Category: Agent’s Desk

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Top 5 Self-Editing Tips: Intention

In my first post last month on the topic of the Top 5 Self-Editing Tips, I covered in detail how a novel is structured and how you can be more aware of how to build the structure of your novel.

This month, let’s concentrate on an aspect of self-editing that writers rarely hear much about:  intention.

Merriam-Webster’s Collegiate Dictionary defines intention as “(1) a determination to act in a certain way: resolve; (2) import, significance; (3) what one intends to do or bring about.”

The definition of intention includes other topics, but for our purposes, we can examine the synonyms for intention and determine how we might find intention in a piece of writing, whether fiction or non-fiction. Synonyms: intent, purpose, design, aim, end, object, objective goal.

Once you finish your first or second draft, ask yourself, “Did I fulfill my overall intention for writing this piece, and did I achieve my intention in each scene or section?”

Whoa! That sounds like a tall order, doesn’t it? You might be thinking, how long am I supposed to spend on an edit? The answer: as long as it takes. Because if you have not fulfilled your intention in writing your book, then how can your reader know what you were trying to say?

Let me make this a little simpler by starting with a chapter or even a part of a chapter. Did you intend to make your character unsympathetic in this scene? If not, then you have not communicated the soul of your character to the reader. You have not fulfilled your intention. The reader might even think, “Marsha would never say that. Why is she being so rude?”

On a greater scale, your story or your non-fiction book should have an over-arching aim or goal. It is the road that connects you to the reader and pulls the story along. Yes, even a non-fiction book is more successful if it tells a story that persuades your reader to believe in what you’re writing about.

Your road will twist and turn in a novel, but you, as the author, should always keep the goal in mind. You don’t want to tell your reader up-front what your intention is, but you should know where you’re headed. If you take readers down a rabbit trail and nothing of significance happens, they will soon stop following you through the brush.

Only you know what you want to achieve in your book. If you’re leading your reader down a “road less traveled,” the trip may be leisurely or it may zip along. You may travel on a super highway, on a country lane filled with potholes, or you may walk with your reader down a garden path.

But if you veer off that highway/road/path just because you have a sudden inspiration, your book may be filled with pointless arguments (non-fiction) or characters who pop out of nowhere to deliver a useless piece of dialogue (fiction).

My intention in this post is not to say that plotters are better writers than pantsters. You can write your book as you please, but if you know your beginning and where you aim to end—intention—then the journey will be that much sweeter.

To be continued…

How will you self-edit your novel or non-fiction book to make sure your intention is clear and that you have achieved your goal in every chapter? 

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Agent Expectations and Priorities, Part 2

Last month I talked about mine and our agency’s priorities. You can view that post here.

Briefly, the first four were: 1. Contracts, 2. Reviewing/Editing Proposals, 3. Submitting Proposals, 4. Client Detail

Next…

5.  Editors:  I value highly my relationship with editors. Many of them are people I call my friends. I care about their lives, and, in return, they care about mine and the lives of my clients. At the end of the day, people do business with people they like. Doing business is not all about trust and relationship, but it is a huge reason that our agency is successful.

Consequently, each year I make time to meet personally with as many editors as possible. I have to get to know who they are, what they love to read, and what their particular house is looking for. Instead of making the July ICRS convention a priority, I go to Grand Rapids, Chicago, and Eugene every year; Nashville twice a year; and New York every other year, which allows me to visit all the CBA Houses, one on one, in a relaxed environment. ICRS may be handy (all editors together in one place), but they are also pushed, exhausted, and often overwhelmed during that crazy-busy week. I prefer to meet them at a relaxed, less-pressured time, making it enjoyable for all. We get more business done, but more importantly, we do more natural relationship building. Colorado Springs, the other publishing Mecca, is just down the road. I’m usually there monthly.

6.  Industry News: The transition that publishing has been going through the last three years has been a game-changer for agents. I’m now spending about 3-5 hours a week reading insider news about the publishing world. It’s a headache, but I do it so you don’t have to.

7.  Referrals: While the agency is always looking for the right type of authors, I personally am not looking to expand my author list. For the time being, Barbara is not signing new clients either. I will add a few clients each year, but it is rare. Your confidence in recommending us first to your author friends means a lot, but like every agency, we’re very picky.

