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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 » Common Questoins

Common Questoins

New Writer Lingo for a New Day

By Bob Hostetleron June 15, 2023
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If you’ve been writing (or hanging around with writers) for a while, you’ve probably seen or heard the abbreviation POV. It’s short for “point of view.” And WIP (“work in progress”), MC (“main character”), and perhaps even NaNoWriMo (“National Novel Writing Month,” which rolls around every November).

But those, like many terms we writers use and abuse, have been around for a while. They’re kinda old. Hackneyed, even (like the word hackneyed). Wouldn’t it be good to have some new phrases or acronyms that make us feel like the cool kids for once? (I can dream, can’t I?)

So, in the interest of literary advancement, I asked some of my writer friends (yes, I have friends) for some suggestions. And they obliged, drawing from their notations in reviewing their own writing and critiquing or editing the writing of others. Feel free to adopt any you like and send all royalties to me. (Note: Acronyms that don’t mention a contributor are from me.)

ATNW (“All Talk, No Writing”) (Lori Stanley Roeleveld)

BIS (“Booty in Seat”) (Rebekah Millet)

CTF (“Cut the Fluff”) (Lori Stanley Roeleveld)

CTTC (“Cut to the Chase”)

DRT (“Doesn’t Ring True”)

GWS (“Goes Without Saying”—i.e., the author is telling the reader something painfully obvious) (Cindy Sproles)

MM (“Mirror Moment,” the midpoint scene of a novel when a character must look within and confront the need for change) (Texie Susan Gregory)

MOO (“My Own Opinion”) (Cindy Sproles)

No BH (“No Bouncing Heads,” referring to head-hopping in POV) (Jessica Brodie)

NBI (“Not Buying It,” i.e., you ruined my WSoD; see below)

PP (“Plot Point,” as in PP1, PP2, etc.) (Texie Susan Gregory)

PTA (“Passive to Active”) (Lori Hatcher)

RUE (“Resist the Urge to Explain”) (Cindy Sproles)

SDT (“Show, Don’t Tell”)

SSOTHO (“Self-sabotage of the Highest Order”) (Lori Stanley Roeleveld)

TIGCYE (“This is Gonna Cost You Extra”) (Lori Hatcher)

TMITLE (“Too Many Ideas, Too Little Execution”) (Lori Stanley Roeleveld)

TYGA (“There You Go Again,” a polite but passive/aggressive way to note an error the writer continues to make despite you having noted it a thousand times) (Lori Hatcher)

VOMIT DRAFT. It’s best if you don’t abbreviate this one. (Rebekah Millet)

WFOW (“Writing from Open Wounds”) (Lori Stanley Roeleveld)

WFSBOP (“Words from the Soul, Blood on the Page”) (Lori Stanley Roeleveld)

WSoD (“Willing Suspension of Disbelief”) (Tom Williams)

ZZZ (“This is boring!”)

What about you? What are some terms or abbreviations you’ve found helpful in your writing (or critiquing and editing) life? Do tell.

 

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

4 Ways to Lose Me Quickly

By Bob Hostetleron June 22, 2022
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As a literary agent, I review a lot of book pitches. A lot. And, not to belabor the point, but a lot. Despite the overwhelming volume of submissions demanding my attention, I try to give each one a fair shake. Sure, if the recipient field of your email has a hundred email addresses in it, it makes it easier for me to say, “No thanks.” But, while that may be the quickest way to disinterest me, it …

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Category: Book Proposals, Common Questoins, Pitching

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

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

What Goes on the Copyright Page?

By Steve Laubeon August 9, 2021
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I have an odd habit born of being in this industry for four decades. Whenever I pick up a physical book, I look at the front cover, back cover, and then the copyright page. I know, it’s a rather nerdy thing to do; but you would be surprised what information can be found there and what it means. The copyright page is placed after the title page and should always be on the left-hand side …

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Category: Book Business, Common Questoins, Copyright Issues, Indie, Publishing A-Z

Preface, Foreword, Introduction. Oh My!

By Steve Laubeon July 26, 2021
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A reader asked, “What is the difference between a preface, a foreword, and an introduction? And do I need them all?” There so much publishing lingo used every day that we forget there was a time when we didn’t know what the words meant. It’s one reason I have a “Publishing Lingo” section in the back of the annual Christian Writers Market Guide. These three pieces of writing (preface, foreword, and …

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Category: Book Proposals, Common Questoins, Craft, Publishing A-Z

12 Steps to Publication

By Steve Laubeon August 10, 2020
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It takes 12 strikes to achieve a perfect game in bowling. (See last Friday’s video.) It made me think there are 12 things that need to happen in the publication process. Each must knock down all the pins to achieve publishing success. With that simplistic idea in mind, I came up with the following: Idea – A book has to start somewhere Write chapter – if not the whole book …

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Category: Book Proposals, Common Questoins, Editing, Get Published, Marketing, Pitching, Platform
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