The Motivational Editor

Helping Writers Go from Unpublished to Published

Debra

6 Lessons I Learned about Marketing Strategy from Playing Board Games

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When it comes to marketing strategy, I’m a babe barely out of the cradle. What I know today I’ve learned by reading articles and by the mistakes I’ve made marketing my own books.

I wish I could tell you my efforts to market Carried by Grace have been a wild success—they haven’t. What I can tell you is I’ve done everything wrong.

Monopoly boardThankfully, I can start over.

The majority of writers I talk to tell me they dislike marketing. As an introvert, I haven’t particularly enjoyed it either.

Writers want to write. I get that. But the fact is, today’s writers must be engaged in marketing.

If you intend to make any money selling your book, you have to spend time marketing. So, the Marine in me is going to tell you to suck it up and deal with it. Your bad attitude only makes the time you do spend marketing that much more miserable.

I’m still learning the world of marketing strategy, but I’ve finally begun to get a better grasp on it. Today, I’d like to share my latest insights that I hope will not only make my tasks of marketing easier, but yours too. [Read more…] about 6 Lessons I Learned about Marketing Strategy from Playing Board Games

Those Pesky Dialogue Tags

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dialog 2Oh those pesky dialogue tags.

Said.

Asked.

Replied.

Responded.

There’s a lot of conflicting information out there on what to use.

What’s a writer to do?

In the multitude of manuscripts I read, I see writers employ such things as “Sally smiled” or “Gerald laughed.” In and of itself, there is nothing wrong with that. The problem arises when the writer uses it as a substitute for “she said” and suddenly the character is constantly smiling or laughing.

Generally, a reader needs to have an identifier every 4-5 lines of dialogue in order to stay on track with who is speaking. So a tag isn’t required every time someone speaks (but I’ve seen writers do just that).

Let’s look at an alternative to the dialogue tag. [Read more…] about Those Pesky Dialogue Tags

Why Write for Periodicals?

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Last week I posted the submission guidelines to 6 magazines. I do this on a regular basis. Why? Because writing for periodicals is one of the best ways to hone your writing skills.

Today’s guest, multi-published author Ava Pennington, has a great deal of expertise in this area and is here today to discuss 6 reasons why you should write for periodicals.

Why Write for Periodicals?

By Ava Pennington [Read more…] about Why Write for Periodicals?

When Effect Comes Before Cause

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two men fightingWhile reading a book, have you ever found yourself saying There’s something wrong with that sentence, but I can’t quite figure out what?

Do you stop to figure out what’s wrong or just keep reading? I’m guilty of doing both, depending on the circumstances of the moment. Of course, if I’m editing a manuscript, I stop to figure it out.

Today, let’s take a look at what might be the problem. [Read more…] about When Effect Comes Before Cause

A Call to Righteous Living

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picture of sun shining on a lakeIn light of the recent Supreme Court decision, I am compelled to shout a different message than the ones clogging the airwaves and those of cyberspace.

Let’s look at the story of the adulterous woman told in John 8. When asked about whether this adulterous woman should be stoned, Jesus said in verse 7 that the one who had never sinned should be the one to cast the first stone. Rather than stand in judgment against the sin of others, Jesus told the people to look at themselves and their own guilt before God.

The same message applies to us today. Those of us who call ourselves Christian must stop crying out at the sins of others and turn our gaze upon ourselves.

We must be the example of pure and holy living, not standing in judgment, but sharing the gospel and love of God so that others may be set free from sin.

No one is without sin, not one, (Romans 3:23) and in the eyes of God sin is sin, whether it is murder or sexual immorality or lying.

Most Christians know the story of the adulterous woman, and that no one, including Jesus, condemned her for her sin. But we Christians often fail to apply the rest of the message Jesus gave this woman: “Go and sin no more.”

If Jesus told her not to sin anymore, that means it was possible for her to do just that. My mind reels at that thought. I’m human, after all. But that is an excuse we use to escape our responsibility, as well as a weapon of Satan. If we’re convinced we can’t lead a sinless life, we’ll make little or no effort to do so.

The adulterous woman chose to live in sin. She knew full well what she was doing was wrong. And I believe that’s what Jesus is talking about when he said sin no more. He wants us to choose righteous living, to resist sin and live a pure and holy life.

Leviticus 11:44 NKJV tells us “For I am the LORD who brings you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God. You shall therefore be holy, for I am holy.”

The believer is called to live a holy life. We can do that only with the power of the Holy Spirit active in our lives. We do not live under the law (the Ten Commandments), but under grace (made pure by accepting the free gift of Christ’s sacrifice on the cross). This grace doesn’t mean we can accept God’s gift of salvation and then willingly continue to live a life of sin (see Romans 6).

In the coming days, as we draw nearer to Christ’s return, let us examine our own lives. Does sin abide in us? We may think our heart is pure because we love our spouse and don’t lust after others. Or we don’t lie or cheat or murder. But there is sin that is not so obvious such as worry and doubt, or trusting in money instead of in God.

Yes, I’m human and I sin. When faced with temptation I make the conscious decision to cry out to God for help in resisting, or I choose to give in. When I sin, I repent and ask forgiveness.

Daily I must choose to live a holy life. Within my human nature, I do not possess the power to do so, but through the power of the Holy Spirit residing within me, I can.

When Jesus returns, He is returning for a pure church, a glorious church without spot or wrinkle (Ephesians 5:27). Yes, we are saved by grace, not by works. Allow that grace to have its way within you, conforming you to the image Christ.

“Jesus replied, ‘You must love the LORD your God with all your heart, all your soul, and all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. A second is equally important: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ The entire law and all the demands of the prophets are based on these two commandments.” (Matthew 22:37-40 NLT)

Allow God to do a work in your heart. Seek Him today, for today is the day of salvation (2 Corinthians 6:2 NLT). Pray and ask Him to reveal any sin in your life. Then repent, and as David cried out in Psalm 51:10, ask God to create in you a clean heart and to renew a steadfast spirit within you.

(For a more in-depth look at sin and grace, read Romans 6.)

Advice from Children’s Author Janet Ann Collins

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Part of what drives us to be writers is our desire to share our message and make a difference in the lives of others.

Multi-published children’s author Janet Ann Collins does just that. Janet and her husband raised three foster sons with special needs, and you’ll find the complexities and challenges of special needs children occurring as a regular theme in her books.

Children's author Janet Ann CollinsWhy Did you write A Shadow of Fear? [Read more…] about Advice from Children’s Author Janet Ann Collins

5 Upcoming Writers Conferences

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Debra L. Butterfield
Photo courtesy of Carol J. Sharp

Writers conferences are not only great places to learn, but they are a lot of fun to attend!

I enjoy teaching at conferences as much as I enjoy attending them. That’s me in the pic above, teaching at the Called to Write Conference in Pittsburg, Kansas, this past April.

At conferences, you’ll learn about writing and the world of publishing as well as be able to present your work to agents and editors. You’ll also be able to network with other writers and make new friendships.

Upcoming writers conferences [Read more…] about 5 Upcoming Writers Conferences

8 Books on Writing I Recommend

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My 8 recommended books on writingWhat book on the craft of writing has been the most helpful to you?

I recently asked that question on my Facebook author page, but no one left an answer.

So I have to wonder if I’m wasting my time with today’s post.

But maybe it was a question that required too much thought.

Or they weren’t trolling Facebook that day (after all I posted that on a Monday).

Or maybe they didn’t find any book particularly helpful. And if that’s the case, [Read more…] about 8 Books on Writing I Recommend