CHRISTIAN ROMANCE HONORED AS BEST FIRST BOOK WITH HOLT MEDALLION

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — Among this year’s winners of the Holt Medallion is author Jennifer Hudson Taylor’s Highland Blessings (Abingdon Press, May 2010), which received the honor of “Best First Book.”

Upon learning of the achievement, Taylor said “Winning the Holt Medallion Award in the Best First Book category is such an honor as it includes the first books from all the categories in mainstream romantic
fiction.”

Additionally, Highland Blessings, a romance set in 1473 Scotland, is a finalist in the Long Inspirational category.

“As an historical Christian romance author,” Taylor stated, “I hope more people realize that there truly is quality Christian romance that will appeal to readers beyond the CBA market. It's all about touching hearts, changing lives, and giving people encouragement to make it through their daily lives."

Since 1995, the Virginia Romance Writers (VRW) have recognized the achievements of published romance writers with the Holt Medallion Awards. According to the VRW website, medallions are awarded to the authors whose books are selected by a panel of romance readers as the best in each of twelve categories.

Jennifer Hudson Taylor is an award winning author of historical Christian fiction and a speaker on topics of faith, writing and publishing. Her work has appeared in national publications, such as Guideposts, Heritage Quest Magazine, Romantic Times Book Reviews, and The Military Trader. When she isn't writing, Jennifer enjoys spending time with her family, traveling, genealogy, and reading. Her upcoming novel, Highland
Sanctuary, releases in October 2011 from Abingdon Press.

For more information visit www.abingdonpress.com.
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Abingdon Press fiction includes stories of faith, hope, and love which explore the gray areas of
life—situations that seemingly have no clear-cut solutions. These stories strive to illuminate the
human condition and express God’s enduring love and grace for all. Abingdon Press also
publishes resources for church leaders, scholars, and students engaged in leading congregations
and theological education, and inspirational books and study materials that reach a broad
audience. Abingdon resources are available in Christian and general bookstores and from many
online book sellers.

Highland Blessings
By Jennifer Hudson Taylor
Abingdon Press, May 2010
ISBN: 978-1-4267-0226-6 • Category: Fiction • Price: $13.99 • Format: Softcover

Guest Blog by Terry's client Pam Meyers

My First Sale!!!!

About a month ago I received a call, known among the publishing industry as THE call, from my agent Terry Burns. The conversation started out like this:

Terry: Hi, Pam, how are you?
Me:    Fine. How are you?

All the while I'm thinking that he never calls for casual conversations, especially when he's at a conference, so why is he calling me in the middle of the morning? The conversation continued.

Terry: "She wants the book!!!"
Me: "Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee. Are you serious?"
Terry: "Yes. She wants it."
Me: (sniffling and wiping my nose) "I am so amazed."

He then turned the phone over to Bonnie Calhoun, one of my crit partners who is also a client of his. She was at the conference and insisted she be with him when he called me. She screamed with me again and gave me my first congratulations.

Ramona Tucker, my editor & me signing the contract!

Then, outside of my closest friends, I could not tell the news until the contract was signed. I had to wait a few more weeks until last Saturday. Both Terry and the editor, Ramona Tucker, were at the Write to Publish Conference a short drive away from me. I drove there for lunch and after we ate, Ramona handed me my contract. Terry took our picture and now I can announce that my book, "Thyme for Love" has been contracted with Oak Tara Publishing. Release date to be announced later. I have not yet come down from the cloud I'm floating on.

But it's true! I'm sitting here with a copy of the signed contract in front of me along with a to-do list to get everything ready to roll on production later this summer or fall.

I give God all the glory for this. I've been writing for a long time and had some close calls, but never THE phone call I wanted. But God knows what is best for us, and His timing is perfect all the time. At the right time He allowed all the pieces to fall into place.

I'll keep everyone posted as to the release date. What fun. As ACFW's New Release Coordinator, I'll get to announce my own book!

On Quality in Christian Fiction Guest Blogger Katherine B. Hyde

From time to time in my role as acquisitions editor for a tiny Christian publishing house, I receive fiction submissions from people who are writing with a Mission. They have a Message they want to convey, often to young people, and they believe a novel (or picture book) is the best way to get that Message across. Never mind the fact that they have never written fiction before and don't really know anything about how it's done. They write the story, show it to a few friends and relatives (who naturally rave about it), and send it off to me.

When I let them know, as gently and constructively as I can, that unfortunately their work is not of publishable quality, I sometimes get rather indignant replies. Don't I realize what a dearth there is of spiritually profitable fiction for young people? Isn't it my duty to publish anything that embodies the truth of Christianity in fiction?

Yes, I do realize and regret it. But no, it isn't. My duty is to recommend for publication only that fiction that clothes Truth in a garment fit for Truth to wear. And that means only the highest quality writing is eligible.

Would you sing in the choir if you couldn't carry a tune? Would you offer to lead the youth group if you had no rapport with young people? I hope not. And if not, why would you offer to God a work of fiction that is less than excellent?

