Welcome To 2016

We made it! Another year is under our belt and we are on to 2016!

I know this is the time of year when we all start to make resolutions, but, I am sure many of us out there find this a pretty futile task. We have all of these grand plans and then... In fact, I am really going to see that when I take my daughter to Dance Team on Tuesday and see all of those people "starting their year off right" with a work out. Hmmmm? We'll see how long that lasts.

In any case, each year, I find myself looking at a different issue that I work on with authors and here on the blog. This actually stems from one of my goals for the agency - that being education. Over the last several months, I have really seen a need for this in many of the submissions I have seen coming into my In-box. I actually mentioned this right before Christmas time, and the small break has really given me a chance to get this to gel a bit more.

It seems that the emphasis many in publishing have right now is simply that of how to "get published." It is all about the marketing. It is all about the sales. It is all about getting that book on the shelf fast. National conferences deluge writers with session after session on these same issues. And, while being able to sell your book is great, writers are still missing something - A Quality Product!

We have seen so much of an emphasis on how easy it is to be published and how you can write anything and get it published, that writers are missing the mark on how to compose something people will really want to read.

So this year is about craft. It is about getting you thinking about the words you are putting on that paper. It is about the story arc and whether or not it is a worthwhile story. This year will be about you listening to the way the characters are talking and examining if this is really "how that character would sound."

Yes, I will certainly throw in posts about marketing, query letters and so forth, but this year is about the craft.

This is also what I will be stressing at conferences and workshops. As always, please know I am 100% available to visit with your writing groups. I can come to your group or we can set up sessions digitally and do the sessions over the Internet. If you are not sure how we can do that, simply ask. It is not that hard and can save groups money.

So, welcome to 2016! Let's get those stories revved up and let's get writing some great stories!