Read this . . . and this . . . and, oh yeah, this too!

Several different posts on the Internet worth your time this week:

1. Literary agent Chip MacGregor posted A Reading List for Writers. Thanks, Chip! My Kindle is going to get quite a workout today as I start downloading some new reading material.

2. My writing friend and fellow Ponderer, Melissa Tagg, wrote a must-read column over at the MBT Ponderers' blog: Scary Prayers and Patience. I smile the minute I begin reading anything Melissa's written. I just love her voice! And FYI: Melissa, aka M-Tagg, was the first-ever winner of the MBT Frasier award.

3. I'm now a MBT Special Teams blogger, which means two things: a) I get to have a fun photo of me wearing a Broncos football jersey (thanks, Marty, for help with that!) and b) I'll be writing about editing. My other teammates are Tiffany Colter and Edie Melson. My first post is up today: Placing a Ban on the Writer vs. Editor Mentality.

Focusing on Fiction: My Book Therapy Retreats

I admit it: I have a split personality when it comes to writing.

For years, I lived my life as a contented non-fiction writer. Immune to the lure of the Dark Side of the writing world, I suggested medication to my fiction writing buddies who listened to voices.

One day, burned out on deadlines, I wandered over to the Dark Side--just for the fun of it. And I've never looked back.

I've straddled the line between fiction and non-fiction for a couple of years now. But it was only during this past year that I asked myself the question: Am I serious about writing fiction?

To help answer my question, last October I attended Susan May Warren's StoryCrafter's Retreat, which focused on story structure, character creation and plotting. Susan's step-by-step approach was practical, helpful--and personal. There were all of 12 attendees at the conference--and by the end of the weekend we were committed friends!


Because I had such a productive time at the first retreat, I attended the February Deep Thinkers retreat, which was co-taught by Susan and author Rachel Hauck. Once again, the retreat size was kept small. Most of the attendees from the first conference came to this one, as well as some new friends. Susan and Rachel critiqued 15 pages of our manuscripts and our 3-5 page synopsis of or works-in-progress.


When it came time to register for the Polish Promotion and Pitch Retreat , I asked my husband, "Well, I guess the question is, 'Should I go?'" He said, "The question is, 'Why wouldn't you go?'"


And he was right.


I'm heading to Seattle in May to learn all about query letters, book promotion, and pitching a fiction book from Susan, Jim Rubart, and agent Chip MacGregor.


Want forward motion in your fiction this coming year? Consider investing in Susan's retreat series. Participate in one of the retreats--or all three! It will be time and money well spent--and you'll make some life-long friends along the way!

The Masters Seminars

Chip MacGregor, president of Chip MacGregor Literary Agency, is now offering three Masters Seminars for fiction writers.
Here's what Chip has to say:


"In the Master Seminars you'll only get practical and proven methods to create a compelling story, and the plan that will make it sell. And sell. And sell."

There are three seminars offered:
1. Marketing Your Novel -- Proven marketing techniques that will make your novel stand out among the thousands on the shelves.
2. Writing Bestselling Fiction -- A two-day workshop with author Susan May Warren and literary agent Chip MacGregor explaining the basic elements of a bestselling novel, how to create great characters, and getting you going on plotting a story that will be both memorable and meaningful
3. Adding Depth to Your Fiction -- Bestselling novelist Lisa Samson and award-winning writer Susan Meissner are making themselves available for two weekends in 2010, in order to help novelists dig deeper into their work.


The first Masters Seminars are offered this November and December. A complete list of upcoming seminars is available here.
For registration and contact information, go here.

A Little Bit of Friday Fun

With thanks to literary agent Chip MacGregor, here's some fun Friday reading.
Chip has a great blog, where he fields all sorts of questions from writers.

This past week, he took on 10 questions, starting with As an agent, what is a typical Monday like for you? and ending with What do you love most about life?

My favorite question was #6: What was the worst story you were ever pitched?
I laughed so hard--and decided to make sure you didn't miss out on the opportunity for some "you've got to be kidding me" moments.

So, visit Chip's blog. Go ahead, read all 10 questions and answers. But start with #10! You'll want to find out if Chip accepted the book proposal from the man who said he and his son were the two witnesses from Revelation--and threatened his part of the country with "severe weather patterns" if Chip didn't accpet his book proposal. (And that's only one of Chip's examples!)

Another Take on Thomas Nelson's Decisions

It seems like all eyes (in the publishing world, at least) are on Thomas Nelson.
Scoti's most recent post, Finding Good in Bad News, talked about TN's recent decisions to:

• not attend two major trade shows: ICRS and BEA
• cut 10% of their work force
• cutting their list of titles

Lots of folks are weighing in on TN's decision. Just read all the comments on Mike Hyatt's blog.

And, if you'd like to consider one more person's thoughts on all this, check out agent Chip MacGregor's blog. I've known Chip for a few years now and he's someone who is in the know in the publishing world. So, when Chip talks, I listen. It doesn't mean I always agree with him, but I do listen. Chip is a smart guy--and he's an experienced traveler along the Writing Road.

Here's one of Chip's observations about TN's decision to cut their title list:

Mr. Hyatt notes that he wants the company to focus on titles that "are typically written by known authors or from authors who at least have media platforms ..." Authors and agents are worried that means there will be more of a focus on celebrity, and fewer chances for new authors to be discovered and break out.

The reality is, this isn't anything I haven't heard at writers conferences for the past 5 years. To improve your chances of getting published, have a platform or get a platform. It just seems like, for writers wanting to get published by TN, the volume has been turned up on that message.

So, what's a writer to do?

The biggest lesson to learn in all this is that you have to be knowledgeable about what is going in in the writing world. It's not optional. Subscribe to Mike Hyatt's blog. Subscribe to Chip's blog. Subscribe to this blog! We'll keep you posted on what's going on along the Writing Road. And while we're at it, we'll talk about developing a platform in future posts. Becoming a celebrity--well, that's up to you.