• 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 8

Book Proposals

Spoiler Alert!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 12, 2021
Share
Tweet
13

Sometimes authors submit proposals that don’t reveal the ending of a novel. I’m the first to admit that a teaser will encourage a reader to buy a book. Once the reader has to know how the story ends, they’re hooked!

Yes, agents are readers. However, when evaluating a novel for representation, we are marketers. Agents must consider if editors will be interested in the book. In turn, editors must consider if their teams will approve the novel. The publisher’s sales team must decide if they can sell the story to the particular audience to whom their house caters.

To make this series of determinations, all of us must understand how the book ends. We need to know if the reader’s payoff for spending hours with the author’s characters and the story will be enough to keep them buying books from that author.

Yes, we want to see an author write a fantastic back-cover copy to tease the reader into buying the book. But as for the synopsis? Let us know how the story ends.

Leave a Comment
Category: Book Proposals, Pitching

When Your Proposal Doesn’t Sell

By Steve Laubeon May 10, 2021
Share
Tweet
11

by Steve Laube

It happens. Despite all efforts and good intentions not every proposal we shop will end up being contracted by a major publisher. Of course our agency tries our best to keep that from happening. We carefully choose which projects and authors we represent. And our success rate is extremely high.

But that success rate is not 100%.

Here are a few examples of projects that …

Read moreWhen Your Proposal Doesn’t Sell
Category: Agency, Book Business, Book Proposals, Get Published, Self-Publishing, The Writing LifeTag: book proposals, Get Published

Why Is the Book Proposal So Important?

By Steve Laubeon April 12, 2021
Share
Tweet
7

This question has been raised many times: “Why do I have to jump through your hoops to create a proposal only to have it rejected with a form letter?” It’s a Job Application Your proposal is, in essence, an application to have a business (corporate or sole proprietor) to pay you to publish your book, to spend their money on your work in a effort to create a profitable product. …

Read moreWhy Is the Book Proposal So Important?
Category: Book Proposals, Pitch, Pitching

A Common Platform Mistake

By Bob Hostetleron April 7, 2021
Share
Tweet
6

Some time ago I received a submission that went something like this (names and details have been changed to protect the innocent, guilty, and all those in between): I’ve published three successful nonfiction books. All three, in the area of business and leadership, are still selling very well. One of them, coauthored with Bill Gates (with a foreword by Warren Buffett), reached bestseller status …

Read moreA Common Platform Mistake
Category: Book Proposals, Pitch, Pitching

Your Compelling Cover Letter

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 31, 2021
Share
Tweet
14

In light of my recent posts discussing what we can and cannot overlook in submissions, I think authors may benefit from quick tips on how to add sparkle to an email cover letter. What is the subject line? When you look through hundreds of emails in your inbox, you gravitate to those that grab your attention, right? So do we! Consider these possible subject lines: Book Submission Query Romance …

Read moreYour Compelling Cover Letter
Category: Book Proposal Basics, Book Proposals, Pitching

Submission Mistakes of the More Subtle Variety

By Bob Hostetleron March 25, 2021
Share
Tweet
17

I wrote a post on this blog a while ago (here) about some embarrassing and even disqualifying mistakes writers had made in submissions to me. One reader commented on that post, expressing gratitude and then adding, “What would be helpful to me is to hear the subtle or inadvertent mistakes aspiring authors make when sending a proposal to you. Can you help us with that?” Why, yes, Louise, since you …

Read moreSubmission Mistakes of the More Subtle Variety
Category: Book Proposals, Economics, Pitching

What We Cannot Overlook

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 18, 2021
Share
Tweet
16

Last week, I wrote about mistakes we can overlook when considering submissions. However, some mistakes we cannot ignore. Please avoid these: The wrong word count. Sending submissions with an inappropriate word count is the most common mistake we see in the slush pile. We have no current market for a 35,000-word novel or a ready market for books of 250,000 words. The only exception would be for the …

Read moreWhat We Cannot Overlook
Category: Book Proposals, Editing, Pitching

What We Can Overlook

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 10, 2021
Share
Tweet
18

My office receives thousands of submissions a year. We’re thrilled to see proposals so well crafted that they’re ready to submit to publishers. Those submissions are few. Most contain mistakes. We don’t want you to feel stymied, as though agents are looking for reasons to reject proposals and will pounce on any infraction. Rather, let’s consider what my office may be able to overlook when the …

Read moreWhat We Can Overlook
Category: Book Proposals, Pitching

Proofreading: Tips and Tricks

By Steve Laubeon March 8, 2021
Share
Tweet
52

[Since today, March 8th, is National Proofreading Day I thought I would re-post this article from a few years ago, with some revisions. I’ve left the comments attached below since so many were illustrative. Please add new thoughts as well.] I have regularly displayed my lack of proofreading skills in past blog posts. In fact, it got so bad I’ve had to hire someone to proofread my posts …

Read moreProofreading: Tips and Tricks
Category: Book Proposals, Career, Craft, Editing, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Proofreading, Writing Craft

You Provide Our Audience!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon December 10, 2020
Share
Tweet
17

In speaking with a friend recently, she commented, “I don’t understand why Icabod gets invited to every event. Everyone knows who he is, but no one likes him.” I countered that, in attending every event, Icabod is providing a service. As an attendee, he is helping to make the party a success. Our readers provide an audience. They are our bookwormish partygoers. And though Icabod may be clueless as …

Read moreYou Provide Our Audience!
Category: Book Proposals, Branding, Career, Marketing, The Writing Life
  • Previous
  • Page 1
  • Interim pages omitted …
  • Page 6
  • Page 7
  • Page 8
  • Page 9
  • Page 10
  • 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