• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Interview with Steve Laube
    • Statement of Faith
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
  • Guidelines
  • Authors
    • Who We Represent
    • Awards and Recognition
  • Resources
    • Recommended Reading
    • Christian Writers Market Guide Online
    • Christian Writers Institute
    • Writers Conferences
    • Freelance Editorial Services
    • Copyright Resources
    • Research Tools
    • Selling What You Write
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Twitter
  • FaceBook
  • RSS Feed
  • Get Published
  • Book Proposals
  • Book Business
  • Writing Craft
    • Conferences
    • Copyright
    • Craft
    • Creativity
    • Grammar
  • Fun Fridays
Home » Archives for Bob Hostetler » Page 19

Bob Hostetler

A Writer’s Hymn

By Bob Hostetleron June 12, 2019
Share
Tweet
37

A Writer’s Hymn
(based on and drawing from a hymn by Frances Ridley Havergal)

 

Take my life, and let it be consecrated, Lord, to Thee.

Take my moments and my days; let them flow in ceaseless praise.

Take my hands, and let them move at the impulse of Thy love.

Take my intellect, and use every power as Thou shalt choose.

 

Take my keyboard, and my screen; my desk and office chair,

My pages, sentences, and words, my flittings here and there,

My focus and my flow, my pacings up and down,

My insecurities and fears, my grins, my groans, my frowns.

 

Let every bit be used by you, the good, the bad, and ugly too.

Make me better than I know to be, by being yours while being me,

Let every word I type be true by coming first and most from you.

Suggest, revise, inform, inspire, and take my writing higher and higher.

 

Take my fingertips, let them be filled with messages from Thee.

Take my will, and make it Thine; it shall be no longer mine.

Take my heart, it is Thine own; it shall be Thy royal throne.

Take my love, my Lord, I pour at Thy feet its treasure store.

 

Leave a Comment
Category: Inspiration

My Favorite Blog Comments

By Bob Hostetleron May 29, 2019
Share
Tweet
28

If you’re reading these words, you’re probably aware of the richly informative and entertaining blog posts the agents of the Steve Laube Agency post daily (Monday-Friday). I’m constantly amazed by the wealth of free and valuable information my colleagues share (and I pitch in every Wednesday with some drivel of my own). As helpful as I try to be in my posts, it’s consistently the comments that …

Read moreMy Favorite Blog Comments
Category: Encouragement, Inspiration

Why Is Writing a Hook So Hard for Me?

By Bob Hostetleron May 22, 2019
Share
Tweet
23

I love hooks. As a writer, I work hard on my hooks. As a magazine editor, the hook was often the best way for a writer to make a good first impression on me. And, as an agent, the hook is the first and one of the most important criteria I use in evaluating a book pitch, proposal, or manuscript. “Hook” is a fairly flexible term in writing and publishing. It can mean: The overall unique appeal of an …

Read moreWhy Is Writing a Hook So Hard for Me?
Category: Book Proposals, Marketing, Pitch, The Writing Life

New Words for a New World

By Bob Hostetleron May 15, 2019
Share
Tweet
35

The good folks who produce The Merriam-Webster Dictionary recently announced the addition of 640 new words to the newest edition. Words like “go-cup” (a beverage cup to take out of the restaurant), “bioabsorbable” (a substance that can be absorbed by living tissue), and “on-brand” (consistent with a particular public image or identity). Some of the additions, such as “screen time” (to refer to …

Read moreNew Words for a New World
Category: The Writing Life, Writing Craft

Gems of Writing Wisdom from Writers Conferences

By Bob Hostetleron May 8, 2019
Share
Tweet
27

I attend and present at eleven or twelve writers conferences a year. That’s a lot. But it’s always a joy to renew friendships and talk writing and meet promising writers. It’s also amazing how much writerly wisdom flows at these events, some of it in such volume that attendees and faculty can struggle to hear and process all of it. So I thought I’d offer a little help and record here some (a small …

Read moreGems of Writing Wisdom from Writers Conferences
Category: Book Business, Career, Get Published, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

Recent Questions I’ve Been Asked

By Bob Hostetleron May 1, 2019
Share
Tweet
46

Since becoming a literary agent, I’ve been fairly impressed with myself. It became obvious, almost immediately, that (judging from people’s respect for and faith in me) my IQ climbed 20-30 points and my expertise tripled once I began accepting clients. So, as you might imagine, I field quite a few questions. And some I know the answers to. Here are a few examples of recent questions I’ve been …

Read moreRecent Questions I’ve Been Asked
Category: Book Proposals, Career, Marketing, Self-Publishing, The Writing Life

Using Someone Else’s Words (What Is Fair Use?)

