Carmela A. Martino

I am presenting a talk on "Gathering Your Circle of Saints" at the 2025 Catholic Writers Guild Live Conference. I was inspired to have my own Circle of Saints after hearing Alexis Walkenstein's keynote address at the 2023 CWG Live Conference. You can read Alexis's recap of that keynote on her site. 

 

You can also find discussions of the Saint of the Day on the Fransican Media website and on the Catholic News Agency website, among many others.

 

Below are the quotes I share in my talk:

 

St. Francis de Sales: 

"Be who you are and be that well as a witness to the master craftsman who created you."

 

St. Teresa of Avila:

"Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things pass away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things.
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices."

 

St. Anthony of Padua:

"Be just as God made you to be. Do not go seeking another 'you.' Do not make yourself otherwise than he made you."

 

St. Thérèse of Lisieux:

"I'm not relying on my own merits, as I have none, but I put my hope in Him who is goodness and holiness Himself."

 

"To limit your desires and your hopes is to misunderstand God's infinite goodness!"

St. Hildegard of Bingen:

"Become who you are by becoming all that you are. We understand so little of what goes on around us because we don't use what is within us."

 

Closing prayer from St. Teresa of Avila:

"Lord, grant that I may always allow myself to be guided by you, always follow your plans, and perfectly accomplish your holy will. Grant that in all things, great and small, today and all the days of my life, I may do whatever you may require of me. Help me to respond to the slightest prompting of your grace, so that I may be your trustworthy instrument, for your honor. May your will be done in time and eternity—by me, in me, and through me."

If you have any questions about my presentation, feel free to email me through my contact page. I also invite you to subscribe to my Creativity Newsletter here. 

 

 

      I'll be presenting a workshop on "Turning Life into Fiction" for the Catholic Writers Guild Online Conference later this month. In addition to Robin Hemley's writing book of the same name, I'll likely be mentioning the following texts:

• The Art of Fiction by John Gardner
• Writing Down the Bones by Natalie Goldberg
• Walking on Water: Reflections on Faith and Art by Madeleine L'Engle
• Stein on Writing by Sol Stein, especially Chapter 17: "How to Use All Six of Your Senses."

I won't have time for any writing exercises during the presentation, but for those who are writing fiction inspired by the lives of others, I recommend an exercise I shared on the TeachingAuthors blog in this post. 

 

Also, if you're writing historical fiction, check out the resources I share in this blog post.

 

And you can find multiple online articles at Writers Digest magazine on turning life into fiction and writing historical fiction here.

 

If you have any questions about my presentation, feel free to post it as a comment below or email me through my contact page.

 

 

In this blog post, I share references mentioned in my January 27, 2022 SCBWI-IL Network Presentation "Small Press, BIG Decision:" 

• Chart of imprints within the "Big 5" U.S. Trade Publishers 
  NOTE: The date of the most recent update is shown at the bottom of the page. 
• Article: Should You Publish Your Book with a Small Press? Two Literary Agents Advise on Jane Friedman website
• Article: The Key Book Publishing Paths: 2023-2024 by Jane Friedman
• Article: Small Press versus Big House: How Does a Thoughtful, Ambitious Author Decide? on Authors Publish website
• Excellent article from Jane Friedman: Questions to Ask Your Publisher Before You Sign the Contract discusses the responsibilities of traditional publishers and how to ensure a prospective publisher will meet them
• Writers Beware site for finding complaints against publishers, especially newer ones
• Midwest Book Review: provides respected literary reviews for free or a modest fee (depending on timing) and gives priority consideration to small publishers, self-published authors, academic presses, and specialty publishers.

Small Presses that offer writing contests:

• Lee & Low New Voices Award and New Vision Award
• Sleeping Bear Press Own Voices award: open Jan-March

Resources for finding Small Presses that publish books for children and teens:

• Latest edition of the Children's Writer's & Illustrator's Market Guide (pictured above)
• Annual SCBWI Market Surveys listed in "THE BOOK."  
  NOTE: Small presses can be found in the general survey of publishers as well as the specific International, Small Press, Religious Press, and Educational Press surveys.
  
• SCBWI list of PAL publishers and criteria NOTE: this includes all PAL publishers, not just small presses. It's unclear when the list was last updated.
• Children's Book Council Publisher Member list: includes number of books each publishes annually, indicates whether each is open to unsolicited submissions, and links to each publisher's website. NOTE: not all children's publishers are members of the Children's Book Council.
• Children's Book Council Associate Member Focus list from November, 2021
• Reedsy Directory of Book Publishers: you can search with genre of "children's" or "young adult." NOTE: The publisher size information is supposedly based on sales revenue.
• #MSWL Manuscript Wishlist site (search for editors and agents by genre on this page)
• Jane Friedman's Hot Sheet list: New publishers and Agents in 2021 
  NOTE: includes sections specifically for Children's and YA and for Comics and graphic novels
• AuthorsPublish list of 48 Traditonal Publishers Seeking Children's Books 
  Take note of the most recent date of update--it may not be current
• Bitsy Kemper's list of over 80 publishers accepting unsolicited picture book manuscripts (updated periodically) 
• Your own Internet search for specific book categories, for example: "Christian Children's Book Publishers," "Jewish Children's Book Publishers," etc.

Articles and sites related to book cover design:

• 5 Things Every Author Needs to Understand about Cover Design
• Top 8 Cover Design Tips for Self-Publishers
• TheBookDesigner.com Ebook Cover Design Awards

Articles related to book contracts:

• Jane Friedman article: Questions to Ask Your Publisher Before You Sign the Contract
• Two-Part Article by Cindy Ervin Huff: Ten Points to Consider When Signing a Book Contract:
  Part One: Points 1-5
  Part Two: Points 6-10 

I also briefly discussed self-publishing. SCBWI has a section in "THE BOOK" on self-publishing. They recently announced they'll also be releasing The Essential Guide to Self-Publishing a Children's Book for members only.  

 

Do you have any resources to add? Please share a comment below or email me through my contact page.

I'll be discussing "The Pleasures and Perils of Writing Historical Fiction" at the 2021 Catholic Writers Guild online conference. Here are the resources I'll be sharing, along with links where available. 

 

Books:

• Medieval Underpants and Other Blunders: A Writer's (& Editor's) Guide to Keeping Historical Fiction Free of Common Anachronisms, Errors, & Myths by Susanne Alleyn. For more about this book and why it's so helpful, see this blog post by author Alex Kourvo.  
• Writing Historical Fiction by Rhona Martin
• Once Upon a Time It Was Now: The Art and Craft of Writing Historical Fiction by James Alexander Thom
• Turning Life into Fiction by Robin Hemley

Articles of interest:

• "Day in the Life Method of Writing Historical Novels" by Juliet Waldron
• "5 Top Resources for Researching Historical Fiction" by Alisa Alering
• "How to Write Historical Fiction: 7 Tips on Accuracy and Authenticity" by Susanna Calkins
• "6 Keys to Writing a Compelling Historical Novel" by Sofia Grant
• "5 Historical Fiction Pitfalls and How to Avoid Them" by Margo Dill
• "Tips To Create Unforgettable Historical Fiction" by Ashley Hope Pérez

 

Online Resources:

• Newspaper and magazine archives (check your local library)
• Project Gutenberg containing full text of many out-of-print books
• Google Books
• Online Etymology Dictionary
• Oxford English Dictionary 
• Social Security Administration name database
• How to Write History.com 
• Historical Novel Society   

If you have a questions about my presentation, feel free to post it as a comment below or email me through my contact page.