Joyce's Guest Blogger today is Author Jane Kirkpatrick

Today I’m honored to be the guest blogger. Joyce Hart of Hartline Literary Agency, LLC. has been my agent since 1994. That’s longer than some marriages last these days. She was referred to me by Jacqueline Cromartie a publicist who promoted my first book published by Word called Homestead (1991). When I attempted my first novel and needed an agent, Jacqueline suggested Joyce. The rest is history. Sixteen novels, three nonfiction titles, and numerous articles later, we’re still together. My latest novel An Absence so Great (WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group, a division of Random House) was just released. It’s based on my grandmother’s life as a turn of the century photographer in the Midwest. Joyce said I could blog about anything so I’ve decided to blog about fear. Some of those writing fears are speaking to me this morning.

A writer fears all sorts of things. We fear we won’t finish the manuscript. When we do, we fear it isn’t good enough. When we look for an agent, we fear we won’t find one or it’ll be the wrong one for us. When our agent finds us a publisher, we fear it might not be the best publisher for our “platform.” We fear we won’t have a platform or at least not as articulate or contemporary a one as the bestselling author’s we so admire. Once the book is published, we agonize over how to promote it, wondering whether we ought to have put something more in our contract so the publisher would invest more in our baby’s success. We agonize over reviews or the lack of them. In recent years, we’ve added how to manage writing time and Facebook or Twitter issues to our list of fears. Then, when we begin the next book, we wonder if this story can really be told and if so, do we have the skills to do it? I still have a level of anxiety when I begin because while I’ve written nearly twenty books now and well over a million words I never know if I can write THIS book, or if I’ll find the right words this time!

Because my last two novels are based on a family story, I fear what my relatives will say and whether or not I’ll be invited back to the family reunion.

But here’s the worst thing about fear: it could easily stop us from doing what we feel compelled to do. It could keep us from risking exposure by failing to send the manuscript out for an agent to consider or for a publisher to purchase. If fear does keep us from moving forward, it will not only be our loss but the loss of others who could be encouraged by our story.

I’ve discovered that whenever we undertake anything new, we experience fear and anxiety whether it’s learning how to ski (I could die doing this!) or fixing the latest dish for the first time planning to serve it to our in-laws (they could die!). Rarely do these things happen, of course and I remind myself of that when I feel the anxiety build.

One of our greatest fears is humiliation, looking foolish. The one short piece I had published years ago in Writer’s Digest was my definition of the writing life. “Writing is like undressing in front of the window at night with the lights on. A rejection means someone else was watching me undress in front of the window at night with the lights on and what they saw was so terrible, they pulled the shade down.” For many writers, that fear becomes so great that if they do send their work out at all, they may not go past the first rejection, not give worth to the work and instead stuff it into a drawer beneath their underware never to be seen again.

One trick a writing instructor taught me was when I finished a manuscript, to make a list of the ten top markets, write them on a manilia folder and to send it out to the top of the list with a date. When the rejection letter came, I would re-read the manuscript once and if it still sounded good, within 24 hours, I’d send it out to the next name on the list. If we make that list when we’re feeling strong, then we’ll have a next step when we’re feeling afraid as that rejection comes back. The important thing is keeping the work (proposal, query etc.) in circulation.

Someone once told me that FEAR stands for Future Evidence Appearing Real. When we worry or are fearful we have plunged ourselves into fantasy of sorts, anticipating the worst. But if we follow that with questions like, “how likely is it that the whole world will think poorly of me if my book isn’t a bestseller?” or “Is it true that if an agent rejects me (I had several reject me BTW) that I’ll never find one who won’t?” Answering those questions truthfully can ease a great deal of anxiety and fear that might keep us from moving forward because the fact is, the whole world isn’t really interested in us. And most of us don’t write for the world…we write because we’re creative beings who would be lost without this passion to tell stories.

The key, I think, is moving forward despite the fear, responding to that powerful pull that asked us to write in the first place. Years ago, I took flying lessons and had an accident in my eleventh hour of solo flight. It took me years to get back into a small plane and finish my pilot’s license. I had fears and there was evidence that they could come true. But I didn’t want fear to define my life. I didn’t want anticipation of the future to keep me from doing something I said I wanted to do. Hebrews 13: 6 reminded me: “So we say with confidence, ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?’” So I found a good instructor and two years later acquired my pilot’s license.