Writing fiction is an art. It is not something everyone can do. It is not something anyone can do without a great deal of study and practice. And believe it or not, the most important ingredient of fiction is not a Message: it is a Story. A Message, in fact, is one of the most efficient story-killers I know. If you don't tell a moving, gripping, coherent, emotionally satisfying story, your Message will never get across; in fact, its credibility may well be diminished in the minds of your readers.

If you want to write fiction that will help draw young people closer to God, well and good. First, learn to write good English: if you've already done that, you're ahead of the game. Second, learn to write good fiction. That will take years. You'll need to read books about writing and lots of books similar to what you want to write. You'll need to attend writers' conferences, take classes, exchange work with other writers who are at least as skilled as you, preferably more so. Get feedback from some professional in the industry (an agent, editor, or published writer) and revise, revise, revise before you ever submit your work for publication. And meanwhile, study the conventions of the publishing industry so you'll know the right way to submit your work. There are rules, guidelines, and preferences, and if you follow them you'll ensure that your work gets the consideration it deserves. The internet is full of blogs and websites that will help you in this area.

Thank you Katherine

How do I know what it takes to become a writer of fiction? I've put in that apprenticeship myself. I understand your struggles; I feel your pain. I too started out thinking I knew it all, only to find out I knew absolutely nothing. I've been working for years to get my fiction to publishable quality, and I'm still working. I'll be working to improve my craft for as long as God grants me eyes to see the screen and fingers to punch the keyboard.

When you've put in your apprenticeship, send your work to me, and if it's good enough, I'll recommend it for publication. My role is that of gatekeeper, but that doesn't mean I enjoy turning people away. I'd much rather let them in—but that admittance has to be earned.

Thank you Katherine, it is good to step inside of the head of an acquisitions editor and see the perspective at your end of the desk. What do you think reader? Has this been a help to you?

Understanding & Using SEO Marketing

You've probably seen the online articles and Twitter tweets about improving SEO performance, but what does it REALLY mean beyond the acronym of Search Engine Optimization?

It's improving the visibility of your website through a natural, organic process that doesn't cost money, but be assured, it WILL cost time.

Marketing is an ongoing process and you'll never be able to do enough of it. Therefore, unless you have unlimited funds to spend on buying top search engine placement, you'll need to spend some time improving your site's rankings and page algorithm. When people search for a term, they aren't going to click on hundreds of pages until your site pops up in the listing. This is why you want your site to come up as high as possible in the rankings, hopefully the first page or the first few pages.

However, don't get too caught up in "rankings" since it is only one algorithm used to upload pages to key search words. If you have enough "quality" backlinks linking key search terms to your page or site, it's possible for your site to beat a higher ranking site on that particular key search term. You need to consider the top search words and phrases people will use to find your site. Incorporate them into your html, your blog posts, headers, tags, etc.

Here are a few techniques to improve your site's rankings and algorithm:
1) Cross Linking - This is linking pages within the same website or blog. Examples of  this would be creating a sitemap, a resource center of links to previous articles, archives, top visited posts, etc.

2) Multiply Incoming Links - You want to get as many "quality" sites linking to your website/blog as possible. This is sometimes called Deep Linking. It tells the search engines that you have a lot of worthwhile content. Ways to improve this are offering guest posts to other blogs, uploading your archived articles to other ezines and allowing your articles to be reposted by other bloggers as long as they use your byline and link back to your page.

3) Write Good Content - Make sure blog posts and/or articles contain frequently searched keywords and phrases, but don't overdo it to the point that you get your site banned by the search engines. Just make sure each page contains your key search terms for that page at least twice.

4) Update Content Often - This lures the search engines back to your site to crawl over your content and re-index it. It also builds traffic. This is another reason why it would be better to blog at least 3 times per week.

5) Multiple Domains - Search engines only list one page per domain, therefore, if you have several topics that are strong enough to support their own site, go for it. Examples of this are ministries, author sites, homeschooling pages, and side businesses. I own two author domains, www.jenniferhudsontaylor.com and www.authorjenniferhudsontaylor.com. Also, I own a few more business domains. They all link into each other.


6) Strategize Anchor Links - It may be tempting to anchor as many links as possible to your url, but to the search engines it may look like automation and could result in getting your site banned from search engines. Therefore, use your url, but also link to various pages on your site. Include links to your individual book page, speaker page, bio, and archived articles where appropriate.

7) Use Text Links - Even where you've used an image to link to another page or site, be sure to include a text link above the image as well. Spiders and webcrawler search engines pick up text links first, so list them above the image, not below.

8) Use Frames & Flash Sparingly - So many people have switched to using frames and flash to develop their sites, but they don't allow links to individual pages. It's all or nothing.

9) Truth About Paid Links - Unless the paid link is embedded in the body text and not obvious sponsored links, it does nothing to improve your SEO. It only provides a few clicks to your site. So if you pay for a link, be sure to place it on a quality site and have realistic expectations.

10) SEO is Daily - Be aware that the landscape for search engines changes daily, therefore, you must expect to work on your SEO daily. At least keep it in mind for each blog post and each time you update your site/blog.

VOICE by Joyce Hart

The writer’s voice – what exactly is it?

