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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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Home » Book Proposals » Page 17

Book Proposals

I Hate My Job!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 1, 2018
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Well, I don’t always hate my job. I only hate it on the days I have to send rejection letters. Or maybe I should say, I only hate it during the moments of the day that I must send rejection letters.

If you receive a rejection letter either from my assistant or myself, you can count on a few truths:

  • If we say you are talented, we believe it.
  • If we say your work isn’t the right fit for us, you can believe it.
  • If we say you can send us proposals in the future, you can take us up on that offer.

In fact, you can believe anything we say in our letters. We don’t search for excuses. If you think you’ve gotten a form letter, then your work has a similar reason for being rejected that it shares with many others.

Next time, I’ll elaborate on those reasons. But in the meantime, I want to assure you that writing rejection letters causes us much pain. Much more than you may realize. I have a writer’s heart, and I remember rejection of my own work all too well.

So please know that while I’m not able to take on every project I like and every author I adore, I do understand the heartbreak of rejection.

May many acceptance letters be in your future!

Your turn:

What was the most painful rejection letter you received?

What was the most encouraging rejection letter you received?

Leave a Comment
Category: Book Proposals, RejectionTag: Rejection, rejection letters

Should I Blog My Book?

By Bob Hostetleron February 28, 2018
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Everyone has heard of bloggers who made it big with a book deal, right? Why shouldn’t the next one be you? I can think of a few reasons. A blog is not a book I know, it seems obvious (but I miss the Obvious Station often enough that I try to at least check there before boarding the Train of Thought). To choose just one example of the difference: blog posts are written for online reading, and tend …

Read moreShould I Blog My Book?
Category: Book Proposals, Career, Get Published, The Writing LifeTag: Blog, blog posts, Get Published, publishing

Penalty Flag: Illegal Use of an Exception

By Dan Balowon February 20, 2018
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Maybe using the word “illegal” is a bit over the top, but at least it grabbed your attention! Because book publishing can be such a subjective or borderline mysterious field of endeavor, many authors respond to the uncertainty by hanging their hopes for success on something which could best be described as an exception to whatever rules seem to exist.  If indeed there are any rules in book …

Read morePenalty Flag: Illegal Use of an Exception
Category: Agents, Book Business, Book ProposalsTag: book proposals, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life

How NOT to Get an Agent

By Bob Hostetleron February 14, 2018
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It’s a classic writer’s conference anecdote—even funnier because it is true. It didn’t happen to me, but to a friend of mine, who was not only followed into the restroom at a writer’s conference by an avid aspiring writer but was also slipped a book proposal. While in a stall. Free reading material, don’t you know. That’s no way to pitch a book or get an agent. And, though I don’t have nearly the …

Read moreHow NOT to Get an Agent
Category: Agents, Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: Agents, book proposals, Get Published

Can Death Cleaning Spark Joy?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 8, 2018
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One of the most challenging aspects of being successful in nonfiction is choosing a topic general enough to interest a broad swath of readers, but unique enough to make them think of the question in a new way so they’ll want to buy your book. Take decluttering. I follow at least three decluttering blogs. My daughter says, “How about just cleaning instead of reading about it? Then you’d get it …

Read moreCan Death Cleaning Spark Joy?
Category: Book Proposals, Branding, Marketing, Pitching, Platform, The Writing LifeTag: Marketing, Nonfiction

Once in a Blue Moon Publishing

By Steve Laubeon February 5, 2018
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Someone called the other day and asked, “If I’ve self-published my book and want you to consider it for representation, should I even bother sending it? Or am I toast?” I answered, “It depends.” [For you regular readers, do you think that should become the motto of the Agency?] The question suggests it is an either/or proposition…determined by a set of rules that cannot be broken. The reality is …

Read moreOnce in a Blue Moon Publishing
Category: Book Proposals, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Independent Publishing, Movie rights, Traditional Publishing

Timing Myths Dispelled

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 1, 2018
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Sometimes I receive submissions with the note, “I want to get this to the editor before fill in the name of the big conference, or before the holiday, or whatever! Does this make sense? I can answer this question right now. The perfect time to submit a manuscript is… Thursday, 4:45 AM local time, in Guam. Seriously, I understand the desire to enhance a submission’s chances by timing it when the …

Read moreTiming Myths Dispelled
Category: Book Proposals, The Writing LifeTag: book proposals, Submissions

I Can’t Believe I Wrote the Whole Thing

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 25, 2018
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You’re an author with lots of talent and a great idea! You know the market and are confident your story will work. There’s plenty of plot to make word count. So why not sell on proposal? Selling on proposal seems ideal, but might not be a good idea for the new author. Why not? Pacing A new author can’t necessarily gauge how long it will take to write a book. Perhaps the first book rode like the …

Read moreI Can’t Believe I Wrote the Whole Thing
Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Creativity, The Writing LifeTag: book proposals, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

Are You Curating or Creating?

By Dan Balowon January 23, 2018
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Every once in a while, a book proposal crosses my desk and catches my attention with its creativity and approach. It is engaging and makes me think.  Whether I agreed to work with the author or not, I needed to give them kudos for their great work. Rarely, if ever, does something catch my attention (in a good way) which is simply assembled from or built entirely on the thinking of someone else. I …

Read moreAre You Curating or Creating?
Category: Book Proposals, Craft, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: book proposals, Creativity, Nonfiction

How Do You Count Lifetime Book Sales?

By Steve Laubeon January 22, 2018
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A key element in a book proposal is your sales history. Of course, you can ignore this if you’ve never published a book before. But if you have published, either with a traditional publisher or independently, your sales history must be included in your next book proposal. Here is an example: Sales History: The Bestest Book Ever (XYZ Publishers, 1996) – 12,449 sold The Other Bestest Book I Wrote …

Read moreHow Do You Count Lifetime Book Sales?
Category: Book Proposals, Book Sales, Get Published, MarketingTag: book proposals, Book Sales, Independent Publishing, Traditional Publishing
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