Few of us need fear that if we get published we’ll die; or if we don’t get published that we’ll die. What we can do with those fears is remind ourselves that we cannot be humiliated before God if we are trusting in God’s guidance and moving forward for God’s glory. A favorite poem of mine written by Barry B. Longyear (one I read each morning before I begin to write) ends with these words: “If material success should come my way, remind me to thank you. However, if the only reward I obtain for my writing is the writing itself, let it be sufficient.”

Let our work be worthy because it is the work we’re called to regardless of what becomes of it. And remind ourselves when we do experience those fears that all we are called to do is the best we can in a new situation. “The Lord is my helper. I will not be afraid.”

I hope as a writer or agent or bookseller or reader, you’ll claim that promise as well.
Please visit my website www.jkbooks.com and sign up for my Story Sparks newsletter; my blogs at www.janekirkpatrick.blogspot.com (one is my dog’s blog – www.bodaciousbothe dog.blogspot.com.


Jane, it has been my pleasure to represent you and call you my friend. Thank you so much for guesting on our blog today, I hope our readers will stop by your web site and visit your blog links.

May you all have a wonderful day.
In His Service,
Joyce

The Library Cat by Terry Burns

THE LIBRARY CAT



I’ve recently been working on a project that has had me visiting a large number of library sites. In the process I’ve discovered many of the sites include a picture of the ‘library cat.’ Library cat? What’s up with that? I do know a couple of bookstores that I’ve been in that I was quite likely to be visited by the resident feline who came by to survey my reading preferences.

One library said their particular cat was one of 640 known library cats in the country. I don’t know how valid that number is but from the number of sites where I saw one posted I am inclined to believe it. It caused me to wonder, why cats? In all of my wanderings I did not run across the library poodle. I saw no library parrot. If they had a relaxing tank of fish they didn’t say anything about it. Maybe some of them might have had a rat or two in the musty portions of the basement and I understand no mention of that.

Is it because cats are quiet, tiptoe around on padded feet? Because they eat little and are economical to keep? Not all cats befriend people easily but the ones posted look as if they enjoy greeting and welcoming visitors. Is it because they don’t have to be ‘taken out’, but will go do their business in a litter box hidden in some dark corner? Whatever the reason books and cats seem to go together, or is it just libraries and cats?

Whatever the reason I have no problem with it. Personally, my writing assistant is a Brittany Spaniel that my family felt would keep me from staying in my chair too much at a time but I found that installing a doggie door and keeping a sack of doggie treats on my side table will forestall that strategy nicely.

While I’m on the subject, I love libraries. I consumed more books as a kid than we could afford and the library became a stop on the way home from school most days. I read, I hung out, I played chess, sometimes I even helped them re-shelve books and did some chores there. There is a very special place in my heart for libraries.

As a result the project I referred to is visiting them. I think I’ve been to every library in the US that can be visited online. Those that have online catalogs I look to see if any of my books are shelved. For a genuine library person being shelved in a library is the utmost honor, and I know it helps bring name visibility for a writer in a community. I actually have a list on my site where I have confirmed they can find me in a library. I encourage my friends to recommend my books for shelving. I’m running a library promotion for my new YA aimed at getting kids to read and discuss it, but focusing on doing it through libraries.

Do you suppose I should get rid of this dog and get a cat for my library? If I did who would alert me when neighbors come home or the UPS guy is here? Who would protect me from fierce neighborhood cats, predatory bunny rabbits, and the roadrunner that runs amuck outside? I suppose I’ll just interface with library cats when I venture into their domain.

Guest blog by Diana's client Eddie Jones

10 POINTS TO HELP PEOPLE IN A BAD ECONOMY

1) Stress less. The gulls do not store up for themselves fish and shrimp and yet they do not starve. If a bird can find food enough each day so can a man, woman and child.

2) Love more. Love is free. Taxed, but still free. Families and friends remain the true source of significance. A life loved and being loved will outlast any economic downturn, so share more, not less.

