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The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

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Home » Career » Page 3

Career

An Agent’s Curmudgeonly Rant

By Bob Hostetleron March 9, 2022
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Sometimes I just have to rant. You understand, don’t you?

Maybe it comes with age, and you’re not yet old enough to understand. Or grumpy enough. Or OCD enough.

Nevertheless, I hope you’ll allow me to vent for today’s post. And I should say that I’m not asking you to agree with me, though my regard will certainly increase if you do. It’s just that there are some things that get on my nerves as I read things—not only proposals submitted to me, but all kinds of stuff. Here’s a short list:

1. “One of the only.” I know that it’s accepted usage to say something such as, “he’s one of the only people who still do that.” But every single time I see or hear it, I cringe, and wish the writer or speaker had used “one of the few” instead. I may be the only one, but “only” to me connotes “singular,” rather than “a small number.” Or maybe I’m one of the few.  

2. The Oxford comma. Yes, I’m one of the few who recognizes the clarifying power of the Oxford comma. But you know who agrees with me? My siblings, William Zinsser and God.

3. Psalm/Psalms. It’s not incorrect to reference a Bible quote as coming from “Psalms 23:1.” It is “The Book of Psalms,” after all. But it’s always a “bump” for me. I always use “Psalm 23:1.” Because I’m referencing one among many psalms. I know, it’s a trivial matter; but it does get “all my bones … out of joint” (Psalm 22:14 NIV).

4. “Beg the question.” I see this phrase used incorrectly by otherwise erudite and articulate people. But to beg the question is a phrase from Aristotelian logic that means to assume as true the thing that is being argued. So please, take my word for it, that when you’re tempted to say “begs the question,” you almost certainly mean “prompts the question,” not “begs the question.”

5. The placement of the words only and almost. Where you place the word only (or almost) in a sentence can change the meaning of the sentence. For example, a recent news story reported, “Almost found exclusively in people who were born female, this condition affects about 11 percent of women worldwide.” Unless the condition wasn’t found, which would make no sense, the writer intended us to understand that the condition is “found almost exclusively …” See what I mean? Or to say, “I only want a sandwich” (which is a common construction) technically means I don’t demand a sandwich; I only want it. Usually, however, what the speaker or writer means is, “I want only a sandwich.” Which is also different from “Only I want a sandwich.” Yeah, I know: only a small difference. But I’m allowed to have my quibbles.

6. “I could care less.” I know there are those who insist this phrase means the opposite of what it says, but I couldn’t care less. If you could care less, you care some, right? But most people who say, “I could care less” use it to mean “I couldn’t care less.” Which I admit I care way too much about.

I thought I would feel better after my rant. But doggone it, I fear I’m only one of the only ones who only feels worse after expressing myself. If only.

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Category: Career, Get Published, Grammar

A Dozen Things to Do While You Wait

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 2, 2022
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Have you just submitted your New Year’s Resolution manuscript and now you’re waiting for a response? Do you feel adrift? Are you unsure what to do? Then it’s time to launch another ship! Years ago, I recall reading an article (probably in a writers magazine, and I apologize to the author and magazine for being unable to give proper citation now) suggesting that authors think of each project as a …

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Category: Career, Common Questoins, The Writing Life

Writing Rocks and Hard Places

By Dan Balowon November 10, 2021
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Many writers find themselves caught between fulfilling their creative writing desires and activities that pay living expenses. More often than not, they are different things. Throughout history, highly successful authors had other vocations while they developed their skills for writing books. If you go online and search for “day jobs of famous writers,” you’ll discover the only thing they have in …

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Category: Career, The Writing Life

One Approach to Problem Solving

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon November 4, 2021
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I appreciate receiving daily delivery of The Washington Post newspaper. When the paper’s delivery became irregular, I felt disappointed. I figured we had gotten a different carrier. This new person on the job was proving to be a departure from the former prompt and faithful delivery person. But when the paper didn’t arrive three days in a row, I wanted the replacement carrier to be informed and …

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Category: Career

A Peek at an Agent’s Emails

By Bob Hostetleron November 3, 2021
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As a literary agent, I send and receive a lot of emails. A lot. And that’s not even counting the emails offering my helpful diet tips and donut recipes. My emails aren’t always so practical, but it recently occurred to me that some weary or woeful writers might be helped by a peek at some of the wise and witty responses I’ve sent to clients and nonclients (because I’m just that kind of guy). Here …

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Category: Agency, Agents, Book Proposals, Career, Pitch, Pitching

Why the Hurry?

By Dan Balowon October 20, 2021
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A common experience for every literary agent and publisher is having a conversation with an author who would like a book published “as soon as possible.” Frankly, it is for this purpose the author-services publishing industry was established, because of all the things that characterize traditional publishing, speed is not among them. Traditional publishers have a certain number of books they want …

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Category: Career

Why I Represent the Author: Agent Edition

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon October 14, 2021
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My reasons for representing an author may differ from why I read a certain book. Content: When I see something fresh and different, but not so far out that no one can relate, an author has my attention. Talent: Although my office must decline talented authors every day, writing talent will get authors a close look. Proposal: A professional proposal shows me the author has taken the time to learn …

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Category: Book Proposals, Career, Pitching, Platform

Books, Hooks, and Good Looks

By Bob Hostetleron September 30, 2021
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I love hooks. As a writer, I work hard on my hooks. When I was a magazine editor, the hook was often the best way for a writer to make a good first impression on me. And now, for me as a literary agent, the hook is the first and one of the most important criteria I use in evaluating a book pitch, proposal, or manuscript. A good book hook will often prompt me to give a project a more careful, …

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Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Career, Get Published, Pitch, Pitching, Platform, Self-Publishing, Social Media, The Writing Life

The Working Writer Lifestyle

By Bob Hostetleron August 19, 2021
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I’ve been writing for a living for most of the past three decades. You’d think I’d be rich by now. Apparently I’m not that kind of writer. But I am a working writer, something I give thanks for nearly every day, in the awareness that of the multitudes who write, relatively few ever earn a living doing it. So I have that going for me. What is it like to be a working writer? I can answer only for …

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Category: Career, The Writing Life, time management

One Writer’s Beginnings

By Bob Hostetleron August 11, 2021
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I am asked often, “How’d you get your start as a writer?” The question has many possible answers. I usually say something like, “Well, I was raised as a reader and writer, more or less, in a family of readers and writers.” The first time I saw my name in print was in Highlights magazine when I was seven or eight years old; it wasn’t exactly a byline, but I knew I was a pretty big deal nonetheless. …

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Category: Career, Common Questoins, Personal, The Writing Life
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