Helping to Change the World…Word by Word
The Steve Laube Agency
Helping to Change the World Word by Word
We have had episodes about protagonists, the characters who want something that drives the plot forward, and antagonists who get in their way. But stories do not live on protagonists alone. Side characters, or supporting characters, play a vital role in your novel. But how do you craft characters that are believable and compelling? How […]
You can listen to this episode How to Create Compelling Secondary Characters for Your Novel with Angela Hunt on Christian Publishing Show.
by Steve Laube
Whenever I lecture about money the room becomes unusually quiet. Instead of a common restlessness from listeners there is a thrumming impatience to reveal the punch line. The punch line that declares every writer will be rich.
Now that I have our attention let’s turn to the topic of the day. The Advance. This is defined as the money a publisher pays to the author in …
The world’s highest post office (in the Himalayas) is today’s topic. As the description reads, “Rinchen Chhering has been the devoted postmaster since it opened in 1983. Neither snow nor rain nor heat nor gloom of night keeps Chhering from getting to work every day.” While it’s a fascinating three-minute video, I have to wonder if some of my recent postal mail had …
A mistake for authors is defining their author platform as a list of people to market their next book on social media. Can you imagine a pastor of a church looking out over their congregation during a sermon and primarily thinking who among them would make good contacts when the new building finance program is announced the following week? Maybe some do, but I cannot imagine a worse way to …
Recently I received several boxes of books from Steve Laube. Inside were dozens of sample books published by our agency clients. Since he is cheap, frugal, thrifty, fantastic for being concerned about the environment, he sent my books in repurposed containers. One was labeled “Reformed Systematic Theology,” scratched through with a black Sharpie pen. Another bore the Harlequin logo familiar to …
Those of you who have followed our blog are aware of the rather “interesting” proposals or pitches we receive. After so many years of doing this, it is almost hard to be surprised. Until a recent telephone exchange. Me: This is Steve Laube.Caller: How do I go about getting an idea to your company?Me: Have you looked at our website? It’s all laid out there for anyone to …
Since most of you changed your clocks this past weekend (we in Arizona did not because we are the smart ones), I found this video that is fascinating. Two islands two miles apart, but at the same time are 21 hours apart. And they are “in” two different countries. (There is a commercial in the last 40 seconds that cannot be removed.) Enjoy!
Many writers find themselves caught between fulfilling their creative writing desires and activities that pay living expenses. More often than not, they are different things. Throughout history, highly successful authors had other vocations while they developed their skills for writing books. If you go online and search for “day jobs of famous writers,” you’ll discover the only thing they have in …
You have a creative idea. You feel inspired to pursue it. But your head is filled with doubt. “What if I can’t make it work? What if I can’t provide for my family? What if my work isn’t good enough? What if people think my creation is stupid?” We have a guest on the show […]
You can listen to this episode How to Keep Fear from Blocking Your Creativity with David Lee Martin on Christian Publishing …
You have a creative idea. You feel inspired to pursue it. But your head is filled with doubt. “What if I can’t make it work? What if I can’t provide for my family? What if my work isn’t good enough? What if people think my creation is stupid?” We have a guest on the show […]
You can listen to this episode How to Keep Fear from Blocking Your Creativity with David Lee Martin on Christian Publishing …
