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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 » Guest Post » Page 2

Guest Post

6 Excuses (That Don’t Work) for Not Attending a Writers Conference

By Guest Bloggeron July 18, 2016
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me-1Our guest today is Linda Taylor, an author, an editor, a writer, a college writing instructor, and a constant learner. She teaches in the Professional Writing department at Taylor University and continues to do freelance editing and proofreading. She blogs about the joys of editing and grammar at www.lindaktaylor.com

___________

In our extremely virtual world, we have gotten used to our connections being online—perhaps too used to it.

“Working on my revision!” says a Facebook post from a writing friend. I respond with the requisite “Wow” emoji.

“Got my third rejection letter,” posts another. Requisite “sad” emoji.

All fine and good. But we as writers, given our generally introverted nature, really really need to get out there and connect with other writers. That’s why writers conferences are so valuable.

I hear what you’re saying:

  • “But I’m too [old, young, new at writing, bad at writing, famous, unknown] to bother.”
  • “I will be uncomfortable [with unknown people, unknown food, unknown room, unknown schedule], and I hate to be uncomfortable.”
  • “It’s too much trouble [taking time off work, getting someone to watch the kids, leaving my cats].”
  • “I don’t need any more training [in dialog, characterizing, setting, organizing, grammar, proposing, formatting, platforming, marketing, or anything because I’ve heard it all], I just need to finish writing!”
  • “I don’t have [money, transportation, time, inclination, updated computer, correct clothing] to go to any conferences.”
  • “No one will want to [talk to me, sit by me, listen to me, care about me] and I’ll be miserable.”

To all of this I say, “Hogwash.”

We writers need one another. Publishing is a tough business; writing is not an easy task. When you go to a conference, you’ll discover a whole bunch of other introverted people with that “deer in the headlights” look—at first all wondering why they ventured out of their comfortable study into this mass of people. Give it a few minutes. Go to that first session. If you’re really nervous, look for someone who appears to be even more nervous than you are and go chat with him or her. Do this “listen, talk, share, and care” part that you yourself were so worried about.

I guarantee that you’ll discover kindred spirits. You’ll find people just like you who love to write. They’re all at various phases of their writing careers—the grandmother picking up a pen for the first time to tell her story, the young adult writing about a fantasy world that’s spinning in his head, the published author, the unpublished author, the self-published author. But they all have one thing in common—a passion for words and a message to share.

I just returned from the amazing Write-to-Publish conference in Wheaton, Illinois. If you have the time and the money, it is well worth every second and every penny. But if your time or money is limited, you can search for a writers conference near you (to avoid travel) and/or shorter in duration (to incur less cost). Steve Laube has this list of Christian writers conferences, or check out this list at Newpages (scroll down and click on your state to find local conferences), and there’s another list at the Poets & Writers website that details conferences all over the country (and the world!). You may indeed find something near you, or near a long-lost family member or friend who is due for a visit from you!

As an instructor in the Professional Writing department at Taylor University, I tell my students that they will need to attend conferences once they leave the enclave of writers that has surrounded them for four years during college. They will need to continue to brush up on what they know; they will need to continue to learn about platform building and social media and marketing because the publishing world constantly changes. You never know it all, and even if you do, you probably will need some refresher courses.

And while I have you here, let me put in a plug for a short and inexpensive writers conference we’re holding on Taylor University’s campus in Upland, Indiana, this summer August 5–6, 2016. Taylor’s Professional Writing Conference offers agents and acquisitions editors and marketers and publicists and editors ready to teach and assist you. Two days. $99. (Overnight in the dorm extra, but minimal.) Under $130 for two solid days of training and meeting new writer friends. And if you’re a teenager (or know one) who loves to write—we have some special events for you!

Will you be uncomfortable? Maybe. But not for long. Will the beds be like yours at home? No. Will the food be as good as at home? I actually have no idea because I’ve not eaten at your house.

But don’t give me any of those excuses.

If you’re a writer, you need to set aside a budget (it’s a write-off!) and get yourself to a writers conference. I promise. You’ll be glad and inspired.

And then you really can get back and finish that book!

 

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Category: Conferences, Get Published, Guest PostTag: Get Published, writers conferences

Top Ten Marketing Tools That Clutter my Toolbox

By Guest Bloggeron November 16, 2015
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Today’s guest blog is from Pamela Tracy. Pamela has been a client of Steve Laube for over 11 years! She was one of the first who joined when he put out the agent shingle. She was first published in 1999 and has written over 30 books with over one million copies in print. In 2016 she has four new books coming out (two traditionally published, one Indie, and one repackaged reprint). She has …

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Category: Branding, Guest Post, MarketingTag: Marketing, Tools

But I Don’t Like Social Media!

