Christina Suzann Nelson lives on a small farm in Western Oregon with her husband and four children. She is the Northwest Zone Director for ACFW, and a double finalist in the 2010 Genesis contest. Two of her short essays have appeared in the Cup of Comfort series. She is currently researching her fourth manuscript.
Michelle Levigne’s first book sold in 2000. She has more than 40 titles, and nine finalists/two winners in the EPIC Awards. She has a BA in theater/English, an MA in communication/film, and works for a community newspaper and a national advertising agency. In addition, Michelle does freelance editing for Xulon Press, a MA-based business publisher, and the Christian PEN editors network. Spotlight On: B&H Publishing Group
Julie Gwinn, marketing manager for Broadman and Holman Publishing Group, led a fun and informative spotlight. B&H is the sister company to Lifeway. They are affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Submissions to B&H need to be in line with the theology of this denomination.
“Pure Enjoyment”
B&H’s fiction line, which encompasses all genres and includes 20 active authors, is currently signing for 2013 and 2014. They are looking for strong characters, strong plots, and a story that’s not watered down. They aren’t afraid to address tough, real life issues as long as there is hope and redemption in the end.
Platform essential
B&H looks for authors who already have a strong following, or tribe.
- Do you have endorsements?
- Are you on Facebook?
- Do you blog consistently?
- What about speaking?
- Are you part of a solid writing group?
Changing market
Gwinn (right) said ebooks are changing the market—and that’s a positive. Ebooks give titles a longer shelf life. B&H is using the ease of re-releasing ebooks to stay up with current trends.
They are also using new technologies to reach readers. They developed an app for Brandilyn Collin’s new book, Over the Edge, which deals with Lyme disease. The Tick Squish app allows people to unlock chapters and the book trailer by squishing e-ticks.
Submission requirements
For their fiction line, B&H looks for manuscripts within the 80,000 – 90,000 word range. They do publish Christmas novellas, and those should be 40,000 – 50,000 words. One change Gwinn mentioned is that she’s starting to see more self-published books being sent in as submissions.
Submission guidelines can be found on their website.