The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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The Author’s Life in 39 Easy Steps

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  1. Someday I ought to write a book.
  1. Woohoo! I’ve just started writing a book! I deserve some ice cream.
  1. I’m so excited, things are going great.
  1. Writing is hard.
  1. No, writing is cool. I’m having the time of my life.
  1. Writing is hard. I should just give up.
  1. I’m almost done with my first book. Writing is so fun. I have written 4,000 words! I deserve some ice cream.
  1. I just found out books are usually a lot longer than 4,000 words. I have no idea what I’m doing. I should just give up.
  1. I have lost all sense of direction and perspective. I have no idea if this is any good or not.
  1. I showed my writing to someone and she loved it! I’m going to be famous. I deserve some ice cream.
  1. I showed my writing to someone else and he pointed out a few problems. I’m horrible and I hate writing.
  1. I finished my whole manuscript! I’m an author! I deserve some ice cream.
  1. Someone said I should probably go through my manuscript looking for mistakes, but that’s crazy, I didn’t make any mistakes.
  1. I’ve started going through my manuscript and I made a million mistakes! I have no idea what I’m doing. I should just give up.
  1. Okay, maybe it’s not as bad as I thought.
  1. Okay, I think it’s so much worse than I thought. Writing is hard.
  1. The second draft is finished. I’m finally done. I deserve some ice cream.
  1. I think it’s ready to submit to agents and editors, so I’m taking it to a writer’s conference to shop it around.
  1. I just got back from the writer’s conference. I have no idea what I’m doing. I should just give up.
  1. Maybe I can survive just one more draft.
  1. Repeat #3-18.
  1. Someone is finally interested in my book! I’m going to be rich and famous! I deserve some ice cream.
  1. No they’re not. I should just give up.
  1. Repeat #22-23. As necessary. Ad infinitum, even.
  1. Someone is interested in my book, but they want changes. Lots of them. I clearly have no idea what I’m doing. I should just give up.
  1. The rewrite is finished. I’m finally done. I deserve some ice cream.
  1. Woohoo! I’ve been offered a contract! I’m an author! I’m going to be rich and famous! I deserve some ice cream.
  1. Another rewrite? You must be kidding. I clearly have no idea what I’m doing. I should just give up.
  1. I finally finished the rewrite. I’m finally done. I’m exhausted and I have lost all sense of direction and perspective. I have no idea if this is any good or not.
  1. I’m so relieved to be finished with this book. I deserve some ice cream.
  1. Edits? I thought this thing was finished. Now I have to review all these edits? And comments? This will take forever. I have no idea what I’m doing. I should just give up.
  1. Okay, that’s it. Finished. Kaput. What a relief. I deserve some ice cream.
  1. Oh for crying out loud. I just got these things called galleys and I’m supposed to respond WHEN? Who has time for all this?
  1. Finally done. Finished. Kaput. What a relief. I can finally relax and enjoy a little ice cream.
  1. This is so exciting. I can’t wait to hold this book in my hands.
  1. Influencers? Endorsements? Marketing? What’s that? I have no idea what I’m doing.
  1. Reviews? Pre-orders? Blog tours? Sales rankings? Book launch? What’s all that? I have no idea what I’m doing.
  1. My books are here! My books are here! My books are here! I deserve some ice cream.
  1. How is there a typo in this cotton-picking thing?
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So You Want to Be In Pictures? (The Sequel)

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To simulate how the book-to-film process really works, I waited five years to write this sequel to my original post on books and films. Experiences with book-to-film connections are a very real box of chocolates for authors ever since the opportunity to connect the two media debuted a hundred years ago. Authors never know what they are going to get. The experience can leave either a good or bad …

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New Author Acronyms for The Oxford English Dictionary

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Last week the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) added a bunch of new words to their august tome. What made news is that four of the words aren’t words at all but acronyms that have crept into our everyday communication via the Internet. “Words” like LOL, OMG, BFF, and IMHO.
In honor of this auspicious occasion I thought it would be fun to see if we can find other acronyms that should become part of …

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Fun Fridays – August 17, 2018

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A visual rendering of the virtuosity of Franz Liszt as a composer and the brilliance of this performer playing “La Campanella.” This pianist has over 100,000 subscribers to his weekly “light shows.” If you would like to follow along with the music, below is a link to a PDF of the musical score. https://www.patreon.com/file?h=20408604&i=2454403 I couldn’t help …

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Four Myths About Editors

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Since even the most prolific authors’ experience with editors may be limited to one or two, editors can seem mythical. Let’s unwrap a few assumptions: 1)  Editors don’t have to worry about the market. Agents advise writers to consider the market when writing. This is because editors do have to worry about the market and must make their acquiring decisions at least partially with the market in …

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The Automatic Writer

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My coffee maker is on a timer. My thermostat is programmed to different temperatures at night and by day. My computer screen even dims to a softer hue as the day progresses. I try to automate everything I can, believing that the fewer tasks I have to remember every day, the more I can focus and achieve. That may or may not be true, but I’m convinced that automation has helped me—and many of my …

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How to Know if Self-Publishing is for You

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Technology and Amazon.com have opened up the world of book publishing, making it far more “democratic” than ever before and allowing anyone with word processing software and connection to the internet, to become a published author. The traditional publishing industry is a $25 billion or more industry in the United States, generating about 300,000 new titles every year in all categories and …

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Brainstorming: How and With Whom?

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Brainstorming is one of the fun parts in the development of a book. The key for the author is a willingness to hear other ideas. The second, and most critical key, is discovering those with whom you should brainstorm. Those people need to be willing to have their ideas rejected in the discussions and be willing to let an idea they created to be used by someone else. It takes a special …

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Fun Friday – August 10, 2018

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Today is for all science geeks. In 1591 it is said that Galileo (at the time, a mathematician at the University of Pisa – the location of the leaning tower…) proposed that a feather and a cannon ball would fall at the same rate of speed if there was no air resistance. In other words, gravity is an equal force no matter the size or weight of the object. Nearly 100 years later Isaac …

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Four Myths about Agents

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I was amused when I recently received a note from an author who had decided I’m a human rather than an infallible goddess. Not sure if I should be glad or disappointed! Since many authors don’t interact with agents, let me dispel a few myths about us: 1)  Myth: Authors don’t need an agent for traditional publishing. Some traditional publishers will accept unsolicited proposals, but those …

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