Helping to Change the World…Word by Word
The Steve Laube Agency
Helping to Change the World Word by Word
You are the canine in this story. You’ve spent years working to master your genre only to find three newbies, who aren’t even trained, setting up residence in YOUR genre!
What do you do?
Anybody relate?
Today, glance through a potpourri of book releases, important dates, and defining events that make up book publishing in general and Christian publishing specifically. Not all the books or events are “Christian” in nature, but their presence created historical markers to give perspective. (I stopped at 2010 since events and books take time to become true historical markers.) 1440 – German Johann …
It is important to treat the use of quoting the Bible like you would in quoting any source material. Too frequently I run across an author who has not bothered to take that step. But they should. The Word of God is powerful and should not be taken for granted. There are many readers who admit to skipping over Bible verses when quoted in full. The thought is that they are already familiar with …
In a movie, after endless rehearsals and multiple takes, you see the perfect scene. Today’s video contrasts that with reality. Hilarious results! Writing lesson? Enough reality in your writing so the reader doesn’t end their suspension of disbelief with a “Huh? That can’t happen that way.” Enjoy!
Genre is important. For many reasons, it’s crucial for a writer to know the genre he or she is writing in and to know it well. In some cases, the devoted readers of a certain genre have defined expectations. For example, they may expect certain tropes and taboos to be observed (even if they’ve never thought about their expectations). After all, there are reasons readers prefer certain genres. And …
Lots of contests for both published and unpublished writers abound. Should a writer enter these contests? The short answer? Yes! Goal: The contest sets a goal. For instance, a contest needing the first ten pages, fifty pages, or the first chapter and a summary all give the writer a deadline. The writer must prepare these materials to enter the contest. Statement: For the unpublished writer, the …
Everyone likes being appreciated. It can be as simple as receiving a “thank you.” For the writer, a fan letter is like a cold drink of water in the middle of a desert wasteland. The writing life is a bit like placing your words into a bottle and tossing it into an endless ocean, hoping it doesn’t sink and simultaneously hoping someone somewhere will find those words and be …
This fellow has close to a billion views of his various piano videos! Goes by the name of Lord Vinheteiro. He does have an eerie look when staring at the camera; but it’s on purpose. Today he does bits from what he claims are the top ten most difficult piano pieces to play. The liner notes say: “They are hard to play because they are fast songs, with left-handed jumps, polyrhythms, …
Traditional book publishers have a wide variety of employees, each with different but complementary abilities. Every task required to effectively publish a book is under one roof (metaphorically speaking these days, of course). Everything is geared toward publishing books well. The same could be said of many author-paid or indie publishers. Talented people with a goal of publishing well, working …
If you were to apprentice as a plumber, there would be certain tools you’ll need, right? A wrench, perhaps. Pipe, maybe. In my case, wader boots. Similarly, a writer who aspires to a long and fruitful publishing career will need a few things, whether that person hopes and plans to become a novelist, columnist, or something else. And yes, yes, I know, some smart aleck in the blogosphere has already …
