• Skip to main content
  • Skip to after header navigation
  • Skip to site footer

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

  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Interview with Steve Laube
    • Statement of Faith
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
  • Guidelines
  • Authors
    • Who We Represent
    • Awards and Recognition
  • Resources
    • Recommended Reading
    • Christian Writers Market Guide Online
    • Christian Writers Institute
    • Writers Conferences
    • Freelance Editorial Services
    • Copyright Resources
    • Research Tools
    • Selling What You Write
  • Blog
  • Contact
  • Twitter
  • FaceBook
  • RSS Feed
  • Get Published
  • Book Proposals
  • Book Business
  • Writing Craft
    • Conferences
    • Copyright
    • Craft
    • Creativity
    • Grammar
  • Fun Fridays
Home » Book Proposals » Page 13

Book Proposals

Why Won’t You Open My Email?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 14, 2019
Share
Tweet
31

You’ve worked hard on your proposal and know it shines. But what if it is never opened or, at least, not opened promptly?

So. So. Busy.

Think of your recipient’s IN box. Here is what a few email subject lines may look like upon the first open on a random Monday morning:

Romance novel submission

Drones and Love: YA Science Fiction Book

Oops! You left items in your cart. Don’t let them get away!

New Contract for Your Client

Have you seen my cat, Barney, roaming the neighborhood?

Blog posts: I don’t have anything new in the queue for you

Quick question

Fiction Novel from New Author

Congratulations! You have won $10,000,000!!!!!!!!

Status update

Need help

Devotional book submission

Neiman Marcus store events

Website update

Bible Study Group Reminder

News Alert: Joe Whoozat States He Is Not Running for Office in 2020

Your Morning Devotional

Submission from First Time Author

UPS Update: Package Scheduled for Delivery Today

Query

Thank you! Your payment has been applied

Proposal Submission

Book proposal

Don’t Let Cyber Spies Steal Your Private Information!! Upgrade to NoNoSpy today!

Lunch date!

Ippolita trunk show tomorrow

Proposal for Christian romance novel

Your contact Joe Whoozat just joined LinkedIn

Whew!

As you can see, as an author, you have many, many emails to compete with. So let’s say your recipient read the morning devotional, then answered the urgent questions from current clients, reviewed the new contract, wrote a blog post, filed business emails, got the 411 on Joe Whoozat, snoozed the shopping emails until the evening hours, addressed a hundred other new emails arriving in a steady stream, and deleted spam. Now it is well into the afternoon, and the recipient is down to new submissions:

Romance novel submission

Drones and Love: YA Science Fiction Book

Fiction Novel from New Author

Devotional book submission

Submission from First Time Author

Query

Proposal Submission

Book proposal

Proposal for Christian romance novel

Meh

While these subject lines convey enough information that the recipient knows they are new submissions, none screams: Open Me Now!!!!

Naturally, some authors take this idea to the extreme and end up with subject lines along the lines of:

Bestselling Novel!!!!

This Book Will Outsell All Others in 2019!

The problems? The author doesn’t know his novel will be a bestseller; and if you’re aiming to be a bestseller in 2019, it’s already too late. Way too late.

Open Me!

Yes, I’ve fallen for overwrought and misleading subject lines, intrigued enough to wonder who would write such imaginings. But as an author, you don’t want to appear neurotic or fibbing to agents and editors.

So what legitimate subject lines will make the recipient want to open YOUR email before all others? Here are some ideas:

  1. Your name. My assistant will open emails with just about any address, but please use an email with your name instead of something along the lines of Webejammin@weed.com or someone else’s email address. I don’t know about you, but if I’m reading an entire email thinking a man wrote it, only to find his wife is inexplicably using her husband’s email address, it throws me. Also, I find it off-putting when a writer uses an address for his primary business. I respect that you may be working as a real estate agent, lawyer, or dog walker; but your writing address shouldn’t be RealAgentLawDog@barkbark.com. Most of the time, email is free and easy to set up. Your name or YourNameBooks is likely to be available on at least one well-known email service.
  2. A great book title. Create the best book title you can and include it in the subject line. Granted, the publisher may ultimately use a different title, but you’re trying to attract attention now. Besides, if your title rocks, the publisher may decide to keep it!
  3. Genre. When you know the genre is spot-on according to the recipient’s stated interests, naming it can help. In the list above, I’d be inclined to open the emails naming a genre I’m looking for over one that merely says it’s a query.
  4. You’re a bestselling author. If you’re genuinely a bestselling author, it’s okay to say so in the subject line, especially when you’re not yet a household name. And, yes, quite a few authors who can legitimately say they are bestsellers are not household names.
  5. You’re an award-winning author. You can choose to name the award in the subject line if you like.
  6. Professional membership. If the recipient is prominent in a professional organization you belong to as well, popping that in the subject line might move you up in the queue.
  7. Where you met. If you met at a conference or at another business venue, be sure to include this fact in the subject line.
  8. Requested. Always mention if a proposal has been requested.

While it always has been and always will be challenging to shout above the crowd, doing your best to have your email noticed quickly is the first step to happy publication.

Your turn:

What is the best subject line you’ve ever seen?

What makes you open an email in front of others in the queue?

