No, All Christian Content Shouldn’t Be Free

A few years ago, when I was a pastor, I had a hard time explaining to a rather cranky member why we, as a church, had to pay for a license to use Christian music in our worship services. “They should give it away freely. Why do I have to pay for it? I thought […]

Rewarding the Generious

Today I had the chance to interview Michael Hyatt, former CEO of Thomas Nelson and one of the most influential bloggers in the blogosphere. Hyatt is a popular speaker on issues of leadership, publishing, and platform. His latest book, Platform is a New York Times bestseller. I asked Hyatt about the idea of platform-building, which has drawn […]

7 Steps to Get Started Writing

I have a lot of people who are interested in launching a writing career, but don’t know how to get started. It seems a bit overwhelming. So I decided to try and write a post with seven sort of first-steps on writing. I hope this helps those who feel this call. 1) Take a Long […]

In Defense of Christian Bookstores, Christian Publishers, and Southern Baptists

It seems there are three, quick, easy, cheap ways to score points if you’re a hip, up-and-coming evangelical. Say something negative about Christian bookstores, Christian publishers, and/or Southern Baptists. If you hit on a criticism of all three, you’ll really get a lot of back pats and your blog will probably have a lot of […]

Friday Five: Lin Johnson

Lin Johnson is one of the most influential people in Christian publishing as a writer, editor, and instructor. Perhaps here biggest contribution is her annual Write to Publish Conference, held every year on the campus of Wheaton College. Personally, the Write to Publish Conference has had more influence on my writing career than almost any […]

Friday Five: Dave Zimmerman

Today I’m privileged to feature my friend, Dave Zimmerman. Dave is longtime editor for Intervarsity Press and a columnist at Burnside Writers Collective. His books include Deliver Us from Me-Ville and the devotional compilation My Heart–Christ’s Home Through the Year.

How to Do a Radio Interview

photo © 2009 Renée Johnson | more info (via: Wylio)     With the publication of my three books, I’ve had to quite a few radio interviews, mostly on Christian radio. I’ve also done some TV interviews as well, but mainly I do radio, because it enables me to do it from home or office […]

Creative Tensions: Between the Editor and Your Voice

This is the third post in a series of posts on writing and the creative life. The other two posts are: “Between Annoyance and Passivity“; “Between Authenticity and Plastic.” Today I want to discuss another tension, the one that exists between your unique voice and the hot red pen of the editor. One of the […]

Why I Still Like Paper Books

photo © 2007 Wonderlane | more info (via: Wylio) Not long ago I wrote a post on the importance of reading books, even in the 21st Century. I want to follow up on that by sharing why I still prefer paper books to e-books, even in the midst of the e-book revolution. Recently Amazon revealed […]

Friday Five Interview: Tricia Goyer

Tricia Goyer is a multi-published author and speaker. I got to know Tricia when my first book, Teen People of the Bible was released. Her career has really taken off since. Tricia is the author of 25 books, including historical and contemporary fiction as well as nonfiction. She has published over 300 articles for national […]

Friday Five Interview – Margaret McSweeney

In 2005-2006, I had the privilege of volunteering to help a congressional candidate, Dave McSweeney, run for Congress here in Illinois’ 8th district. What emerged from that race was more than a campaign. I became great friends with both Dave and his wife, Margaret. And today I have the privilege of interviewing Margaret McSweeney. Margaret […]

Friday Five Interview – Chip MacGregor

It is my privilege to interview one of the top literary agents in the country. Chip MacGregor is more than just a literary agent, he’s a consummate “book guy” enjoying a successful career in all phases of publishing, from writing, editing, collaborating, publishing, and representing. Chip has discovered, collaborated with, and coached some of the most well-known […]