The Making of a Christian Bestseller: An Insiders Guide to Christian Publishing
Product Description
Success stories and inspired interviews from inside the world of Christian publishing. More than 40 well-known authors, editors, agents, and other publishing professionals who help shape the books enjoyed by millions provide inspiration and up-close insights for readers as well as aspiring writers. Among those interviewed are Left Behind series co-author Jerry Jenkins (on handling success), bestselling authors Terri Blackstock (about writing fiction), and Karen … More >>
The Making of a Christian Bestseller: An Insiders Guide to Christian Publishing
I have read some of the other reviews, and I have to agree that the cover did not thrill me, but the content is more than enough to make up for it. To read so many other authors and their ideas, is beyond helpful. They share the does and dont’s so you don’t have take a full college class to try to learn the techniques. I would recommend this book to all new authors who do not care what the outer skin looks like in a person, but what is in the heart!!!
Rating: 5 / 5
What an excellent resource The Making of a Christian Bestseller is! An absolute must-read for authors and publishing industry professionals. This book is full of great insights, advice and tips.
Highly recommended…a great addition to the bookshelf!
Rating: 5 / 5
What a great resource Ann Byle has put together. This book is chock full of the answers to so many questions I had and many I did not know to ask. I appreciate the clarity and organization which allowed me to flip right to the issues I needed addressed first and to get those answers directly from the sources. With information on blogging and self-publishing, the book is very current and I will keep it close to my work station to be able to refer to it often. Added bonus
the hunter’s orange cover helps me find and grab it quick when I want to check a fact or review a subject.
Rating: 5 / 5
If you are connected with Christian writing, or even interested in Christian publishing, order a copy of Ann Byle’s book, The Making of a Christian Bestseller. It is engagingly readable, well organized, and highly informative.
The great strength of the book is that Ann has mined for publishing gold by interviewing a number of leading authorities on every aspect of Christian publishing. After finding priceless nuggets of insight, she has shared them with the rest of us.
The overall organization of the book allows readers to move immediately to those areas most relevant to his or her situation whether it is how to find a publisher, pursuing the passion of writing, writing fiction, writing non-fiction, or promotion.
Within each chapter, side-bars and summary statements make central points accessible, even for the reader with limited time.
Ann writes in a clear and engaging way. Each chapter captured my attention and held it until the end. In addition to benefiting from the content, I enjoyed her style.
Rating: 5 / 5
As a writer, I’ve read my share of how-to books in all aspects of the field. Most of them are about the same. Ann Byle’s new collection of essays, The Making of a Christian Bestseller: An Insider’s Guide to Christian Publishing, about the writing and publishing market, specifically the Christian market, is refreshingly different and informative for the seasoned veteran and the newbie alike.
Byle uses her interviewing skills to perfection by talking with the biggest names in the genre about different aspects of Christian writing, then taking that information and putting it easy-to-read, affirmative essays. Topics range from writing sex scenes and humor to researching details to editing to building relationships with editors and agents.
Byle gets advice from such heavyweights as Jerry Jenkins, Sally Stuart, Nancy Rue, and James Scott Bell. The 40 essays are broken into seven sections starting with “The Call to Write.” The last section is devoted to “Conquer(ing) the Market: Building Your Presence with Readers and the Media.” Each essay/chapter contains a sidebar “Bestseller Tip” with useful advice. For example, providing an afterlife for review copies; James Scott Bell’s LOCK System; and tips to maximize a meeting with an acquisitions editor. Ironically, the book’s last essay is “Finishing the Job: Publicizing Your Book.”
I’m not exactly sure what quantifies a book to be labeled “Christian,” but Byle talks to all writers about how to write good books without having to rely on sex and foul language. My favorite quote is from Chapter 3–The Christian as an Artist. Author Davis Bunn reminds writers that “if you read Hemingway, Dickens, or Faulkner, the evil characters they created speak cleanly yet are dark and live forever as timeless, powerful characters…It’s certainly easier to write a bad character if he uses foul language, but bad language doesn’t necessarily make him a stronger bad character.”
Armchair Interviews says: Every writer should read Ann Byle’s The Making of a Christian Bestseller: An Insider’s Guide to Christian Publishing, whether Christian or not. She talks to writers not necessarily about Christian writing but about good, strong writing.
Rating: 4 / 5