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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 » Career » Page 22

Career

Can You Handle the Edit?

By Karen Ballon January 27, 2016
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There’s a lot about being a freelance editor that’s fun. But some things that just…aren’t. Like telling a writer that his manuscript isn’t ready to be edited. This happens most often before an editor agrees to do an edit, when they read the sample of the manuscript. There are times, though, when those first pages are pretty good, so the editor takes the project on. And then, when he’s deep in the fabric of the manuscript—alarms go off and the hard truth hits: the manuscript isn’t ready to be edited. That’s never a fun call to make. For the editor or the writer.

Writers react with hurt, frustration, even anger:

“What do you mean it’s not ready for editing? Are you crazy?”

“It has to be ready! I’ve been working on it for five (or ten…or twenty) years!”

“My critique partners love it. The problem isn’t my manuscript, it’s you.”

“Isn’t that your job? To fix the problems?”

And the editors sit there, criticized, yelled at, or feeling lousy for making a writer cry. Nope, not a happy situation for anyone. In fact, this can become a situation where the author decides the editor is the bad guy. But friends, when you hire an editor you’re asking them to tell you the hard truths. To speak to the weaknesses in your writing and to help you overcome said weaknesses. And when you send your manuscript to an editor, asking for an edit, you’re asking her to speak to whether or not your manuscript is ready for an edit. That’s her job. It’s what you’ve asked her to do for you.

So here’s what I’m going to do for you writers and for my fellow editors. I’m going to plant my tongue firmly in my cheek and let a scene from the movie A Few Good Men speak the hard words editors sometimes need to say. Writers, take it for what it’s worth (which, admittedly, you may think is zilch). Editors, feel free to pass it on when you need it.

Picture it with me. Jack Nicholson, decked out in a Marine officer’s uniform, lip curled into a snarl, leaning forward and pointing at you with the red pen clutched in his gloved hand, while that signature voice grinds out:

“You want the edit? You want the edit?? You can’t handle the edit!

“Kid, we live in a publishing world that has walls, and those walls have to be guarded. Who’s gonna do it? You? Your mama? Your critique team? Editors have a greater responsibility than you can possibly fathom. You weep for your darlings and you curse the edit. You have that luxury. You have the luxury of not knowing what I know, that my turning down this edit, while tragic, probably saves you hours of wasted time. And my existence, while grotesque and incomprehensible to you, serves your needs as a writer!

“You don’t want the edit yet, because deep down in places you don’t talk about at launch parties, you want me on that wall. You need me on that wall. We use words like ‘POV,’ ‘Show verse Tell,’ ‘Unique Voice.’ We use these words as the backbone of a life spent defending quality in literature. You use them as buzz words in conference ice-breakers. I have neither the time nor the inclination to explain myself to a writer who writes and revises under the blanket of the very quality that I help him find within himself, and then questions the manner in which I help him! I would rather you just said ‘thank you’, and went on to top the best-seller list. Otherwise, I suggest you pick up a red pen, and stand a post. Either way, I don’t give a flying fig how good you think your manuscript is! Sure, this story needs to be told–but you can do better!”

Youcanthandletheedit

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Category: Career, Editing, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Writing Craft

Tossed by the Ocean of Emotion

By Steve Laubeon January 25, 2016
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It is hard to be a writer or to work in the publishing industry. Everyone defines success differently and we strive to meet those expectations at every turn. Often we let “success” define us, especially when a writer is told “You are only as good as the sales of your last book.” Or an agent is told, “You are only worth the value of your last contract.” Henri Nouwen, in his book The Return of the …

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Category: Art, Career, Get Published, RejectionTag: Career, Get Published, Rejection

Meet Deadlines with Simple Math

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 21, 2016
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During your publishing journey you may have the delightful problem of too many deadlines. You may have to ask yourself if you can accept another contract because you’re so busy. I’ve advised many clients about this over the years, taking them from panic to peace. Simple math can help. Determine time Look at all your contracts and how much time you have to write the books. Calculate how many days …

Read moreMeet Deadlines with Simple Math
Category: Career, CraftTag: Career, Deadlines

Fiction: Don’t Order Flowers Yet – An Evaluation of 2015

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 7, 2016
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An Evaluation of 2015: Ours is a tough industry. A lot of writers are rejected. Over and over. The journey to publication seems harder than ever. Available slots in a publisher’s list are fewer and harder to secure. It’s more difficult than ever to make books profitable. Competition is tougher. Only the top authors seem to be making money. What year am I talking about? I think it is 1998. Or was …

Read moreFiction: Don’t Order Flowers Yet – An Evaluation of 2015
Category: Agency, Book Business, Career, TrendsTag: Book Business, fiction, Trends

I Hate the Church (?)

By Karen Ballon January 6, 2016
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Wow. Another year ended, another new year begun. As I considered what to say about 2015, something struck me: I heard more hard words from believers in 2015 than ever before. No, not “hard words” as in hard things the Lord told people to say. Just hard words. Words spiked with negativity, frustration, even a tinge of hatred. I’m a PK. A preacher’s kid. What’s more, I’m a PGK—a preacher’s grandkid. …

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Category: Career, TheologyTag: Career, Theology

Tomorrow Starts Now

By Dan Balowon January 5, 2016
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1956 was an interesting year (other than the year of my birth).  There were wars and rumors of wars, great music, movies, books, political campaigning, controversy involving Islamic control of various nations and trouble in the Middle East. Sound familiar? Woody Guthrie’s song “This Land is Your Land” was popular, Norman Vincent Peale’s book on The Power of Positive Thinking was still hot and …

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Category: Career, TheologyTag: Career, God's Will, Theology

2015 – A Year in Review

By Steve Laubeon January 4, 2016
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I like to take a look at the past year as an exercise in measuring success and failure – all while counting God’s blessings. (If you’d like to look at previous annual reports they can be found here: 2014, 2013, 2012, 2011, 2009.) The Agency Thrives The agency continues to thrive in the midst of some tough economic challenges. It was exciting to secure contracts for over 130 forthcoming …

Read more2015 – A Year in Review
Category: Agency, Book Business, Career, Communication, EconomicsTag: 2015, Agency, Year in Review

Practice Makes…More Practice

By Dan Balowon December 15, 2015
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Before musicians perform, they practice, and then practice some more. The best musicians might practice eight hours a day, every day, for many years. Then maybe, just maybe they get paid to perform, which rarely makes up for the thousands of hours they practiced for free. Before an artist paints or sculpts or creates anything, they practice and practice some more and throw away many of the things …

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Category: Career, Craft, Writing CraftTag: Craft, Practice, Writing Craft

A Job I Believe In

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon December 3, 2015
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Do you believe in your job? I mean, really believe in it? Recently I went to an event where I hadn’t planned to talk at all about being a literary agent. But I found myself talking about books all the same. Granted, I didn’t talk about being a literary agent in the same way I’d talk about it with writers; no one at the event was a writer so they weren’t interested in having a novel published. In …

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Category: Book Business, Career, PersonalTag: Career

A Writer’s Advent

By Karen Ballon December 2, 2015
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Last Sunday, November 29th, was the beginning of one of my favorite seasons of the year: Advent. Some of my earliest memories are of Advent, of doing devotions as a family around an Advent wreath, my two brothers and I eager to be the one to light the candle each week. I don’t know about your traditions, but for us, the four purple candles were the Advent, Angel, Shepherd, and Bethlehem candles. …

Read moreA Writer’s Advent
Category: Career, Faith, The Writing LifeTag: Advent, The Writing Life
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