By Steve Laubeon May 19, 2015
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Today we have a guest post from Steve Laube Agency client Afton Rorvik. Her book, Storm Sisters released Fall, 2014 from Worthy Publishing. She has a growing relationship with social media that she wanted to share. My guess is that today’s post will resonate with many readers of this blog. Dan Balow _____________ I must confess something. I have held a grudge against social media. I resented her …

Read moreBut I Don’t Like Social Media!
Category: Guest Post, Social MediaTag: Social Media

It Really Is Like Riding A Bike

By Guest Bloggeron March 31, 2015
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By Michelle Van Loon Today, I’d like to introduce Michelle Van Loon as guest blogger for Holy Week. In 2016, NavPress will publish her new book focusing on the connections between Jewish traditions and our Christian faith. Michelle’s deeply-rooted faith in Christ and secular Jewish heritage are apparent in her creative, carefully-crafted storytelling. A focus on spiritual formation and education …

Read moreIt Really Is Like Riding A Bike
Category: Book Business, Career, Creativity, Get Published, Guest Post, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Memory, The Writing Life

How To Stumble Onto Your Brand…

By Guest Bloggeron September 15, 2014
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Erin Taylor Young has a remarkable gift for making her readers laugh out loud even as she’s delivering hard truths about living a life of faith. Her down-to-earth writing style invites readers into the books that God has given her and sends them away refreshed and assured that we’re not in this gig alone. Her first humorous nonfiction, Surviving Henry: Adventures in Loving a Canine …

Read moreHow To Stumble Onto Your Brand…
Category: Branding, Get Published, Guest Post, Humor, MarketingTag: Branding, Humor, Marketing

Orphan Trains & Wild Stallions

By Guest Bloggeron July 28, 2014
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by Allen Arnold I recently read about the unexpected publishing success of Orphan Train.  It’s a novel set in present-day Maine and Depression-era Minnesota. This fifth book from Christina Baker Kline has turned out to be a sleeper hit of the year, with more than one million copies sold. I’m intrigued by the book’s premise. But it’s the subhead of the article that caught my attention.  “Unlikely …

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Category: Art, Guest Post, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Art, Craft, The Writing Life

My Secret Writer’s Tool

By Karen Ballon June 18, 2014
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Guest post by Jennifer Sienes Jennifer Sienes, one of Karen’s clients, is a talented fiction writer who according to editors has a gift for bringing out the emotional power of the scene. She was recently named as a finalist in the 2014 Genesis contest with her novel Redemption. You can find out more and read her blog at www.jennifersienes.com   I’ve been reading the Steve Laube Agency …

Read moreMy Secret Writer’s Tool
Category: Career, Guest Post, The Writing LifeTag: Spouses, The Writing Life, Writing tools

How Entering a Writing Contest Just Might Change Your Life

By Steve Laubeon January 27, 2014
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Guest Post by Susan May Warren

Far East Russia in the middle of January has all the charm of a mausoleum. Our missionary family lived in a three-room flat on the ninth floor of a cookie-cutter apartment building that, to the untrained eye, resembled a recently shelled building in Chechnya. We had no running water during the day, no telephone line and the Siberian wind froze the windows shut, …

Read moreHow Entering a Writing Contest Just Might Change Your Life
Category: Awards, Get Published, Guest Post, SteveTag: contests, Get Published

Knowing Discouragement’s End

By Karen Ballon January 22, 2014
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A guest blog by Mesu Andrews

Mark Lowry is one of my favorite comedians. I heard one of his performances many years ago, and he quoted a single, profound phrase found 457 times in the King James Bible: “It came to pass…”

That’s it. That’s all.

It came…to pass.

And then he challenged the audience to remember those words the next time they faced an impossible situation, the depths of …

Read moreKnowing Discouragement’s End
Category: Book Business, Guest Post, Karen, The Writing LifeTag: Discouragement, The Writing Life

A Scrivener Flunky Weighs In

By Steve Laubeon January 20, 2014
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A Guest Post by Deborah Raney

I’m probably not the best spokesperson for Scrivener, the popular novel writing software program from Literature and Latte, because I certainly don’t use Scrivener to its maximum capabilities. I don't even actually write my novel in Scrivener. I still use Pages––Mac’s version of Word––to write the manuscript, although I do copy the manuscript into the program once …

Read moreA Scrivener Flunky Weighs In
Category: Book Business, Guest Post, Steve, TechnologyTag: Scrivener, Technology
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