Steve Laube

Fun Fridays – September 7, 2020

By Steve Laubeon September 4, 2020

You can tell by now I enjoy virtuoso performances of all types (including those by writers!). Today’s video is the indefatigable Lang Lang playing Franz Lizst’s “La Campanella.”

I’ve programmed the link to start at the 2:14 mark to highlight the extraordinary finger work needed to play this piece at this speed. The fingers are literally a blur.

It also made me wonder about the composer: Was he simply cruel to future pianists? (LOL!) Or was he such a genius that he just composed what only he could play?

Did you know that Franz Lizst was the first to perform solo piano concerts? He was a European “rock star” in the 1830s. The piece you are hearing in today’s video was inspired after Lizst heard violinist Niccolò Paganini play for the first time. Lizst ultimately worked to replicate Paganini’s virtuoso violin technique and transfer his effects to the piano.

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Only Hours Left to Save the Writers Conference at Mount Hermon

By Steve Laubeon August 29, 2020

As you may recall, nearly six weeks ago we began a Kickstarter campaign to raise the funding to ensure that the writers conference at Mount Hermon could proceed as planned in 2021. (Click here for the campaign page and for more details.) We are at 61% of the goal as of this writing, which is rather incredible with over 220 people contributing!. But we are still short. The campaign will end at …

Category: Conferences

Fun Fridays – August 28, 2020

By Steve Laubeon August 28, 2020

Today’s video is “The Bugler’s Holiday” by four members of the Boston Pops. Wow! My oldest brother is an excellent trumpet player and played this in college when part of the Seattle Pacific University trumpet trio. Back then this was a relatively new song. Me? I was inspired by my brother and tried to play trumpet in junior high, using one of his old instruments. …

Category: Fun Fridays

A Growing Readership

By Steve Laubeon August 24, 2020

It recently came to my attention that the email list for our agency’s blog has grown by 40% over the last two years. It’s now the size of a small town or a rather large church! That is only the email list. It doesn’t count those of you who use the Facebook feed, the Twitter feed, an RSS feed, or come to the site directly on a regular basis. That is a pretty big crowd, and it is …

Category: Agency

Fun Fridays – August 21, 2020

By Steve Laubeon August 21, 2020

Who knew this could be a Guinness World Record? Pam Onnen spells 56 words backwards in one minute! Shattered the old record by 17 words. I can’t even spell “radar” backwards one time. Oh, wait. The words are chosen at random. If you’d like to watch the interview with her after, keep watching the video. Wouldn’t it be wild to have a character in your novel or …

Category: Fun Fridays

When the Gloves Come Off

By Steve Laubeon August 17, 2020

The publishing experience is rarely done in isolation. This means working with other people. And if their performances or efforts do not meet your expectations, conflict can occur. Over the years I’ve seen more conflict than you can imagine–of all types and variety. But the majority of issues boil down to four areas: Editorial Production (cover design?) Marketing and publicity Getting …

Category: Book Business, Career, Communication, EditingTag: Career, Communication, Editing, Money

Fun Fridays – August 14, 2020

By Steve Laubeon August 14, 2020

We all need a smile break. What better than a puppy train? But since this is a blog about the writing industry, which one is the editor? Which one is the agent? Which one is the writer? Which one is the reader? And why? (Don’t forget the person behind the camera!) Smile!

Category: Fun Fridays

12 Steps to Publication

By Steve Laubeon August 10, 2020

It takes 12 strikes to achieve a perfect game in bowling. (See last Friday’s video.) It made me think there are 12 things that need to happen in the publication process. Each must knock down all the pins to achieve publishing success. With that simplistic idea in mind, I came up with the following: Idea – A book has to start somewhere Write chapter – if not the whole book …

Category: Book Proposals, Common Questoins, Editing, Get Published, Marketing, Pitching, Platform

Fun Fridays – August 7, 2020

By Steve Laubeon August 7, 2020

A perfect game in bowling is a score of 300. To achieve that you have to roll ten strikes in a row, then roll two more in the bonus. A total of 12 strikes. It is really, really, really hard to do. This guy, Ben Ketola, rolls 12 strikes in a row, in less than 90 seconds. Watch and be amazed. It does give me a moment to brag on my grandfather who bowled a perfect 300. He had the gold belt buckle to …

Category: Fun Fridays

When Your Publishing World Shifts Under You

By Steve Laubeon August 3, 2020

It is easy to forget that traditional publishing is a business. And businesses are run by people doing a variety of tasks. Sometimes those people change tasks … and even change companies. Our agency keeps a living document in a shared folder that allows us to keep up with the various editorial changes in our industry. There are times when we make adjustments every week. I continue to produce …

Category: The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Change