On the Road Again by Terry Burns

Time to get back on the road.

Next week I’ll be at the Oregon Christian Writer’s conference. I’ve been invited there before, good conference, beautiful country, good faculty and the caliber of the writers that attend is very good. It’s August 12-16th just outside of Portland Oregon.

Following that is the American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) conference September 20-23 in Dallas. This is the premier conference for Christian fiction writers and will draw a large delegation of writers. The strength of the programming and the faculty at this conference is outstanding.

October 10-12th I’ll be at the Antelope Valley Christian Writers conference at Lake Hughes just outside of Los Angeles. This will be my first time at this conference but I’m looking forward to it.

October 26-27th will be the East Texas Christian Writers Conference at East Texas Baptist University in Marshall Texas. This is another conference I have attended a number of times, fast-paced, economical, with excellent programming and facilities on a beautiful college campus.

A quick turnaround on October 31st through November 4th will have me at the “Writing at the Ranch” Christian Writers Conference at the Ghost Ranch at Abique New Mexico. This is a beautiful retreat setting that helps recharge your batteries as well as providing terrific program content.

I don’t do conferences between Thanksgiving and New Year, that’s family time, so that will wrap it up for the year. I enjoy doing conferences and trying to work with and encourage writers. Most of the clients that I have came from a conference contact. It’s also a time to make contacts with editors and other industry professionals, seeking information that will help me better serve my clients.

My efforts are leveraged by clients attending conferences themselves and reporting back any information they can gather whether it might be useful to them or not. Gathering such information from any and all sources helps us keep track of an industry that always seems to be in a state of change. The writers? They are there to improve and develop their craft, and to make contacts much in the same manner that I’m trying to do. For writers who are often surrounded by people who don’t really ‘get it,’ it’s good to get off and interface with other writers. Even before I became an agent for years I attended 2-3 writing conferences a year and it has really paid off for me.

How about you? Hope I meet up with you at one of these events.

Would You Read On? hosted by Diana Flegal

Welcome once more to our weekly column: Would You Read On?
Please let us know if you are willing to read on by leaving a thoughtful comment for this courageous contributing author. At the close of this page you will find a reveal of last weeks contributor.

The following portion is from a Nonfiction piece:

I walked through the house one last time. I knew I had to pull myself together quickly. I paused, looking in the girls’ bedrooms, painted exactly how they had wanted. I walked through the living room smiling, remembering when my friend had spent days painting those walls with me. The front door beckoned me to open it one last time. As my hand grasped the knob, all of a sudden, I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t open that door and walk to the truck piled high with our belongings. My head rested on the frame as tears filled my eyes.

How did we get to this place?

Oh, I remembered all the mistakes we had made, but when we finally began to wake up, we immediately turned to God.

We had thought he would come through.

He didn’t.

Our house was going into foreclosure, we were moving into a rental house, and God didn’t seem to care. There was no time to rehash this again; Chad and the girls were waiting. They needed me to put on a smile. It could have been worse. As I walked down those steps, I didn’t know it was about to get much worse.

Over the course of two years, like so many families, we faced foreclosure, job loss, the anxiety of no health insurance, and having to learn to adapt to a different income bracket. Somehow, adapting to a higher one had never been an issue.

Please let us know if you are willing to read on by leaving a thoughtful comment for this courageous contributing author. At the close of next Wednesday's post you will find a reveal of this weeks contributor.

That Spark of Energy by Andy Scheer

For all that I've ranted about the important of tight, accurate writing, I recently got a powerful reminder that there's a lot more to art than mere precision.

The last weekend of July, I enjoyed the traditional jazz festival in Evergreen, Colorado— centered around musical styles from the 1940s and earlier.

Take the Hay Train at the
Evergreen Jazz Festival

Just as novels fall into many sub-genres (how many categories of romances are there?), even traditional jazz comes in many flavors. This year the festival organizers branched away from the more usual styles (New Orleans, Chicago, West Coast) and invited a new group to play in the genre called western swing (a fusion of cowboy music and big band jazz).

A few years back a western swing band had been popular at the festival, so the organizers searched for a group that could come. But they have a tight budget and the big-name acts (such as Asleep at the Wheel) were out of the question. So in the spirit of jazz they found a creative solution: bring from Florida a group of five talented professional musicians who would make their world debut playing in this style—in eight performances over three days.

The opening day I try to catch at least one set by each new group so I can discover which ones to follow from event to event. Having attended the festival before, I expect excellence. And I appreciate most of the sub-genres (even the more obscure ones such as the group playing in the Gypsy style of Django Reinhardt and one playing like Benny Goodman's sextet).

But this year a few groups seemed on the verge of just going through the motions. The musicians were top-notch and they followed carefully crafted arrangements, but their heads stayed buried in their charts. They played all the right notes, but something was missing.

The two groups I most enjoyed did have some charts to refer to, but that's not where their eyes were. They were looking to each other—seeing what spontaneous riff the soloist of the moment was taking and deciding how they could both complement and respond to each other's creativity. They also made good eye contact with the audience—and when they did they were smiling.