3) Give it all to God. Nations rise and fall. Economies expand and collapse. Through it all, God remains on His throne. Whatever financial difficulties you face today God foresaw it long ago and will see you through. During tough times you may be tempted to recoil, retreat and redouble your efforts, but God’s economy calls for to a radical departure from our human response. God says, “Give it up.” Not quit, but let go. Work, yes. Budget, yes. But give whatever remains of your wealth give to Him and trust that He’ll make it stretch to provide for your daily needs.

4) Dream big. Dreams do not die, they only go dormant. A nut buried in the ground does not remain a nut. In time it becomes an oak. You may not see your dreams come true but that doesn’t mean they won’t. History is replete with discoveries born from the grave. Make a photo album of places you’d like to visit and give it away as a gift. Write a letter of past memories and share it with your spouse and children. Our plans for the future begin with our desires of today.

5) Smile often. You matter less than you think and will be missed more than you know so be careful how you live. Your actions and attitudes matter.

6) Trust others. Trust begins with an open hand. We cannot reach for the future with a closed fist. If you want to move forward you will have to trust again. Be wise, be discerning, but trust. This is, after all, the lifeblood of our economy.

7) Let go. You cannot make a sun rise, sparrow sing or rain cloud bloom. You control less than you think, so relax, let go and help those you can.

8) Travel more. Memories cannot be reposed or auctioned off and their value does not fluctuate with the market so travel more, not less. Time is the only contraband you have and what you don’t spend on others you should exchange for memories, so take trips—even if it’s only around the block to a new park, creek or community center. Moving gets us going. (‘Kay, Yogi Berra didn’t say it but he could’ve.)

9) Spend less, savor more. A small meal eaten slowly can fill a hungry belly. Give thanks for the small things and do not begrudge the tough times. You can endure more than we think. You’re an American.

10) Look up. A bowed head will miss the sunrise, sunset and silver lining. Of all creatures, man stands nearest to heaven, so lift your chin, open your eyes and gaze toward the stars.

Thank you Eddie for giving us some ways of looking at our present economic situation in a new and godly way. I am sure every reader will find at least one take away point to help redirect their focus. I have.

From my heart to yours,
Diana

Interview with Terry's Client Sherri Gallagher

What is your latest project? Tell us about it.

I always have something out there, I'm always writing, so I have a couple of them in the works. I have a new one about a young widow raised in an atheistic household. She takes a huge leap of faith, starting her own environmental engineering firm and moves to Lake Placid to understand her relationship to God. The odds are against her, she's undercapitalized, her father and in-laws try to sabotage her efforts, and the man she falls in love with is leading the opposition to her project. Through it all she reaches out to God in the one place she could find Him, the cool beauty of the Adirondack forests and mountains.

The other project is very close to my heart and I pray daily that it will be picked up. It is a young adult book titled "Turn" about a fifteen year old boy working toward his rank of Eagle Scout. While physically he has all the potential to be a bully, his gentle nature turns him from that road. He's a little lost and struggling to identify just who he is and how does he fit into the world. He joins a canine search and rescue team and with their help reaches for his dream of becoming an Eagle Scout with lots of fun adventures on the way, including getting his own pickup truck. My son is an Eagle Scout and Order of the Arrow and I remain a merit badge counselor. I watched Scouting help lead my son to be a man I am proud of and I believe this book will help other boys find the path to Scouting and their way to valuable members of society.

Where do you get your inspiration?

Mostly from every day incidents and the things I see around me. I think it was Louis L'Amour who said something like 'if there was a stream in my book I've drunk from it'. I try and take places I've been and describe them so the reader can see, hear, smell, taste and feel what I felt in that place. My call to service has been canine search and rescue, I use my dogs to find lost people, so I've been to a lot of interesting places. Of course my canines are a big part of my life so they're always sneak onto the pages. I just wish they were as well behaved in real life as they are in my books.

What has been the hardest part of writing your latest book and how did you overcome it?

The key to any book is making the reader want to turn the page to find out "what happens next?". It's easy to slip into a passive voice that lulls the reader to sleep. If my reader picks up a book I wrote at ten in the evening planning to read just one chapter and the next time they look at the clock it's 3 AM, I've been successful. I learned to outline each chapter in my books so something happens and the energy never stops flowing. My first couple of books were written "seat of the pants" and I only had a vague idea of what would happen. I'm in the process of ripping those early works apart and fixing them now. Having the discipline to write that outline is difficult. It's a lot more fun to jump into the story and find out what happens, but if the true recipient of your writing is the reader, than you owe it to them to plan and work at bringing them into the pages of your book so they are living in the skin of your main character.


