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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 » The Writing Life » Page 7

The Writing Life

A New Year, a New Chance

By Bob Hostetleron January 11, 2024
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You’ve heard or read the adage “If you always do what you’ve always done, you’ll always get what you’ve always gotten,” right? Or something similar.

So, here you are, in a brand spanking new year: 2024. Can you believe it?

With the dawn of the new year, then, let me ask: In your writing, what will you do differently in 2024? Put another way: What will you do more or differently than what you’ve always done?

Will you finally give your platform the attention it needs?
Will you move on from that pet project you’ve spent years trying to land with a publisher?
Will you join a critique group?
Read 100 books in your genre?
Engage a writing coach?
Learn how to use Word’s track changes?
Write so many words a day/week/month?
Start blogging?
Stop blogging?
Something else?

Even if you choose only one thing to do differently in your writing this year, it could have a cumulative effect. (“Consider how small a spark sets a great forest ablaze,” as the biblical writer said. … And, yes, I know he was talking about the tongue; but the principle applies here too.) Or, as James Clear says in the bestselling Atomic Habits, “Habits are the compound interest of self-improvement.”

So, what’s it going to be? Please share in the comments, and let’s be encouraged and inspired by one another.

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Category: The Writing Life

The Key Ingredient for Timeless Christian Storytelling: Morality

By Thomas Umstattd, Jr.on January 9, 2024
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Learn how to keep your book from being boring and unbelievable and discover why a clear moral system is critical in writing a timeless story.

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Category: The Writing Life

Jingle Bells, Taco Shells: The Art of Being a Mom-Writer

By Megan Brownon December 21, 2023
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‘Tis the season to be jolly, right? Well, not if you’re a mom-writer caught in the whirlwind of holiday chaos while trying to meet deadlines, market your latest book, and wear more hats than Santa himself. It’s easy to get swept up in the never-ending to-do list; but what if I told you that it’s okay to give yourself the gift of simply being a mom, especially during this …

Read moreJingle Bells, Taco Shells: The Art of Being a Mom-Writer
Category: Career, Encouragement, Inspiration, The Writing Life

Have Yourself a Query Little Christmas

By Bob Hostetleron December 19, 2023
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Whatever other gifts you may receive this Christmas season, consider giving yourself something that will raise your spirits and may even move your writing hopes and dreams forward. Query something. A query is a brief but detailed one-page letter (or email) written to interest an editor or agent in your … thing (article, book, screenplay, etc.). Some aspiring writers are hesitant to query …

Read moreHave Yourself a Query Little Christmas
Category: Book Proposals, Pitching, The Writing Life

How to Prepare for Success As a New Author With Laura Richmond

By Thomas Umstattd, Jr.on December 12, 2023
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  Waiting is hard. Amazon Prime memberships have trained us to expect two-day shipping on everything in life. But that’s not how real life works. God often calls authors into periods of waiting. Perhaps he wants to use that time to test you or develop your character. Perhaps the time is not yet right for your book. You may be in a season of waiting right now. If you are, what should you do? …

Read moreHow to Prepare for Success As a New Author With Laura Richmond
Category: The Writing Life

Are You Sure You Want That Brand?

By Dan Balowon December 6, 2023
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Several years ago, I spoke with an aspiring Christian author who had several good book ideas on a wide range of projects for children to adults but, first, wanted to write about their lifelong struggle with a certain sin issue. Once it was published, they would move on with their life and be a beacon for biblical truth on all sorts of other projects. My initial reaction when they explained their …

Read moreAre You Sure You Want That Brand?
Category: Book Business, Career, Platform, The Writing Life

Writers Learn to Prepare

By Steve Laubeon December 4, 2023
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Preparation is awfully important if you are planning to climb Mt. Everest. If you show up in a T-shirt, shorts, and flip flops, with a sack lunch, it is likely you will perish during the ascent. The same idea applies to the writer. Preparation is one of the keys to success. There Are No Shortcuts Despite numerous methods for efficiency, there is still no shortcut in writing a great book. It is …

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Category: Craft, Rejection, The Writing LifeTag: Creativity, Rejection, Writing Craft

From Podcast to Bestselling Book: How to Use Audio to Refine Your Book’s Message With Asheritah Ciuciu

By Thomas Umstattd, Jr.on November 14, 2023
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  Did you know I used to run a publishing company? When I was in college, I developed a business plan in my entrepreneurship class and launched it as a real business. The company was called Brook Audio, and we published public-domain audiobooks for homeschoolers. The plan for my company was based on my experience as a homeschooler and several observations about homeschoolers: I spent months …

Read moreFrom Podcast to Bestselling Book: How to Use Audio to Refine Your Book’s Message With Asheritah Ciuciu
Category: The Writing Life

Title Attachment Disorder

By Dan Balowon November 7, 2023
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Hopefully, when the mental health industrial complex gets around to updating the DSM-5, they will have a section on “Book Title Attachment Disorder.” Symptoms of B-TAD are refusal to listen to reasonable alternatives, applying divine inspiration to a title, and extreme anxiety when someone who titles books as a profession wants to change it. Of course, I am joking. I think. Likely some deeper …

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Category: Book Proposals, Pitching, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life

The Things I Say Most Often About Writing

By Bob Hostetleron November 2, 2023
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I talk a lot about writing. As a writer, yes, but also as a literary agent and speaker at writers conferences. And, yes, sometimes, as the guy at church potlucks who is inept at small talk and sometimes starts sentences with, “Ever wonder what the first person to use the word moist was thinking?” Okay, so now you know a little too much about me. But in my strange mind and varied roles, I do often …

Read moreThe Things I Say Most Often About Writing
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Encouragement, Pitching, The Writing Life
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