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The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Archives for Bob Hostetler

Bob Hostetler

Must I Kill All My Little Darlings? (A Writer’s Prayer)

By Bob Hostetleron March 16, 2023
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They are waiting for me, all my little darlings.
I have labored over them as if in the pangs of childbirth.
I have nurtured them,
weighed and coddled them,
smiled at them and played with them.
They have grown and multiplied,
and though at times they are recalcitrant,
I have loved them.

How many must go?
Which ones are weak, superfluous, misplaced, unclear, redundant?

You know, Lord.
I approach them now as a gardener, not a butcher.
But it still hurts.
Give me clarity, give me fortitude.
Make me merciless, make me wise.
Supply boldness, provide discretion.
And in your kindness and creativity,
let every syllable that is trimmed, every phrase that is straightened,
be obedience to you,
a credit to me,
and a blessing to the reader,
in Jesus’ name, amen.

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Category: The Writing Life

Don’t Wait for Retirement

By Bob Hostetleron February 23, 2023
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It seems as if it happens at least once at every writers conference I attend. Someone will say, “Once I retire, I’ll be able to write.” I get it. It’s hard to find the time to write—and build or expand a platform of speaking or podcasting or blogging and more—while you have an actual job for which you’re supposedly being paid. But I can’t say this strongly enough: Don’t wait for retirement to …

Read moreDon’t Wait for Retirement
Category: Agents, Platform

How They Got Their Agent

By Bob Hostetleron February 15, 2023
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Somewhere shy of a billion years ago, I met Steve Laube at a writers conference. He and I were both teaching and presenting and meeting with writers. (He was an editor at the time, and I was a big deal.) He liked me; I tolerated him. For the next few years (or more), our friendship continued and deepened; and eventually I asked him to be my literary agent. He agreed. Of course, he did. He’s made …

Read moreHow They Got Their Agent
Category: Agents

6 Joys of Finishing a Writing Project

By Bob Hostetleron February 2, 2023
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The Bible says, “Better is the end of a thing than the beginning thereof” (Ecclesiastes 7:8, KJV). Or, as another version puts it, “It is better to finish something than to start it” (Ecclesiastes 7:8, NCV). That wisdom applies to everyone on God’s green earth, I’m sure; but it sure feels like it applies more to writers and the writing life. Can I get a witness? I see that hand. Seriously, as …

Read more6 Joys of Finishing a Writing Project
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Deadlines

Who and What I’m Looking for (Bob Hostetler)

By Bob Hostetleron January 25, 2023
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(Updated 1/25/2023) As the world turns and 2022 gives way to 2023, I have been a literary agent with The Steve Laube Agency for five-and-a-half years. In many ways, 2022 was my most surprising and successful year yet as an agent. My clients made me look good, and my boss so far hasn’t made me look for a new job; so I’ve got those things going for me. With all that in mind, let me offer an updated …

Read moreWho and What I’m Looking for (Bob Hostetler)
Category: Agency, Agents, Book ProposalsTag: Agency, Agents, Get Published

6 Joys of Starting a New Writing Project

By Bob Hostetleron January 12, 2023
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It’s a new year! A fresh start. A turn of the page. What better time is there to start a new writing project, whether that’s a new novel manuscript, book proposal, article query, blog post, or poem? So, what are you waiting for? After all, consider the joys of starting something new: The world is your oyster. Possibilities abound. Whatever and wherever you begin, the first steps of a fresh, new …

Read more6 Joys of Starting a New Writing Project
Category: Career, The Writing Life

Incarnational Writing

By Bob Hostetleron December 21, 2022
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It’s that holy time of year when followers of Jesus around the world contemplate and celebrate the truth of the Incarnation, the miraculous, mind-boggling moment when the Son of God, the Eternal Word, “became flesh and made his dwelling among us” (John 1:14, NIV). So, first, I wish the readers of this blog a merry and holy Christmas. Second, I’d like to opine for a few moments on the …

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Category: The Writing Life, Theology

Rejection Is NOT Failure

By Bob Hostetleron November 30, 2022
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Hi, my name is Bob; and I get rejected. As a blogger, article writer, game writer, and writer of books, I suffer “rejection” on a nearly daily basis—and not only because of my slovenly appearance. As I often tell people, publishing is a highly subjective business; and what one editor pooh-poohs another may ooh-ooh. “Sure, Bob,” you may say, “but rejection still hurts.” I hear you. It feels awful, …

Read moreRejection Is NOT Failure
Category: The Writing Life

4 Ways to Be a Grateful Writer

By Bob Hostetleron November 16, 2022
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How great is it being a writer? Sure, there are downsides. Rejection. Revision. Poverty. And so on. But all in all, writers are a privileged bunch. We get to write! We get to “live and move and have our being” among words, sentences, magazines, blogs, and books. We know how to use semicolons and apostrophes (well; some of us’ do anyway). We sometimes even experience the joy of knowing someone has …

Read more4 Ways to Be a Grateful Writer
Category: Personal, TheologyTag: thanksgiving

How One Bibliophile Downsized

By Bob Hostetleron November 3, 2022
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I love books. Big surprise, right? I’m supposed to say that, as a literary agent, author, and frequent speaker at writers conferences. But it’s true. Case in point: Over the years, I amassed a personal and professional library of nearly 3,000 books. Hardcover and softcover, mass market and classic leather binding, nonfiction and fiction, reference and gift books, many by friends, some by …

Read moreHow One Bibliophile Downsized
Category: The Writing Life
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