What you won’t see me doing…

  1. I don’t have time or a desire to be famous. Though I tithe a small amount of time each year to encourage new writers, this is not a large focus. Most of my time is dedicated to my author-clients, as this is what they expect me to do (and what I love doing). Other agents do have a desire to be known well, and they have their reasons for this. Writing this monthly blog is hard enough with my jam-packed schedule. If I were to do a daily blog, the work above would greatly suffer. You will rarely read a Tweet from me unless it’s to announce something about what one of our agency clients is doing. Cathy keeps our fan page updated. The bottom line is that WordServe’s aim is for our authors to be well known, not me or the other agents who work in our company. I want to be known as an agency that gets things done; I want to deliver steak not sizzle. Ultimately, this is what authors want and need most.
  2. Though we are proud of our website and social media efforts (Facebook, this blog, Twitter posts that connect and promote our authors’ projects, our upcoming Pinterest emphasis), this is not our number one priority either. Quite frankly, we already receive way more inquiries than we can handle, so advertising or promoting our company does not benefit us. Word of mouth is our best advertising, when our clients and editors hand our names to excellent writers seeking publication. Most often, enthusiastic referrals from professionals yield our best new clients.

Agenting is about priorities, but so is life. Along with doing this work that I love, Becky and I are involved with people in our church, with our six kids and five grandsons, and trying to keep life balanced and fruitful. It’s a fun challenge.

What priorities matter most to you in a literary agency?  (Or if you are a new writer, what would you imagine you’d like your agent’s priorities to be?)

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I Have a Secret

Taken at the Denver Chalk Art Festival, June 2012

All good writers and creative-type people need a secret that drives them. The secret should push them to write more, write with superior quality, and write with a theme of hope in all of their WIPs, or even their journal. So far my secret allows me to accomplish all of the above and more.

  1. My secret wakes me up at 5:30 a.m.  Normally, I am an 8 a.m. riser or, more specifically, someone who rolls out of bed, texts something like “god mrning” to my hubby (who has already left for work), and sits on the couch, nursing my cup of coffee with the news on mute because I don’t like noise in the morning. Lately, I have been bright eyed and bushy tailed way before the hubby. So I poke him in the arm until he wakes up. Okay, so the 5:30 a.m. wake-up call isn’t good for everyone.
  2. My secret makes me go to bed at 8 p.m. I still need my 9 hours of sleep despite my early rising habits.
  3. My secret makes me eat healthier (or at least try to). I have consumed a lot more fruits and veggies because of my secret.
  4. My secret makes me more creative. I built a piece of furniture yesterday. Okay, I put together already assembled parts of a completely built piece of furniture. Oh, okay, I held the pieces while my hubby put together the piece of furniture.
  5. My secret makes me cry. Sometimes my secret is so overwhelming that all I can do is cry out to Jesus, asking him to hold me.
  6. My secret makes me laugh. I laugh even when no one else is around and I’m standing in the hamburger aisle at the grocery store, and then someone comes into the same aisle, and I laugh even harder.
  7. My secret makes me read my Bible more. Confession time: I am not a daily Bible reader. I never have been. I am not even a daily devotional reader. But my secret might turn me into one!
  8. My secret makes me love my husband even more. I made him a pan of homemade brownies the other day and called him at work “just because.” Seriously, I love that guy.
  9. My secret makes me exercise more. And not just because I would be the first person to die in The Hunger Games.
  10. My secret is my life, my light, and my joy!

Do you see now why every writer needs a secret? Your secret can be different than mine, but it needs to make you a better person. All good (or even bad) secrets do just that. So your challenge for this next week is to find yourself a secret―one that will push you harder toward your writing goals.

P.S. Some of you already know my secret. Please don’t say anything. 🙂 For the rest of you—guess away. The big secret reveal will take place on my Facebook fan page on Wednesday, June 13.

Q4U: Do you have any secrets that motivate you? If so, what are they? KIDDING! How have they made you a better person? A stronger writer?

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Agent Expectations and Priorities, Part 1

When I first started agenting full-time in 1994 there were five other agents serving authors of faith. It was a relatively new phenomenon in Christian publishing, and not always appreciated by publishers. Some even had unwritten polices about not working with agents. Now there are about 100 agents serving Christian authors in one way or another. Today, most publishers won’t work with an author unless they’re represented.   I know many of the agents, and like most of them.  And while we all do similar work, our styles and priorities aren’t all the same.

So what should you expect from Barbara, Sarah and me (as the leader of this particular agency)?

