In college, I took a class on entrepreneurship, where our big project was to write a business plan. That same semester, I was also working on a book proposal, and I realized that book proposals are business plans.
Fundamentally, they serve the same purpose. A business plan helps you convince investors to invest in your business, and a book proposal helps you convince publishing companies to invest in your book.
To be traditionally published, you need to think like an entrepreneur and to be independently published, you need to be an entrepreneur.
In this week's episode, we'll hear from Kara Swanson. She's a successful fantasy author, entrepreneur, and the co-founder of The Author Conservatory, an online college alternative for aspiring writers.
You'll learn how to
·      Build a financially sustainable writing career
·      Build your skillset for marketing your book
·      Build a schedule that balances creativity and business
Listen in or check out the blog and learn how to become an author entrepreneur by leveraging transferrable business skills to build a sustainable writing career.

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I'm excited to announce that tickets are now for sale for the 2025 Novel Marketing Conference. The conference will be held in Austin, Texas, on January 17th and 18th. This event is not a typical writer's conference where you learn how to write and publish a book. Our conference is focused on book marketing, and our goal is to help you make 2025 the best year of your author career so far!
In this episode, you'll find out
·      Three special ingredients that make the Novel Marketing Conference unique
·      How this year's conference will differ from last year's
·      Why we've made certain deliberate choices for this year's conference
Listen in or check out the blog version of this episode to get details about the 2025 Novel Marketing Conference.

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You've likely heard the advice that writers should show instead of tell. Sometimes, it's good advice and can make your scenes better and your story more compelling. But it can also be terrible advice that will make your book unbelievably long and hard to get through.
If you show every single thing in the room or on the journey where your story takes place, then the plot, characters, and even the dialogue get crowded out.
But how do you know when you should and shouldn't show?
In this month's episode, Angela Hunt lays out some guidelines on when showing improves your story and when it doesn't. You'll learn:

• When showing has the most impact
• When telling is actually useful
• Where writers are often tempted to tell when they should show

Listen in or check out the blog version of this episode to find out when you can break the rule of "Show, don't tell."

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Stories communicate truth in ways that facts and statistics cannot. They touch places in our souls that sermons cannot reach. When you open your Bible, the very first thing you find is not the Ten Commandments but a story. Even biblical instruction is often couched in a story because a story is a powerful tool for communicating truth.
God knows that. He created in us a desire for story.
Christian authors can leverage story to communicate truth, but sometimes, whether by mistake or on purpose, we communicate lies.
In this month’s episode, author and podcaster Zackary Russell and I discuss the four laws of Christian storytelling. You’ll discover:

• What makes a story glorifying to God
• How we may inadvertently communicate lies in our stories
• Whether Christian storytelling is evangelism or not

The gift of storytelling must be stewarded and taken seriously. Listen in or check out the blog version of this episode to discover four laws to govern your Christian storytelling that will ensure you glorify God and communicate truth and love to your readers.

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Discover what makes a romance novel appeal to a Christian readership and how you can write Christian romance books your readers will love.

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Some authors just want to get their book "out there." They don't plan on writing additional books or becoming professionals. But others want to make writing a career and maybe pay the bills with income earned from their writing.
If you want to have a career as a professional writer, you have to do at least two things.
First, you must become an amazing writer. Second, you need to start acting like a business owner. Regardless of whether you're independently or traditionally published, you'll need to keep track of finances, payments, taxes, marketing, and a lot more.
You must be willing to wear their business hats to be considered professionals.
If that sounds overwhelming, this week's episode will provide some relief and direction. In my interview with Angela Hunt, you'll learn:

• What upfront and ongoing costs an author should plan for
• A bare-bones method for tracking your business income and expenses
• A Thomas-approved method for getting free feedback
• And much more

If you want to make a career out of your writing and pay bills with the income you earn, listen in or check out the blog post version of this episode to learn how.

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If you've ever transcribed a conversation between two people, you know the resulting text is a bunch of incomprehensible, run-on sentences and fragments. Natural conversation does not translate well onto the written page.
When we write novels, we need to realize that good, written dialogue does not imitate the way real people talk. We also don't want our written dialogue to sound contrived and awkward.
How do you write good dialogue?
In this episode, Angela Hunt teaches us

• How to handle dialects or accents
• How to use dialogue to reveal character
• How to imply what's being said without saying it

Listen in or check out the blog post to find out how to write good dialogue that keeps readers turning pages and learn what dialogue mistakes to avoid.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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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.

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