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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 3

Book Proposals

Before Pressing SEND

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 18, 2024
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I love seeing work from talented authors. Reading a marketable proposal from a hardworking author interested in a long-term career makes me take notice.

Are you this author?

If so, what I’d like to help you do today is to keep you from being rejected because of a misstep that’s easy to avoid. 

  1. The manuscript is too short. Gift books can be brief, but fiction is different. I often receive novella submissions. Some Christian publishers sell novella collections. However, I don’t have a place to pitch a lone novella, hoping it will find a home in a collection. Writers already working with a publisher are most likely to find these opportunities. Novellas can be great giveaways to attract readers, so if you have one or more novellas written, hold onto them until further notice.
  2. The manuscript is too long. As a reader, I enjoy long books. However, the demand for lengthy books isn’t strong now. I’m not actively seeking long books and would need several compelling reasons to pitch a novel running over 100,000 words.
  3. The manuscript is both too short and too long. In fiction, we’ll ask you to revise a book that’s too long to be considered a mass-market category and too short to be a trade book. A category romance novel is about 55,000 words long; and a trade book is from 85,000 to 95,000 words long, although that number is more flexible than for category. A couple of markets will accept books of 70,000 words. When authors let us know what market they’re targeting, this shows they’ve researched and are aware of salability. You may say, “It’s the agent’s job to know where to send a book.” That’s correct. However, when you research how many words to write for your target market, you’re helping yourself by writing to a word count that makes sense and, hence, being prepared when you talk to us.
  4. The project is a collection of short stories or poetry. As a reader, I enjoy short stories and poetry. However, as an agent, I am not in the market for any short story collections or poetry because none of the editors I work with are currently acquiring either.
  5. The manuscript is not in the space I represent. I don’t represent horror or erotica, for example. No matter how wonderful an author’s book is, I’m not the right agent to market it if it’s not written in a space I represent.

What do all five points have in common?

Missteps can be avoided easily with a quick Internet search. For example, most publishers have guidelines posted on their sites. Of course, once you secure an agent, that person will be your source of information. As for us, you can find out what books we all want to see here: Steve Laube Agency Proposal Submission Guidelines.

Thank you for thinking of us with your work. We appreciate you and look forward to reviewing your proposal!

 

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Category: Book Proposals, Pitching

Your Writers Conference Appointment

By Steve Laubeon April 8, 2024
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[I’ve posted variations of this article over the years. I hope that by bringing it back to the top of the pile, many of you new readers will see it!] __________ You snagged one of those valuable 15-minute appointments with an agent or an editor at a writers conference. Now what? What do you say? How do you say it? What do I bring with me? And what does that scowling person on the other side …

Read moreYour Writers Conference Appointment
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Conferences, Pitch, Pitching, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Conferences, Get Published, Pitching, Proposals, Rejection

A Guaranteed Rejection

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 3, 2024
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Very, very few authors are guaranteed a publisher’s acceptance of their work. Those authors have spent years, even decades, proving they can write bestselling, or at least profitable, books with almost no misses. And if they have a string of misses, their publishers may drop them. They must. No matter how much a publisher likes an author, books must make money; or the publisher will be forced to …

Read moreA Guaranteed Rejection
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Pitching

Gimme a RAH RAH RAH!!!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 20, 2024
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When writers approach me for representation, I love to see enthusiasm. Are they devoted to and excited about their: Words? Topic? Audience? Do they joyfully anticipate their writing time? Are they willing to persist in creating a book, then editing, revising, and revising again, for months? Do they have ideas for future works that can build a career? Find a Passionate Literary Agent Likewise, I …

Read moreGimme a RAH RAH RAH!!!
Category: Book Proposals, Pitching

Mastering the Art of Professionalism: Small Steps, Big Impact in Book Submissions

By Megan Brownon February 22, 2024
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Hey, aspiring authors! Let’s talk about the unsung hero of the publishing world—the initial submission email. You know, that little note that holds the key to unlocking the door to literary representation. But, here’s the kicker: Many budding writers are unintentionally fumbling the ball at the goal line because of seemingly small mistakes in their submission process. So, let’s …

Read moreMastering the Art of Professionalism: Small Steps, Big Impact in Book Submissions
Category: Book Proposals, Pitching

Have Yourself a Query Little Christmas

By Bob Hostetleron December 19, 2023
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Whatever other gifts you may receive this Christmas season, consider giving yourself something that will raise your spirits and may even move your writing hopes and dreams forward. Query something. A query is a brief but detailed one-page letter (or email) written to interest an editor or agent in your … thing (article, book, screenplay, etc.). Some aspiring writers are hesitant to query …

Read moreHave Yourself a Query Little Christmas
Category: Book Proposals, Pitching, The Writing Life

Title Attachment Disorder

By Dan Balowon November 7, 2023
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Hopefully, when the mental health industrial complex gets around to updating the DSM-5, they will have a section on “Book Title Attachment Disorder.” Symptoms of B-TAD are refusal to listen to reasonable alternatives, applying divine inspiration to a title, and extreme anxiety when someone who titles books as a profession wants to change it. Of course, I am joking. I think. Likely some deeper …

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Category: Book Proposals, Pitching, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life

The Things I Say Most Often About Writing

By Bob Hostetleron November 2, 2023
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I talk a lot about writing. As a writer, yes, but also as a literary agent and speaker at writers conferences. And, yes, sometimes, as the guy at church potlucks who is inept at small talk and sometimes starts sentences with, “Ever wonder what the first person to use the word moist was thinking?” Okay, so now you know a little too much about me. But in my strange mind and varied roles, I do often …

Read moreThe Things I Say Most Often About Writing
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Encouragement, Pitching, The Writing Life

Cover Letter Catastrophe: Mistakes That Miss Opportunities

By Megan Brownon October 12, 2023
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Every morning, I grab my favorite coffee cup and nestle into my rolling office chair to check my email. I never know what awaits me in my inbox. But more often than not, the cover letter meant to get my attention has painted a less-than-positive picture of the writer who sent it. In a matter of mere seconds, I can tell if the writer in question has taken the time to build a quality cover letter. …

Read moreCover Letter Catastrophe: Mistakes That Miss Opportunities
Category: Book Proposals, Pitching

Empathy Maps: How to Discover Your Reader

By Megan Brownon September 28, 2023
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There are a handful of questions I ask aspiring writers to answer to determine if they have a good grasp on their concept or if their proposal could be a viable option for publishing. The first question is this: “Who are you serving?” Many times, the look I receive in response is wide-eyed and uncertain. If an aspiring author isn’t keenly aware of their reader–who they are, what they are …

Read moreEmpathy Maps: How to Discover Your Reader
Category: Book Proposals, Career, Pitching, The Writing Life
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