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Sunday, October 26, 2008


If You Need A Dose of Courage. . .

There are many forces which threaten to undo our own resolve about writing and publishing. Maybe it's a rejection that you recently received. Literary agents get rejected more than most writers because we receive the news for our various clients. Maybe watching the news has discouraged you--and that's easy to have happen because the bulk of the news is about some disaster or crisis in our world.

This weekend, I read literary agent Terry Burns' speech which he posted from speaking at the Glorieta Christian Writers' Conference about publishing and the economy. If you read this material, it's not easy to take away an upbeat positive message. If you are in the middle of writing a full-length novel or trying to learn how to create a book proposal or write a magazine article, in the face of such reports, it's easy to lose heart.

For a great dose of courage for the heart, I suggest you get out and see High School Musical 3, Senior Year. Now if you are like me, you don't have fond memories of high school or know anything about High School Musical and High School Musical 2. We had no background about this mega hit Disney television movie--yet we went to see it yesterday. Even at an early showing, it was packed with many young people.

In a nutshell, Troy and Gabriella are facing a state basketball championship, senior prom and graduation. They are also wondering what to do with their lives. Like many young people, they are facing the decisions about where to go to college and what to study and next steps in their life. The music is fun and upbeat. Just follow this link to listen to little clips of some of the songs. With the G rating, you can take the whole family and enjoy the experience.

Every agent and editor that I know are actively looking for excellence--and after over 15 years in this business, I have a lot of contact with many different parts of the publishing world. Admittedly it is hard to find those excellent projects but we continue reading our submissions and working with writers because people continue to purchase books and read magazines.

If you need that dose of courage, then get to the movies. As they say in High School Musical 3, it's time to turn it up. Game on!

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3 Comment:

At 1:14 PM, Blogger Krista Phillips Left a note...

Ok, gotta say I about fell out of my chair to see the picture and recommendation from you to watch HSM 3!! Not that that's bad or anything...just different from the norm!!

Watching the news is discouraging, but we've got a big God who's bigger than all the crud going down. Life is full of high's and lows, and sometimes you just got to roll with the punches.

 
At 1:38 PM, Blogger Kristi Holl Left a note...

It's times like these that we find out if we truly believe God is in charge--or not. Reminds me of the death bed scene in the C.S. Lewis movie, "Shadowlands."

I love your movie recommendations for upbeat "feel good" shows. I may have to check this one out!
Kristi Holl
Writer's First Aid blog

 
At 4:44 PM, Blogger Crystal Laine Left a note...

Back in the day when times were really bad (like the Depression, WWII) the most popular movies were upbeat, feel good movies. Our times really aren't as bad as that (yet!) but it makes you think--maybe we are due for some upbeat stories in the market. Look at the popularity of the High School Musical movies.

Thanks for the good advice!

 

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