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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 » Career » Page 14

Career

Eternal Words

By Dan Balowon October 9, 2018
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Every time I read or hear a report of a prominent person’s life complicated by something they tweeted, posted or recorded a decade earlier, I hope the stories are a cautionary tale for anyone desiring to be a media communicator or public figure.

We used to be able to put our foolish, youthful or unwise days behind us.

But no longer.

The world in which we live is one where everything you write is forever saved on the internet. It is indexed and searchable for as long as we all shall live—and beyond.

Stories of people being terminated from their jobs for attempts at humor or expressions of anger in social media are common.

Restaurant servers using social-media posts to poke fun at a customer and subsequently fired. Then sued by the customer.

Employees criticizing their employer and terminated immediately. (As in “walked to their car by a security guard.”)

Prospective employees losing an opportunity for a job because they posted pictures of themselves in unprofessional poses on their personal Facebook sites.

Teachers poking fun at one or more students online and fired.

Racial remarks.

Inappropriate sexual comments.

Criticism of someone’s appearance.

And church pastors are not immune.

I am sure more than a few Christians weren’t hired for certain positions when their opinions, though completely true to God’s Word, made an employer uncomfortable enough to avoid hiring them. (If this happens, I have to think they weren’t the right fit for the Christ-follower anyway.)

Everything you write and create sticks to you like a metaphorical fly to an actual No-Pest Strip.

And it is the book that becomes words chiseled in stone for all to see … forever.

Beginning when words in a book were digitized and uploaded or scanned into whatever search engine used at the time, the words you write have become eternal words, not because they are so important or accurate but because the internet made them eternal, for better or for worse.

And then we add to this situation the current hypersensitivity of the world’s culture where seemingly everyone is offended at something, which up until a few years ago was laughed off or allowed to pass without comment.

Now, words seemingly always cause hurt and many respond by picking up sticks and stones to hurl back.

The issue is one of the many reasons why I caution people for expressing opinions in social media that are not part of their author platform.

Not only will an opinion expressed or joke told offend some of your followers; but the comments will also follow you forever, poisoning the well for years and costing you potential audience members for your words.

Christian authors should always stand up for what their faith says is right, knowing you might offend a number of people. (They killed Jesus you know.)

But authors are performers, media performers. No one has to buy your book. You should do everything to draw as many people to your next performance (new book) as possible.

If you write about healing relationships, growing in one’s faith or even the need to come into a relationship with Christ, why jeopardize your credibility and potential for impact by going off-topic in your author platform and shrinking your audience?

Delete hurtful comments made by others from your social media. Unfollow someone who could damage your profile. Be careful of your online impression as much as you might take care of your in-person impression.

Right or wrong, everything you write is now eternal (humanly speaking of course). The very technology that allows an author to sit in a comfortable chair with a laptop and communicate with millions of readers also tracks and maintains a record of every word you write, every recorded word you speak and every opinion you express for all to see, hear and remember.

Don’t waste words.

Instead, make them to be eternally worthwhile.

 

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Category: Branding, Career, Marketing, Platform, Social Media, The Writing Life

Four Myths about Fame

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 23, 2018
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Being rich and famous solves every problem, right? Let’s give that some thought. 1)  Once I have my first book published, I’ll be famous and the journey will be downhill from there. We’re tackling two myths here. One, once you are published, it’s not likely you’ll be famous, at least not Billy Graham famous. But as a Christian writer, you may become well known and loved in Christian circles. And …

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Category: Awards, Career, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Fame, The Writing Life

How Much Time Should I Budget to Write My Book?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon July 26, 2018
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New authors have a distinct advantage over established authors under deadline: no deadline. As a new author, you may have fiddled with your novel for years. Perhaps you’ve entered contests and incorporated feedback. Maybe you’ve read books about writing and attended conferences. After all this effort, you landed a contract. Congratulations! Now you may have another happy problem: estimating how …

Read moreHow Much Time Should I Budget to Write My Book?
Category: Career, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Deadlines, The Writing Life, Time Management

Promotion: Faithful or Self-full?

By Steve Laubeon July 23, 2018
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"What's the difference between promotion and self-promotion? How do we promote ourselves/our books so that we honor God, respect others, and use common sense?"
The constant tension between marketing and ministry has plagued the Christian author, speaker, bookseller and publisher forever. Why? Because Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple. Because we are commanded to die to self and to …

Read morePromotion: Faithful or Self-full?
Category: Book Business, Career, MarketingTag: Agents, Book Business, Editors, Get Published, Marketing, Writing Craft

Making Decisions for Others

By Dan Balowon July 17, 2018
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Because book publishing is surrounded by semi-regular failure, no matter if you are an agent, author, or publisher, the ability to deal with adversity is a defining characteristic of anyone who is successful in it. It’s a lot like baseball, where a high level of failure and adversity are part of any successful player or team. Tonight is the major league baseball All-Star Game in Washington, DC. …

Read moreMaking Decisions for Others
Category: Book Business, Career, Encouragement, InspirationTag: Book Business

Writers Beware! Protect Yourself

By Steve Laubeon July 9, 2018
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The writing profession starts off as a private venture. Creating ideas and stories in the privacy of your own home. But those of you who become serious about the work and slowly become more visible the issue of personal protection needs to be addressed.

I cannot emphasize this enough.

Read moreWriters Beware! Protect Yourself
Category: Book Business, Career, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Contracts, Internet Usage, Writing Craft

Best Advice for New Authors – For Working with Their Publisher

By Steve Laubeon July 2, 2018
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The idea to write this post came from a conversation this past week with a client who turned their manuscript in to the publisher a week early. The editor was thrilled! Thus began a short exchange on what every writer should endeavor to do in their career. This may seem simple but is important to reiterate. Do your best work. Always. No shortcuts. No “mailing it in.” No “sending …

Read moreBest Advice for New Authors – For Working with Their Publisher
Category: Book Business, Career, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Career, The Writing Life

Good and Bad Advice on The Writing Life

By Dan Balowon June 19, 2018
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After graduation from college, I got an entry level job at a radio station, programmed with call-in talk shows. I carried out the trash, conducted regular “Frosty-runs” to Wendy’s for the news director, painted the sales office, screened callers for the shows during off-hours, took transmitter readings, got coffee for the hosts, and anything else the boss wanted. Once in a while, they let me push …

Read moreGood and Bad Advice on The Writing Life
Category: Career, Contracts, Economics, Marketing, Platform, The Writing LifeTag: Career, The Writing Life

Don’t Put Everything in Your Book

By Dan Balowon May 29, 2018
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One reason platform-building is a such a problem for some authors is the feeling they must place everything important in their book, leaving little or nothing left to say for platform purposes. This puts an author in an awkward position where they either deviate from their core book-message for their platform (social media and other efforts) or they treat their platform only as a “teaser” or …

Read moreDon’t Put Everything in Your Book
Category: Branding, Career, Marketing, Pitching, PlatformTag: Branding, Marketing, Message, Platform

Your Commitment to Your Reader

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 10, 2018
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When you’re working to get your book published, you feel you have lots of people to please. First, you have to be satisfied with your book. Then, you need to find an agent to partner with you to present your work to editors, who are her customers. Then the editor must sell your work to the editorial committee. Then it goes to the publishing committee. So along the way, you’ve had lots of people to …

Read moreYour Commitment to Your Reader
Category: Career, Editing, Inspiration, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Career, readers, The Writing Life
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