Christian Publishing 101 by Ann Byle is like a writer’s conference in a book.

Byle covers multiple aspects of writing and publishing, among them:

• Writing from life and vocation
• Facing nos
• Writing as a spiritual journey
• Pitching your writing
• Creating a book proposal
• Specialty markets
• Writing for magazines and websites
• Writing fiction, nonfiction, devotionals, memoir, poetry, flash fiction, etc.
• Personal style
• Writing for children, teens, and tweens
• Platform and social media
• Promoting and marketing
• Different ways to publish
• Legal aspects
• Interaction with agents
• Managing time

For each chapter, Byle consulted an expert in the related field. Most of the chapters are the result of interviews with each expert, but some are excerpts from the expert’s book, blog post, or article. I knew of many of those interviewed and others were new to me.

Some of the chapters are quite general; some are detailed and meaty, depending on the topic and the person interviewed.

Byle covered almost every possible topic related to writing and publishing. There were a few areas where I would have liked more information, but in almost every chapter she lists resources for further reading. In a book like this, as well as a writer’s conference, you’re not going to get all there is to know about any one topic, because that would require multiple volumes. But Ann gives a good grasp of many of the topics.

Best of all, instead of trying to madly get down all the notes in a writer’s conference session or having to process the fire-hydrant blast of information received there, in this book you have all the notes to refer back to and can go over any given chapter as slowly or as often as needed. And in a conference there’s no way to get to every interesting session: with this book, you have access to all of them.

Overall, an excellent resource.

(Sharing with Literary Musing Monday, Carole’s Books You Loved)