American Christian Fiction Writers

Enjoy this guest blog from Margaret Daley a recent guest on my radio show for authors, Information in a Nutshell. Margaret is an award winning author and the current president of the ACFW.

By Margaret Daley

ACFW (American Christian Fiction Writers) is the Voice of Christian Fiction. Founded over ten years ago, it has grown to over 2200 members.

ACFW is a premier writing organization with the following mission statement: Our mission is to promote Christian Fiction through developing the skills of its authors, educating them in the market, and serving as an advocate in the traditional publishing industry.

How can ACFW help a writer toward his/her writing goals?

ACFW has many different programs to help a writer. The first one, Novel Track: Writing is offered in January, April, July, and October. It is an email loop for support and encouragement to help you meet your writing goal. Following that is Novel Track: Editing in February (also May, August, and November). This loop focuses on how to edit the words you wrote the month before. Lastly, Novel Track: Polishing is in March (then June, September, and December). This part of the Novel Track program concentrates on the little problems that can occur while writing: grammar, over use of certain words, passive vs. active voice. If you participate in the Novel Track program through the year, you can have a completed novel by the end of the year.

Another way ACFW can help you meet your writing goals in 2011 is through free online classes. Each month (except December) there is a class offered by a qualified writing instructor. Our classes cover a variety of subjects from grammar to deep point of view—and more!

A third program available through ACFW is a large Critique Group which gives writers a way to connect with others who want to critique—and have their work critiqued. Some of the members of the large Critique Group break off and form smaller ones.

There are several email loops that the members can join that offer networking and help.

1. Main Loop: Easy to use and communicate about all writing-related topics. You can glean and share amazing tidbits of information via email. This loop is an education itself.

2. Your zone loop is the loop where chitchat is welcome. It is for fellowship with your fellow writers. It is a place where at last someone understands you. 

3. Prayer Loop: Many members enjoy supporting one another through prayer. This loop has been a blessing to me.

4. Genre Loops: ACFW recently added several genre loops to discuss the writing craft in a more specific way. On these loops we offer a place to discuss these subjects: Children’s Fiction, Historical, Romance, Romantic Suspense, Speculative, Suspense, Women’s Fiction and Young Adult.

ACFW’s Web site has forums where you can get detailed questions answered and visit past posts as well as enjoy genre-specific threads (conversations on one topic). This is a fun place. Some have gotten to know people from ACFW on the forum before they attended their first ACFW Annual Conference.

As a member of ACFW you receive a discount on ACFW Conference Fees.  A big savings to you when it's time to register for the annual ACFW Conference. This year the conference is in St. Louis from September 22-25, 2011. At the conference the winners of the two contests that ACFW sponsor are announced. The Genesis Contest is for unpublished writers and The Carol Award is for published authors.

ACFW's very own ezine, Afictionado, is published monthly. You will find articles about the writing craft, member news, industry news, author interviews, book reviews and much, much more.

If you have an upcoming novel release from one of our recognized publishers, a member can submit the information to the ACFW’s New Release coordinator, and we will help promote it for you.

ACFW has a book club that discusses two books a month. The members vote on which books to read. You can apply to have your book, if it is from one of our recognized publishers, considered by the ACFW Book Club. 

Book Reviews: If you are a reviewer or author, submit a review of an ACFW member's book to be posted on the Web site. 

Author Interviews and Featured Author: Each week we post an author interview of a published ACFW member on the public side of the site.  

Another important benefit for published members is the opportunity to be included in the http://www.fictionfinder.com database. Fictionfinder.com links readers, bookstores, libraries, book clubs, and authors with great Christian fiction. 

As you can see there are many reasons to become a member of ACFW. Go check out our Web site at http://www.acfw.com.

About the author:

Margaret Daley is an award winning, multi-published author in the romance genre. One of her romantic suspense books, Hearts on the Line, won the American Christian Fiction Writers’ Book of the Year Contest. Recently she has won the Golden Quill Contest, FHL’s Inspirational Readers’ Choice Contest, Winter Rose Contest, Holt Medallion and the Barclay Gold Contest. She wrote for various secular publishers before the Lord led her to the Christian romance market. She currently writes inspirational romance and romantic suspense books for the Steeple Hill Love Inspired lines, romantic suspense for Abingdon Press and historical romance for Summerside Press. She has sold seventy-five books to date.
 

Margaret is currently the President for American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW), an organization of over 2200 members. She was one of the founding members of the first ACFW local chapter, WIN in Oklahoma. She has taught numerous classes for online groups, ACFW and RWA chapters. She enjoys mentoring other authors.
 

Until she retired a few years ago, she was a teacher of students with special needs for twenty-seven years and volunteered with Special Olympics as a coach. She currently is on the Outreach committee at her church, working on several projects in her community.
 

