Tuesday, November 27, 2012

CHRISTIAN WRITERS TO PUBLISH NEWS & POLITICS

GUEST BLOG: Although there are many places a Christian writer can go for information regarding being published, where does one go for publishing political content? Many views of politicians reflect those of Christianity and what better way to help man and faith connect than to help bring to light those views? Putting your own pen to paper for the spiritualistic progress of faith within the government could benefit many readers. How do you go about becoming a published Christian writer for political content?

 1. Writing Skill - First and foremost you'll need to make sure your writing skills are up to par. Your heart and soul may be in the right place, but if your writing skills are bad you won't be given a second look. Practice your political writing on free websites that allow you to publish your work to be read by others. It is an excellent way to get constructive criticism from your peers and develop better writing skills.

 2. Careers - Nearly every Christian news service has a section for careers. In many cases, you will need to apply for an internship such as with the Christian Science Monitor. An internship is a great way to get your foot in the door and demonstrate how much of an asset you can be to the organization. Having various works published on free websites could help pad your resume when applying for these careers.

 3. Publish Your Own - There are various ways you can have your Christian political views line the bookshelves. By publishing your own work, you can reduce the stress of trying to find someone to do it for you. Websites like Crossbooks.com and Westbowpress.com can help you greatly in getting your work published.

 4. Start With a Blog - The more content you have published under your name, the more seriously others will view your motives. There are many ways you can start a blog to share your political views ranging from buying your own website to writing for others such as SuccessAndFailure.net. The beauty about owning and operating your own blog is that you are not restricted to the content requirements of a boss or supervisor. You can write as much as you want covering any subject you want. Your Christian political views can be brought to light using your own voice on the Internet. Although many may argue that we need to keep church and state separate. The actual meaning of that is to not allow the church to be the controlling power as it was three-hundred years ago. Even kings and queens feared the power the church held and the dark ages were filled with corruption and mass murders because of difference of views. Having faith in God isn't the same as having a government sponsored campaign to burn witches.

Author Bio: Sara Dawkins  is an active nanny as well as an active freelance writer. She is a frequent contributor of http://www.nannypro.com/.

Monday, November 26, 2012

NY TIMES BEST SELLERS WEEK OF 12/2

TO HEAVEN AND BACK by Mary C. Neal (WaterBrook) is #1 in paperback advice & misc.

 THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #2 in paperback advice & misc.

 HEAVEN IS FOR REAL by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent (Thomas Nelson) is #4 in paperback nonfiction; #16 in combined print & e-Book nonfiction; #17 in combined hardcover & paperback nonfiction; and #18 in e-Book nonfiction.

 THE HARBINGER by Jonathan Cahn (FrontLine) is #8 in paperback trade fiction; #19 in combined hardcover & paperback fiction; and #33 in combined paperback and e-Book fiction.

 CROSS ROADS by Wm. Paul Young (FaithWords) is #10 in hardcover fiction; and #17 in combined hardcover & paperback fiction.

 CRAZY LOVE by Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski (David C Cook) is #14 in paperback advice & misc. 

UNGLUED by Lysa TerKeurst (Zondervan) is #15 in paperback advice & misc.

 KISSES FROM KATIE by Katie Davis with Beth Clark (Howard) is #18 in paperback nonfiction.

 THE BRIDGE by Karen Kingsbury (Howard Books) is #30 in hardcover fiction.

 AN INVISIBLE THREAD by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski (Howard) is #33 in paperback nonfiction.


From ECPA's Rush to Press at ecpanews.org/rush

NEWS CORP INTERESTED IN SIMON & SCHUSTER

The News Corp. owned Wall Street Journal broke the news this afternoon that News Corp. (the corporate parents of HarperCollins) have pondered buying Simon & Schuster. Check it out: “News Corp, owner of HarperCollins Publishers, has expressed interest to CBS Corp. about acquiring its Simon & Schuster book business, according to people familiar with the talks. The people described the talks as preliminary and cautioned that a deal isn’t imminent.” At the end of October, Pearson-owned newspaper the Financial Times reported that Random House and Penguin were holding similar talks. Three days later, the companies announced a merger.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

NY TIMES BESTSELLERS FOR WEEK OF NOVEMBER 25

TO HEAVEN AND BACK by Mary C. Neal (WaterBrook) is #2 in paperback advice & misc.

 HEAVEN IS FOR REAL by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent (Thomas Nelson) is #3 in paperback nonfiction; #8 in combined print & e-Book nonfiction; #9 in combined hardcover & paperback nonfiction; and #15 in e-Book nonfiction.

 THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #4 in paperback advice & misc.

 TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER by Dave Ramsey (Thomas Nelson) is #9 in hardcover business.

 THE HARBINGER by Jonathan Cahn (FrontLine) is #10 in paperback trade fiction; #22 in combined hardcover & paperback fiction; and #35 in combined paperback and e-Book fiction.

 MULTIPLY by Francis Chan with Mark Beuving (David C. Cook) is #12 in paperback advice & misc.

 CRAZY LOVE by Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski (David C Cook) is #13 in paperback advice & misc. 

UNGLUED by Lysa TerKeurst (Zondervan) is #14 in paperback advice & misc.

 KISSES FROM KATIE by Katie Davis with Beth Clark (Howard) is #17 in paperback nonfiction.

 THE BRIDGE by Karen Kingsbury (Howard Books) is #18 in hardcover fiction.

 AN INVISIBLE THREAD by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski (Howard) is #27 in paperback nonfiction.

 FEARLESS by Eric Blehm (WaterBrook)is #29 in hardcover fiction; and #33 in combined hardcover & paperback nonfiction. From ECPA's Rush to Press at ecpanews.org/rush

  • TO HEAVEN AND BACK by Mary C. Neal (WaterBrook) is #2 in paperback advice & misc.

  • HEAVEN IS FOR REAL by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent (Thomas Nelson) is #3 in paperback nonfiction; #8in combined print & e-Book nonfiction; #9 in combined hardcover & paperback nonfiction; and #15 in e-Book nonfiction.

  • THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #4 in paperback advice & misc.

  • TOTAL MONEY MAKEOVER by Dave Ramsey (Thomas Nelson) is #9 in hardcover business.

  • THE HARBINGER by Jonathan Cahn (FrontLine) is #10 in paperback trade fiction; #22 in combined hardcover & paperback fiction; and #35 in combined paperback and e-Book fiction.

  • MULTIPLY by Francis Chan with Mark Beuving (David C. Cook) is #12 in paperback advice & misc.

  • CRAZY LOVE by Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski (David C Cook) is #13 in paperback advice & misc.

  • UNGLUED by Lysa TerKeurst (Zondervan) is #14 in paperback advice & misc.

  • KISSES FROM KATIE by Katie Davis with Beth Clark (Howard) is #17 in paperback nonfiction.

  • THE BRIDGE by Karen Kingsbury (Howard Books) is #18 in hardcover fiction.

  • AN INVISIBLE THREAD by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski (Howard) is #27 in paperback nonfiction.

  • FEARLESS by Eric Blehm (WaterBrook)is #29 in hardcover fiction; and #33 in combined hardcover & paperback nonfiction.

BOOKSTORE SALES FALL IN SEPTEMBER


        Bookstore sales took a tumble in September, falling 8.2%, to $1.39 billion, according to preliminary estimates released Wednesday morning by the U.S. Census Bureau. Last September was the final month of Borders' going-out-of business sales. For the first nine months of 2012, bookstore sales were down 1.6%, to $11.64 billion.
        For the entire retail segment, September sales rose 3% and sales in the nine month period were 5.5% ahead of the same span in 2011.

Monday, November 19, 2012

TAX HELP FOR WRITERS

     As we approach the end of the year, it's a reminder that we need to give some thought to taxes. I'm happy to announce that there is now online help specifically for writers. Gary Hensley, a long-time tax consultant, has a new blog at www.taxsolutionsforwriters.com to offer free tax advice to writers/authors.  There are 29 posts on it so far and he is trying to add something to it each week. You will want to check this out, whether you are new to writing or more experienced and just want to keep up with the latest changes that may affect your tax status.

Monday, November 12, 2012

NY TIMES BEST SELLER LIST FOR NOVEMBER 18


  • TO HEAVEN AND BACK by Mary C. Neal (WaterBrook) is #1 in paperback advice & misc.

  • HEAVEN IS FOR REAL by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent (Thomas Nelson) is #2 in paperback nonfiction; #7 in combined print & e-Book nonfiction; #7 in combined hardcover & paperback nonfiction; and #11 in e-Book nonfiction.

  • THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #3 in paperback advice & misc.

  • THE HARBINGER by Jonathan Cahn (FrontLine) is #10 in paperback trade fiction.

  • MULTIPLY by Francis Chan with Mark Beuving (David C. Cook) is #11 in paperback advice & misc.

