Browsed by
Tag: Self Publishing

Lee Warren, author photo

If you’re interested in indie publishing (a form of self publishing) but believe you can’t afford it, this Wordsowers meeting is for you.

Author/editor Lee Warren will provide the information you need to take control of your publishing career without busting your budget.

Lee has twenty years experience in the Christian publishing industry, both traditional and indie publishing, and has taught at writers conferences throughout the US.
He has written eighteen books and hundreds of articles for various magazines, newspapers, and websites, including Decision, Discipleship Journal, Light & Life, War Cry, Christian Single, Bible Study Magazine, CBN.com, Today’s Christian, Breakaway, Clubhouse, Living Light News and many others.

Please join us for an enlightening evening on Thursday Sept. 26, 2019.

After the meeting we’ll gather for our relaxed Afterglow chat session at Village Inn, 7837 Dodge St.

We meet the fourth Thursday of the month
6:00-7:45pm at the W. Clarke Swanson Library.

The meeting room is on the basement level. Park on the east side of the building and walk into the lower door.

Before the WordSowers 2014 conference in March, we posted an interview with Lee Warren, our workshop presenter for this Thursday, April 10. Take time to read the first interview and you’ll know Lee even better.
Lionhearted Kat: In the last interview you said by attending the HACWN conferences in KC you “…ended up building a relationship with an editor I met at one of those quarterly conferences and I still write for him to this day, even though he has changed publications.” We have many authors writing books. Do you recommend beginning with writing articles, a book, or building relationships?
Lee: Every writer’s journey is different, but I don’t think these three options are necessarily mutually exclusive. At the very least, writers need to be involved in building relationships while also working on articles or a book.
I started by writing articles. I landed an on online singles column with Christianity Today long before most people were online. But not much grew out of that experience because I wasn’t building relationships with other editors. I don’t even know I was supposed to, but when I received a flyer for the HACWN conference, it sparked an interest in me to know more about the publishing industry, so I attended it.
At that conference, I met the editor for Decision Magazine (published by Billy Graham’s ministry) and began to build a working relationship with him. Two years later, he published my first article.
Meeting with editors and publishers at a writers conference–photo by Kat 
Later that same month, I met the editor of Sharing the VICTORY Magazine (published by the Fellowship of Christian Athletes) at an HACWN quarterly conference. He’s the editor you mentioned in your question. After writing eight or nine articles for him there, he went to another publication and when he needed freelancers, he asked me to join his stable. I’ve probably written forty or fifty articles for that publication, and I continue to write for it.
Writing articles helped to build my creditability, both as a sportswriter and a journalist. As I met more editors at conferences and mentioned my article writing experience, they were open to talking to me about book ideas. My NASCAR book, Racin’ Flat Out for Christ stemmed from one such conversation with an editor.
In my case, books flowed out of articles and relationship building.
Lee Warren has more to share–on the interview page (for the rest of the story.)
Lionhearted Kat: The April workshop info is found below. See you Thursday.
April 10, 2014—Lee Warren presents: Navigating the Self-Publishing Maze
Two major shifts are occurring in the publishing world right now. Large traditional publishers are narrowing their pool of authors in favor of authors with large platforms. And at the same time, the price to self-publish is dropping dramatically as many options abound. In this informal workshop we will talk about the self-publishing process, whether or not you need to hire an editor or cover designer, and we’ll examine a number of low cost (or even free) self-publishing options.
Lee Warren is a founding member of WordSowers. He has written six books and hundreds of articles for various magazines, newspapers, and websites. He critiques manuscripts for The Christian Communicator Service, on-staff with CLASSeminars and owns Christian Manuscript Editing Services. Follow Lee
Today I chatted with author, speaker, teacher and Dean of Women at Grace University, Tara Rye about her presentation at our WordSowers meeting, this Thursday, May 2ndat the Rockbrook Garden Café. After our discussion about Thursday’s  workshop I asked Tara a few questions.
Kat:    When did you feel called to write?
Tara:  I have always written. I wrote poems and short stories for school. I kept a journal as a kid. I have always wanted to be a writer, but it wasn’t defined as a fiction writer, but more as an inspirational writer. I wanted to write so that people were caught, taught, changed, or challenged in their thoughts.
Kat:  Tara I know you self-published your manuscripts. Did you try presenting them to a mainstream publisher—if so, how did the editor/publisher respond?
Tara: I tried sending out queries and I was told regularly that what I had was good, but it is more niche’ oriented. Several time after submitting a piece to a publishing house, it was rejected. About two years later the same company published something very similar. I lost respect for traditional houses and feared giving out my material.  I used to think poorly of self published authors, but eventually I realized that it was the avenue I needed because I don’t write for the masses I write for the one that will be inspired. I do not write to make a profit or to sell a lot of books. I write for the one. So, my marketing strategy works for me. I do nothing. 🙂 The icing is that they do get purchased.
Mandy Mouse Lives at Lydia House 
Kat:  I know you stay busy. Can you tell us what you are involved in at the present time?
Tara: I write for the Kansas Nebraska Digest as a regular and for CWAHM. I have a calendar reminder each month to submit and I do. I did write for the Examiner, but decided it wasn’t worth my time. I have written for LIFEWAY since 2005 as a Bible curriculum writer.
Kat:  You finished your dissertation.  Does that mean you are Dr. Tara Rye?
Tara: Yes, I am now Dr. Rye. It is a DEdMin, a doctorate of educational ministry. The last four years has been a very intense writing experience from the scholarly perspective. It was not about inspiration, but information. It was tough, but through it God has taught me that I can do hard things. I am getting requests for it (the dissertation) and I have been asked to publish it beyond the seminary publication.
I write daily. I write when I teach about the lessons. It is my greatest joy. I do not feel that I am a gifted writer grammatical. I enjoy the thoughts. I hate the grammar and spelling. I am terrible at it and struggle through it. For this reason, I have a hard time releasing my work. LOL! However, I cannot imagine a day without some sort of written expression.
Kat: What are the credentials behind your name?
Tara:  DEdMin
Tara gave a workshop at the WordSowers Writers Conference on March 2, 2013. She is an awesome speaker, author and prayer warrior. You may know her from the Cultivating Hearts Radio Ministry or through her ministry at the Open Door Mission.
Don’t miss Thursday, May 2nd at the Rockbrook Garden Cafe
108th and Center.