Here’s what I’ll be doing nearly every day of the week (in general order of importance)…

  1. Negotiating and processing contracts: When a work-for-hire agreement needs to be written or a publishing contract needs working over, this is what I do first (for the whole agency). It’s what authors need and want, and what an agency ought to put on top of the stack each day.  In the last few months it seems most publishers have gone to a new boilerplate contract. That means I’ve got to renegotiate my agency boilerplate with them line by line, a time-consuming task, but it is the top priority for authors. There are typically nuanced changes that have to be made depending on whether it’s a fiction or a nonfiction contract. The rights issues in the changing face of publishing means I have to be extra diligent.  Negotiations often take several weeks because publishers put projects in line. That means after I get a draft (anywhere from 10-30 days), then I respond back within a day or two. Then it gets back in line again before they respond back, then I respond back…then it gets in line. You get the idea. Contracts take time and shouldn’t be rushed.
  2. Reading client proposals:  A close second in importance is fine-tuning new proposals.  There are always about five to ten projects I’m getting ready to pitch at any given moment (Barbara and Sarah the same).  So when you send me your new proposal, it gets in line behind the others ahead of you. It often takes two to three weeks or more before I get it back to you with edits, but publishers are expecting excellence in proposals these days, so we take our time, going back and forth with the author, to make them as close to perfect as we can. We only have one opportunity to pitch your proposal, so making it top-notch, based on our experience, is vital.  And, yes, time-consuming.
  3. Submitting proposals:  Writing or editing a pitch letter, picking out editors to send the project to, following up on the myriad of questions editors have…this is the lifeblood of any agency.
  4. Client work:  Returning client’s emails and phone calls is a huge priority with me.  My answers may be short and to the point, but I am a responsive agent, usually getting back to clients in 24 to 48 hours.  Calls with marketing directors on upcoming releases, career planning meetings and author phone calls, going over royalty reports, plus dozens of other client-related busy work details fill up a good portion of my day.

Next month I’ll share a few more of my priorities and then a couple of items that are clearly NOT what I want or have time to do.

What do you want your agent to prioritize for your career?

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Ebooks: To Create or Not Create

A lot of WordServe authors have asked me about ebooks lately. In fact, with the digital age continuing to progress with new technologies, many who don’t have an agent or a publisher or a book wonder whether they should take that leap. While you (and your agent if you have one) ultimately get to decide whether or not to self-publish, I thought I would offer a few tips that might help you during your decision-making process.

  1. Spend Money on the Cover. If you have decided to publish an ebook, congratulations! Now, make sure that you do it right. Don’t try to design the cover yourself if you have limited or no experience in graphic design. Go on Craigslist or post a flyer on your local college’s graphic design program bulletin board. A starving student would love to design the cover of your book for probably half to a third of the cost that you would spend on a traditional graphic artist. Of course, if you have the money and decide to spend it, then hire a professional. Either way, make sure that the cover of your ebook looks as well-designed as a traditionally published book.
  2. You’re Hired! When you create an ebook, you may not just sit back and watch your rankings grow every day. Instead, you just became your own boss at your new sales company. You need to call several people a day to ask if they will review and like your book. Chances are about half (or less) of the people that you reach out to will actually follow through with their commitment, so the more people with whom you connect, the better. Your contact list should also include local celebrities, well-known bloggers, local radio hosts—anyone you can think of who has a strong sphere of influence (sorry, your Mom and Grandma don’t cut it). Those people can reach out to even more people without you even trying.
  3. Invest in InDesign. Numerous software programs create ebooks. However, most people recognize the high quality of InDesign. It does take a bit of a learning curve, though, so if you have the gumption, watch as many tutorial videos as you need and start learning yourself. I did this, and I moved along pretty quickly once I understood the basic premise of ebook creating in InDesign. If you need a more hands-on learning approach, then check into classes at your local library (usually free!). Or, again, you can always stop by your local community college and ask for directions to the graphic design school. For only a couple hundred bucks, you will receive a nice tutorial in InDesign, and your starving college student will receive more than a few nights of entertainment at Buffalo Wild Wings.
  4. Don’t Do Anything Stupid. Often writers get so excited about the prospect of self-publishing that they sell their soul to the self-publishing devil. You have all heard about “publishing” companies that offer to publish your book for a fee. At the completely awful soul-sucking companies, you get a worse cover design than if you would have created it yourself. However, legitimate self-publishing companies do exist. You still have to pay, but they offer valid services. One of my favorite, Dog Ear Publishing, offers several great self-publishing options. They also offer editorial services with comparable prices. Of course, you still have to do your research before you invest in any self-publishing company to make sure it fits well with you and your book.
  5. Read the Well-Fed Self-Publisher by Peter Bowerman. It has a ton of great resources. Seriously, even if you completely ignore all of my advice above, please go read Peter’s book. You will not be disappointed.

