July 29, 2015

The Birth of a Book - Ruth L. Snyder


This anthology sprang to life in the spring of 2014 at an executive meeting where someone voiced the thought, “What if . . .?” A motion transformed the dream into a plan. A small band of volunteers (Kimberley Payne, Stephanie Nickel, Sandi Somers and I) agreed to work together on the project, with the goal of having the book ready to launch at Fall Conference 2015. Our team grew to include Ellen Hooge, Beverley Nippard, and Carolyn Wilker. During conference 2014, the official call for submissions went out. One by one submissions trickled in until the deadline.

We decided to use 99designs for the cover to get better exposure for our organization. This resulted in an amazing selection of covers, which we narrowed down to one.
            
Making selections for the anthology was a challenge. A team of four prayerfully read and marked the submissions, then had a candid discussion. Pieces were chosen based on content, quality, and how well they fit the applicable theme. Some pieces, which were well written, did not fit with the rest of the submissions, so were rejected. Editing, layout, obtaining ISBNs, writing front and back matter, asking for endorsements, formatting, and more editing followed. Hundreds of volunteer hours were donated for the glory of God. 

The anthology features 28 Canadian authors who come from all walks of life and write in various genres for a range of audiences. Through fiction, poetry, and non-fiction such as devotionals, essays, and articles, they generously share their own discoveries, success stories, and hard-won lessons to encourage and support other Christian writers.


The e-book version of 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers is now available on Kindle. The paperback version will be released during our InScribe Fall Conference in September. Share the news with your family and friends and come celebrate with us in Edmonton by registering for conference today!


Endorsements
“I love seven things about this book: It is practical. It is affordable. It is encouraging. It is worth highlighting, underlining and dog-earing. Plus it made me forget about my toothache. Whether you’re a newbie or a veteran writer, you’ll discover 7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers to be jammed with instantly actionable advice that will make you a better writer. Dig in.”
Phil Callaway (www.philcallaway.com) is the best-selling author of more than 25 books, a popular speaker, the host of Laugh Again Radio, and a grandpa.
7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers is an absolute gem! I love that it covers all the basics a writer needs to know, making them simple and practical. I also love that the book has many authors, giving us ideas and suggestions from their own writing journey. I highly recommend this book to anyone seriously considering writing as a vocation or even an avocation, particularly those writers who see their work as a ministry—which it certainly is!”
Kathi Macias (www.kathimacias.com) is an award-winning author of more than 50 books. A wife, mother, grandmother, and great-grandmother, Kathi lives in Southern California with her husband, Al.
7 Essential Habits of Christian Writers is loaded with actionable advice that will make you a better writer. Whether you are a multi-published author or a beginning writer, this book will benefit you.”
Shelley Hitz, author coach and best-selling author
www.ShelleyHitz.com 
“This book is a beautiful blend of faithfulness and craft. It will help you answer the practical questions of what it means to be a writer while honoring what you believe. I wish I’d read this when I got started.”
Jeff Goins, Best-selling author, The Art of Work
“There are hundreds of how-to-write books on the market, but none that I know of touches BOTH of the vital aspects of writing as a Christian better than this anthology from InScribe. The practical AND the spiritual are woven into a whole by a remarkably creative group of writers who are in the trenches as we speak. I intend to snack on this fare again and again.”
Nancy Rue, best-selling Christian author and creator of Shadow to Shelf, a mentoring program for writers.
For more details, check out the media page at http://inscribe.org/media-page-7-essential-habits-of-christian-writers/


4 comments:

  1. This is great, Ruth. I'm going to share the post early Friday and remind folk the e-book is free all day!

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  2. Anonymous5:30 am GMT-7

    Congratulations! And I love the cover!

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  3. it is a real treasure house os encouragement and inspiration, too

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  4. Bought the e-book and will start reading today - can't wait to see the real book at Conference!

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