  • CRAZY LOVE by Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski (David C Cook) is #13 in paperback advice & misc.

  • KISSES FROM KATIE by Katie Davis with Beth Clark (Howard) is #13 in paperback nonfiction.

  • UNGLUED by Lysa TerKeurst (Zondervan) is #15 in paperback advice & misc.

  • THE BRIDGE by Karen Kingsbury (Howard Books) is #17 in hardcover fiction; and #35 in combined hardcover & paperback fiction.

  • A YEAR OF BIBLICAL WOMANHOOD by Rachel Held Evans (Thomas Nelson) is #18 in e-Book nonfiction.

  • THE SANCTUARY by Ted Dekker (Center Street) is #24 in hardcover fiction.

From ECPA's Rush to Press at ecpanews.org/rush

RELIGIOUS E-BOOK SALES UP

Religious presses reported a 36.5% increase in faith-based e-books for the year-to-date versus January-July 2011, with sales of nearly $40 million, according to the latest figures available from the Association of American Publishers (AAP).
Overall, religious book sales from publishers for the year-to-date versus the same time frame in 2011 saw almost a 9% drop to more than $324 million.
Religious paperback sales experienced a nearly 29% decrease for the year-to-date versus January-July 2011, with sales of more than $98 million. In the same date range, religious hardcover sales were down .4%, with sales of $158.2 million.
With 1,184 publishers reporting, AAP's Monthly StatShot report included data from Concordia Publishing House, Gospel Light, Moody Publishers, NavPress, Thomas Nelson and Tyndale House Publishers, among others in the Christian market.

NEW MOTTO FOR HARVEST HOUSE

Harvest House Publishers is unveiling a new company motto, Grow True™. This motto change comes shortly after the announcement of a new corporate logo. “Both the new motto and logo underscore Harvest House’s focus on producing resources that encourage spiritual growth rooted in the life-nourishing truths of God’s Word,” states Bob Hawkins, Jr., longtime president of the family-run business.  “Grow True™ conveys a positive message about the unchanging direction of our company and its products. It speaks simply of helping readers grow true into who God created them to be, no matter what their circumstances in life.” Mary Cooper, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development and Services at Harvest House, says, “We have always been committed to clear biblical teaching and helping Christians grow in their faith. We want to help readers on their journey to growing spiritually strong in a way that stays true to God’s Word.” The new motto affirms and builds upon Harvest House’s mission statement, “To glorify God by providing high-quality products that affirm biblical values, help people grow spiritually strong, and proclaim Jesus Christ as the answer to every human need.”

Tuesday, November 6, 2012

NY TIMES BESTSELLERS WEEK OF NOVEMBER 11


  • HEAVEN IS FOR REAL by Todd Burpo with Lynn Vincent (Thomas Nelson) is #2 in paperback nonfiction; #9in combined print & e-Book nonfiction; #10 in combined hardcover & paperback nonfiction; and #13 in e-Book nonfiction.

  • TO HEAVEN AND BACK by Mary C. Neal (WaterBrook) is #2 in paperback advice & misc.

  • THE FIVE LOVE LANGUAGES by Gary Chapman (Northfield/Moody) is #4 in paperback advice & misc.

  • GOD LOVES YOU by David Jeremiah (FaithWords) is #6 in hardcover advice & misc.

  • THE BRIDGE by Karen Kingsbury (Howard Books) is #5 in hardcover fiction; #11 in combined hardcover & paperback fiction; #12 in combined print and e-Book fiction; and #14 in e-Book fiction.

  • THE HARBINGER by Jonathan Cahn (FrontLine) is #10 in paperback trade fiction; and #35 in combined hardcover & paperback fiction.

  • UNGLUED by Lysa TerKeurst (Zondervan) is #12 in paperback advice & misc.

  • CRAZY LOVE by Francis Chan with Danae Yankoski (David C Cook) is #13 in paperback advice & misc.

  • ONE THOUSAND GIFTS by Ann Voskamp (Zondervan) is #13 in hardcover advice & misc.

  • THE LOVE DARE by Stephen and Alex Kendrick with Lawrence Kimbrough (B&H Books) is #14 in paperback advice & misc.

  • KISSES FROM KATIE by Katie Davis with Beth Clark (Howard) is #19 in paperback nonfiction.

  • AN INVISIBLE THREAD by Laura Schroff and Alex Tresniowski (Howard) is #27 in paperback nonfiction.

From ECPA's Rush to Press at ecpanews.org/rush