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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 » News You Can Use » Page 2

News You Can Use

Healthy Brain Food

By Dan Balowon November 4, 2014
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In this social media-saturated world where everyone seems to have an opinion about everything, it is very important to quickly determine those voices you pay attention to and those you tune out.

When it comes to the book publishing business, I narrow down who I pay attention to simply because I am convinced my head would explode if I listened to everyone.

Probably because the end-product of book publishing is for the consumer and not only for a select few of privileged people, there are as many opinions about book covers, writing quality, marketing, ebooks and finance as there are published books (over a half-million per year in the United States, counting self-published titles).

Everyone has their own list of favored information sources, but here are those people and organizations that keep my attention: (in alphabetical order because all are of equal importance and I don’t want to get anyone mad at me if I tried to rank them)

Amazon.com
 It is just about half of the entire publishing industry, so watching it, reading about it, and listening to what they have to say is pretty important.

Digital Book World
A solid online source of information, free and paid webinars and also a major annual convention. Sign up to get e-newsletters and other info by clicking here (Digital Book World)  and scrolling to the bottom of the page.

Michael Shatzkin
The smartest guy in publishing other than Steve Laube. Subscribe to his free blog by clicking http://www.idealog.com and entering your email address.

Monday Morning Memo
There are a lot more people than just James L. Rubart and I getting this blog every Monday morning. A marketing “school” focusing on radio advertising, but having some amazing things to say about story-telling and life. This is a real gem to read every week. Click here (Monday Morning Memo)  and subscribe. You will be very happy you did.

Paidcontent/GigaOM
A daily feed of information you can customize to your needs. Click here (Gigaom)  and go to Subscribe in the upper navigation bar.

Publishers
Of course. Agents sell proposals to publishers. We pay attention when they communicate anything. Clients of our agency expect that!

Publishing Perspectives
An excellent aggregator from across the world. Click here (Publishing Perspective) and subscribe to their news from all over. Amaze your friends at dinner parties with what you know. (If you think everything starts and ends in the United States, think again)

Seth Godin
Getting great business advice is imperative. Click here (http://www.sethgodin.com/sg/) and soon you will want to run out and shave your head and wear yellow glasses.  Seriously, the smartest marketing and business guy in the world.

Steve Laube
Authors are not the only ones who think he is smart. He really is. No, really. Even Karen Ball and Tamela Murray think so and they are hard to please.

Todd Busteed, Wes Bleed and Wayne Shepherd
Three long-time friends who gather once per month for breakfast and talk about what we have been observing in the world of communications. All have professional radio voices and compared to them I sound like Elmer Fudd ordering breakfast, but I deal with it because these are three of the smartest guys I know. You should find a small group to meet regularly to talk about writing or communications. It will make you better at what you do.  After all, social media means sometimes you actually talk to people.

Wired
Like them on Facebook here (https://www.facebook.com/wired) and you will get a steady stream of amazingly cool technology updates on a regular basis. Really smart friends will think you actually understand what is happening in the world, and that is important to keeping up a professional appearance!

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Category: Book Business, Career, Marketing, News You Can Use, The Publishing Life, TrendsTag: Publishing News, Sources, The Publishing Life

News You Can Use – July 16, 2013

By Steve Laubeon July 16, 2013
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Yesterday I posted on the issue of “Foreign Rights.” Talk about a clunker of a topic! One quarter of the normal readership thought it worthwhile to click through and read. Fascinating analytics. So let me ask those who read this “News” section, what topics would you like to see addressed in the future?

JK Rowling Snookered a Lot of Editors – She submitted her latest novel under a pen name. This …

Read moreNews You Can Use – July 16, 2013
Category: News You Can Use, Steve

News You Can Use – July 9, 2013

By Steve Laubeon July 9, 2013
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Does Your Title Pass the "Radio Test" - This means, if your book title or web site address is read out loud on the radio, will the listener know how to spell it when they go to find it? For example, my last name is spelled Laube and pronounced Lobby. That does not pass the "radio test." So I now own stevelobby.com and point it to www.stevelaube.com just in case someone misspells my name.

