Another Blogging Milestone
December 11, 2011 by Lillie
1100 posts!
My posts vary in length so I don’t know how many words that is … but certainly enough for several books!
I hope you enjoy reading my blog half as much as I enjoy writing it!
Devotion for the Third Sunday in Advent
December 11, 2011 by Lillie
Isaiah 35:5-8 (ESV)
5 Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf unstopped; 6 then shall the lame man leap like a deer, and the tongue of the mute sing for joy. For waters break forth in the wilderness, and streams in the desert; 7 the burning sand shall become a pool, and the thirsty ground springs of water; in the haunt of jackals, where they lie down, the grass shall become reeds and rushes. 8 And a highway shall be there, and it shall be called the Way of Holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it. It shall belong to those who walk on the way; even if they are fools, they shall not go astray.
Lord, our God, turn our hearts to You and lead us on the Way of Holiness, that even if we are fools, we shall not go astray. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Ghost, now and forever, one God, world without end. Amen.
Devotion for the Second Saturday in Advent
December 10, 2011 by Lillie
Isaiah 28: 16-17 (ESV)
16 therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am the one who has laid as a foundation in Zion, a stone, a tested stone, a precious cornerstone, of a sure foundation: ‘Whoever believes will not be in haste.’ 17 And I will make justice the line, and righteousness the plumb line; and hail will sweep away the refuge of lies, and waters will overwhelm the shelter.”
Heavenly Father, You have made Jesus the cornerstone, that whoever believes in Him will live with You in glory forever and ever. Strengthen our faith and soften our hearts to that we believe, live according to Your will, and enjoy eternal life with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Ghost. In the name of Jesus. Amen.
Thanks to November 2011 Commenters
December 9, 2011 by Lillie
Thank you to the 78 commenters who left 155 comments in November. Your comments extended the conversation and added value and interest, and I enjoyed replying to every one of them.
Every month when I post thanks to commenters, I get questions about how I compile this list. I have explained my system in detail in Compiling Thanks to Commenters.
Devotion for the Second Friday in Advent
December 9, 2011 by Lillie
Isaiah 24:21-22 (ESV)
21 On that day the Lord will punish the host of heaven, in heaven, and the kings of the earth, on the earth. 22 They will be gathered together as prisoners in a pit; they will be shut up in a prison, and after many days they will be punished.
Lord, prepare our hearts and minds and souls so our names are written in the Lamb’s Book of Life, so we aren’t thrown into the pit of a prison and punished. We give our lives to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Devotion for the Second Thursday in Advent
December 8, 2011 by Lillie
Isaiah 13:9-11 (ESV)
9 Behold, the day of the Lord comes, cruel, with wrath and fierce anger, to make the land a desolation and to destroy its sinners from it. 10 For the stars of the heavens and their constellations will not give their light; the sun will be dark at its rising, and the moon will not shed its light. 11 I will punish the world for its evil, and the wicked for their iniquity; I will put an end to the pomp of the arrogant, and lay low the pompous pride of the ruthless.
Heavenly Father, You have warned us in Your Word of the awful destruction that awaits those who are not saved. Cleanse our hearts, purify our actions, clothe in Your righteousness, and forgive us for our sins and iniquities so we are not destroyed when Jesus returns in glory. In His name. Amen.
Devotion for the Second Wednesday in Advent
December 7, 2011 by Lillie
11:1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. 3 And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, 4 but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. 5 Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. 6 The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. 7 The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. 8 The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. 9 They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 10 In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.
Lord, we long for the return of the shoot out of Jesse, on whom the Spirit of the Lord rests, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. Like Him, may our delight be in the fear of the Lord. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Interview: Nicole Langan of Tribute Books
December 6, 2011 by Lillie
My guest today is Nicole Langan, owner of Tribute Books. She’s here to share some exciting news about upcoming changes at the publishing company.
Lillie: Welcome to A Writer’s Words, An Editor’s Eye, Nicole. Please tell us what is changing at Tribute Books at the beginning of the year.
Nicole: Thank you for inviting me, Lillie. It is great to be here. Exciting things are happening at Tribute Books. Beginning in 2012, we will transition into an ebook publisher of young adult titles.
Lillie: How did you decide to publish only young adult titles specifically in electronic formats?
