Christian Publishing Show
Thomas Umstattd Jr.
Recent Episodes
Most humans try to avoid conflict as much as possible, but novelists love conflict.
Without conflict, a novelist has no story. Conflict keeps your novel moving forward and your readers turning pages.
As Vladimir Nabokov once said, "The writer's job is to get the main character up a tree, and then once they are up there, throw rocks at them."
But how do you get your protagonist up a tree? What kind of rocks should you throw?
In this week's episode, I interview professional fictional rock-thrower, Angela Hunt, to discuss the six classic conflicts. In this episode, you'll discover Biblical and modern examples of classic conflicts
How to mix the conflicts to make your story more interesting
Which conflicts resonate with most readers today
If you want to up the tension in your book or make your next novel more riveting, listen in or check out the blog post to find out how to add and layer the six classic conflicts to keep your readers reading.
You’re probably tired of hearing that you need a large platform to be a successful author.
Some industry professionals believe having a large platform is equivalent to having a large social media following.
If you’ve been listening to the Christian Publishing Show or Novel Marketing, you know that having a social media following doesn’t necessarily mean you have a platform. Nor does it mean you’ll sell more books than someone not on social media.
In fact, sometimes people sell more books by spending less time on social media.
Authors hear me say, “Your social media following isn’t very important.” But when they talk to a literary agent or publisher, those people care about social media numbers.
How do you navigate this platform predicament?
I asked Mary DeMuth, literary agent and author of more than 50 books. She’s been in the Christian publishing industry for 20 years and recently wrote about how author platform is broken.
In this episode, you’ll learn
- The history behind the prominence of author platform
- How the author-platform landscape is changing
- Your biggest advantage in a digital world
Listen in or read the blog version to learn how to navigate the author platform predicament and what you can do to help change the status quo in the publishing industry. Be sure to add your comments and questions at AuthorMedia.social.
When authors attend writers conferences, they often have big expectations but make common mistakes that squash their goals and diminish the return on their investment in the conference.
In this episode, you’ll learn
- 11 common mistakes authors often make and how to avoid them
- How to avoid missing opportunities
- The right time to attend your first conference
Listen in or read the blog version to find out how to make the most of your first (or next) writers conference.
The stories we ingest shape the morality we develop, but only to a point.
If a story’s morality strays from reality or gets too twisted, the story fails to resonate with readers. Moral confusion is why movies and TV shows are less entertaining than they used to be.
But what is morality?
Why is it so important for good stories?
How do you put a message into your book without being preachy?
In this month’s episode, you’ll learn:
- Why you must carefully consider your own moral system before writing a story
- How to keep your book from being boring
- How to write a story that resonates for decades
Fiction can be a powerful tool to demonstrate the consequences of actions. It allows us to learn from the mistakes and triumphs of others. Listen in and discover why establishing a clear moral system is critical in writing a timeless story that conveys a memorable message. Check out the blog version of this episode here.
God often calls authors into periods of waiting. Learn how to improve your writing and your chances of success by making the most of the wait.
https://www.christianpublishingshow.com/how-to-prepare-for-success-as-a-new-author-with-laura-richmond/