Bayou Writers Conference

The Importance of Attending Writers Conferences

I attended the Bayou Writers Conference today in Lake Charles, Louisiana. Attending the conference brought many rewards. I met other writers, editors, and publishers--all with good advice.

Some of the things gleaned from the conference are:

• Networking with people is very important. You can learn from others; you can sell books to others. Charles McGrew, an editor and publisher, said that internet contacts helps, but it is better to speak to groups and make personal contact with people.
• Don't expect your book to sell itself. A sucessful author understands that work just starts once your book is published. You should seek places to sell your book such as clubs, sighings at book stores, and tv interviews.
• Covers are important in selling a book. Several of the speakers mentioned the importance of the cover. This is the first thing that a potential buyer looks at before making a purchase. The cover should grab attention and say to the customer, "Buy me."
• Always follow submission guidelines when submitting a manuscript.
• A good agent will not charge you any money to look at your manuscript. One place to look for agents is the acknowledgement section of books.

These above are just a few of the things I learned at the conference. I will add more later.

Songs For The Soul Radio Station

My apologies to all the faithful listeners of Songs For The Soul radio station on Live365.com. Recently the station was down for a few days because of an error in the billing department at Live365. The station is back up and running, and we have a lot of new songs to add such as songs from Dottie Rambo's last recording, and songs from the Statemen Quartet.

To go to the station, click this link: Songs For The Soul

God Bless America

I have just added the song God bless America to the radio station Songs For The soul located on live 365.com. I have added the song in the hopes listeners will pray for America as this song is playing.

America is in stormy waters. We face the dangers of terrorists who plot to destroy America while we are at sleep. President Obama has sent the word down to those he has appointed to not use the word "terrorist." We are no longer fighting a war against terrorists. During his trip to Europe he apologized for America's actions. Remember to pray for President Obama and for America.

America is in danger of losing its system of checks and balances. The three branches of government-- executive, legislative, and judicial-- are in danger of being controlled by one party only. The Congress can rubberstamp anything that President Obama wants passed. Also, President Obama will appoint liberal judges to the Supreme Court so that they can rubberstamp anything that the Liberals want. Remember to pray for our government and for America.

In Russia, they have also lost their system of checks and balances. Prime Minister Putin controls the Duma which is the legislative body of Russia. Mr. Putin also controls the appointments of judges. Remember to pray for Prime Minister Putin and for Russia.

Blogging With Speech Recognition Software

Today I'm testing my new speech recognition software by speaking into my computer microphone instead of typing on the keyboard. So far so good. I bought this new software Saturday and it is called Dragon Naturally Speaking version 10. It is supposed to be over 99% accurate, and it seems to be just that accurate.

I bought this software to improve my productivity. It is another tool that I will use to improve my writing, to improve my research notes. For example, the other day I looked at some of my notes from the archives at Southeastern University. It took me a while to decipher my own handwriting. When I took these notes, the university would not allow me to use a ballpoint pen, only a pencil. The reason for this is that they do not want important papers marked up with a ballpoint pen.

In the future, I will transcribe notes while they are fresh on my mind using this new speech recognition software. I find the software to be extremely fast. Will I use this new software exclusively? No. It is just another tool in my tool bag to help me. At times, I will use a legal pad to write, and I will still use Microsoft Word to write, but the more I use this software, the more I like it. This whole blog today has been written by speaking into a mic, and very few words were incorrect. I will keep you updated with new ways for using this software.

Southern Gospel Music

Thank you listeners for placing Songs For The Soul in the top 10 in both the Southern Gospel and the Traditional Gospel genres. I've noticed that many new listeners are being added daily. With the bad economy and the bad decisions being made from the White House, people are turning to the Source that will always be there. Of course, that source is the Rock of Ages.

If you haven't listened to the old gospel songs of yesteryear mixed with the hits of today for awhile, just click the link above. It will take you to the station page located on Live365. At the station page, click the Play icon. Every 20 minutes, you will hear an advertisement. I do not make anything on these. The advertisements are used to pay royalties to songwriters and artists.

The music is my gift to the Christian community. Enjoy!

Publishing Industry in Turmoil

Not only are newspapers slashing jobs and going under, but magazines and book publishers are heading in the same direction. Why? The Internet and Print On Demand.

Why buy a paper when you can now read it online? Many no longer buy newspapers. I do because I like the feel of the paper, but I also read newspapers online. I hope most newspapers will survive. We need newspapers to keep government and politicians in check.

In the book publishing industry, Print On Demand is turning things upside down. Now there are printers that can spit out over 800 books in less than minute. Of these 800 books, some will be for orders of a hundred while another order may be for just one book. These books are printed on demand. For example, a customer may order a book on Amazon. That book will then be printed and sent to the customer.

No longer does a publisher have to keep thousands of books on hand. This is a godsent to the smaller publisher. He can use a printer such as Lighting Source to keep electronic files of his books on hand, then print a book or books on order.

Also, no longer does an author have to depend on a large publishing company to publish his book. He can now use Print On Demand publishers such as Xulonpress, Lulu, Booksurge, and others.


My website: songsforthesoul.org
My radio station at Live365: SongsForTheSoul

Is Obama God's Will For America?

I do not believe that the election of Obama was God's perfect will for the United States of America. I am happy to see an Afro-American elected. It shows the greatness of America. I am not happy to see Barack Obama as the elected Afro-American. Why? Because he will lead this nation down a trail of moral destruction. Obama has many anti-christian beliefs, and he will institute these beliefs into national and international policies.

Someone said, "God is still on the throne, so it must be God's will for Obama to be President." Yes, my friend, God is still on the throne and is still observing what man does on the earth. It is God's will that man has "free will." This nation used it's "free will" and elected Obama; this nation shall reap the policies of Obama. Within days of his inauguration, he has already signed executive orders to: (1) allow tax-payer money to pay for abortions in other countries, (2) to shut down the prison at Guantanamo Bay, and (3) to strictly use the army field manual as a guide for interrogation of terrorists. The intelligent community asked him not to do this.

Dutch Sheets, a well-known prayer warrior and author, has said this: "I am quite confident what took place on Tuesday, November 4th, was not God's will. America was offered a very clear choice between moving further toward protecting the unborn or further away...between a Supreme Court that would move toward honoring God, life and morality or away from it. The stakes couldn't have been higher nor the cost greater. As a nation, we put on blinders concerning Barack Obama's background, associations, beliefs and practices. In doing so, we took another step away from God and His plans for America and another step toward judgment." --Christ For The Nations, Jan. 2009

Someone said to me, "The Bible commands us to pray for our leaders." I agree. In fact, you better double your prayers, and pray as never before. Pray fervently for this President that he will see the light to not allow the murder of innocent babies while still in the womb, that he will see the light to not open up the doors for terrorists to destroy this country, that he will see the light about the need to support Israel, and I could continue on about some of his other anti-christian policies.

I believe that we will see the first terrorist attack on the soil of the United States since 9-11. This will happen on Obama's watch. It will probably happen on the Gulf Coast. This is where all the refineries are located. One dirty nuclear bomb could contaminate a large population area and refineries with radiation. Because of this, America will go back to their knees and pray. Our churches will fill up again, and we will see revival in America. This might be the last great revival before the coming of the Lord.


My website: Songsforthesoul.org
My radio station at Live365: SongsForTheSoul