This was especially true for Take the Hay Train, the western swing group that had never performed together in this style. In the spirit of jazz they took familiar instrumental and vocal tunes (“San Antonio Rose,” “Jambalaya,” “Lady Be Good,” “Stormy Weather") and experienced the joy of bold experimentation. Yes, they missed some opportunities. At times they could have done better.

And that's just what they did. Each of their next four performances I watched just got better—without losing any of the spark of creativity they were enjoying by taking familiar stories—familiar tunes—and contributing their blend of unique skills and styles.

Before they attempted it, I would have never expected the classic Duke Ellington/Juan Tizol big band tune “Caravan” could be performed by an accordion backed up by a fiddle, guitar, and upright bass. As I think about it, I'm still grinning. Fortunately, Take the Hay Train had the chutzpa to try. Maybe there's a lesson here for artists whose keyboard says qwerty.

Go For the Gold by Linda S. Glaz

Well, it’s been quite the week. Michael Phelps, Gabby Douglas, Ryan Lochte, all with gold medals and that was only the beginning.

Waking up at five or six in the morning, training four hours early and four to six hours later in the day. Days turn into weeks, weeks into months, and months into years. The training doesn’t end. Sweat, hydration, healthy food, good trainers. In between, many of the Olympic hopefuls must hold fundraisers in the their spare time.

Setbacks: pulled muscles, torn ligaments, breaks, strains, shin splints. It never ends. But the goal is always in sight. So elastic wraps, air casts, Icy Hot, physical torture—therapy, and the routine starts all over again.

Before “the competition” there are smaller ones. Local competitions, regional, state, national, and international—World Championships. More pain, more injuries, more challenges and back to square one.

I’m not telling you anything you don’t already know about the Olympics, but have you ever thought? With their years of hard work, they don’t always win the Gold.

Why should we think as writers that we can sit down without the hours, days, months, and years of sweat, learning, coaches, setbacks and disappointments? Is it really just sitting down and scratching out a story? Or does it follow the Olympic standard of incredible hard work if we want to win the Gold?

Hard work and perseverance pay off.

Go for the Gold!

Where to Find Royalty Free Images & Footage by Jennifer Hudson Taylor

Even though I'm an author who loves the written word, I'll be one of the first to admit that images are often just as powerful--sometimes instantly--through first impressions. That's why I believe images should accompany blog posts, articles, and are instrumental in video book trailers. It's also why YouTube made such a huge splash and isn't showing any signs of slowing down, and Pinterest is emerging as one of the top Social Media sites these days.

However, since many of us aren't professional photographers, and we can't be everywhere catching every possible image, we often have to rely on photos that others have taken. Therefore, we need to make sure we aren't violating any copyright laws by posting our images. If you take a photo, of objects and places then you have ownership of those photos, but if you take photos of people, you will need to get them to sign a permission release form giving you permission to use and publish their photo. If you choose to use stock photos and video, you'll want to make sure it is royalty-free or in the public domain.

Royalty-Free photos are NOT necessarily FREE!

Royalty-Free refers to the right to use copyrighted material or intellectual property without the need to pay royalties for each use or per volume sold, each time it is posted or used, or for a specified time period of use or sales.

Public Domain includes works or intellectual property in which the rights have expired, been forfeited, or are inapplicable.

When I need to use stock photos and videos, here are a few places I go:

Wikipedia - They have lots of photos that have been released into the public domain. I often use them for images of other places I cannot personally visit or things I cannot personally obtain.

Stock.xchng - This is my favorite site for still photos! They often have some great images that you won't find anywhere else. Most of them are free, but once in a while, the author will want permission and you have to email them and ask, or they would like you to give them credit in a byline or link back of some sort.

Flickr - This site has some copyrighted material, but you can do an Advanced Search in the Commons section for public domain images and add to them if you want.

Dreamstime - Free photos that are royalty-free.

iStock Photo - If you have to pay for royalty-free images and video, I like this site the best. You can purchase credits as needed and download the files when you need them. I like this site because of the wide variety of selections they provide in both still photos, illustrations, and video clips.

Free Stock Footage - Royalty-free video footage. You may need to install a plugin to view the video feeds.

ShutterStock - Royalty-free video footage as well as motion animations and still photos. 

Animation Factory - Provides some great motion animations that are royalty-free, as well as PowerPoint backgrounts. 


Pond5 - Royalty-free video, photos and illustrations. Some of the videos are a little pricey, but the still images are $1-$2 ea.

Do you use any sites for images and videos that you would like to share that I haven't listed?

A Poor Businessman? by Terry Burns

I was sitting out on the deck having a cup of coffee and thinking about my day. I was a chamber of commerce manager for nearly thirty years representing businesses and doing business. When I had a chance to become an agent I immediately saw there was little difference between representing businesses to other businesses, to suppliers, to government, in all sort of relationships, and representing authors in their relationships, primarily to publishers.

