I’ve just been featured on Christian Bookshops Blog talking about getting my new book, David and the Hairy Beast, into independent bookshops. If you are thinking of doing the same, drop by and read about my recent experience. For a list of independent bookshops in the UK, visit Local Bookshops.co.uk
Five things you need to know about getting your book into indie bookshops:
- Your book must have an ISBN number and barcode and be Nielsen registered.
- Be prepared to give 35% – 40% wholesale discount off the cover price.
- You need to phone first then ask if you can send a sample to them (be prepared to lose this stock if they don’t want to order more).
- If they do stock your book they’re not likely to take more than a handful in the first instance.
- Terms offered should be 30 days.
For more on publishing your own book and getting it to market, read Anna Crosbie’s How to Publish Your Own Book.
Well the contract is finally in place so I can formally announce that I’ve been commissioned by Lion Hudson (Monarch imprint) to co-write the autobiography of Yookie Budia, a former child soldier from the Congo. The book will be called Child of War. Yookie’s story is an incredible but harrowing tale of a journey from war to personal peace. As a young boy, Yookie was forced to participate in a series of atrocities and witnessed the murder of his own family. He managed to escape and after a treacherous journey through sub-Saharan Africa made his way to Durban, South Africa, where more dangers faced him as a child on the streets. If you want to know what happened to Yookie after that and how he met his wife Sarah and how they now run a charity called Hope2thehopeless then you’ll have to read the book! Yookie and I are working on it over the summer and it will come out early next year.
Simultaneously, Craig Gailbraith from Drawbridge Productions in Cape Town, is making a film about Yookie’s incredible journey. I’m sure it will be a box office hit!
If you would like to develop your own skills in writing life stories as well as other non-fiction writing, why not work through the Crafty Writer’s free non-fiction course
It’s great to be working on a new project. Illustrator Amy Barnes and I are working on a series of children’s picture books about the life of the biblical King David when he was a boy – the Young David books. So far I’ve written three out of six titles. Check out Amy’s stunning illustrations to get a taste of the project so far. 
If you would like to learn more about how to write picture books, check out my series of articles on writing for children, and specifically the article on writing picture books.
My first devotional series for Inspiring Women Every Day (CWR) is now available to order. In this daily reading booklet, Wendy Bray will take you through Psalm 22 in January and I will be helping you face your fears in February. For the rest of the year a host of women writers will encourage and inspire you. Booklets may be ordered through the CWR website.
A Christian Writing Course
If you would like to try your hand at Christian writing then I have put together a short online course based on a series I presented at my church called Writing as Worship and Witness.
What is Christian Speculative Fiction? Rather than speculating ourselves, we decided to ask Christian publisher Jeff Gerke for his views. Jeff has served as an editor for Multnomah Publishers, Strang Communications, and NavPress. While at Strang, Jeff launched Realms, an imprint of Christian speculative fiction. In October 2008 Jeff launched Marcher Lord Press, an indie publishing company specialising in Christian speculative fiction. Under the pen name Jefferson Scott he has authored six Christian novels (Operation Firebrand: Deliverance is one of the best-known) and co-authored two non-fiction books. His new non-fiction title, The Art & Craft of Writing Christian Fiction, is available now.
TCW: What exactly is Christian speculative fiction?
JG: Christian speculative fiction is a fancy way of saying “science fiction and fantasy written from a Christian worldview.” There are many popular genres in Christian fiction, just as there are in the wider publishing arena. But unlike in secular publishing, where fantasy and science fiction are extremely popular, Christian publishing has not always appreciated the kind of fiction I affectionately call the weird stuff.
Continue reading ‘Christian Speculative Fiction – a ‘lost’ genre?’
In the latest in our series on so-called niche markets, we speak to Christian ‘chick lit’ author Penny Culliford. Penny first came to fame with the Theodora’s Diary series, which were described by one critic as ‘Bridget Jones Goes to Church’. After concluding the third in the series, Penny turned her hand to a reporter sleuth mystery, The Art of Standing Still, (Zondervan, 2007) about a community that revives a series of mediaeval mystery plays. She also writes poetry, plays and articles for magazines. Continue reading ‘Niche markets: Christian ‘chick lit’’
One of the things with blogging is how to think of something unique to say every week – or everyday if you’re really enthusiastic. As I’ve confessed before, I’m a reluctant blogger, and don’t believe in blogging for blogging’s sake. I’m first and foremost a writer and writing teacher who uses a blog as a tool for writing, teaching and publicity. But my internet manager keeps telling me I need to ‘just get stuff up there’! Now that’s a bit cynical if you ask me, but hey, that’s his job. And if it wasn’t for ‘him’ I wouldn’t be here in the first place. Anyway, I think I’ve come up with an idea that will keep us both happy. Continue reading ‘Ideas for writing a weekly column’
We write because we were created to. Ever since the first scratchings on cave walls, people have tried to communicate their thoughts, stories and ideas through the written word. People of faith are no different. Writing as Worship and Witness is a six-week course, hosted on the Crafy Writer’s sister site, www.veitchsmith.com, and is aimed at people who want to explore writing as part of their Christian walk.
I’ve never written SF myself, but I’ve always seen something ‘spiritual’ in its exploration of mankind’s inner and outer worlds. In fact, SF and fantasy are one of the last realms open to Christian writers to present an ‘alternative’ world view. Continue reading ‘Science Fiction, fantasy and Faith’
Children’s books are often the battle ground of religious zealots with many Christians boycotting the likes of JK Rowling and Philip Pulman. In this article, on veitchsmith.com, I contend that spiritual themes can be found in the most unlikely of places.
