Jamie Langston Turner - Conciseness on Display

Newsletters Present and Past

Selected Works

Fiction

Suncatchers

"As Turner weaves her tale with a wealth of vivid detail, she avoids both sentimentality and patness."

--Deb Richardson-Moore

The Greenville (SC) News, Dec. 31, 1995

Some Wildflower in My Heart

"In a lifetime of reading, a handful of books stand out—this is one of them."

--Michelle Rapkin, Editor, Doubleday/Crossings Book Club

By the Light of a Thousand Stars

"This thoughtful, warmly humorous novel takes a fresh look at the age-old search for peace and joy in a troubled, temporal world."

--CBA Marketplace

September 1999

A Garden to Keep

"That February afternoon was equal parts joy and heartache, but it began a journey Elizabeth Landis would never forget."

No Dark Valley

"Besides the fact that he was a married man, it was clear as soon as he spoke that his mission was anything but romantic. 'Do you have a toilet plunger?' he asked."

Winter Birds

"Genuine humor and well-crafted characters make this a memorable and inspiring novel."

--Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Sometimes a Light Surprises

"I love putting little pieces together to make something beautiful. In a sense I saw the structure of this book as a mosaic."
--From an interview with the author

To See the Moon Again

"You can't rush through Jamie's books any more than you can rush through life itself."

--Sheila Petre

Mercersburg (PA) Journal, July 9, 2014

Every Ocean Has a Shore

"Sirens are commonplace here in the city, but Gary can't believe the lucky timing of this one. Just a few blocks away and getting closer."

Conciseness on Display

February 1, 2023

February 2023

CONCISENESS ON DISPLAY

This newsletter will prove something many of you may have doubted--that I can be concise.

Today I received an email from a reader named Penny asking whether there had been any progress toward publishing my new book. It reminded me that we've completed two full seasons of the year and are deep into a third since my "Hope Perches" newsletter in June. So in case anyone else is wondering, here is my response to her:

Thanks for checking, Penny. Very kind of you—and encouraging. I guess I need to post another short newsletter to update reader-friends. It has been 7+ months since the last one!

No real progress yet, but I've recently put out feelers with two other publishers so will give them time to respond—or else ignore me long enough to communicate that they're not interested. The agent who has had my full manuscript since October (and who said he would evaluate it over Thanksgiving, when his office would be quiet, and then would let me know whether he would take me on as a client to represent to his publishing network). . . well, that agent has been totally silent. I believe I can safely conclude that he's not interested, especially since he said after requesting and receiving the full manuscript that "this is really long" and would be a "hard sell to Christian publishers today," who aren't generally interested in novels with a slower plot.

Thank you for reminding me that there may be others who wonder if there's any progress. I really ought to let them know! Maybe I could even post this email as my "newsletter." Recycling can be so economical and efficient. ☺

Jamie

Addendum to email: Since June I also contacted another Christian publisher recommended to me by a marketing friend, and they also declined, saying they weren't adding other titles to their small fiction line but were focusing on women's devotionals. Other small publishers I've researched want the author to assume almost the full burden of marketing a book. (The marketing side of things has always been one big advantage of signing with a traditional publisher, however.) The idea of self-publishing is still in the back of my mind, and it may be time to bring it closer to the front. I do know a couple of very capable people who could help. In the meantime, the new reprints of my first seven novels are selling fairly well on Amazon. I honestly don't know how many copies should have been sold to qualify for "selling like hotcakes," but, after all, they aren't new books, just new editions. All for now lest my conciseness claims prove false.