Whatever you decide, enjoy the publishing process. Become involved in marketing. Continue blogging. Work on enhancing your Facebook fan page. Write for magazines. Book speaking engagements. Oh, that sounds a lot like traditional publishing? Well, yeah. Whether you traditionally publish or self-publish, you need to make sure that you market yourself.

So, are you looking into the possibility of self-publishing a book or a promotional device for your book? What steps have you taken in that direction? What fears hold you back from moving forward with self-publishing?

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Your Rights

Publishers are in the rights business, pure and simple. They are printers, sometimes marketers, hopefully good editors, but their business is charged with making money over the long haul. That means they want to control any and all rights to your book to license, sell, adapt, modify, translate…you get the picture. So what should an author know?

Every publishing house is different; that’s why an experienced agent is so essential. Some houses grasp onto a right like it’s their only child (bigger publishers, especially). They’re stubborn and unreasonable and hold all of the cards. Why? Money. They write the checks. If it’s a big check, that entitles the publisher to try to keep whatever they can. Unless an author is willing to walk away from that check, they have little leverage but to play the publisher’s game. Having said that, publishers also have a good amount of experience in selling these rights, and a big machinery to manage the process.

Primary rights that are typically non-negotiable include (and this includes the right to sell anything we grant them to anyone, anywhere, almost at any time):

  • North American (and sometimes World) English language print rights;
    • Any format, style, derivation
    • Book club
  • E-book rights (and enhanced ebook rights);
  • Large print and braille;

These primary rights are often granted because the publisher can ultimately make more money than an agent:

  • In the Christian market, foreign rights. In the general market, if the agent has good contacts overseas or good co-agents in bigger parts of the world (Europe, the Pacific Rim, etc.), there is more money to be made by the author in keeping these rights.
    • Unless the agent can negotiate a larger percentage for his author (60% to 75%). Publishers often have deeper means to keep squirrely foreign publishers accountable (due to doing lots of deals with one house).
    • Like most experienced agencies, our agency has some contacts with foreign editors, but not as many as we’d like.
    • Audio rights are sometimes non-negotiable, as publishers want to control what may compete with them out in the marketplace. But I’ve withheld audio in a few instances and sold these rights myself.
  • For Christian non-fiction especially, curriculum rights are sometimes granted to a publisher, sometimes not. Publishers are rarely putting curriculum packages together for churches, but if it’s a big book (read: big author), or has potential over the long haul to make a mark in retail, they’ll typically want to keep these rights for two or three years just in case it hits.
    • Sometimes reversion can happen after the first year if the author simply wants to produce and fund the creation of some sort of curriculum piece for his/her own sales.
    • Curriculum can also include non-dramatic video. This is even rarer, as it’s insanely expensive to produce.

Other rights:

  • Dramatic and film rights. Oddly, some Christian publishers want to hold onto 20% to 50% of these rights. What used to be automatically retained by the author is now being held onto by the publisher for up to two years, stubbornly by some houses. In New York, there is no question that dramatic rights are retained by the author, but some portions of CBA want a piece of the action. A few publishers, of course, have had some success getting producers to notice bestselling books and then getting them made into film. It’s rare, but it happens. And the money isn’t insignificant if something gets made (overall, anywhere from $50,000 to $250,000, if a book gets made into film).
    • Option Money:  Signing an option agreement to take a book to film (especially for Christian books), is common (5% to 10% of all novels published), but not lucrative. Anywhere from $500 for a one-year option (renewable at $1,000 or $2,000) to perhaps a high-end of $25,000. There are exceptions and lots of variety, depending on the entity optioning the rights. The “option” allows them to start raising money, hiring a script writer, getting a director, and attaching other talent, all with the hopes of presenting it to a studio for the green light of turning on the cameras. In 18 years as an agent, I’ve done a dozen options or so, with one finally being put into film. It’s not our core business, and the money is not large on 98% of the properties. WordServe works with an experienced Hollywood co-agent when a property is close to being optioned.
  • Calendars, magazines (1st and 2ndSerial rights), gift books, anthologies, quotations
    • Small money; typically publishers want to keep these rights.