It was like I had been training for thirty years to do the job. But the question that came to my mind over my coffee cup was “as an agent do I make some decisions or choices that are not good business decisions?” I don’t know . . . maybe.”

First, business is necessarily about making a profit. Since I’ve started working as an agent it has been more about trying to help good authors, almost exclusively Christian authors, get their words our there where they will serve the Lord than it has been about money. I’m good with that decision, but is it a good business decision?

I know a lot of agents and editors don’t necessarily answer everyone that submits to them. It takes a huge amount of time, but I do, every one of them. Do I waste a lot of time that way? It’s something I really have to do, but is it a good business decision?

I require all of my clients to be in an online client group so I have the ability to contact all of them at one time but they can choose to only receive such priority messages or to be in the group that can interface with one another which they do . . . a lot. I’ve been told I interface with that group too much, again wasting a lot of time. I like being close to my clients, but is it a bad business decision?

When I took a test at a conference to see how to use what talents I might have for the Lord I came up with three special gifts, writing, music, and the gift of encouragement. I go to a lot of conferences primarily as a use of that gift of encouragement, but even though most pay expenses they cost money anyway and many of them are a straight expense. I’ve gotten most of my clients from conference contacts but for the number of clients that I have, am I spending too much there? Is the number of conferences that I do a poor business decision?

Our agency doesn’t charge any money up front but we do have the ability to charge back telephone, postage and copy expenses. I don’t, I’m not happy charging such things to authors unless I have first made them some money. Another poor business decision? 

I don’t represent profanity or content that I’m not comfortable having my name associated with. I’ve turned down some projects that I could have made some substantial money on for just this reason. It’s a decision I’m comfortable with as a Christian agent, but is it a good business decision?

Better than 80% of my clients have published or contracted since they signed with me, but after we exhausted the more lucrative contacts we got some of them started by going to small publishers. Chances are I won’t even recover expenses on many of these, particularly if we count my time worth anything, but we’re building writing credits on them and I hope they will pay off in the future. A good business decision?

I smile as my coffee cup is now empty. Am I a poor businessman? Maybe so, but as I get up to come back in here and get to work I smile . . . is it possible for that to be true and me still be a good agent? My clients are happy that I’m doing my very best for them. Maybe that’s the only measure that really matters.

What do you think?

Would You Read On? hosted by Diana Flegal

Welcome once more to our weekly column: Would You Read On?
Please let us know if you are willing to read on by leaving a thoughtful comment for this courageous contributing author. At the close of this page you will find a reveal of last weeks contributor.


Prologue (Bangladesh, current day)

            Neena shrank back but Shazari stood firm. “Get away from us,” she hissed.
            Ahmad continued toward them, laughing off Shazari’s fury. “Your husband is dead. You have no income. Soon you will have no food.”
            His grin was sly, evil. “You know you have no other choice.”
            Neena backed against a large tree, trembling. “I will never marry you!” she shrieked. She flung an arm up to shield her face from his sight. “How could you even think I would want to marry you?”
            “Want to?”Ahmad shoved Shazari aside. She pummeled him with uselessly small fists as he drew closer to Neena, close enough for Neena to feel his hot breath against her.
            “It is completely unimportant to me what you want.”
            Neena was shaking violently. Her voice came out in a desperate whisper. “Then . . . why?”
            He gripped a handful of her long, silky hair. “I want to own you,” he said. His chest heaved. “I want your husband’s daughter to know that I won.”
            His voice rose. “I will exact my vengeance on her by destroying your future.”
            Neena slumped down against the tree. Where had Shazari gone? Where had God gone?
            “Let her go.”
            Neena’s head shot up. Rashid stood behind Ahmad, feet planted, a weapon in his hand.
            Shazari stood directly behind him. Her chin was up. Her eyes shot sparks. “We are not as helpless as you think.”
           Ahmad burst into laughter. “You think my weak little brother, who has never stood up for anything in his life, is going to help you?”
            Rashid pointed the gun at his brother. “Let her go, Ahmad. You have made my life miserable since I was a boy, but I will not let you do that to them. I’ve had enough.”
            Ahmad’s eyes blazed, but his gaze failed to force Rashid’s submission.
           Very slowly,Ahmad’s hand released Neena. She rushed around him to Shazari’s side. Both women huddled behind Rashid, taking small steps backward toward the path that led away from the village.
            Rashid backed away with them. “I will take you away from here,” he said. “I will stay with you until I am certain you are safe.”
            Neena, Shazari and Rashid fled the village. “We’ll go to Asha,” Shazari whispered to Neena.“She rescues women in danger. She will have a place for us.”
            “You will never be safe,” Ahmad called after them. “Do you hear me, Rashid? I will find you!”
            He slammed his palm into the tree, shouting words raw with hate. “No matter where you go, or how far, you will never get away from me.”
            Ahmad clenched his hand into a fist, closing fingers around a piece of bark and crumbling it into dust.  “I will have my revenge.”

Would you read on?

Last weeks contributor was Lisa Fowler. Be watching for more about Lisa as she develops her 'Platform'.