Inspiration

Veterans Day – 100th Anniversary

By Steve Laubeon November 11, 2018

Today, November 11, 2018, is the 100th anniversary of Veterans Day. Originally known as Armistice Day, it was set to honor the end of World War I, which happened on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. It became a legal holiday in the U.S. in 1938 and was renamed as Veterans Day in 1954.

It is our opportunity to thank and celebrate all those who have served our country in military service. Thank you for your service!

Below is a beautiful five-minute video put together last month by a high school student.

Lessons Learned As a Literary Agent

By Dan Balowon October 23, 2018

Dan is leaving the agency at the end of this month to focus his attention on the work of Gilead Publishing, the company he started in 2016. Here are some parting thoughts. _____ I’ve been a literary agent for about 2,000 of the 13,000 total days spent working with and for book publishers over the last thirty-five years. It’s been a great experience, for sure; but as I look back at the thousands of …

Category: Agents, Book Business, Branding, Career, Conferences, Craft, Creativity, Encouragement, Inspiration, Marketing, Personal, Pitch, Platform, Self-Publishing, Social Media, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

A Writer’s Beatitudes

By Bob Hostetleron July 18, 2018

In the famous “Sermon on the Mount” passage in the Bible’s Gospel of Matthew, Jesus presented a series of eight “beatitudes.” Each was a saying that turned conventional wisdom on its head, showing how in God’s eyes the oppressed are blessed and the despised are prized. No one can improve on those inspired beatitudes, of course. But what if we tried to capture their perspective and redirected them …

Category: Creativity, Inspiration, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Creativity, Inspiration, The Writing Life

Making Decisions for Others

By Dan Balowon July 17, 2018

Because book publishing is surrounded by semi-regular failure, no matter if you are an agent, author, or publisher, the ability to deal with adversity is a defining characteristic of anyone who is successful in it. It’s a lot like baseball, where a high level of failure and adversity are part of any successful player or team. Tonight is the major league baseball All-Star Game in Washington, DC. …

Category: Book Business, Career, Encouragement, InspirationTag: Book Business

Søren Kierkegaard on Writing

By Steve Laubeon June 18, 2018

Søren Kierkegaard was a Danish philosopher and writer in the mid-1800s. His works have been highly influential for the past 170 years. He is not without his critics but a couple years ago Christianity Today ran an article titled, “Why We Still Need Kierkegaard.” My own journey has included wrestling with Fear and Trembling, Sickness Unto Death, and Purity of Heart is to Will One Thing. Recently I …

Category: Encouragement, Inspiration, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Encouragement, Inspiration, The Writing Life

Your Commitment to Your Reader

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 10, 2018

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When you’re working to get your book published, you feel you have lots of people to please. First, you have to be satisfied with your book. Then, you need to find an agent to partner with you to present your work to editors, who are her customers. Then the editor must sell your work to the editorial committee. Then it goes to the publishing committee. So along the way, you’ve had lots of people to …

Category: Career, Editing, Inspiration, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Career, readers, The Writing Life

Books Change Lives

By Steve Laubeon April 9, 2018

I have to let you read this story. An author recently wrote this to me: I’d like to share something with you that I’m not sure a lot of authors get to share. Two months ago, I noticed my novels on my youngest daughter’s nightstand and found her reading them every night. I didn’t want to scare her off from reading them by asking questions, so I just let her read. A couple …

Category: Inspiration, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Career, Encouragement, Inspiration, The Writing Life

Twenty-five Fantastic Quotes About Words and Writers

By Bob Hostetleron April 4, 2018

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A few weeks ago in this space I posted twenty-five rules for writers. There are more, of course, but as W. Somerset Maugham said, “no one knows what they are.” Seriously, folks, I’m just getting started. I asked friends on Twitter and Facebook to send me their favorite quotes about writers and writing—not necessarily rules, but something memorable and, maybe, inspirational. I enjoyed the …

Category: Inspiration, The Writing LifeTag: Inspiration, Quotes, The Writing Life

Creative Boundaries

By Dan Balowon April 3, 2018

Creative people usually don’t like being told what to create or what not to create. Similarly, explorers and researchers don’t like being told, “Don’t look there,” or “Explore over here.” By nature, they follow their training and instincts from place to place and thought to thought. As a writer, while the worst thing you could do is plagiarize someone else’ work, the worst thing someone else could …

Category: Career, Communication, Creativity, Inspiration, PlatformTag: Career, Creativity, Faith, Inspiration, The Writing Life

Editors: Friend or Foe?

By Guest Bloggeron March 19, 2018

Our guest blogger today is our friend Karen Ball! She runs Karen Ball Publishing Services, LLC and is an award-winning, best-selling author; a popular podcaster/ speaker; and the co-creator with Erin Taylor Young of From the Deep, LLC. She has also been executive editor for fiction at Tyndale, Multnomah, Zondervan, and B&H Publishing Group, and a literary agent with the Steve Laube Agency. …

Category: Editing, Get Published, Inspiration, Karen, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Get Published, Writing Craft