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Fun Fridays – March 9, 2018

By Steve Laubeon March 9, 2018

It is Spring Training time for Major League Baseball. Fifteen teams come to Arizona (the other 15 are in Florida) for the month of March. A lot of fans come to watch (1.9 million last year).

In honor of a new baseball season we just have to watch the classic “Who’s on First” by Abbot and Costello. When I was in high school I remember performing this with my Dad at a church get together held in our home. We laughed so hard we could barely finish.

Below that is another version of the classic you may enjoy.

Below is a parody of the above classic with Johnny Carson playing President Reagan and Fred Holliday playing Jim Baker, his chief of staff.

The Top Three Reasons My Office Rejects Submissions

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 8, 2018

So you got a rejection saying the submission isn’t right for us? That’s a typical decline, isn’t it? Frustrating, I know. But it’s typical because it’s so common. Let’s look at the top three reasons my office sends rejection letters. The submission isn’t right for us. When you receive this letter, you may feel as though we blew off your work and chose a pig-in-a-poke excuse because we had to fill …

Category: Agents, RejectionTag: Agents, book proposal, Rejection

It’s Not What You Know; It’s Who You Know

By Bob Hostetleron March 7, 2018

It is usually said by someone who is not progressing as quickly as they would like in their career. It applies to writing for publication as much—or more so—as in other endeavors. You’ve heard it often: “It’s not what you know, it’s who you know.” It may sound cynical. It may be discouraging. You may not want to believe it. But it’s true. To some, of course, that means everyone else gets the …

Category: Book Business, Career, ConferencesTag: Book Business, Career, The Writing Life

Creative or Effective? You Decide

By Dan Balowon March 6, 2018

Very early in my working life, I was involved in advertising sales for a radio station. Probably because I was pretty much a “blank slate” back then, I remember the first advertising seminar I attended like it was yesterday. People who know me well, might smile (or roll their eyes) when I’ll repeat a sales or marketing principle I learned decades ago. They are “on to me.” At the first seminar, I …

Category: Book Proposals, Branding, Marketing, Pitch, PitchingTag: book proposal, Cover Letter, Creativity, Marketing

Your Money is Your Business or Keep a Lid on How Much Money You Make

By Steve Laubeon March 5, 2018

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How much should author friends reveal to each other about contracts or other business dealings when they have business with the same publisher?

I think it is a huge mistake to reveal the amount of your advances to other authors. This is similar to finding out the salary of the co-worker in the office cubicle next to yours. When I was a retail store manager we had major problems when salaries …

Category: Book Business, Career, Communication, MoneyTag: Book Business, Contracts, Facebook, Gossip, Money, rumors

Fun Friday – March 2, 2018

By Steve Laubeon March 2, 2018

I’m trying to imagine this young lady pitching her book to me during an appointment at a writers conference. Imagine how much she could present in only 15 non-stop minutes! There have been times where someone’s nerves kicked their verbal presentation into high gear and they ended up emulating her talent. Please don’t do that! I would prefer a tranquil conversation. If you start …

Category: Fun Fridays

I Hate My Job!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 1, 2018

Well, I don’t always hate my job. I only hate it on the days I have to send rejection letters. Or maybe I should say, I only hate it during the moments of the day that I must send rejection letters. If you receive a rejection letter either from my assistant or myself, you can count on a few truths: If we say you are talented, we believe it. If we say your work isn’t the right fit for us, you can …

Category: Book Proposals, RejectionTag: Rejection, rejection letters

Should I Blog My Book?

By Bob Hostetleron February 28, 2018

Everyone has heard of bloggers who made it big with a book deal, right? Why shouldn’t the next one be you? I can think of a few reasons. A blog is not a book I know, it seems obvious (but I miss the Obvious Station often enough that I try to at least check there before boarding the Train of Thought). To choose just one example of the difference: blog posts are written for online reading, and tend …

Category: Book Proposals, Career, Get Published, The Writing LifeTag: Blog, blog posts, Get Published, publishing

Writers as Students of History

By Dan Balowon February 27, 2018

Anyone reading my posts on this agency blog will get a sense of my opinion and perspective on the publishing life. Of the fifty or so blog posts I write each year, many connect something in publishing to a historical event or attempt to draw some sort of application or conclusion from the books which were selling at some point in the past. To be honest, I don’t know how anyone can understand …

Category: Historical, Publishing History, The Publishing LifeTag: History, The Publishing Life

Six Questions for a Literary Agent

By Steve Laubeon February 26, 2018

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1. What should a client expect from you as an agent?

That I will work hard.
That I will keep on top of the ever changing marketplace.
That I will maintain my integrity as a businessman of honor and honesty.
That I will protect your interests.
That I will tell you the truth, about the industry, about your writing, about your ideas.

Category: Agency, Book BusinessTag: Agents, Book Business, Proposals, Rejection