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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Career » Page 18

Career

Unreliable Statistics

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 19, 2017
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Facts can lie…depending on how that are presented or understood. Today I’ll keep this blog post focused on writers choosing a literary agent, based on one question.

When choosing a literary agent, authors need to make assessments. Some authors ask agents questions such as, “How many deals did you make last year?” or other questions requiring a response involving some sort of number.

Unfortunately for both writers and agents, even the best numbers don’t tell the whole story. For example, Agent A might have made 10 deals last month, whereas Agent B made one deal. So Agent A is more successful than Agent B, right?

But what if I told you that Agent A made ten deals for $10,000 each, while Agent B’s deal was for a $100,000 advance?

Now which agent is more successful?

If you are thinking, “I want to go with Agent B because his deals bring in more money,” that can be a valid response. But as a writer, are you in the league of an author who can demand a $100,000 advance? Authors at this point have usually worked extremely hard to gain this level of advance. If you are a newbie, this probably won’t happen for you, at least not right away. Perhaps you would be better off with the first agent making smaller deals.

Then again, the statistics might flip the next month, with Agent A making the bigger deal and Agent B achieving smaller deals. So now who’s the better agent?

And consider that, based on these simple facts alone, the writer doesn’t know the nuances of the deals. How many books were sold under each contract, for example? What if the $100,000 contract obligates the author to write ten books, while the $10,000 contracts obligate the author for one book each? (I don’t know of any author writing ten books for $10,000 each under one contract – this is just to keep the math simple.)

Please know that an agent cannot reveal contract details to other authors. Some publishers include confidentiality clauses in their contracts. Further, I advise my authors not to share their contract details. Those are too personal. Think about it: most Americans wouldn’t ask a doctor or dentist, “How much money do you make in a year?” So you will never know the nuances of other authors’ publishing contracts.

All this to say, don’t fall into the trap of using alluring and impressive statistics to make a crucial decision. They seldom, if ever, tell the whole story.

Your turn:

How valuable do you think statistics are when you make a decision?

What are some questions you would ask an agent?

Leave a Comment
Category: Agents, Book Business, Book Sales, CareerTag: Agents, Book Business

Guaranteed Time-Saving Tips for Social Media

By Dan Balowon January 10, 2017
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Written with tongue firmly planted in cheek… Managing your social media is a meaningless treadmill of work with no real purpose. While it seems to be one of the most efficient and effective ways to promote books and authors, really, who needs it? Sure, every publisher wants authors with strong social media numbers and self-published authors find it critical to their success, but other than …

Read moreGuaranteed Time-Saving Tips for Social Media
Category: Career, Marketing, Platform, Social Media, The Writing LifeTag: Marketing, Platform, Social Media

2017 Christian Writers Market Guide Now Online!

By Steve Laubeon December 26, 2016
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The 2017 edition of The Christian Writers Market Guide is officially available in print and ebook (paperback $22.99, ebook $9.99). Check your favorite bookstore or online retailer for a copy. Make sure you have a copy of this book in your arsenal! We are also very excited to announce that all the content of the guide is now available online via a subscription service (click here to see for …

Read more2017 Christian Writers Market Guide Now Online!
Category: Book of the Month, Book Proposals, Career, Christian Writers Institute, Get Published, Technology, The Writing LifeTag: Christian Writers Market Guide, Get Published

The Writer’s STEP

By Karen Ballon November 30, 2016
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As some of you know, I have asthma. As does one of my very best friends. And you know what these two…ahem…”seasoned” asthmatics love to do? Hike! Yup. We plod along, coughing and wheezing and laughing (or, to be more accurate, gasping) about how they’ll find our poor deceased selves on the path, but that’s okay, because at least we went out doing what we love. I realize that people who don’t know …

Read moreThe Writer’s STEP
Category: Career, Encouragement, Faith, Get Published, Inspiration, The Writing LifeTag: Encouragement, Faith, The Writing Life

Giving Thanks for Lessons Learned

By Dan Balowon November 22, 2016
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Throughout my life in the church, from earliest Sunday school lessons to the current day, whenever I encounter Bible stories about people who have done less-than-good things, I have grown less judgmental of them than I might have in the past. The Israelites in the desert for forty years are actually a picture of just about every believer I know, including me. God does great things, but at the …

Read moreGiving Thanks for Lessons Learned
Category: Agents, Book Proposals, Career

Author Seven Deadly Sins

By Dan Balowon November 15, 2016
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Every profession has its list of “sins” which can forever taint a person, group or organization guilty of committing one or more of them. Singers who are revealed to lip-sync to someone else’s vocalization are never taken seriously again. Athletes found to be taking performance-enhancing drugs are forever flagged with an asterisk next to their accomplishments. A political leader who violates the …

Read moreAuthor Seven Deadly Sins
Category: Book Business, Career, Writing CraftTag: Career, Failure, plagiarism

When Your Book Doesn’t Sell

By Steve Laubeon November 14, 2016
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You have spent years writing your book and now it has been published by a traditional publisher. It took a while for the publisher to bring it to market. But it is finally out there. Dreams have been realized. You. Are. A. Published. Author. But then the sales reports begin to appear. Sales have floundered. There isn’t any buzz. No one is even commenting on your Facebook page. It’s a …

Read moreWhen Your Book Doesn’t Sell
Category: Agents, Book Business, Book Sales, Career, Economics, Editing, PlatformTag: Book Marketing, Book Sales, Failure

Announcing “The Christian Writers Institute”

By Steve Laubeon October 24, 2016
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I am very excited to announce the launch of The Christian Writers Institute! Come visit at www.christianwritersinstitute.com. Over three years ago I began thinking of the need for a place where writers could find the best teachers all in one spot. The idea percolated for awhile until this year when its development began in earnest. It is great to see it finally become a reality. This new online …

Read moreAnnouncing “The Christian Writers Institute”
Category: Book Proposals, Career, Christian Writers Institute, Conferences, Craft, Creativity, Editing, Get Published, Grammar, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Christian Writers Institute, education, writers conferences, Writing Craft

In Praise of Slow Writing

By Steve Laubeon August 29, 2016
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It seems counter-intuitive that an agent would suggest that writers slow down. After all, isn’t the volume of output one of the keys to an author’s success? There is a measure of truth in that, but today I’d like to explore the concept of Slow Writing. Think of it as a leisurely walk in the woods as a child. I remember strolling through sticks and leaves exploring the forest …

Read moreIn Praise of Slow Writing
Category: Career, Craft, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Writing Craft

Worth the Money?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 25, 2016
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As a businesswoman, I have to decide what’s worth paying for and what isn’t. Anyone in business is barraged with opportunities to purchase software, gadgets, and all sorts of pretty office supplies in cool shapes in colors. High heeled shoe tape dispenser, anyone? Well, okay, no office supply store I know of is giving away tape dispensers so you have to buy those. But what about other options, …

Read moreWorth the Money?
Category: Career, MoneyTag: Career, Money, Technology
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