Do you have any other questions about rights issues you’ve been wondering about?

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Dumpster or dumpster? Important Editing Skills That You Need to Know

The first time I really became aware of style concerns in a novel is when I read Dumpster, not dumpster, in my book of the week. I think I was in high school or college. Did you know that Dumpster is a proper noun because it is a brand name? Neither did I.

As book authors, you all have to follow specific conventions based on the Chicago Manual of Style (CMS). Even if you are not aware of all of the editing conventions, your editor is, and he or she will call you on them during your revisions.

Here are ten interesting rules that writers of books must follow when using CMS.

  1. Include an ‘s’ to indicate possession after words that end in ‘s’. For example:  Uncle Thomas’s garden produced several large vegetables. Other style manuals indicate that it is okay to not include the last ‘s’, but CMS does not recommend it.
  2. Do not include “scare” quotes. In other words, do not do what I just did. When you include a term that is not really your term or your character’s term, do not include quotation marks around it. Simply write it as is.
  3. CMS prefers a.m. and p.m. So, that means no am, pm, AM, PM, A.M., or P.M.
  4. These are a few of my favorite things. You must use the Oxford comma when writing a list. In other words, if your character is going to the grocery store, he needs to buy milk, eggs, and orange juice. He should not buy milk, eggs and orange juice.
  5. “What about using dialect in my writing?” you may ask. Fortunately, you’re in the clear. CMS specifically states issues of dialect fall outside of the scope of its manual. Still, be consistent in your use of dialect. Also, your editor may have some good tips for writing appropriate dialect. Follow those guidelines.
  6. Spell out numbers zero through one hundred for non-technical documents.
  7. I often see this mistake: When you combine two independent clauses (complete sentences) with a coordinating conjunction (for, and, nor, but, or, yet,so–FANBOYS is a great way to remember them), always include a comma before your coordinating conjunction. For example: I like cats, and I like dogs. Books are fun to read, but they are not as fun to read as magazines. Note that you would not include a comma if one part of the sentence was not complete: Books are fun to read but not as fun as magazines.
  8. If there is a mistake in the final version of your novel, you are ultimately the one responsible. “In book publishing, the author is finally responsible for the accuracy of a work; most book publishers do not perform fact-checking in any systematic way or expect it of their manuscript editors unless specifically agreed upon up front” (chicagomanualofstyle.org). That said, most of the editors that I know are excellent fact checkers and editors. However, do not assume that just because you have an agent or an editor that he or she will take care of the errors in your book. Take ownership of your work.
  9. If you are writing for a newspaper and you are talking about effective punishment methods for three-year-olds, you might use the word timeout. However, if a character in your novel is throwing a temper tantrum, he or she needs a time-out.
  10. And, finally, although this is not an error that I see too often any more, do not include two spaces after a period. Two spaces used to be necessary because typewriters were not formatted to handle a period followed by a T, for example. The left side of the T would overlap the period. Now, computers handle all of the spacing issues for us, so we do not have to worry about hitting the space bar twice.

Now, let’s put some of your editing skills to work. Find the error. Its nearly impossible:

AAA
BBB
CCC
DDD
EEE
FFF
GGG
HHH

Do you know of any other CMS differences of which writer should be aware?

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Social Media and Your Book Release

Often, authors ask me what they can do to put their book in the social media limelight. While it is not difficult to accomplish, as we have discussed before, there are a few important steps that you can take to ensure that your book receives the attention it deserves. Here are a few ideas that scratch the surface…

1. Start Immediately I had a client named Dan (all names have been changed to protect the innocent).  Dan had a wonderful book coming out in about six months.  He was so excited, I am sure he felt like he was going to give birth to a baby, or as close as guys get to this feeling (besides kidney stones).  Dan wanted to wait until his book came out to get all social media going.  Although waiting can still be effective, I don’t advise this or think it is best. Make sure you are lined up with all of your social media accounts now. Do you have Twitter, Facebook, Pintrest, and maybe even Google Plus?  Make them look pretty. Get your friends and family on board and let them know what you are doing, so they can be your biggest cheerleaders.  Don’t wait. Start today.
2. Start Blogging and Guest Blogging  Here are my three simple rules for having a successful blog:

* Be consistent. Same time, same day.