You can visit her web site at http://www.margaretdaley.com and read excerpts from her books and learn about the ones recently released and soon to be released.

Writing Fiction, Non-Fiction or Both?

Are you a fiction author?

Are you a non-fiction author?

Are you both?

Several of my recent guests on the Information in a Nutshell Radio for Authors write both fiction and non-fiction. One enjoyable interview was with author Cara Putman. This interview revealed that Cara was an author of a series of novels with titles such as "Trial by Fire", "Canteen Dreams", and "Stars in the Night." Upon further research I learned she was also the author of "A Complete Idiot's Guide to Business Law"! Cara was an attorney and now is equally successful at writing romance and mystery novels. Versatility for an author as in this case is key.

Another guest penned several romance novels and is currently a free lance newspaper reporter. She was a wealth of information regarding how she managed to get her current job. An author is not necessarily tethered to a computer and with some imagination you can use your skills to land a job, while waiting for that book contract to come along.

In all cases it is a matter of using your talents and mapping out a focus or goal. Not every non-fiction author can or desires to pen a fiction, and vice-versa. Yet, if your gift lies in both areas the field is much wider for you and your chances of becoming published. In all cases research is important, not only as it pertains to your work, and your competition, but also the necessary steps to take to see your work becomes published.

Another interesting interview with a guest, fillmaker, screen-writer and author, Jon Steven Nappa, explained his experience as a speaker at writing conferences. He shared that often, aspiring-author-attendees ask basic questions that can easily be found on the library or book store shelves. Obviously this is not the best use of the expert's time. You should do your research before attending this type of conference and be prepared to ask the questions the books omit.

Jon is another example of an author with versatility. His novel, "Storm Warriors," based upon a true story, created an alliance with a wonderful ministry, "Storm Warriors International." This organization works with those who are in need by letting others with means know of their plight and bring aid by matching needs with donors. One-hundred percent of the profits from his book go to the ministry. Using a book for this purpose whatever your charitable focus is a great idea.

Writing today with the technology available knows no limit. Blogs, Tweets, websites, eReaders, and various forms of transferring media electronically can bring the written word to the ends of the earth, all in a nano-second. Look at your skill set, look at your options and get that written idea off your computer and into the hands of an eager reader...today!

Are you Married to Your Words?

You have an idea. A brilliant idea. And so the story begins. You jot down some of these ideas, perhaps you are more organized than most and you begin folders. You compile, research, gather and eventually after many hours of toil you hold in your hand the finished product. A manuscript for the entire world to behold... here are your words, your heart, your thoughts.

For many that is the end. The carefully crafted words never see the light of day. Yet, for others it is just the beginning. One of my daughter's college friends was a self-proclaimed closet author. She had worked on a manuscript in private, a love story that no one was allowed to read. No family, no friends, not even her friend’s mom who was an author (me). Even though this dear, young lady worked as my assistant. Finally after much trepidation, she shared her story with me. I was allowed to read her private work. When I asked her if she wanted any input she said, “Not really.” She never planned to let anyone read it. This was her work, and in her thoughts a part of herself.

This young lady is not alone. Thousands of other would-be authors do not allow their work to see daylight due to insecurity of what others will say. She could not bear the thought that someone would hack her carefully crafted words. And so, her story remains hidden. She wrote a fiction work and therefore it is an area where more creativity is called upon and perhaps the author feels more vulnerable.

What happens when you do let other people read your manuscript and finally send it to a professional editor? Your work will be critiqued, analyzed and cleaned up. This is not to say you can’t self-edit your own work. I read and reread my work many times. However, I always use editors when I’m finished with the first draft, and have ever since the very beginning of my career.

Being an author takes tough skin. I have worked on manuscripts on both sides of the spectrum. As an author, publisher and content editor executing major rewrites, and as a ghost writer as well. I’ve been paid to read manuscript for both brief and thorough analysis. The latter consists of giving my opinion on what it will take to get a work ready for publication. In each case the information comes from experience, clothed as much in consideration for the author’s ego as possible.

Still, when I look at the computer screen after implementing the grammatical tracking system on my word processing program, the paper appears to bleed from all the red ink. If it is of any consolation, I've had my work "bleed" in the past from my editors. In fact anytime I write and send my work to an editor it comes back marked, some places more than others. I can conveniently click “accept changes” or “reject changes.” Ultimately I am the author and I can decide. 



Truthfully? I'm not married to my words. If there is a better way to say something then I want to know. I'd rather have someone slash my carefully crafted sentence then go to print with something sub-par. The results have been stunning.

You are in good company. No one likes criticism, yet critique with a purpose can make the difference between an author whose work remains mediocre and one whose work reaches great heights. Here is to reaching for the stars!