The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling the Christian Novel

by Penelope J. Stokes

Book Overview

Teaches Christian writers how to write great fiction and understand what makes Christian fiction unique. This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0898798108
• ISBN13: 9780898798104
• Release Date: January 2000
• Publisher: Writer's Digest Books
• Length: 239 Pages
• Weight: 0.91 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.8" x 6.0" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

Solid Teaching from a Novelist and Long-time Christian Editor

It seems like almost everyone I meet is trying to write a novel these days. Maybe that's because I acquire fiction for a Christian publishing house and end up rejecting hundreds of submissions. Each of those would-be fiction writers should get a copy of this book, devour it, read and re-read it. Then these writers can recraft their submissions and get them on track. Penelope J. Stokes writes with authority. She's a best-selling novelist yet also a long-time editor of many Christian novels. She writes with clear understandable instruction. From start to finish, this book helps writers develop a clear plan for creating excellent prose for the Christian marketplace.

Invaluable Resource

This is a terrific work. Ms. Stokes is an excellent writer and lucidly instructs the Christian on several relevant aspects of the CBA market. She presents the realities of being a Christian author and what the industry is like. She talks about very important issues the writer will have to face, but gives Christ-centered wisdom to help deal with them.Of course you'll also find practical writing dealing with the craft itself - and I might add that whether you plan to write Christian fiction or not you will benefit from her teaching on these topics.But what I found most enlightening was her insight into the Christian market... Genre definitions, what is popular now, writing proposals, etc.A great book for the Christian novelist!

A "must-buy" for first-time Christian writers!

As a first-time African-American novelist, reading "The Complete Guide to Writing & Selling the Christian Novel" gave me valuable insight and many "ah-hahs" when approaching my writing. It provided me valuable information on how to approach publishers, agents (if necessary), and insight about decision-making during the writing process. Other Christian books I would recommend are: 1999 Christian Writers' Market Guide by Sally E. Stuart, Sally Stuart's Guide to Getting Published, by Sally E. Stuart & How to Write Attention-Grabbing Query & Cover Letters by John Wood,

This is a practical, detailed, and up-to-date book.

My copy of this book is rapidly becoming dog-eared, as my favorite reference books always do. It includes information aimed specifically toward writers of Christian novels, but any novelist could benefit from its detailed and clear instruction on basics such as point-of-view, dialogue, and intelligent marketing. If every Christian novelist took this book seriously, the shelves at Christian bookstores might be filled with novels of high literary quality instead of the mediocre, preachy pap that, unfortunately, gives inspirational fiction a bad name. Reading this book might raise your personal standards for writing. It's a worthwhile investment for any aspiring novelist.

A LIFE CHANGER AS MUCH AS A SKILL DEVELOPER!

'The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling The Christian Novel' will change not only how you write, but how you live! Penelope speaks directly to the heart of the writer, emphasizing the ultimate importance of everything (including writing) he/she does flowing out from his/her intimate & integral relationship with Christ. Many books and articles I have read on writing have given much thought into plot development, but Penelope takes great pains to teach her readers how to develop living, breathing characters with dialogue that sparkles. She also gives some bare-bones advice about approaching markets, making suggestions such as using business cards and fine-quality paper for query letters, and how to put together a winning book proposal. I am only halfway through this book and already I am a better writer with a stronger sense of my calling as a 'Christian writer'. IMO, if all serious Christian writers would read and take to heart 'The Complete Guide to Writing and Selling The Christian Novel', we would see a great rise in the quality and integrity of Christian literature today. A must-have for every Christian fiction writer!