* Don’t be too wordy or too simple.  500 -700 words is a good mark. Don’t over blog. Sadly, I just unsubscribed to one of my favorite blogs because I would receive two or three updates from that person a day. Save the poetry you like for your Facebook page.

* Be consistent. Oh, I said that? But it is valuable. I want my blogs in my inbox the same time every week.

Guest blogs need to be done strategically.  Pair up with friends who blog as well. Showcase yourself.  It can be a win – win for both of you. Promote it well,  and you both will end the day with a bigger audience.

3. Create A Data Base. Compile an email list and blast it out to all your friends and family.  I use Mail Chimp: it’s easy, it’s free and it does a great job managing a database.  There are some other ones that people have told me about,  author Lucille Zimmerman said that AWeber is great.  Celebrate great reviews, talk about new projects, and keep people on the inside of your circle, making them feel valuable.
4. Give Away Books. When your book is going to come out, encourage your friends and family to buy a copy.  Sure if you are REALLY close to them, you can give them a copy for free, but still get them to buy one and give it to a friend.  (Ever heard of Guerilla Marketing?) If your publisher gives you books to give to your friends and family, tell them they can only have one if they agree to write a review on Amazon after reading it. If your book is about the church, give it to church leaders ask them to help promote your masterpiece.

Get your books in the hands of “tastemakers.”  What is a tastemaker, you ask? Acoording to Urban Dictionary, “Tastemaker: An individual who’s determination of what’s stylish influences a significant quantity or quality of people resulting in a supportive trend.”  A tastemaker is someone who is savvy and all-knowing. It could be your best friend or your coffee shop barista. You want your tastemaker friends to talk about your book; people listen to tastemakers.
What is your best tip to be socially media savvy? 

Ingrid Schneider is WordServe’s resident Marketing Maven. With a specialty in social media, Ingrid loves helping authors find and manage an online tribe of readers. After spending the last 15 years managing and marketing restaurants, people, and businesses, Ingrid knew that helping people market themselves via social media and online platforms was a passion and something at which she excelled. Now doing social media marketing for some great-named authors, Ingrid also loves to imagine that she is a secret agent, because she can’t disclose with whom she is working. (Believe us when we tell you that Ingrid handles some big names, but for anonymity’s sake, we can’t disclose this TOP SECRET information.)  Imagination and creativity is something Ingrid is serious about and loves to incorporate into her work with her clients.

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My Day in Prison

I went to prison not long ago to visit an inmate and to hear her story. I needed to know first-hand if she was who my client said she was. My client, her best friend on the outside, is writing a story of forgiveness between two women. I spent two hours in a small room listening as she spoke more words than my male ears could possibly take in. But I was riveted.

Outside in the main visiting area, dozens of inmates visited with parents, friends, children. Eating vending machine food, playing cards, laughing and trying to find a bit of normal in their season of isolation from the world for their public sins.

Her words filled the air for about 95 percent of our time together. She radiated the Lord like few I’ve come in contact with on the outside. Twenty-two years behind bars for a cold-blooded murder that she readily admits to committing. Many more years lie ahead. She killed the best friend of her best friend, the woman I mentioned in the first paragraph. Tears of regret come easy for the life she took, the lives of children she altered (including her own, one of whom was only 18 months old at the time and whom she has not seen since), even a city she threw into turmoil.

The good part of the story is that she’s now had 22 years of learning what it means to know, love, serve and wrestle with the Lord.

“Though I have the privilege of keeping a small TV in my cell, I have few distractions. I get up at 6:00, make coffee in my little coffee maker, and spend time with God in the Word.” She prays…a lot. She writes songs, words and lyrics, which are truly inspired. She’s an advocate for other prisoners trying to navigate a system that, by its nature, has to be more concerned with incarceration than care, with towing the line instead of grace. She understands. “It’s just the way it is.”

“There are 1,000 women here,” she says, “about 600 I would say know the Lord, probably 400 attend one of the four ‘church’ services offered once a week. Three of the services are the fire and brimstone variety, only one of the pastors of one church talks about the grace of God.”

“As if people here need more shame,” I say, attempting to understand a bit of what prisoners feel when they’re locked up for years at a time. She agrees that most of the women are so full of shame they don’t need the heaping coals of judgment to go along with it.

