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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

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Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Pitching » Page 11

Pitching

Three Reasons It’s Not Too Late to Submit

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 29, 2018
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Sometimes I meet authors who wonder if they’ve waited too long after they’ve met with me at a conference to submit to me. Without exception (at least, without any exceptions I can think of), the answer is no. It is never too late. Why not?

  • If you’re going to conferences and taking classes to learn, I want to see what you apply. Writers attending conferences are, in part, students. Sometimes I forget that I entered this profession with a lifelong commitment to publishing and a journalism degree. Not everyone who wants to write for publication today had the chance to earn a degree. Or, they may hold one or more advanced degrees, but in different disciplines such as physics, law, or theology. Learning all they can about writing books for publication through conferences is a good move. That said, I want to see the manuscript that results from what the writer has learned, not one dashed off in a rush.
  • I have no intention of going out of business for many years. So, as Momma says, “Lord willing and the creek don’t rise,” I plan to be available to review your manuscripts for a long time. Any day is a great day to receive a superb proposal.
  • If a publisher goes out of business today, then it’s good that we didn’t submit to them anyway. I work with major publishers who are committed to their mission. That’s not to say it’s impossible someone will close tomorrow, but for the foreseeable future, the publishers I’ll be sending your work to will be in need of stellar proposals today, tomorrow, and decades from now. For them, any day is a great day to receive a superb project.

So if you write me to say, “I met you in (fill in city) in (fill in distant year), you can still submit a proposal to me. I’ll be happy to take a look!

Your turn:

Do you feel rushed to send proposals out soon after conferences? Why or why not?

What is the longest you waited to submit a proposal?

Have you ever rewritten a proposal based on what you learned at a conference?

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Category: Book Proposals, Conferences, Pitch, PitchingTag: book proposals, Conferences, Pitching

When the Market Is Too Tight

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 22, 2018
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Previously I posted about sending rejections saying the market is too tight as a reason for the decline. Let’s take a closer look. Subjective? “The market is too tight,” sounds objective, doesn’t it? As in, “There isn’t enough room for your book because no one is buying this type of book.” However, this is one time we can get philosophical and admit this reason for a decline is actually the …

Read moreWhen the Market Is Too Tight
Category: Book Proposals, Genre, Get Published, Pitching, Platform, RejectionTag: book proposals, Get Published, Rejection

I Couldn’t Think of a Good Title for This Post

By Bob Hostetleron March 21, 2018
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Some writers love to come up with titles for their stories, articles, or books. Some hate it. Some are good at it, some are awful. But we all have to do it, like it or not. A title can make or break a pitch, even though editors will often change our titles. So here are my twelve top tips (try saying that ten times fast!) for titling your tomes: Know your market. If you’re writing for the Christian …

Read moreI Couldn’t Think of a Good Title for This Post
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Creativity, Get Published, Marketing, Pitch, Pitching, Self-PublishingTag: book proposals, Creativity, Titles

Creative or Effective? You Decide

By Dan Balowon March 6, 2018
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Very early in my working life, I was involved in advertising sales for a radio station.  Probably because I was pretty much a “blank slate” back then, I remember the first advertising seminar I attended like it was yesterday. People who know me well, might smile (or roll their eyes) when I’ll repeat a sales or marketing principle I learned decades ago.  They are “on to me.” At the first seminar, I …

Read moreCreative or Effective? You Decide
Category: Book Proposals, Branding, Marketing, Pitch, PitchingTag: book proposal, Cover Letter, Creativity, Marketing

Can Death Cleaning Spark Joy?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 8, 2018
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One of the most challenging aspects of being successful in nonfiction is choosing a topic general enough to interest a broad swath of readers, but unique enough to make them think of the question in a new way so they’ll want to buy your book. Take decluttering. I follow at least three decluttering blogs. My daughter says, “How about just cleaning instead of reading about it? Then you’d get it …

Read moreCan Death Cleaning Spark Joy?
Category: Book Proposals, Branding, Marketing, Pitching, Platform, The Writing LifeTag: Marketing, Nonfiction

My 600-lb Book Life

By Bob Hostetleron November 22, 2017
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Recently I spent a few hours visiting a relative in rehab, and the television was tuned to an episode of the television series, My 600-lb Life. This is why I like to control the TV remote at all times. The episode focused on a fairly young mother of two children who weighed nearly six hundred pounds and was hoping to engage a surgeon for weight-reduction surgery. Her first several consultations …

Read moreMy 600-lb Book Life
Category: Marketing, Pitching, Platform, The Writing LifeTag: Marketing, Platform, The Writing Life

Agents Share Their Pet Peeves

By Bob Hostetleron November 8, 2017
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Agents are people, too. Most literary agents, that is. And, like most people, we have our highs and lows. Our problems. Our irritations. Our pet peeves. I asked my fellow agents at The Steve Laube Agency to share their pet peeves with me for the purpose of this blog post. Boy, did that open a Pandora’s box. Tamela Hancock Murray, the “ACFW agent-of-the-year” award-winning agent, agreed to come …

Read moreAgents Share Their Pet Peeves
Category: Agents, Book Proposals, Get Published, Pitch, PitchingTag: Agency, Agents, Pet Peeves

The Damaged Author

By Dan Balowon May 16, 2017
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Anyone can easily identify a person who has been damaged by life and in need of help. The same is true with damaged authors. If you are in this category, writing about your experiences and the lessons learned can be both cathartic and spiritually fruitful, but taking a damaged-life perspective into the professional world of book publishing will rarely work for anyone. If you know someone who is …

Read moreThe Damaged Author
Category: Book Proposals, Encouragement, Faith, Get Published, PitchingTag: Encouragement, Get Published

At What Point Would an Agent be Interested in an Indie Author?

By Steve Laubeon April 10, 2017
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I am an indie author. I’ve written several novels, some of which have sold well and all of which have *at least* 4.7 stars. Is there a point at which an agent would want to talk to someone like me? When/why might I consider getting an agent? Thanks to Heather for the question! A number of factors play a role in answering this question. (Are you getting tired of my “it depends” answer to all your …

Read moreAt What Point Would an Agent be Interested in an Indie Author?
Category: Agents, Book Proposals, Indie, Pitching, Self-Publishing, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Agents, Indie

Frustrated by Rejection or No Response? Try This

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 30, 2017
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Last week I wrote about authors who send agents submissions despite the fact those agents clearly state that they don’t represent those categories. When this happens, I sense one of three things from the author: exuberance, ignorance, or frustration. Exuberance An author who’s been successful for decades still can be exuberant about her work. That’s not what I mean here. In this case, the author …

Read moreFrustrated by Rejection or No Response? Try This
Category: Book Proposals, Pitch, Pitching, PlatformTag: Agents, book proposals, Frustration, Pitching
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