What do you hope people will take away from reading your books?

That depends on the book. Young adult is a different audience than romance with a different level of maturity. I guess if I really looked for an underlying message it is best summed up in Joshua 1: 9 "Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go."

What new projects are you working on?

I write devotionals and short stories so right now I am focused on them. It is giving me time to outline a romance set in the early 1920's about a young Italian couple that meet in a small city in New York. Will they be able to establish a new life and foundation for generations to come or will the seductive hand of organized crime follow them to the new world? I'm also working on a romance set on a search for a missing caribou hunter one degree south of the Arctic Circle that travels to the Caribbean. Will the heroine trust the hero and God or will she lose more than her life trying to handle things herself? I'm also working on the third book in the young adult series that starts with "Turn". I need to come up with a good title. It is the story of Shane, the most spiritually grounded of all the teens and the struggle he faces to forgive himself for getting one of the search dogs hurt while avoiding the recruitment efforts of a white supremacist group. Can he and the new protection trained search dog save his family from the retaliations that come their way?

Where can people find out more about you and your writing? The programs and speaking that you do?

I have a shoutlife page that focuses on what I do as an author. Facebook is more about the dog activities and LinkedIn is focused on my engineering business (I have to pay for kibble somehow!) I constantly do demonstrations with the dogs to civic groups - Scouts, church groups, retirement centers, park districts. If they call, I do my best to be there. I'm also going to be teaching a devotional writing seminar at our local church. I called in the big guns from my critique group for help on that one.

What is the best writing advice you ever got? The worst?

No one is all bad or all good. Give you protagonist feet of clay and your antagonist a reason for being so mean. The worst advice I ever got was give up; the publishing industry will be dead in a few years so why waste the effort. Nope, Joshua 1:9, give up is seldom part of my vocabulary, and while the format might change, there will always be room for a good story.


Anything else you'd like to take this opportunity to say?

Thank you to a true Texas gentleman and my agent, Terry Burns. Thank you to Maureen Lang, Julie Dearyan, Dawn Hill and all the members of the Fremont Christian writers group for guiding my writing to ever better levels in the craft. Thanks to Linda Mickey for understanding why self-publishing is not my path and remaining my friend anyway. Thank you to my husband for getting a bowl of cereal for dinner with a smile because I was so involved in a chapter I lost track of time. Thank you to my son and all the members of Troop 198 for their inspiration and antics, I'm proud to know you even when you make mistakes. Finally, thank you to all my canine partners; past, present and future, my life is richer for having known you.

My Friend Dan by Joyce Hart

On a recent Facebook entry Gloria Penwell shared with FB friends that her husband Dan Penwell has only three months to live. This is hard news to receive.

I have known Dan for probably close to 28 or 29 years. Dan was the book buyer at Zondervan Family Stores when I first knew him. I was a sales rep at Whitaker House Publishing. My boss, Bob Whitaker, Sr. told me I had to get our books into the Zondervan Family Stores (at that time Zondervan owned the Family Christian Stores). I called Danny every week for months and I finally got an appointment to come up to the corporate offices for a meeting with him and the other officials of the company. I was terrified, but I flew up and bravely went into the meeting. I got on their radar and Zondervan Family Stores became my largest account. When I went up for appointments on a regular basis after that, Dan used to introduce me with, "This is Joyce Hart, she’s persistent and consistent.” It’s been a pleasure fellowshipping at Writer’s Conferences and ICRS with Dan. He is a dear friend.

Please pray for Dan, God could give us a miracle. Also pray for Gloria and their family.

John Vonhuf has sent out this message to writers (it can be to any friends of Dan)
“Fellow writers,

Many on this list know Dan Penwell. Dan has been an acquisitions editor at
AMG for years and was a frequent speaker at writer¹s conferences across the
country. He has had a number of health issues related to his battle with
prostate cancer. Gloria, his wife, recently posted on Facebook that Dan has
been given three months to live.

Would you please be a part of my effort to give Dan a booklet of personal
notes from those he has touched over the years. I invite you to write a
short note of how Dan has shaped your writing, helped you get published, how
he has encouraged you, or any other personal note. Let¹s share words of
gratitude and encouragement so Dan and Gloria will know how he has impacted
our lives.