According to WIKI it is the literary term used to describe the individual writing style of an author.

Our advice to authors is to “find your voice.” We want editors to edit the work without changing “the voice” of the author. Your voice is a part of you, as we have different speaking voices, so each author has his/her own voice when they write.

Several of my clients write historical novels, Jane Kirkpatrick, Dorothy Clark, Lena Nelson Dooley and Amanda Cabot are some of the authors. Jane writes with a literary voice, very unique, very “Jane.” She writes stories about real women who are facing impossible odds. These are strong women, who with the help of God and other people in their lives come through victoriously, not always as they might has wished but in the end they are stronger and wiser. Dorothy writes what God tells her to write. She is empathic about this. When I read her books, I feel like I’m right there on the frontier, crossing those mountains or living in a mid-west city, battling against impossible odds, but making it over those mountains or learning to run a company. There is always romance in Dorothy’s stories. Lena, a Texan, writes wonderful stories of love and adventure in the old west, a relationship that might begin as a mail order bride and yet becomes real love that prevails against all the problems that these couples come up against. Amanda Cabot’s current series is set in the Texas Hill Country. She writes of a community that is half French and half German. Here we have characters from the east merging with characters from this western town. Anguish and sorrow are met with sometimes doubting God and yet in the end trusting Him. Why does God allow such hurt in their lives the characters sometimes might wonder? Again, Amanda’s books are written in her own individual style, gained from her own background and life experience. That is where the author’s “voice” comes from. Each of these ladies has her own unique personality and writes in her own unique style or “voice.”

Susanne Woods Fishers writes in the voice of the Amish. She transports us to Lancaster County in her current Amish romance series, introducing us to delightful men and women of the Amish community. She travels to Pennsylvania and Ohio to make sure she captures the authentic voice of the Amish.

I need to point out that all of these authors research carefully to make sure the historical or contemporary facts are correct.

These are only a few examples. A good voice needs to have consistency and authority. You cannot duplicate another author’s voice. Your author’s voice is an integral part of who you are as a person. You need to be true to your own voice and not try to write like someone else. Yes, we can compare books with other authors, but your “voice” is your very own.

Write for Nothing? Are You Crazy? Guest Blog by Jeanette Levellie

Write for Nothing? Are You Crazy?

I make money writing, speaking and singing. Not a ton, but it helps me buy clothes to wear to writing conferences and gas to travel to speaking engagements.

Sometimes I write for nothing. Why would I do such a thing? And why should you?

1. When we give our time and talents with no expectation of return, we’re saying “Thanks” to God for all He’s given us.

2. We gain experience when we practice our craft, whether we receive a paycheck or not.

3. Working free is a means of planting seeds for future paying jobs (see Galatians 6:7).

4. All publishing (speaking, singing, working) credits added to our resume’ count, whether we earned money for them or not.

5. We show love to others when we volunteer our services. And love is the greatest thing in the universe.

Kitty love

Even if you regularly receive pay for your work, have you also found great rewards in offering your talents as a gift or favor?

Jeanette Levellie is a prolific writer, speaker, nutty preacher’s wife, and humor columnist from Paris (Illinois). She is a client of Diana Flegal, and is currently working on her third book. You can find mirthful musings at www.jeanettlevellie.com

The Future at Hartline by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

I want to thank everyone for welcoming me as the new Publicist at Hartline, and I'm looking forward to working with you. So far, I'm getting a chance to better know the clients here at Hartline. I've been in contact with some by email and others by phone.

We are all at different stages of marketing our work and ourselves. Our needs vary, and therefore, I'll be working with you on an individual basis. My role will be to advise you based on my experience and knowledge, as well as offer bits of marketing and promotional nuggets here on the Hartline Blog.

The first process we're setting up is a welcome letter that new Hartline clients will receive from me. In it I'll be introducing myself and giving guidance on what unpublished authors should be doing to build their platform while they work on their craft and wait for that first contract offer. I've prepared an in-depth letter for those who are newly contracted and need to start planning for their first book launch. And finally, I'll have an even more detailed letter that will go out to new and current clients who are already published with guidance regarding on-going platform building.

One thing that I want authors to understand is once your book is released, you'll be marketing it and yourself as an author forever--or as long as you intend to write and sell books. It used to be that a printed book would go out of print, but e-books are changing that. They never go out of print. Therefore, you will never be "finished" with marketing. You may finish a book launch and have some down time afterward, but building your platform is a continuous effort.

We have a dedicated public relations loop where clients share their experience and expertise with each other. If we hear about a great article or blog or upcoming opportunities, we share it. This past week, we've been talking about book launches, setting up book signings and blog tours. Everyone on the loop has valuable information to share and that is what makes it so special. 

After I've been on board for a while and touched base with all our current clients, I want to build a Speakers Bureau for the Hartline Agency. Many of you are already giving workshops and speaking at conferences, others want to start doing this. Hartline would like to provide a platform to help you promote your speaking talent and provide a resource for organizations who are looking to bring speakers to their events. This is just one example of some of the great opportunities we're planning for the future.

What are some of your marketing needs? What topics would you like to see on the Hartline blog in the future?