Helping to Change the World…Word by Word
The Steve Laube Agency
Helping to Change the World Word by Word
This is the perfect video for Memorial Day weekend when so many people in the U.S.A. take a road trip.
Impress your family and friends after watching. Geek-out on FONTS! Aren’t they cool?
Enjoy your weekend as you obsessively look at road signs in a new way.
(If you cannot see the embedded video in your newsletter email, please click the headline and go directly to our site to view it.)
Johann Sebastian Bach is one of my favorite composers. The six pieces in his “Cello Suites” are extraordinary. But the first one in that collection is famous the world over. I urge you to find ten minutes in the next few days (if not today) to watch and listen to an analysis of the sheer genius of its composition. Seeing and hearing how something so simple can become so profound should …
by Steve Laube
I came across a remarkable section in a book written around 124 B.C. The editor of the book wrote the following preface to help the reader understand his methodology and purpose. It shows the concern a good editor has for the ultimate reader. His job was to abridge a massive five volume work into an abbreviated 16,00 word document. Can anyone tell me where this comes from and …
Today’s video had me laughing out loud. It was far too close to what can really happen in an interview with an author. Enjoy Bob Newhart at his best during this six-minute comedy sketch. At a writers conference years ago, I met someone who claimed they had a worm in their backyard that whispered great truths. Plus this person claimed to be able to control the weather. You never know what an …
by Steve Laube
It happens. Despite all efforts and good intentions not every proposal we shop will end up being contracted by a major publisher. Of course our agency tries our best to keep that from happening. We carefully choose which projects and authors we represent. And our success rate is extremely high.
But that success rate is not 100%.
Here are a few examples of projects that …
This is a perfect video for Mother’s Day weekend. Please read the story, then click through to the YouTube video. A Mother dances with her blind daughter in an absolutely beautiful way. HT: Ann Voskamp’s “Only the Good Stuff“
by Steve Laube
Understanding the economics of your local brick-and-mortar bookstore should help you understand the upheaval that is happening in our industry. So put on your math cap and let's take a ride.
This article focuses on the bookstore not the publisher or the writer. I spent over a decade in the Christian bookstore business, and while that was a long time ago the economic principles …
Before watching today’s video, I would never have guessed how many languages are spoken on Earth today. Amaze your friends with the answer! In the midst of the video, Tom Scott makes a point about words that have changed meaning in recent years (before and after the Internet). I thought of a few others: Spam. Follow. Handle. Like. Swipe. Tablet. Text. Virus. And even “Friend.” …
by Steve Laube
In the constant ebb and flow of this industry we have authors celebrating and authors in tears. Ask any agent and you will hear the same. For every author excited about their new contract there is another experiencing bitter disappointment.
And I wish I could fix it.
To hear the anguish is difficult, but to be the one who delivers the bad news is heart-wrenching. Why is it …
Since the snow has finally melted for most of you and spring is in bloom, I thought it would be fun to look at the melting of snowflakes, in reverse. Start with the drop of water and see it turn into something of great beauty. Sort of like your writing. Each one of you is unique, no two alike. Nor are your books or articles or words. Ask two people to write a story based on a famous Norman …