Send me an email as soon as possible. Next week I will be asking writers at
Mount Hermon to do the same. We don't have much time to do this. Thank you.

John Vonhof
jvonhof@verizon.net “

Dan has bravely fought this illness for a long time. He has come to conferences not really feeling well. Many people would not have had the fortitude and stamina to teach and meet with authors as he has with his health problems. Be sure to write to John with stories about Dan’s encouragement to you. One thing I can say, he wrote the nicest rejection letters in the industry.

God bless and keep you,

Joyce

O Worship The King

O Worship the King written by Robin Grant and J. Michael Haydin







O Worship the King, all glorious above,
O gratefully sing His power and His love;
Our Shield and Defender,
The Ancient of Days,
Pavilioned in Splendor,
and girded with Praise.

O tell of His might,
O sing of His grace,
Whose robe is the light,
whose canopy space.
His chariots of wrath
the deep thunder clouds form,
And dark is His path
on the wings of the storm.

Thy bountiful care
what tongue can recite?
It breathes in the air,
it shines in the light.
It streams from the hills,
it descends from the plain,
And sweetly distills
in the dew and the rain.

Frail children of dust,
and feeble as frail,
in Thee do we trust,
nor find Thee to fail;
Thy mercies how tender!
how firm to the end!
Our Maker, Defender,
Redeemer and Friend.

AMEN!


I woke up singing this song this morning and thought I would share it with you all.
May today be one filled with Praise to the one who is worthy!

Diana

A Writer Has to Write - by Joyce Hart

I was reading entries on FaceBook tonight and there was an entry by Janalyn Voigt with the title “Called to Write.” This author says she has never been as busy as she has since she has been published. In the Writer’s Digest magazine March/April there is an article “Earn Money Doing What You Love.” What a cool thing to be able to make a living doing what you love to do. I’ve been able to do that. I love selling manuscripts for authors. I love reading books and I love being able to work from my home office. I admit some days it gets discouraging. I think this week I have had a record number of rejections. However, I also got some contract offers, and promises of offers in the next few weeks. I’m really glad; all those rejections were getting depressing.

At a writer’s conference I heard “A Writer Has to Write.” What is there about writing that is so compelling? Authors tell me that they have conversations by their characters running around in their heads. These characters seem so real the authors hate to leave a series, because they will miss them. I am fascinated by the things my clients tell me about writing.

It’s a wonderful thing to be able to make a living doing what you love to do. Is your passion writing? Then you’ll probably get published one of these days. Are you “Called to Write?” Do you have to write? Then find every opportunity you can to write, it doesn’t necessarily have to be writing for payment. Start out writing for free. Get the experience and get your name out on the web or wherever you can.

What about self-publishing? Is it an awful thing? I don’t think so. Many authors got their start by self-publishing and selling their books when they speak or online. I have one client who wrote a Christmas book and sold 2,000 copies right before Christmas, on his own. We took the book to a publisher and the first editor we sent it to bought it. It is a beautiful story; the title is The Paper Bag Christmas. It’s one of those stories than no one can read without crying, not even the men. An editor will seriously consider a book if you’ve sold 2,000 in two months. I have another one that I’m trying to sell now and haven’t found a publisher yet. This author sold 2,500 or more in a few months. So, I’m convinced that someone will catch the vision of this book one of these days.

There are other ways to make money by writing. Write for organizations online. Write for magazines and newspapers. Write wherever you can find to write. Write Advertising, write obituaries. If it’s a writing job do it! Writer’s Digest often runs an article about writing online. For this particular information you have to invest a minimal amount of money. But since it comes from Writer’s Digest, I would trust the program. Network on FaceBook or other social networks. Amazing what you can find out on these networks. The main thing is to keep trying and keep writing. Don’t lose sight of your dream. Trust God to lead you. Sometimes the smallest job can lead to a very big opportunity.

Proverbs 3:4 & 5 says, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He shall direct your paths.” NKJV. Psalm 37 is another of my favorite chapters. When you’re discouraged, read the Word.

Thanks once more for reading our blog. We appreciate each one of you and pray God will bless all that you set your hands to do.

May God bless and keep you,

Joyce