By Bob Hostetleron April 24, 2019
Share
Tweet
21

One of the ways in which writing for publication has changed over the years involves the use of someone else’s words in something you write. Once upon a time, what constituted fair use of copyrighted material was pretty straightforward, comprising three basic factors: The length of what you use The length of what you use it in The character of what you use it in Each is relative to the other. So, …

Read moreUsing Someone Else’s Words (What Is Fair Use?)
Category: Legal IssuesTag: Copyright, fair use

Rewrite is Constant

By Bob Hostetleron April 17, 2019
Share
Tweet
46

Whether you’re a published or unpublished writer, aspiring or “arrived” (as if), you have probably discovered one of the foibles of the writing life: Rewrite is constant. You can’t escape it. In fact, unless you’re a brand new writer, you probably can’t help but edit and rewrite repeatedly and reflexively during the course of a day. You might be walking through the airport and find yourself …

Read moreRewrite is Constant
Category: The Writing Life

Details Are Great Except When They’re Not

By Bob Hostetleron April 10, 2019
Share
Tweet
25

One attribute of good writers is an eye for detail. Whether you’re writing fiction or nonfiction, relating relevant and memorable details can make your writing sing like a soprano at the opera. Like Nero Wolfe’s love for the Phalaenopsis Aphrodite orchid or Wendell Berry’s onomatopoeic depiction of the “good, good, good” sound of men drinking from a moonshine whiskey jug in Jayber Crow. But …

Read moreDetails Are Great Except When They’re Not
Category: Craft, Writing Craft

Break the Rules…On Purpose

By Bob Hostetleron April 3, 2019
Share
Tweet
58

As a rule, writers should have a good grasp of the rules. Rules of grammar. Style. Usage. And the fundamental rule that you never walk the out man. Oh, wait, that’s baseball. It’s a good rule, though. As a writer and an editor, I like the rules. Most of the time, they make perfect sense because they make things easier and clearer for the reader, which is one of the keys to good style. For example, …

Read moreBreak the Rules…On Purpose
Category: Craft, Grammar, Writing Craft
  • Previous
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 17
  • Page 18
  • Page 19
  • Page 20
  • Page 21
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 28
  • Next

Sidebar

Get Blog Updates

Enter your email address to get new blog updates delivered via email. You can unsubscribe at any time.

You have Successfully Subscribed!

Grow as a Writer


Find Out More →

Popular Posts

Top Posts on Book Proposals
  • Hints for a Great Cover Letter
  • The Keys to a Great Book Proposal
  • What Steve Laube is Looking For
  • Book Proposals I’d Love to See – Tamela Hancock Murray
  • What I’m Looking for – Bob Hostetler
  • What I’m Looking for – Dan Balow
  • What I’m Looking for – Lynette Eason
  • What’s the Best Way to Submit My Self-Published Book?
  • What Is the Agent Doing While I Wait?
  • God Gave Me This Blog Post
Top Posts on The Business Side
  • When Your Book Becomes Personal
  • The Myth of the Unearned Advance
  • How Long Does it Take to Get Published?
  • What Are Average Book Sales?
  • Can You Plagiarize Yourself?
  • Never Burn a Bridge
  • Who Decides to Publish Your Book?
  • That Conference Appointment
  • Goodbye to Traditional Publishing?
  • Who Owns Whom in Publishing?
  • Ten Commandments for Working with Your Agent
  • Writers Beware! Protect Yourself
Top Series
  • Book Proposal Basics
  • Publishing A-Z
  • A Defense of Traditional Publishing
Top Posts on Rejection
  • The Slush Pile: Enter at Your Own Risk
  • Even the Best Get Rejected
  • Five Reasons Why You May Never Get Published
  • The Unhelpful Rejection Letter
  • Writers Learn to Wait

Blog Post Archives by Month

  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Interview with Steve Laube
    • Statement of Faith
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
  • Guidelines
  • Authors
    • Who We Represent
    • Awards and Recognition
  • Resources
    • Recommended Reading
    • Christian Writers Market Guide Online
    • Christian Writers Institute
    • Writers Conferences
    • Freelance Editorial Services
    • Copyright Resources
    • Research Tools
    • Selling What You Write
  • Blog
  • Contact

Copyright © 2025 · The Steve Laube Agency · All Rights Reserved · Website by Stormhill Media