Nicole: Our main reason is the explosion in popularity of e-readers such as the Kindle, Nook and iPad. Over the course of 2011, we’ve watched our ebook sales outpace our print sales by 2 to 1. The under $5 price point of most of our titles and the ease of purchase and delivery are surely contributing factors.
On a business level, the young adult genre sells especially if it is well written and has a paranormal romance theme. On a marketing level, the devotion of the young adult fan base is unparalleled. On a personal level, I thoroughly enjoy a good young adult novel and review many on my blog at http://tributebooksreviews.blogspot.com.
Lillie: What electronic formats will you offer, and where will the ebooks be sold?
Nicole: In terms of formats, we’re looking at .epub, .mobi, .pdf and .doc. The ebooks will be available through Kindle, Nook, iPad, Smashwords and as PDF downloads through Tribute-Books.com. They will retail between $2.99 and $4.95.
Lillie: Please tell my readers what you are seeking and where they can find guidelines to submit to Tribute Books?
Nicole: Manuscripts that have already been professionally edited will receive greater consideration. Our preference is to work with previously published authors who know the ins and outs of book promotion. An established social media platform is a must, and we will not consider writers who do not have a well-followed blog, Facebook page, or Twitter account.
Our preference is for darn good writing, the particular topic is secondary in importance. However, books written with a series in mind or those that delve into the paranormal will have a slight edge.
We’re looking for submissions that are not explicit or erotic in nature. In keeping with the young adult age range, we’re looking to keep things PG-13.
Interested authors can submit their manuscripts via email to info@tribute-books.com. There will be no charge for the authors we select to work with, and they will receive 50% of the net profits of their ebook sales in quarterly royalty payments. We’re looking for Microsoft Word documents with a maximum of 350 pages of text with no photos, charts, illustrations, graphs, etc.
The complete list of guidelines can be found at: http://www.tribute-books.com/publish.html.
Lillie: Is there anything I’ve failed to ask that you would like to share with my readers?
Nicole: My hope is that we are able to recruit some talented writers of well-written, well-crafted stories in order to develop an eager fan base for the titles we publish. We want readers to be excited about the ebooks we produce. Young adult authors have the most devoted fan followings out there, and we’d like to introduce that audience to a whole new host of talent.
We try to keep an active online presence with our web site, Facebook, Twitter, and blog. We’d love to have anyone who loves young adult literature to join us for the ride.
Lillie: Thank you so much for stopping by and letting my readers know about Tribute Books’ change to become an ebook publisher of young adult titles. They will probably have more questions for you. Will you check in during the day to respond to comments and answer questions?
Nicole: Absolutely! I’m looking forward to it.
Lillie: If you have questions for Nicole, leave a comment below.
Nicole Langan has spent roughly the last 12 years in the publishing world. She was awarded a B.A. summa cum laude in English and Communications from Marywood University. From 1999-2004, she went from being an intern to an editorial assistant to an associate editor of a regional Pennsylvania magazine. In 2004, she started Tribute Books. Since that time, she’s worked with dozens of authors, illustrators, photographers, and editors in publishing over 30 books. Some of these books have gone on to win awards such as the Christian Small Publisher Book of the Year and the Mom’s Choice Award, while others were endorsed by PBS and The Thoreau Society. In 2012, she’ll embark on a new transition becoming solely an e-publisher of young adult titles and continue to coordinate blog tours for outside publishers and authors via Tribute Books Blog Tours.
Devotion for the Second Tuesday in Advent
December 6, 2011 by Lillie
Isaiah 10:3-4 (ESV)
3 What will you do on the day of punishment,
in the ruin that will come from afar?
To whom will you flee for help,
and where will you leave your wealth?
4 Nothing remains but to crouch among the prisoners
or fall among the slain.
For all this his anger has not turned away,
and his hand is stretched out still.
Lord, in this Advent season, cleanse our hearts and minds and purify our actions to prepare for the judgment day. Our sins are filthy rags upon us; wash them in the blood of the Lamb and we should be clean. In the name of Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior. Amen.
Devotion for the Second Monday in Advent
December 5, 2011 by Lillie
Isaiah 8:16-17 (ESV)
16 Bind up the testimony; seal the teaching among my disciples. 17 I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.
Heavenly Father, in this season of Advent, we wait for the Lord Jesus and our hope is in Him. In His name. Amen.