Before I can ask the question, she says, “That’s why books get passed around here so often. Books communicate, through story, God’s grace and the love of Jesus in a form that women can grasp. A woman can get swept away into the love of God through a story, well told. Jerry Jenkins’ book, Riven, is a favorite here, we have four copies. Francine Rivers is passed around a lot, and of course Karen Kingsbury.” Ted Dekker is mentioned, Gary Chapman, John Eldredge, as are several other familiar novelists and nonfiction authors.

You and I both know writers can’t invest their precious time writing solely to prisoners incarcerated for not playing by life’s rules. But in a bigger sense, that’s exactly what you’re doing every time you get behind your computer to tell the story God’s given you to write. We’re all prisoners to our own story in ways unseen, locked-up to our own daily grind. We all hear too much condemnation and not enough grace and love, and we all need those continual reminders that God is involved in the details but also looking out for the big picture.

And we all need to hear that He is constantly trying to inspire us to move closer to Him, His Kingdom, and communicating the true love He has to those who can’t readily touch it.

Books do that. Perhaps the book you’re writing right now does that.

So in the truest sense, you do what you do for the prisoners. You labor long hours in research, in writing and rewriting, in obeying the editorial instructions of your agent and editors. And most of the time you do it for a pretty low hourly paycheck. You hone your craft to tell the story better. You endure bad reviews and confusing royalty reports. It’s often hard and thankless and lonely.

But you do it for the prisoners.

Thank you.

Greg Johnson is president of WordServe Literary Group and has been a literary agent for 18 years serving Christian authors.

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Associate Agent by Day, Writer by Night (Sometimes)

Like many of you, I had grandiose dreams of seeing my name on the front cover of a book in Barnes and Noble. I think it started when I was five, and my mom would post copies of my poems all over the fridge. Instead of drawing pictures of kittens or rainbows, I would write. Mostly about my Grandma Mason’s apple pie.

However, somewhere along the way, the dream of writing became a bit more fine tuned, and I realized that I really wanted to help others along their writing journey more than I wanted to write my own novel. I thought today might be a good one for looking at exactly what shaped my desire to become an associate agent over my desire to become a writer

I failed kindergarten cutting. As a left-handed cutter in a right-handed-at-everything-else body, I was doomed from the beginning. My teachers didn’t believe that I was really a left-handed cutter because everything else came naturally to me as a right hander. There were only a limited amount of left-handed scissors after all. As early as age five, I knew that only certain people could use the left-handed scissors. I was not one of them.

I used to memorize publishing houses. Not only did I read my favorite authors or genres as a child, but there was a time when I would only read from my favorite publishing houses. I would dream of the day when I could be a part of that particular team. My writing dreams were never really of me being a shining star—they were always of me creating something spectacular with others.

My story arc never expands beyond 15 pages. Have any of you ever read Moby Dick? No, let me ask that again. Have any of you ever read Moby Dick and liked it? To this day, I can only make it through the first 100 pages. About the time the crew leaves for sea, I give up. I love Melville as a short story writer but not so much as a novelist. And I like to compare myself to Melville, although I know I am not nearly as good. I am best with short forms of storytelling or even poems. I am just not a fan of writing 70,000+ words about the same people and place. I give up after about 5,600 words and want to move on to something else.

I do, however, love working with other people’s words. I like to think through how I can make someone else’s story even stronger. The words have already been written; now I get to go in and play. I am like a decorator on Extreme Home Makeover. (Anyone else sob during the last episode?) I am thrilled to let someone else build the frame and put up the drywall. I want to go in and build a pirate ship into a child’s room or create a sanctuary for Mom and Dad.

Even though I am not a novelist, I do still like to write. Writing is a hobby now—something that I do for fun now and then. And, sometimes, I like to share my words with others. So, if you can promise me that you won’t come after me with pitchforks and tar and feathers if you don’t like my words, here is my is my Saturday gift to you:

FEBRUARY 28

They say you will reach me at a time when the

Impassable becomes the necessary.

Like conscientious birds refusing to fly,

Mine is a tombless marriage.

Cotton-candied windows reflect

Pastel letters, “A”, “B”, “C”

The soft skull of books is no longer a comfort

Crushing frozen syllables,

My city is ineffective.

* Line 8 of this poem is taken from Neruda’s poem, “Heights of Macchu Picchu: VIII, Clime up with Me”

Since I shared my creativity with you, would you be willing to share some of your writing with me? I would love to read something that is outside of your normal genre. Pull your poems out from under your bed. Let me see the songs that you wrote (but didn’t send to) the winners of American Idol. Or, if you’re in a creative mood, write me something new.