see the whole manuscript. How to write a book proposal is a huge topic of it's own. My e-book gives the basic information for what to include in book proposals. For in-depth information, there are many other resources, both books on the topic and online, to teach you how to write a quality book proposal.

Which Rights to Sell When

*A layman's discussion of the Rights you sell to your magazine or periodical articles and stories, and when to sell which rights, is included as a Bonus Article in the e-book. Here's some basic information:

• First rights means selling your piece to be printed for the first time
• Second or Reprint Right is selling a piece of writing that has been published at least once before
• One-time Rights means just that, selling your piece for one-time use. This could be your First rights or Second/Reprint rights.
• Simultaneous Rights means selling your article to more than one publication at the same time.

Know which rights you are selling and when to sell each type. In the e-book I go into when and how to use each of these types of rights to your best advantage as a writer.

Tracking Your Submissions

Once you start submitting your articles, stories, and even book proposals or manuscripts, it won't be long before you can't remember what you sent where and when. It's very important that you keep good records so you don't end up sending the same manuscript to the same editor, which really makes you look bad. So you need a good tracking system.

I use a double-entry system on index cards. For every manuscript that goes out, gets rejected, or gets accepted, I record that action in two places:

• on an index card for that manuscript
• on an index card for that market

This double entry system keeps everything I need to see what I've sent where at my fingertips. In the e-book you can see some sample mock-ups of my cards with details of how I use this system.


If you're looking to get started on your writing journey to getting published by magazine and book publishers, I hope this basic information in this blog post helps you get that solid start you're looking for. If you would like more details on each of these topics and much more, please check out my e-book, "How to Get Published by Magazines & Book Publishers: Find Markets, Submit Your Manuscripts, and More". (Now available on Amazon.com! Published February 7, 2014.)

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Related Articles

From April 2013: 8 Tips for Formatting Your Manuscripts So Editors Will Love (Not Hate) You

Welcome to this new Writing Blog that Used to be a Writing Zine!

In May of 2007,  I started the Dianne E. Butts About Writing e-zine (electronic magazine) as a free service to subscribers, delivered by e-mail. The subscription list has grown to almost 500 subscribers. While the zine was for all writers with an emphasis on how to get published, it is especially geared toward writing for Christian magazines and book publishers because that is where my expertise is.

I've been writing for Christian (and occasionally general market) magazines since 1989 and was first published in 1991. I currently have around 300 articles printed in addition to many online articles. I've contributed to nineteen books by other folks and have published two books of my own. My third book will be published less than two months from now in August 2012 and I've just won a publishing contract for a three-book series--probably to begin releasing in 2013.

Besides writing, it seems I have always had a knack for being able to share what I've learned with others in an understandable way. A teacher at heart, I love helping others get started--whether in writing to be published or in knowing the Bible and Jesus Christ. I had so many people asking me about how to get published, and I was repeating the same information so many times, that rather out of "self-defense" I started this e-zine called Dianne E Butts About Writing.

For a delivery service and e-list service, I used the very affordable (read "free"), e-list service, http://www.bravenet.com/,  for the past five years. However their needs have changed and there is less support for free users like me. I've also encountered more technical problems uploading and delivering the zine in recent months. In addition, because Bravenet is supported by ads, the ads in my zine have caused many e-mail programs to reject delivering the zine, and so I've received 40 or 60 bounces each month while my subscribers did not receive the e-zine they wanted. So with my thanks to the kind folks at Bravenet.com for their many years of service, I feel it is time to make a move.

I've decided to "go blog"!

Moving my private zine to a public blog will mean a lot of wonderful things:

• While the e-zine has been provided free to subscribers via e-mail, it has been, in a sense, a private list since people had to subscribe to receive it. 
• On a blog, more people can find us and benefit from this zine.
• I expect to have fewer technical problems and more support should I run into problems.
• I'll have more flexibility in updating columns, such as the "Writing Opportunities" and "Dianne's Writing News." Rather than having to wait for the first-of-the-month zine, I can update immediately. And you can visit and look for updates any time.
• All the columns will be available to you at any time that you need them, including "Writers Conferences," Writing Opportunities," and "Dianne's Products for Writers," (and you won't have to go searching through your inbox for the latest zine or wish you still had one you deleted).
• You can still have this zine delivered to your inbox if you wish by using the e-mail subscription box. (It may take me a while to figure out how that works. Please be patient with me!)

For the past five years, I have published the Butts About Writing zine monthly, near the first of the month, and I expect to continue posting the main zine only monthly. In the past I have rarely published another notice, and only when some piece of news, such as a writing opportunity, couldn't wait until the first of the next month. While I will continue to do my best to respect your time and not fill your inbox with frequent postings, I do think I will enjoy posting a little more often when I find a new "Writing Opportunity" or have "News" that I would like to bring to your attention.

Each month you can expect to find:

• one main article usually on a publishing or book marketing topic, although I occasionally veer into other areas such as film, for those who desire to see their written stories on the screen.
• possibly one or more shorter articles called "Sidebar(s)"
• plus many other columns posted on Pages at the tabs along the top or in the columns to the right.

Pages and columns include:

• "Writing Opportunities,"  
• what's happening with my writing in "Dianne's Writing News,"
• quotes,
• links,
• products to help you in your writing,
• and more.

The products I offer include pamphlets that I've created (soon to be e-books) to help writers and workshops I've taught, such as:

• the "Basics for Beginners" pamphlet
• "Conquering the Dreaded Query Letter" pamphlet
• "How to Market Your Reprints" for article writers
• "Ten Tools for Marketing Your Book" workshop on CD
• "Writing for Publication" taped seminar

Plus much, much more--so be sure to poke around the site.

Whether you're a long-time subscriber to the previous private list or a new friend that just found this blog, I welcome you and I hope you will find many useful posts here to help you in your writing journey and pursuit of publication.

Please feel free to invite your writing friends or writing groups to discover this blog and subscribe to receive the posts by e-mail. You'll be able to Tweet or post to Facebook your favorite posts, and I hope you will.

I'm looking forward to this new and continuing adventure with you!

May God bless your writing endeavors!

Sincerely,
Dianne