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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

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My Favorite Childhood Favorite

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon September 3, 2015
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My favorite childhood favorite is Barbie Goes to a Party by Jean Bethell, illustrated by Claudine Nankivel. The story details how Barbie spends an afternoon consulting her mother and girlfriends, and how her mother and she advise Barbie’s friend Midge, about what to wear to a party. In the end, everyone wears the same outfit, as per Barbie’s suggestion. So they are all the best dressed at the party!

This book is all about friendship, family, wisdom, ingenuity, and a happily-ever-after ending, much like the romance novels I represent now. Looking back at my early taste in books, the fact I used to read this story to my girls when they were little, and how it still makes me smile, it’s no wonder I enjoy being a literary agent so much. And that I gravitate to stories with happy endings.

Today, if you are throwing a party, I think you should invite me. I still might ask my mother what to wear. I will always ask my husband, although, unlike Barbie’s mother, he will never bake cupcakes during the decision-making process. Today’s book might be titled, Tamela Goes to the ACFW Banquet. I might spend a few moments thinking about what to wear. Some things never change.

Your turn:

What is your favorite childhood book?

Are the characters in your favorite book like you at all?

Leave a Comment
Category: ReadingTag: Childhood Favorite, Reading

Proposals: Comparing Your Writing to Icons

By Karen Ballon September 2, 2015
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Awhile ago, I was reviewing a proverbial stack of nonfiction and fiction proposals. As I read them, I noticed something. And I saw that something again just recently as I read over proposals during a series of 15-minute meetings with conferees at a writers’ conference. What was that something? In their proposals, more and more writers are comparing their work to icons in publishing. As in: “My …

Read moreProposals: Comparing Your Writing to Icons
Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: book proposals, Comparisons

Duh Blog

By Dan Balowon September 1, 2015
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Kyle Idelman’s AHA: The God Moment That Changes Everything (David C. Cook, 2014) is my inspiration today. If ever I write a book, it will be DUH: The Things That Never Change (Big Publisher, 20??) Today, I will reveal those things that are absolute truth that everyone should know. If you don’t, I have no advice for you. DUH would not be a self-help book because it doesn’t suggest a solution to any …

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Category: HumorTag: Humor

Fun Fridays – August 28, 2015

By Steve Laubeon August 28, 2015
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Sing along! And don’t hate me for putting this tune in your head today…

Read moreFun Fridays – August 28, 2015
Category: Fun Fridays

Why Do You Read?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 27, 2015
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In keeping with last week’s blog on personal reading, I’m thinking about how, over the years, my reasons for reading a book have changed. When I was a teenager, I would read a book to find out what might happen if I married: 1.) a rich man 2.) a poor man 3.) an executive 4.) an artist 5.) a pirate (not really but it’s hard to avoid them in books, though they’re scarce in …

Read moreWhy Do You Read?
Category: ReadingTag: Reading

Patience Please

By Dan Balowon August 25, 2015
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This could be Part Two to last week’s post, but I didn’t intend it that way. It just happened. Have you noticed how many things in our lives are overly dramatic? A generation or two ago when “news” was delivered a half-hour here and there and TV, radio and newspapers dominated, dramatic stories were covered and some of them were “manufactured” stories for ratings or circulation purposes. But in …

Read morePatience Please
Category: Book Business, Career, Platform, The Publishing Life, TrendsTag: Drama, Patience, The Publishing Life

Book Sales Continue to Rise

By Steve Laubeon August 24, 2015
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Despite the rumors concerning of the demise of Christian books, bookstores, and especially Christian fiction  there is news that tells a different story. There were a couple statistics released this past week that show signs of encouragement! General market sales: According to the U.S. Census Bureau. Bookstore sales hit $698 million in the month of June 2015 compared to $672 million last June. …

Read moreBook Sales Continue to Rise
Category: Book Business, Book Sales, Career, Economics, TrendsTag: Book Sales

A Novel Idea

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 20, 2015
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As followers of this blog know, I have just returned from a wonderful conference in Oregon. Many of the questions and my interactions there caused me to re-evaluate my way of approaching how and what I read during my personal time. Please note: I am in no way changing my philosophy regarding what I represent as an agent. I’m still focusing on all forms of Christian romance and representing …

Read moreA Novel Idea
Category: Craft, Get Published, ReadingTag: Ideas, Reading Craft

Doing Dialect Well

By Karen Ballon August 19, 2015
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“Aym t’inkin’ ye tol’ me, didna ya, dat dere be tips ‘n’ tricks ta doin’ de dialect da wey ye shud in buks?” Just in case you haven’t figured it out, here’s the translation of this bit of brutal brogue: “I’m thinking you told me, didn’t you, that there are tips and tricks to doing dialect the way you should in books?” There are, indeed. And the first line of this blog is the perfect example of …

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Category: Craft, Writing CraftTag: Craft, dialect, Writing Craft

Are You Writing Out of Order?

By Dan Balowon August 18, 2015
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Generally speaking, if you want to write a book, sitting down at a computer, opening a Word document and starting to write it is not the first thing you should do. Certainly, every writer should write and keep writing. In the same vein, every runner should run, every person interested in being a chef should prepare food and so on. But writing a book is not the first thing you should do if you …

Read moreAre You Writing Out of Order?
Category: Book Proposals, Career, Get Published, Platform, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Get Published, Platform
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