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The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Career

Career

The Mission of Older Christian Writers

By Dan Balowon July 10, 2025
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Few things are more critical than knowing one’s purpose in life. For unbelievers, finding their purpose is a daily struggle, constantly blowing them about from here to there, anxiously searching for anything that makes sense of life.

But for a disciple of Jesus Christ, this is easy, as we are called to be his ambassadors (2 Corinthians 5:20). The role has broad implications, but it is an important job and a great calling.

I am no longer a young man, so writing about the mission of older Christian writers is likely something that naturally comes to mind, given my experience working with authors at all stages of life, along with the growth of my eyebrows and the appearance of age spots on my hands and face.

But what brought this to mind was an event about a year ago at a breakfast meeting with the leadership of a ministry at my church. As the meeting wound down, one by one, the younger men had to leave to catch a train or get to the office for an early call or another pressing event with their young families.

A few of us remained. All are retired, except me!

We chatted for 30 minutes about our special role as older guys in the group. The conversation naturally wandered into “keeping these young whipper-snappers in line.”

Okay, I made that part up, but the conversation had the vibe of sharing our experience of how things were done in the past.

Something didn’t sit right to me since that wasn’t what I thought of our special role working with the younger guys; instead, I viewed it more as being a spiritual example.

Maybe I am fighting the inevitable aspects of aging, but I have an adverse reaction when the urge arises to start a sentence with “When I was your age.”  Likely, it comes from a fear of someone responding with “Who cares?”

The mission for older Christian writers is the following (from Titus 2):

  • Show others what it means not to be anxious, but to pray about everything.
  • Exercise self-control, be worthy of respect, and live wisely.
  • Remind younger believers of God’s long-term faithfulness, care, and sustaining grace.
  • Live and work with love and patience.
  • Encourage younger believers to live in a way that honors God.

More specifically, older Christian writers should write humbly, meaning that while something is clear now, it took a while to get there. Admit that. Everything they write should be characterized by:

  • The trustworthy promises of God.
  • His faithfulness can be relied on.
  • While sometimes it feels like God is far away, readers can grow more daily to believe their beliefs and doubt their doubts.
  • The depth of your faith and understanding, not with condescension or arrogant authority, but with humble care.

This isn’t a heavy load to bear because it isn’t dependent on your insight or creative prowess. The Spirit of God who has dwelt in you for so long will do the heavy lifting, and the results will be up to God.

Just like for everything else we’ve ever done.

 

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Category: Career, The Writing Life, Theology

The Gerbil Wheel of the Writing Life

By Steve Laubeon June 30, 2025
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A writer spends hours, months, and even years in isolation practicing their art. But it can feel like the gerbil in the cage running on its wheel. They go forward a few steps and back a few steps. They might even get turned upside down only to fall, often without anyone to notice. While there is length to the journey, it doesn’t always seem to be going anywhere. Eventually, their craft …

Read moreThe Gerbil Wheel of the Writing Life
Category: Art, Career, The Writing LifeTag: Art, Craft, The Writing Life

Newsflash: Most Writers Don’t Make a Lot of Money

By Steve Laubeon June 16, 2025
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A couple years ago the Author’s Guild released a survey revealing that very few writers earn a liveable wage based on their income from writing. In fact, most earn less than the poverty line. Publishers Weekly reported the findings this way: “The survey, which drew responses from 5,699 published authors, found that in 2022, their median gross pretax income from their books was $2,000. When …

Read moreNewsflash: Most Writers Don’t Make a Lot of Money
Category: Career, Economics, MoneyTag: Career, Money, Writers

“You Are What You Do” – A Very Dangerous Myth

By Steve Laubeon May 5, 2025
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Typically, we define work as something we “do.” Work can then be defined as the activity you do as a profession and for which you are paid. But if you are a writer, the latter half of that formula isn’t always a guaranteed proposition! Thus, for the writer, we are left with a definition of work as being what you do. But that can be a dangerous thing because we tend to let what we …

Read more“You Are What You Do” – A Very Dangerous Myth
Category: Career, Personal, TheologyTag: Career, Success

Foreign Intelligence

By Dan Balowon March 27, 2025
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In 2017, I wrote about The Challenge for American Christian Authors. I asserted that great care needs to be taken when American authors want their message to be understood by anyone outside of the US Christian subculture. Today, I am reversing that position and looking at what writers from other countries might have to say to the North American believer. Two things brought this to mind: First, I …

Read moreForeign Intelligence
Category: Book Business, Career, Theology

4 Conference Success Secrets

By Steve Laubeon March 3, 2025
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I have been on the faculty of nearly 200 writers conferences over the years. Some might say that is the definition of insanity… !?! But I would not be where I am today if it were not for the fine people I have met over the years at those events. I am a firm believer in the purpose behind a writers conference and what can be accomplished. After a while it became clear which writers were going to …

Read more4 Conference Success Secrets
Category: Career, ConferencesTag: Success, writers conferences

How Do You Know What Will (or Will Not) Sell?

By Steve Laubeon February 24, 2025
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There is a mysterious magic embedded in the mythos of the publishing industry: the ability to pick successful books. I was recently asked, “You say ‘no’ so often, how do you know when to say ‘yes?’” I wish I could claim that every agent and publisher have a secret formula we consult to know what will sell. Ask any group of us for that secret and we will all laugh because there is no “secret.” We …

Read moreHow Do You Know What Will (or Will Not) Sell?
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Branding, Career, PlatformTag: Agents, book proposals, Career, Pitching, What Sells, Writers

Book Proposals I’d Love to See (What Tamela Hancock Murray Is Looking For)

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 7, 2025
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(Updated 1/7/2025) I’m thankful to the Lord that I’m a literary agent working for Him in Christian publishing. I’m grateful to the readers of this blog for being part of our writing community. As for approaching me with your work, let’s see if our passions match: Christian Romantic Suspense and Suspense Readers of Christian romantic suspense and suspense are a large and devoted …

Read moreBook Proposals I’d Love to See (What Tamela Hancock Murray Is Looking For)
Category: Agency, Book Business, Book Proposals, Career, Craft, Creativity, Romance, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Agency, book proposals

The Anatomy of the Publishing Cycle

By Steve Laubeon November 25, 2024
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If you ask an editor or an agent, “What’s hot right now?” you are too late with the question. The nature of the publishing business is that what you see selling today are books that were conceived, written, published, and marketed over the past couple of years or more. That is why we, on this side of the table, avoid making pronouncements on current trends. In some ways, the agent and the …

Read moreThe Anatomy of the Publishing Cycle
Category: Book Business, Branding, Career, Creativity, Indie, Marketing, TrendsTag: publishing, The Publishing Life, Trends

Publishing Advice Is Like Political Polling

By Dan Balowon October 17, 2024
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Whenever you encounter information about any subject, the first step is to check the source. Unsurprisingly, a favorable political poll sometimes (often?) originates from a source with a vested interest in or closely aligned with the group most likely to benefit from the good news. There are relatively few unbiased, objective sources of polling research. For the same reason, the first question you …

Read morePublishing Advice Is Like Political Polling
Category: Career, Get Published, Trends
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