What tips can you offer to get noticed over email?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Leave a Comment
Category: Book Proposals

6 Juicy Tidbits of Writing and Publishing Wisdom

By Bob Hostetleron March 13, 2019
Share
Tweet
20

In the course of a work day, literary agents dispense many juicy tidbits of writing and publishing advice to their clients (and even to many nonclients they meet or with whom they talk or email). Few, if any, dispense as much high-octane wisdom as Steve Laube, who insists that I say things like that. But every great once-in-a-while I get in a juicy tidbit of writing and publishing wisdom, and much …

Read more6 Juicy Tidbits of Writing and Publishing Wisdom
Category: Book Proposals, The Writing Life

Etiquette When Submitting a Manuscript

By Steve Laubeon March 4, 2019
Share
Tweet
15

L.D. asked some etiquette questions that may be of help to everyone: – How long do you wait before following up with an editor/agent once you’ve sent your requested manuscript to the editor/agent? – If you’ve already sent the proposal to the editor and they’re preparing to present it to the editorial board, but you have an article published from a highly respected …

Read moreEtiquette When Submitting a Manuscript
Category: Book Proposals, Pitching, The Writing Life

3 Things Never to Say to Agents and Editors

By Bob Hostetleron February 20, 2019
Share
Tweet
35

Believe it or not, agents and editors are regular people. Some more regular than others, of course; but most of us are pretty easy to approach, whether via mail or email, at writers conferences, at church, or on the street—preferably without a visible weapon. But there are some things you should never say to an agent or an editor. Not in conversation. Not in a query or one-sheet. Not in a cover …

Read more3 Things Never to Say to Agents and Editors
Category: Agents, Book Proposals, Conferences, Pitch, Pitching

Resist the Urge to Explain Your Title

By Steve Laubeon February 11, 2019
Share
Tweet
34

For fiction writers, there is an important self-editing technique called RUE (Resist the Urge to Explain). The problem occurs when an author overwrites a scene and explains every thought, movement, etc., or fails to allow the reader to fill in the details, thereby ruining the reading experience. The concept is described extremely well in Browne & King’s Self-Editing for Fiction Writers. …

Read moreResist the Urge to Explain Your Title
Category: Book Proposals, Pitch, Pitching, The Writing Life

Understanding the Market

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 31, 2019
Share
Tweet
85

My cousin has a new job selling irrigation systems. He understands this product and even bought one from the company himself. I know what an irrigation system is but that’s about it. Could I sell an irrigation system based on this knowledge? Well, I could try; but I’d have to do a lot of research and then only sell it based on abstract knowledge, not experience. My cousin understands the product …

Read moreUnderstanding the Market
Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, Marketing

Popular Story Tropes in Current Fiction

By Steve Laubeon November 19, 2018
Share
Tweet
19

When we think of fiction, we put books in genres based on the story line. Then within each genre, they are separated by subgenres. The Book Industry Study Group has defined over 100 different classifications of fiction. These BISAC codes are what you find on the back of the book. And yet, despite the variety of genres, there are certain tropes (defined as overused plot devices) that appear …

Read morePopular Story Tropes in Current Fiction
Category: Book Proposals, Creativity, Genre, Trends

The Worst Parts of Being an Agent

By Bob Hostetleron October 24, 2018
Share
Tweet
40

I’m not one to complain. Although I didn’t sleep too well last night, and my coffee was a little weak this morning. And I spilled some on my shirt. But I mean, otherwise, I’m not one to complain. After all, there are many great things happening in my life right now, some of which pertain to me being a literary agent—which I posted about last week (“The Best Parts of Being an Agent“). …

Read moreThe Worst Parts of Being an Agent
Category: Agency, Agents, Book Proposals

The Biggest Question About Your Book

By Dan Balowon October 16, 2018
Share
Tweet
11

Authors are like small businesses. They have a finance department, a marketing department and an editorial wing. Then there’s the travel, human resources, IT and facilities management departments, all managed by one person, the author. While writing quality and author platforms are discussed at every writer’s conference, those aren’t the only factors contributing to the success or …

Read moreThe Biggest Question About Your Book
Category: Book Proposals, Creativity, Marketing, Platform

Of Making Many Books There Is No End

By Steve Laubeon October 15, 2018
Share
Tweet
11

This past week Bowker, the company that issues ISBN numbers for published books, released their annual statistics. They broke out the numbers for self-published books and revealed a stunning statistic. (If you want the history and explanation of the ISBN, read my scintillating post on the topic here. Each country issues their own ISBNs; Bowker is the one for the U.S.) The total number of ISBNs …

Read moreOf Making Many Books There Is No End
Category: Book Proposals, Marketing, Platform, Self-Publishing, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life
  • Previous
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 11
  • Page 12
  • Page 13
  • Page 14
  • Page 15
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 29
  • Next
  • Home
  • About
    • Who We Are
    • Frequently Asked Questions
    • Interview with Steve Laube
    • Statement of Faith
    • Terms and Conditions
    • Privacy Policy
  • Guidelines
  • Authors
    • Who We Represent
    • Awards and Recognition
  • Resources
    • Recommended Reading
    • Christian Writers Market Guide Online
    • Christian Writers Institute
    • Writers Conferences
    • Freelance Editorial Services
    • Copyright Resources
    • Research Tools
    • Selling What You Write
  • Blog
  • Contact

Copyright © 2025 · The Steve Laube Agency · All Rights Reserved · Website by Stormhill Media