• 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 Tamela Hancock Murray » Page 11

Tamela Hancock Murray

You’re Not the First Author to …

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon July 14, 2021
Share
Tweet
24

Miss a deadline because you underestimated how long a project would take.

Miss a deadline because of a family emergency or your own illness.

Ask for not one, not two, not three, but four deadline extensions.

Have a manuscript declared unacceptable.

Cancel a contract and return your advance money

Feel hurt by an editor’s harsh words.

Experience a major printing error.

Hate your book cover.

Hate the book title the publisher selected.

Have your name misspelled on the cover or inside the book.

Be kicked to the curb by your publisher despite your incredible relationship with the publisher’s team.

Suppress envy and puzzlement over others’ success.

Watch other authors rise while you toil to the tune of rejections.

Become an “overnight sensation” after writing for twenty years.

Feel supported by your editor and marketing team.

Be slandered because of your fame.

Be criticized in public as a poor writer despite making every bestseller list.

Learn how to be a gracious winner.

Feel overworked and underappreciated.

Love your career despite every trial and teardrop.

Leave a Comment
Category: The Writing Life

Should I Time My Novel’s Release to a Past Event?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon July 1, 2021
Share
Tweet
8

Novelists often ask me about timing their stories to the anniversary of a significant historical event. As with most questions, no definitive right or wrong answer exists. Here are a few thoughts. Does the event capture the public’s imagination? Since most Americans make yearly plans for the July 4th holiday, that event can offer perennial plots for novelists. But to time a novel to celebrate the …

Read moreShould I Time My Novel’s Release to a Past Event?
Category: Book Proposals, Marketing, Pitching

The Back Cover Blurb

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 23, 2021
Share
Tweet
9

Even in the age of online shopping, the back cover blurb is essential in helping a customer choose a book. When a reader decides between two books, the one with the best back cover copy often wins. When referring to the back cover, the reader wants to know the following: What does this book reveal? Why should I care? Nonfiction Of course, nonfiction covers a wide swath, including instructional, …

Read moreThe Back Cover Blurb
Category: Book Proposals, Pitching, The Writing Life

How Long Should My Summary Be for a Novel?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 10, 2021
Share
Tweet
5

Writers often ask about the length of a book summary for a proposal. How long should it be? I can say: The summary should be as long as you need it to be. Your goal is to present your story so an editor will want to read the book and then make an offer to publish it. If you can write a compelling summary, that’s a gift you should not be shy to use. Here are a few more tips: Present your proposal …

Read moreHow Long Should My Summary Be for a Novel?
Category: Book Proposals, Pitching

What Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 2, 2021
Share
Tweet
13

Sometimes, interviewers ask when you first knew what you wanted to do in life. As a child, I remember aspiring to be a dancer because moving to music looked fun. But when I found this “magazine” I had made for my mother when I was ten, I realized my interests (aside from trying to get my mother to buy Cocoa Krispies cereal) tended toward my future reality. In the photo, notice that the lucky old …

Read moreWhat Do You Want to Be When You Grow Up?
Category: Career, Personal, The Writing Life

Spoiler Alert!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 12, 2021
Share
Tweet
13

Sometimes authors submit proposals that don’t reveal the ending of a novel. I’m the first to admit that a teaser will encourage a reader to buy a book. Once the reader has to know how the story ends, they’re hooked! Yes, agents are readers. However, when evaluating a novel for representation, we are marketers. Agents must consider if editors will be interested in the book. In turn, editors must …

Read moreSpoiler Alert!
Category: Book Proposals, Pitching

Testing the Truth

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 29, 2021
Share
Tweet
11

Years ago, after a class on taxes at a writers conference, an attendee shook her head. “That teacher’s going to get a lot of people in trouble.” I couldn’t deny that some of the suggestions offered seemed risky. I disregarded most of what I’d heard as I made my way out the door. This experience is rare, but it does happen. Conference directors engage well-known, established instructors for …

Read moreTesting the Truth
Category: Conferences, The Writing Life

Will the Editor Catch My Error?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 21, 2021
Share
Tweet
18

Awhile back, an author asked if the editor will catch and correct inaccuracies. The best answer is no. Or a maybe. Fact-checking isn’t necessarily an editor’s job. Editing is their job. No author has a right to expect an editor to know every detail about every topic to make a story or nonfiction book accurate. For example, did you know that today is (among other celebrations) Thank You for …

Read moreWill the Editor Catch My Error?
Category: Editing

Your Reader

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 8, 2021
Share
Tweet
16

Not long ago, I met with a group of publishing professionals who broached the topic of audience. A couple of them discussed how their company envisions their reader. They went so far as to identify the reader by the name they had given her. They knew her age and discussed preferences that would dictate whether she would like a specific book. As a writer, perhaps you would be helped by working to …

Read moreYour Reader
Category: Branding, Editing, Marketing, The Writing Life

Your Compelling Cover Letter

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 31, 2021
Share
Tweet
14

In light of my recent posts discussing what we can and cannot overlook in submissions, I think authors may benefit from quick tips on how to add sparkle to an email cover letter. What is the subject line? When you look through hundreds of emails in your inbox, you gravitate to those that grab your attention, right? So do we! Consider these possible subject lines: Book Submission Query Romance …

Read moreYour Compelling Cover Letter
Category: Book Proposal Basics, Book Proposals, Pitching
  • Previous
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 9
  • Page 10
  • Page 11
  • Page 12
  • Page 13
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 60
  • 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