If you’ve read my column
for any length of time … or have gotten to know me through my reader page on Facebook … you already know I
was raised by strong and patriotic parents. My mom was a Navy nurse who met a
handsome Marine Corps officer when he was one of her patients, and they both instilled
in me the profound impact and importance of American citizenship. In fact, I
couldn’t accurately count the times when Officer
Dad reminded me that freedom doesn’t come without a price. In fact, he
taught me, anything of substance rarely does. “If you’re chasing a significant
dream,” he said, “be prepared to invest everything you can in catching it.”
In celebration of this
extraordinary holiday – and the exceptional parents who educated me on its
value – I thought this would be a perfect column in which to address the
importance of Doing the Work toward achieving this writing dream
of ours. My best advice? First and
foremost: Educate yourself. Get to
know what’s going on out there in the publishing world to best determine where
you fit into it.
If you’re here at
Seriously Write … if you know me and my books … if you’re a regular to this
column … then I assume that the dream you’re chasing lies in the Christian
fiction marketplace. It’s been a volatile journey, hasn’t it? Especially in
these last few years. Our community has been shrinking and changing by often-disturbing
leaps and bounds. But a few warriors (like Love Inspired, Barbour, Tyndale)
have managed to stay in the game. And by the very grace of God, new
opportunities are beginning to shine their light at us from deep within the
jungle. One of those lampposts – and an especially joyous one, for me – is
newly formed Gilead Publishing. [Click here to read the Publisher’s Weekly story about their
launch.]
Since Gilead is a fresh
alternative for writers of Christian fiction, and also because they will soon
be my own new publishing home when they launch in October with a Christmas novella
collection (Sleigh Bells Ring) I’m part of – along with Lenora Worth,
Barbara J. Scott, and Lynette Sowell – I’ve asked Sue Brower, their VP of
Editorial, to answer a few basic questions so that I can share information with
all of you eager authors out there.
Without further delay …
help me welcome Sue Brower!
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| SUE BROWER |
Sue Brower is leading acquisitions for Gilead Publishing, a
new, innovative, traditional book publisher focused on producing quality
fiction that will appeal to adult readers who enjoy stories written from a
Christian perspective. She has over twenty-seven years’ experience in the
Christian publishing industry as a marketer, editor, and agent working to
connect authors and readers for a great storytelling experience. Sue is
interested in hearing from the agents of writers who have completed manuscripts
of 80,000 to 100,000 words. Gilead Publishing is a fiction-only press. This
includes novels for women and men in the Contemporary, Romance, Historical, and
Mystery/Suspense categories.
Sandie: Sue, for those of us
called to write Christian fiction, the last few years in publishing have been
astonishing as the road has narrowed very quickly. Gilead's dedication to
creating a new outlet is pure joy (and an answer to many writers' prayers!).
Can you tell us the "inciting incident," the how/why of focusing on a
fiction-only platform?
Sue: I don’t think there was
an “inciting incident” so much as a long, thoughtful process for our publisher,
Dan Balow. Over the course of several years, he had been researching
opportunities for a start-up business in Christian publishing. He was reminded
by a New York Times article that
Christian fiction had once been a thriving category—one that every publisher
wanted to have a hand in. Now we’ve had a number of companies leave the
category creating a gap in frontlist offerings. There are fewer publishers, and
even those must stretch resources to cover a variety of categories—non-fiction,
academic, children’s book, curriculum, and Bibles—so Gilead Publishing was
founded to focus entirely on fiction.
It’s been a successful model in ABA, and we expect it to be successful in CBA.
Sandie: As you know, I couldn’t
be more excited about that! I found it interesting that your mission statement
specifically includes opening doors for mid-list authors. Can you tell us a
little about that decision?
Sue: It’s based on the
recognition that some of the industry’s best writers are publishing in niche
markets where they may perform better over time, rather than right out of the
gate. And because the writing tends to be strong, they can benefit from long-term
recommendations as the book passes from reader to reader or is discovered in
the library.
Sandie: Although Gilead will
have offices in Wheaton and Grand Rapids, will your staff be strictly located
in one of those two cities, or will you have a virtual roster of employees
working across the country as well?
Sue: Gilead Publishing has a
very small infrastructure. Our editorial staff is in Grand Rapids, and pretty
much everything else is done out of the Wheaton office, including marketing and
production. However, we use freelancers from all over the country to create
covers, edit our books, and complete the interior design. One of the biggest
benefits of this structure is that we can match our “employees” with the
different types of books they excel at. Some are better at Sci/Fi and Fantasy
while others may have a more romantic flare.
Sandie: Speaking of that
romantic flare … on a personal note, I've been tossing around the idea for the
novella collection you ultimately contracted for almost a year, never quite
sure what to do with it or how/if it might come together. Can you discuss what
appealed to you about the collection, and what role it might play in the
overall launch of this new, exciting line?
Sue: As I was thinking about
our first titles for Gilead Publishing, I wanted manuscripts that would be a
representation of what our line is going to look like in the future; what type
of authors we would be acquiring. Oh, and they had to be something retailers
would be motivated to buy for the Fall season. I thought one of the best ways
to do this was to create two Christmas collections in the most popular
genre—Romance! We planned for one historical collection and one contemporary
collection. Usually, this takes a little more time and thought to put together,
but my dear friend Barbara Scott (former Abingdon editor) told me about the
brilliant collection you were working on. It had all the right elements;
contemporary romance, great writing, four heartwarming Christmas stories, a
mixture of established authors: you, Lynette, Lenora, and Barbara. Best of all,
Sleigh
Bells Ring was nearing completion and I could have it by May 1st, my
deadline to begin editing. What more could I ask for?
Sandie: And what more could we have asked for? We were so thrilled when
Barb created that bridge between our project and your new adventure. Can you
tell my readers about what will come next?
Sue: Our fall list was
rounded out with Cowboy Christmas Homecoming by Mary Connealy, Julie Lessman,
Anna Schmidt, and Ruth Logan Herne; Cardiac Event (romantic suspense) by
Richard Mabry; and Finding Margo (contemporary women’s fiction) by Jen Turano.
Lest you think we are only publishing romance, we have also signed historical
World War II fiction from Liz Tolsma, women’s contemporary from Deb Raney, and
Amish from Barbara Cameron.
Sandie: Many of those names are
writer buds of mine, so I’m really excited to share the Gilead line-up with
them. I know they’re as excited about Gilead as I am. Thank you so much for
joining us today, Sue, and here’s wishing you and your family a spectacular Independence
Day celebration.
Readers, if you have any
specific questions about Gilead, feel free to use the Comments section to ask
them. I’m sure Sue would be happy to answer.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
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| SANDRA D. BRICKER |
SANDRA D. BRICKER was an entertainment publicist in Los Angeles
for 15+ years where she attended school to learn screenwriting and eventually
taught the craft for several semesters. When she put Hollywood in the rear view
mirror and headed across the country to take care of her mom until she passed
away, she traded her scripts for books . . . and a best-selling, award-winning
author of Live-Out-Loud fiction for the inspirational market was born. Sandie
is best known for her Another Emma Rae
Creation and Jessie Stanton
series for Abingdon Press, and she was also named ACFW’s 2015 Editor of the
Year for her work as managing editor of Bling! Romance, an edgy romance imprint
for Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. As an ovarian cancer survivor,
Sandie also gears time and effort toward raising awareness and funds for
research, diagnostics and a cure.
HOW TO CONNECT WITH SANDIE:
