• Self-Editing: What To Leave On the Cutting Room Floor

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    Often when I am thumbing through submissions at Xulon, reading a manuscript for our critique service, or simply editing a whole manuscript, I quickly pick up on a lot of material that is—in a word—unnecessary. If you’ve ever gotten our Editorial Critique, Manuscript Review, or had your book edited by me, you’ve more than likely received a comment or two instructing you what to leave on the “cutting room floor.” Think of your book as a movie on a reel. From the title page to the index, from the climax to the back cover, each part of your book is in a filmstrip. When attached together,…

  • Compassion in Action: Interview with Xulon Author Jacki Dirksmeyer

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    Editor Krystina Murray interviews Xulon author Jacki Dirksmeyer on her faith and the practice of “breaking bread” are impacting her local community. Feed My Peeps is an organization in St. Louis, Missouri geared toward delivering food from local restaurants, caterers, farmer’s markets, and schools. Founded by Jacki Dirksmeyer in 2012, Feed My Peeps keeps many homeless families and those with limited resources nourished with love and good food. It all started with Dirksmeyer’s trip to Kenya and meeting a cancer-stricken young man, after which she became part of the mission team “Get the Word Out”, where she began feeding people from…

  • True Life: Finding Creative Purpose from Life’s Struggles

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    Xulon Press employee Elizabeth Marrero talks about how God used her biggest struggle to give birth to her creative purpose — and the book she’s publishing because of it. When we moved back to the United States from Puerto Rico, I struggled with English. It was all Chinese to me (though it was English… ::kick drum, snare, high hat::). My 1st grade teacher sent a letter home one day with me – that I couldn’t read – and that night, my mom and brother sat down with me and a book. My brother pointed at one word. “Esto dice Marty.” He pointed…