Saturday, April 12, 2014

How do we define success in our writing?


How do we know if we have succeeded in our writing goals if we haven't defined what success is to us?



When I wrote the novel Mysterious Ways, God obviously knew where He wanted it to go and He saw to it that it went there. As I said, I have no idea how that was accomplished. It wasn’t a large group, but it was where He intended it to go.

We all have to ask ourselves that question: What if the market God has in mind isn’t a large number, what if it is a smaller group?


What if it is only one?

What if that one is us?

Are we still willing to write in obedience if God has a very small audience in mind? I made the commitment long ago to do that. It’s something each of us needs to decide for ourselves.

We have to go through an exercise where we can really come to terms with what we deem to be success for our writing. Do we need the big sales to feel we have achieved success? Do we have to reach a certain group of people to feel that? For a secular writer, if they don’t sell thousands of copies, they aren’t considered a success. How many does a Christian writer have to reach to feel successful?

If I only sold one book and it led to a person finding salvation, it would be enough although I certainly want to reach out to more.

How do you define success?



Taken from our new book "Writing in Obedience" written  with Linda Yezak.

This book is for the new Christian writer or the writer looking to decide how God wants them to incorporate their faith into their writing. How do we know what the Lord wants us to do? Are we being called to write or do we want to write for Him as an offering? What is required of the author using their writing for the Lord and how do they go about it? What do we really want to achieve with our writing, and how do we define success?  Available for order here.

Saturday, April 5, 2014

Profile of client Tim Champlin


Client Tim Champlin’s “Cross of Gold” released March 2014 from Five Star publications imprint of Cengage Publishing . It had been out since November 2013 in hard cover from Five Star. 

Tim has over 40 books in print and his “The Secret of Lodestar released March 2012 from Berkley Publishing and is now out in large print from Wheeler Publishing (Gale Publications) and out as an audiobook as well. THE SECRET OF LODESTAR, was selected as a Finalist in the original paperback category for the 2012 Spur Awards. He has published two books with Pill Hill Press, “Annie and the Ripper”, and “Tom Sawyer and the Ghosts of Summer” plus wrote a six short story series for Echelon Press, which came out in 2011. He was included in “Christmas Campfire Companion” from Port Yonder Press.
 
Tim was born John Michael Champlin in Fargo, North Dakota. The son of a large animal veterinarian, he
grew up in Nebraska, Missouri and Arizona. He graduated from Middle Tennessee State College and Summer of the Sioux” in 1981. His stories of the American West feature striking historical details, vivid characterization and spectacular scenes. His subjects include lumber schooners sailing the West Coast, early-day wet plate photography, daredevils who thrill crowds with gas balloons and the first parachutes, tong wars in San Francisco’s Chinatown, Basque sheepherders and the Penitentes of the Southwest. He is married and the father of three grown children. His hobbies include sailing, tennis and shooting.
earned a Masters degree in English from Peabody College, Nashville. Two dozen of his articles and short stories were published in regional and national periodicals before he began his career as a Western author with his novel, “


Some of his other titles include:
Dakota Gold (1982)
Summer of the Sioux (1982)
Staghorn (1984)
Shadow Catcher (1985)
Great Timber Race (1986)
Iron Trail (1987)
Colt Lightning (1989)
King of the Highbinders (1989)
Flying Eagle (1990)
The Last Campaign (1996)
The Survivor (1996)
Deadly Season (1997)
Swift Thunder (1998)
The Tombstone Conspiracy (1999)
Lincoln's Ransom (1999)
Treasure of the Templars: A Western Story (2000)
Wayfaring Strangers: A Frontier Story (2000)
By Flare of Northern Lights: A North-Western Story (2001)
A Trail to Wounded Knee: A Western Story (2001)
Raiders of the Western & Atlantic: A Western Story (2002)