Word Praize

Article re: Patrice Gaines, My Mentor --Wanted: Women ready to renew their lives

BoomerGirl.com --Wanted: Women ready to renew their lives (click to read)

On a personal note, I feel like sharing that this article is about my good friend, publishing-world mentor, Patrice Gaines. She is the friend who forwarded my Food for the Spirit email life-stories series, to her then-literary agent, who in-turn contacted me and thus began the life of my first book, I SAY A PRAYER FOR ME: One Woman's Life of Faith and Triumph, with a major publishing house, Walk Worthy Press/Warner Books.

Change is is possible. I am a witness. I was a heroin addict but God stepped in and extacted me from a hopeless existence, gave me purpose, resurrected my dreams, and put people like Patrice in my life to help me make the transition to His thrilling plans for my life. I love her and now that you've read this article too, you understand see why I thank God for allowing our paths to intersect. She's a stunningly beautifully woman with an equally stunningly beautiful spirit!

Stanice Anderson
www.stanice.com and http://myspace.com/isayaprayerforme

Faith and Fiction

Last weekend I attended the Gospel Heritage Foundation Conference in

Washington

,

D.C.

where I shared a booth with fellow Christian fiction authors, Yolonda Tonette Sanders, Tiffany L. Warren, LaTonya Mason, and Leslie J. Sherrod. If you haven’t heard already, these ladies are phenomenal. They’re not just wonderful writers but a warm and caring spirit flows from each, and I’m proud to call them sisters. For more information about my sisters or any of their books visit, www.walkworthypress.net.

 

I’ll be joining the above mentioned authors again, this time in

Charlotte

,

N.C.

where we’ll continue with the Faith and Fiction Fellowship Tour. Bonnie Hopkins, the author of Seasons will also be participating. The dates are April 20^th and 21^st, 2007. We’ll begin with a Girl’s Night Out on that Friday evening. This portion of the event is FREE! That’s right, FREE!!! Food, fun, and fellowship for all. The authors will also be signing their books. On Saturday we’re hosting a Christian Fiction Writer’s Workshop from

9:00 am

to

2:00 pm

. The cost of the workshop is $50. To register for both or either event, send an email to faithandfictionfellowship@yahoo.com or call 704-394-2797.

If you would like to advertise your business in our full-color program book, email latonmas@aol.com for affordable options.

Thanks for tuning in. Have an awesome weekend!!

Mata Elliott is the author of forgivin’ ain’t forgettin’, published by Walk Worthy Press/Warner Books. This is her first novel.

Write Time

Working Full-Time and Writing
(or for any busy writer)

As always, remember that these tips won't all work for everyone, so pick and choose what's right for you.

How to keep learning when you're crazy-busy, part three:

As writers, we need to constantly keep up with marketing industry, as well as constantly improving our craft. But the day only has 24 hours!

Blogs are like short online articles. If you're selective about the blogs you read, you can be very efficient about keeping up with the writing market and learning more about craft and marketing.

Most blogs have an RSS feed, or you can use a service like Feedblitz and have the blog's new posts e-mailed to your Inbox. They only take a few minutes a day to read and they can help keep a busy writer informed.

There are TONS of blogs out there, entertaining, informative, or both. Here are a few writing blogs:

Brandilyn Collins delves into various aspects of writing craft and business in her Forensics and Faith blog.

Terry Whalin writes blog posts from the perspective of an industry professional.

J.A. Konrath talks about self-promotion and marketing on his blog, A Newbie's Guide to Publishing.

ChiLibris, a group of Christian novelists, has a group blog called Charis Connection where they discuss all aspects of the writing life.

Bethany House editor Dave Long discusses fiction on his popular blog, Faith In Fiction.

Novel Journey is a fabulous blog run by Gina Holmes, Ane Mulligan, and Jessica Dotta where they post interviews with other authors and marketing tips.

CAN (Christian Authors Network) has a marketing blog for writers.

The Barbour Publishing editors have a blog called The Edit Café which is a fun read as well as insight into the day-to-day workings of a publishing house.

Lynne Scanlon, a consultant in marketing and special sales to Barnes and Noble, blogs about the publishing industry at The Publishing Contrarian.

Jana Reiss, the Religion Book Review editor for Publishers Weekly, blogs at The Review Revolution.

Agent Chip MacGregor, who used to be publisher for FaithWords/Warner Faith, and who was an agent even before doing that, talks the bare truth about writing and publishing in his new blog at ChipMacGregor.com.

There are lots of other blogs, as well. Surf around the blogosphere—especially writers’ blogs, where they often list the blogs they visit the most.

Camy Tang lives in San Jose, California. She previously worked in biology research, and she is a staff worker for her church youth group. She runs the Story Sensei critique service, and her Asian chick lit novel, Sushi for One?, releases in September.