Submission Opportunity with agent Cyle Young

Cyle Young, an agent with Harline Literary Agency, is seeking new submissions:

Send me your best submissions. :)

My team is having an open submission period from May1st-June 30th. Send you submissions to submissions@cyleyoung.com We are looking for children's, MG, YA, and adult audience books for the general and Christian markets. Both nonfiction and fiction accepted. We look forward to reading your submission. Thanks! CYLE

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Meeting this Saturday

NJCWG Monthly Meeting

May 5

10 am - 12 pm

Cornerstone Christian Church

in the Barn (second building on the right as you enter) 

495 Wyckoff Ave., Wyckoff

A gathering of writers of any genre and experience, and writer wannabes.

Hope to see you Saturday,

Barbara

barbarahigbyhope.com

April's Focus Point:

Clear Answers Require Work

No one around this table will deny writing is work. It may be glamorized as brilliant inspiration flowing from mind, through fingers, to keyboard, and, voila—bestselling pages appear. But we know perspiration is a larger component than inspiration. As I considered 1 Peter 3:15 this week, I found a key reason why we labor over our writing:

Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks 

you to give the reason for the hope that you have. (NIV) 

Christian writing offers reasons for hope. Our blogs encourage belief, our fiction portrays examples of living life well, our articles encourage readers to draw near to God. In all our writing—whether expository, entertaining, poetic, informative or humorous—Christians offer a path to hope because we know the Source of hope.

The first part of this verse, “Always be prepared to give an answer” is the reason for our endless editing, tedious research, and painful rewriting. We don’t recklessly put words on paper, we labor to make those words understandable and palatable for our readers, presenting clear answers for the hope we have.

Today we will be looking at clunky sentences and overused adjectives. Why? Why spend time doing this? Because we want to write as clearly and concisely as possible, so our words will be readily received.

Take home thought: Preparation is worth the work because it enables us to offer hope to our readers.

Meeting - Change of Date Reminder

NOTE:

This month, the NJCWG will meet on 

the SECOND Saturday of the month instead of the first. 

MEETING:

Date: Sat. April 14

Time: 10 am - 12 pm

Same place:

The Barn at Cornerstone Christian Church

495 Wyckoff Ave.

Wyckoff, NJ 

Looking forward to seeing you there!

NJCWG News

Two of our members won recognition at St. Catherine of Bologna's Annual Photography, Art & Poetry Exhibition in Ringwood this weekend.

• Kathy Rupff won the Spirituality Award for her poem, "Your Love Heals Me." Additionally, she won the Judge's Choice Art Award for her painting, Transformation, and first place in Art-Mixed Media for her collage, Aslan. Her work can be viewed at www.kathleenrupff.com. 

• Maude Carolan Pych won the Judge's Choice Award for her Purim poem, "Queen Esther, Brave & Beautiful." Read her poem here.

Maude's recently published book of poems Wonderhoods is now available. Ordering information can be found on her website.

Susan Panzica's young adult allegory, The Quest, has just been published and will soon be available on her website at susanpanzica.com.

APRIL MEETING CHANGE: We will meet on the 14th - the second Saturday, not the usual first Saturday of the month. Time & location are the same but we will meet on the second floor (enter door closest to the parking lot). 

Meeting this Saturday

March 4, 10 am - noon

Cornerstone Christian Church, Wyckoff,

in the Barn (red building to the right after entering)

Saturday's topic:

GENRE

Image compliments of edla519michellemoulton.weebly.com

Genres are comfortable and challenging. They carry freedom and limitations. Join the conversation about stretching our areas of expertise. Please bring a recent copy of The Christian Writers Market Guide, if possible, and at least one suggestion for submission to a periodical, contest, or anthology (other than Chicken Soup). 

Seasoned writers and writing hopefuls are all welcome.

Hope to see you Saturday,
Barbara
barbarahigbyhope.com

February's Focus Point

The Point Is… In a Nutshell… Finally…

Today we will talk about aphorisms, those clever statements that speak volumes with a modicum of words. I had fun looking through New Testament letters to discover the use of what can be considered aphorisms, though I never thought of it that way before. They are not the author’s last words but fall near the ends of the letters and concisely summarize what the writer had more fully explained earlier. This is what I found:

“Finally, …rejoice! Strive for full restoration, encourage one another, be of one mind, live in peace.” (2 Cor 13:11)

“Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus.” (Gal. 6:17)

“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes.” (Eph. 6:10-11)

“Finally, my brothers, rejoice in the Lord! It is no trouble for me to write the same things to you again, and it is a safeguard for you.” (Phil. 3:1)

“Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.” (Phil. 4:8)

“Finally, brothers, we instructed you how to live in order to please God, as in fact you are living. Now we ask you and urge you in the Lord Jesus to do this more and more.” (1 Thess. 4:1)

“Finally, brothers, pray for us that the message of the Lord may spread rapidly and be honored, just as it was with you.” (2 Thess. 3:1)

“Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble.” (1 Pet. 3:8)

Take home thought: Be concise, clever and creative to present a memorable nugget of inspiration.

Story Callout

Heaven Sightings

From James Stuart Bell:
 

You may recall my role as editor for story collections such as: A Cup of Comfort, Extraordinary Answers to Prayer, Love is a Verb, and a number of books related to Angels, Miracles, and Heavenly Encounters.  I am now compiling a story volume for Bethany House Publishers with a working title of Heaven Sightings: Angels, Miracles, and Glimpses of the Afterlife.  In the past six “supernatural story” volumes I have compiled the focus has been on events and circumstances that had a supernatural element demonstrating God’s power.  In this volume I want you, the writer, to share how there are actually real slices of heaven in this life.  It’s not the wonderful natural phenomena we experience but the supernatural happenings that take place from time to time as God so designates. Heaven really does touch earth, as alluded to in one of my earlier titles.  Heaven plants itself here in the form of miracles, angels, and even near-death experiences.  We find it also displayed in dramatic healings and gigantic answers to prayer where nothing else can account for it.  This volume will contain a rich mixture of these stories.  I am especially looking forward to experiences of heaven itself, primarily found in near-death encounters with angels and the afterlife. We’ll consider original, unpublished stories of up to 2,000 words and they must be at least 1,000 words.  The stories should have a creative title, an attention-grabbing introduction, main body with a conflict or challenge, and a clear, satisfying resolution.  They need to be descriptive, rooted in time and place, with a realistic portrayal of the characters involved. They also need to be substantive stories rather than mere testimonies or teachings, and the focus should not be just on the supernatural realm alone, but rather the spiritual lesson learned.  Please include a personal biography of 30 words or less at the end of each manuscript. We will have a rolling due date for the manuscript until we receive our quota of stories but would appreciate your submission within a month of receiving this email.  Please send your manuscript attached to the e-mail rather than pasting text in the email window.  Send your manuscript in normal manuscript formatting in Times New Roman, 12-point, with your full contact information--name, address, phone number, and e-mail address at the top of the first page.  We are offering a one-time fee of $50 for stories 1,500 words and over, and $25 for stories under that word count.                           We will send you contracts upon the publisher’s acceptance and would need them back promptly.  Payment will be made after all contracts have been received.  Please direct all inquiries and manuscript submissions to my colleague, Jeanette Littleton, at supernaturalstories2@earthlink.net.  If this e-mail has been forwarded to you, and you can’t submit to this call, but would like to hear about other editorial needs as they arise, please send us your e-mail address and we’ll add you to our notification list. Blessings to you and yours, James Stuart Bell For updates you can also join us at https://www.facebook.com/groups/993320770756877/