Steve Laube

Fun Fridays – October 8, 2021

By Steve Laubeon October 8, 2021

Enjoy today’s video of master potters at work. Seven minutes of extraordinary creativity and artistry.

I could not help but compile the following:

“I went down to the potter’s house, and there he was working at his wheel. And the vessel he was making of clay was spoiled in the potter’s hand, and he reworked it into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to do. Has the potter no right over the clay, to make out of the same lump one vessel for honorable use and another for dishonorable use? But now, O Lord, you are our Father; we are the clay, and you are our potter; we are all the work of your hand” (Jeremiah 18:3-4; Romans 9:21; Isaiah 64:8).

(If you cannot see the embedded video in your newsletter email, please click the headline and go directly to our site to view it.)

Always Be Curious (The ABCs of the Writing Life)

By Steve Laubeon October 4, 2021

by Steve Laube

Depending on where you live and your school district policies you may already be in a back-to-school mode or preparing for it.

It got me to thinking about the need for all writers to always have a "back to school" mentality.

Here are five things we can learn from always going "back to school."

Category: Book Business, Steve, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Creativity, Writing Craft

Fun Fridays – October 1, 2021

By Steve Laubeon October 1, 2021

Today’s video features 11 singers from 8 different countries. Enjoy! By the way, for those who love choirs (aka choir nerds), it’s a high D for the soprano and a low G for the bass. What makes this most unusual is the tracing of the globe. And this was done before the pandemic forced global choirs to do this all the time! (If you cannot see the embedded video in your newsletter email, …

Category: Fun Fridays

God Gave Me This Blog Post

By Steve Laubeon September 27, 2021

God gave me this blog post. By invoking divine inspiration, I have guaranteed that you will read this post and possibly give me money to read more. Sound like a stretch? Then what if I just wrote or said: “God spoke to me.”“I was led to write this.”“God revealed this to me.”“I have been called to write this.”“I believe this is an inspired post.” In the Christian publishing industry, editors, …

Category: Book Business, TheologyTag: Pitching, Theology

Fun Fridays – September 24, 2021

By Steve Laubeon September 24, 2021

Today is National Punctuation Day! In celebration, take out a comma.

Or at least visit the official site: www.nationalpunctuationday.com.

Recently I walked into a church classroom to find a list of the 10 Commandments on the board. The first line read "No other God's."
Sigh.

If you want to read a fun book on grammar and punctuation I can recommend Mignon Fogarty's Grammar Girl's Quick …

Category: Grammar, Language, SteveTag: Grammar, Language, punctuation

When Editorial Errors Matter

By Steve Laubeon September 20, 2021

by Steve Laube

Writers make mistakes. It happens. Often an editor’s job is to be the safety net and catch those tidbits that find their way into an early draft of a manuscript for any number of reasons.

The simplicity of “cut & paste” has created more opportunity for error than ever before. I've seen half sentences left in their original place because the writer failed to cut and …

Category: Book Business, Craft, E-Books, Editing, Grammar, Steve, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Errors, Writing Craft

Fun Fridays – September 17, 2021

By Steve Laubeon September 17, 2021

TALK LIKE A PIRATE DAY is September 19. In preparation for this upcoming day, I’ve provided some completely unoriginal pirate jokes for your fun and enjoyment. Convert your own book into pirate-speak at this translator site: Pirate Monkeyness. Please do not tell your pastor or priest to give their Sunday sermon like a pirate. There is all sorts of wrong in that. For “the wages o’ …

Category: Fun Fridays

Supply Chain Blues

By Steve Laubeon September 13, 2021

Two weeks ago I wrote of the Slushpile Blues. Today is another scintillating topic. Supply chain blues. By “supply chain” I mean the various steps along the way for a vendor to have a final product to sell to a consumer. For electronics, like your phone, it means collecting various pieces before assembly: the battery, the camera lens, the transistors, the memory chip, the glass, and more. If any …

Category: Book Business

Never Forget

By Steve Laubeon September 11, 2021

Category: Personal

Fun Fridays – September 10, 2021

By Steve Laubeon September 10, 2021

Enjoy the delightful storytelling of Andy Andrews. Afterward? Impress your friends with your own versions. The lesson here? There are many ways to sing a tale, but only one is the way the author intended. But it’s still okay to laugh. (If you cannot see the embedded video in your newsletter email, please click the headline and go directly to our site to view it.)

Category: Fun Fridays