The …

Read moreNews You Can Use – July 9, 2013
Category: News You Can Use, Steve

News You Can Use – July 2, 2013

By Steve Laubeon July 2, 2013
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Penguin and Random House have officially merged into one entity known as Penguin Random House - Not, as I had thought, "Random Penguin" or "Penguin House." Here’s the scary stats. They employ 10,000 people worldwide (that is where the earnings from your books go) and will publish 15,000 new books each year. That is nearly two books per hour, all year long. That is a big publisher.

Judge Rules …

Read moreNews You Can Use – July 2, 2013
Category: News You Can Use, Steve

News You Can Use – June 25, 2013

By Steve Laubeon June 25, 2013
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Elevator Pitches: If You Build it, They Will Come. - Excellent post from Susan Spann! Do the exercise on your own pitch.

Christian Stores See 8.5% Overall Gain in 2012 - Looks like the growth came from non-book items. That is good news in that it means traffic in the stores has increased and reversed recent trends.

101 Things to Do to Build Your Writing Platform -  My advice? Don't try all …

Read moreNews You Can Use – June 25, 2013
Category: News You Can Use, SteveTag: optimism, Pitching, Platform

News You Can Use – June 18, 2013

By Steve Laubeon June 18, 2013
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Self-Published eBooks Account for 12% of the Entire Digital Market – Watch the stats for trends.

How People Read Online – Does this mean I have to shorten my blog posts? And if I do will you still skip the last 2/3rds of what I write anyway?

Three Scriptural Cautions Against Self-Publishing – Do you agree or disagree? (and then read the next link below)

Three Reasons to Support …

Read moreNews You Can Use – June 18, 2013
Category: News You Can Use, SteveTag: blogging, Pitching, Self-Publishing

News You Can Use – June 11, 2013

By Steve Laubeon June 11, 2013
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How to Launch a Bestselling Book - Michael Hyatt reveals some tremendous tips to have your book make a big splash. One of our clients followed some of these ideas along with some of their own. They sold out every online bookseller in the country withing four days (Amazon, B&N, Ingram, Books-a-Million, Lifeway, ChristianBook, Mardel, etc.) It can work if you have the right platform established …

Read moreNews You Can Use – June 11, 2013
Category: News You Can Use, SteveTag: audiobooks, exercise, launch your book, Twitter

News You Can Use – June 4, 2013

By Steve Laubeon June 4, 2013
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Special Days in June to Market You Book - Edie Melson does it again! Did you know this week is "Fishing Week"?

Publishers Should Invest In Authors, Not Just In Books - from Forbes magazine online. What do you think of what she is saying?

The Seven Deadly Myths of Digital Publishing - I found myself nodding in agreement while reading this article by Bill McCoy the executive director of the …

Read moreNews You Can Use – June 4, 2013
Category: News You Can Use, SteveTag: ebooks, Find an Agent, marketing ideas, Platform

News You Can Use – May 28, 2013

By Steve Laubeon May 28, 2013
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10 Brands That Will Disappear Within a Year – stunning to find the Nook in this list Create a Great Title for Your Book – A well done article that could help your Muse Five Things Indie Authors Do Very Well – Dr. Alison Baverstock makes some solid observations. Cover Letters and Book Proposals – Looking for some help with these? This article provides the basics. Proofread Like a Pro – Never …

Read moreNews You Can Use – May 28, 2013
Category: News You Can Use, Steve

News You Can Use – May 21, 2013

By Steve Laubeon May 21, 2013
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Happy 8th Birthday to YouTube - Yesterday was the day. Who could have ever imagined? (It also happened to be my daughter's birthday. Happy Birthday Fiona.)

Stephen King Delays E-Book! - In an effort to support physical bookstores he has delayed the ebook edition of his newest release.

The Anatomy of a One-Sheet - Barbara NcNichol provides a simple explanation that you can use to help promote …

Read moreNews You Can Use – May 21, 2013
Category: News You Can Use, Steve
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