Agency

A One Year Anniversary Announcement

By Steve Laubeon May 21, 2012

by Steve Laube

A year ago we welcomed Tamela Hancock Murray and Karen Ball to our agency. I couldn’t be more pleased.

These two ladies are amazing people. They both work very hard to serve their clients with passion and excellence. I am blessed to have them as part of our team.

Next week will be the eighth anniversary of the founding of The Steve Laube Agency. We have had some wonderful success and represented some amazing authors and books in those years. I pray that we continue to help change the world word by word.

Christian Book Awards

By Karen Ballon May 1, 2012

Congratulations to our client Mesu Andrews (represented ) for winning the 2012 Christian Book Award for best New Author!

Here is the list of winners:

CHRISTIAN BOOK OF THE YEAR

Nearing Home, Billy Graham (Thomas Nelson)

Category: BIBLES

ESV Student Study Bible (Crossway)

Category: BIBLE REFERENCE

Dictionary of Christian Spirituality, Glen G. Scorgie …

Category: Agency, Awards, Karen, News You Can UseTag: Awards

The Mystery of the Slush Pile

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 19, 2012

When you submit a manuscript or query to an agent, you may wonder what happens to it, and what our thought processes are regarding the properties we offer to represent versus those we must respectfully decline. Every agent is different, but you may find learning about my process helpful.

I have a very smart assistant. When she reviews my slush pile submissions, she goes through a winnowing …

Category: Agency, Book Proposals, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Proposals, query, Rejection, slush pile

Christy Award Finalists 2012

By Steve Laubeon April 16, 2012

We are quite excited to announce that our agency has a number of finalists in this year's Christy Awards. (Click here for the list of this year's finalists.) Congratulations to all finalists. Below are our clients who have been honored and a link to their publisher's site for more information on the book.

Susan May Warren - My Foolish Heart (Tyndale) - Contemporary Romance

Ronie Kendig - …

Category: Agency, Awards, Get Published, News You Can Use, SteveTag: Christy Awards, News

Implications of the Department of Justice Lawsuit Against Five Major Publishers

By Steve Laubeon April 16, 2012

by Steve Laube

As you have heard by now the Department of Justice (DOJ) has leveled a lawsuit against Apple and five major publishers accusing them of conspiring to fix prices. There has been a lot written on the topic with varying degrees of understanding and a wide disparity of conclusions.

Authors are asking what this all means to them. And many are confused about the math involved. A …

Category: Agency, Book Business, Contracts, Get Published, Legal Issues, SteveTag: Book Business, Get Published, lawsuit, News, retail prices

True Confessions

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 29, 2012

When our eldest daughter was learning about various religions in college, she told me that converts to the Greek Orthodox faith must make a lifetime confession. This would mean confessing all of your past sins. Don't worry -- joining our agency does not require a lifetime confession. However, we do need to know about your publishing past.

Poor Sales History

Poor sales of your books in the …

Category: Agency, Book Business, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Agents, Book Business, Get Published

My Hat Collection

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 15, 2012

As an agent, I wear many hats and I love them all!

Miner's Hat:
Worn while picking through slush pile submissions.

Tiara:
Worn in celebration of gem discovery in the form of your marketable manuscript.

Gold Crown:
In celebration of signing you to be a new client.

Category: Agency, Humor, TamelaTag: Agents, Humor, Tamela

Why Do I Have to Jump Through Your Hoops?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 23, 2012

Recently, my assistant had a conversation with an author who did not send a complete proposal. The author was referred to our guidelines and gently reminded that we needed more material in order to make an evaluation. But instead of saying "thank you" for the guidance, the author declared they did not have to jump through any hoops, and took the opportunity to aggressively express their complaints …

Category: Agency, Book Business, Book Proposals, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Agents, Book Business, Editors, Get Published, Pitching, Proposals, Tamela

7 Ways Agents Measure Social Media

By Steve Laubeon February 20, 2012

Guest Blog by Thomas Umstattd We are thrilled to have Thomas Umstattd as our guest today. His company built our web site and we unabashedly recommend their services. Thomas built his first website at the age of 13 and taught his first web design class at only 16 years old. He has been helping authors and small businesses use the web ever since. Thomas currently serves as the CEO of Castle Media …

Category: Agency, Book Business, Branding, Guest Post, Marketing, Social Media, SteveTag: Branding Platform Agents, Facebook, Marketing, Social Media, Trends

Fresh Formulas

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 2, 2012

Some have a hard time appreciating the talent involved in writing genre fiction. By genre fiction, I mean novels that fall into a defined category such as contemporary romance, historical romance, romantic suspense, or cozy mystery. Many of these novels are published by mass market publishers (like Harlequin) and fit in lines they have formed for the sole purpose of selling the genre.

These are …

Category: Agency, Branding, Craft, Creativity, Genre, Get Published, Romance, Tamela, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Craft, Genre, Ideas, Proposals, Romance, Tamela, Writing Craft