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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 » Marketing

Marketing

I Have No Book. What Do I Talk About?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon October 29, 2025
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Many authors feel stymied by the dilemma of not having anything to talk about to build a platform and interest in a book that isn’t under contract. Yet as wordsmiths, authors can create entertaining and meaningful content to find a tribe. To wit:

  1. Talk about other people’s books. What are you reading? Why? What did you like about the book? Why is this one of your favorite authors? Author interviews are also fun.
  2. Show us pictures of your office pet. Who doesn’t love seeing a cute pet, or even a cantankerous pet?
  3. Where have you traveled lately? Photos posted after you have returned from a lovely trip, even if you traveled only a few miles from your house, always provide great visuals.
  4. How is your book coming along? What is a struggle for you? What gives you joy? Have your characters gotten from Point A to Point B today, as planned?
  5. What gives you joy? Cheerful posts to make others smile should keep them interested.
  6. Bible verses that inspire you. Ask your readers to post their favorites too.
  7. Discouragements, Disappointments, and Difficulties. Within reason. Discovering that authors don’t always live in a fantasy world helps readers relate to you.
  8. Your book. Why are you writing this book? What do you hope readers will love about your work, once it’s published?
  9. Your publishing journey. Share the ups and downs in an uplifting way.

These are only a few ideas. The goal is to provide content your potential readers will enjoy. Let them know you care about them, and make your visit to their IN box worth their time.

To brainstorm more, sign up for author newsletters. What do they say and share that appeals to you?

I hope our blog readers will share ideas too.

 

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Category: Branding, Marketing, Platform

How Many People Are Involved in Publishing Your Book?

By Steve Laubeon September 29, 2025
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Depending on your publisher, there can be quite a few people involved in getting your book to market. Even if you self-publish, there are still many functions that you may not do yourself. Below is not an exhaustive list, but a rambling stream of consciousness when thinking about the various jobs and the people who are involved in the publishing process: author (kinda important) literary agent (we …

Read moreHow Many People Are Involved in Publishing Your Book?
Category: Book Business, Book Business, Marketing, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Business, Traditional Publishing

Too Early for an Agent?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 20, 2025
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In speaking with authors and receiving proposals, I often learn that authors WILL: Establish a website Find endorsers Start a newsletter Start a blog Line up speaking engagements Hop on social media These plans are great. Unfortunately, they are plans. They are not what is already in place to show a publisher how the author will be a partner in selling the book. We prefer to: Visit an author …

Read moreToo Early for an Agent?
Category: Marketing, Platform, The Writing Life

Act Now! Revolutionary Words for Your Publishing Success

By Steve Laubeon August 11, 2025
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Did that headline get your attention? It was intentional. There are two key words in it, act and now, that are trigger words to make you read what I have written. When the words revolutionary and success are added, it targets the readers of this blog. And to top it off, it was made personal by using the word your. It is possible to make this “revolutionary” keyword work in several …

Read moreAct Now! Revolutionary Words for Your Publishing Success
Category: Book Proposals, Branding, MarketingTag: Copy Writing, Marketing

Why Should I Follow Your Guidelines?

By Steve Laubeon July 21, 2025
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Believe it or not, we once had someone write and say that forcing an author to follow our guidelines when submitting a proposal is the height of arrogance. An artist should be allowed artistic freedom of expression, and cramming ideas into a preprescribed format is squelching that creativity. While I understand the frustration and the amount of work involved in creating a proposal, there are …

Read moreWhy Should I Follow Your Guidelines?
Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, Marketing, PlatformTag: book proposals, Get Published, Guidelines

Houston, We Have a Problem

By Steve Laubeon April 7, 2025
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This week marks the 55th anniversary of the launch of the infamous Apollo 13 mission to the moon (April 11, 1970). Two days after the launch, an oxygen tank exploded, jeopardizing the lives of the astronauts and scrapping the mission. Their ingenious solutions and subsequent safe return on April 17 were later portrayed in the award-winning 1995 film Apollo 13. I couldn’t help but think that the …

Read moreHouston, We Have a Problem
Category: Book Business, Marketing, The Publishing LifeTag: Problems, publishing, The Publishing Life

Think Like a Marketer

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 19, 2025
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When we submit a book to a major publishing house, we forget how much money we are asking them to invest in us. Consider the publisher’s commitment to pay top editors for several rounds of edits, artists for the cover design, and the sales team for marketing. I’m leaving out key people, but you get the idea. Emphasizing your marketing knowledge and ability helps a proposal shine. When writing your …

Read moreThink Like a Marketer
Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, Marketing, Pitching

How Do You Know What Will (or Will Not) Sell?

By Steve Laubeon February 24, 2025
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There is a mysterious magic embedded in the mythos of the publishing industry: the ability to pick successful books. I was recently asked, “You say ‘no’ so often, how do you know when to say ‘yes?’” I wish I could claim that every agent and publisher have a secret formula we consult to know what will sell. Ask any group of us for that secret and we will all laugh because there is no “secret.” We …

Read moreHow Do You Know What Will (or Will Not) Sell?
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Branding, Career, PlatformTag: Agents, book proposals, Career, Pitching, What Sells, Writers

The Anatomy of the Publishing Cycle

By Steve Laubeon November 25, 2024
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If you ask an editor or an agent, “What’s hot right now?” you are too late with the question. The nature of the publishing business is that what you see selling today are books that were conceived, written, published, and marketed over the past couple of years or more. That is why we, on this side of the table, avoid making pronouncements on current trends. In some ways, the agent and the …

Read moreThe Anatomy of the Publishing Cycle
Category: Book Business, Branding, Career, Creativity, Indie, Marketing, TrendsTag: publishing, The Publishing Life, Trends

Why Can’t I Find My New Book in My Local Bookstore?

By Steve Laubeon November 4, 2024
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Some might think this question is silly and antiquated since we know that 100% of all books are sold by Amazon and that no one buys physical books any more, and least of all in physical bookstores. Why? Because there aren’t any more bookstores! They have all closed. But wait. Even if a publisher attributes 50% of their total physical book sales to Amazon, we cannot ignore the other 50%! But …

Read moreWhy Can’t I Find My New Book in My Local Bookstore?
Category: Book Business, Book Sales, MarketingTag: Book Business, Book Sales, Bookstores
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