Helping to Change the World…Word by Word
The Steve Laube Agency
Helping to Change the World Word by Word
Watch this 4 minute video and then save it. You may need to show it to someone in 20 years who is unsure.
“How to Read a Book” – a delightful reminder of why we work so hard to do what we do in this business.
This video is the work of Hilary Commer, and she made it for her Intro to Visual Media class at Abilene Christian University.
Tamela Hancock Murray
Two weeks ago I enjoyed the privilege of attending ICRS (International Christian Retail Show) as part of The Steve Laube Agency, marking my third ICRS with Steve.
As usual, our schedule was packed but seeing our colleagues is why we attend, so a full agenda is welcome. Year after year, reports say ICRS is getting smaller, and indeed we did miss seeing some of our …
Does Your Title Pass the "Radio Test" - This means, if your book title or web site address is read out loud on the radio, will the listener know how to spell it when they go to find it? For example, my last name is spelled Laube and pronounced Lobby. That does not pass the "radio test." So I now own stevelobby.com and point it to www.stevelaube.com just in case someone misspells my name.
The …
by Steve Laube
“Another one bites the dust.” This past week Guideposts announced they were discontinuing all new acquisitions of titles for both their Summerside Press (fiction) and Guideposts Books (non-fiction) trade lines. To have a complete picture of what this means we first have to understand that there are FIVE different book publishing programs under Guideposts. Two of them are …
What begins as a fun take on Star Wars is ultimately a very clever book trailer.
Enjoy!
Wasn't it fun to read Steve’s observations about ICRS? There is so much going on this time of year in our industry, and so many opportunities to spend time with other writers, with editors, and with agents. I love networking with these wonderful folks. But even more than that, I love seeing writers have meaningful and positive interactions with editors and agents.
With that in mind, here’s the …
Penguin and Random House have officially merged into one entity known as Penguin Random House - Not, as I had thought, "Random Penguin" or "Penguin House." Here’s the scary stats. They employ 10,000 people worldwide (that is where the earnings from your books go) and will publish 15,000 new books each year. That is nearly two books per hour, all year long. That is a big publisher.
Judge Rules …
by Steve Laube
This year was my 32nd consecutive annual bookseller’s convention now known as ICRS (International Christian Retail Show) held this year in St. Louis. As always it is a time of conversations, meetings, and business opportunities.
I arrived on Saturday afternoon, despite every attempt by the transportation industry to delay me…with 15 minutes to spare before giving an hour …
Writers spend much time and effort creating books, and those who are serious about making a living -- or at least supplementing household income -- invariably reach the proverbial fork in the road when they must ask, "Do I have what it takes?" If you have reached this point, here are a few questions you may find helpful:
1.) Are you willing to rise every morning to face a blank computer screen or …
I travel to writers’ conferences all over the country. I love being surrounded by others who love words and want to serve God through their writing. But over the years I've seen a number of interactions between agents/editors and conferees that were…well, less than positive. It was clear the conferee was passionate about his/her work, and that the writer was looking on this encounter as THE …
