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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 70

The Writing Life

What Does Your Reader Need?

By Bob Hostetleron June 13, 2018
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I attend many writers’ conferences, as an author, speaker, and agent. As a result, I meet and become friends with many fine people and outstanding writers.

At a recent gathering, I enjoyed a spirited and stimulating conversation with an aspiring author who has a passion for reaching readers with the good news of Jesus Christ. I identify with that. But I’m not sure we ever got onto the same page, so to speak. As far as I can recall, some of the conversation went something like this:

SHE: People just need to know that Jesus is the answer.

ME: Absolutely.

SHE: I just wish they knew how much they need Jesus.

ME: Ah, I think you’ve hit on something there.

SHE: What’s that?

ME: It’s hard to write books that meet a need people don’t yet know they have.

SHE: What? What do you mean?

ME: You said, “I wish they knew how much they need Jesus.”

SHE: Right, exactly!

ME: But if they don’t already know how much they need Jesus, how are you going to persuade them to buy a book about how much they need Jesus?

SHE: I don’t follow.

ME: When people walk into a bookstore, they have some very real needs.

SHE: Yes, and first among them is a need for Jesus.

ME: Yes, okay, but they don’t know how much they need Jesus.

SHE: Exactly!

ME: So they’re not looking for books about how much they need Jesus.

SHE: They’re not?

ME: How can they? They don’t know how much they need Him.

SHE: But—

ME: So if they see your How Much You Need Jesus book on the shelf, why would they pick it up?

SHE: Because they need Jesus!

ME: But they don’t know that.

SHE: That’s why they need my book.

ME: I think we’re going around in circles.

SHE: You are. I’m not.

ME: Let’s try this. Picture your reader.

SHE: Okay.

ME: Female? Forty years old, maybe? Married? Two kids?

SHE: Sounds about right.

ME: She’s walking into a bookstore right now. But her car as she drove to the store was making a weird noise. But she and her husband are barely making ends meet as it is, so they can’t afford costly repairs…and she doesn’t want to say anything to make hubby angry. And he seems to be angry a lot these days. She’s pretty sure he’s going through some difficult things at work, and his new secretary—well, she doesn’t even want to think about that. She has enough to worry about, with her daughter’s cutting and the strange cigarettes she found in her son’s room the night before last. So she walks into the bookstore with all this on her mind, and she knows she needs—what?

SHE: Hope?

ME: Okay….

SHE: Encouragement?

ME: Could be.

SHE: Maybe marriage advice or parenting help. Maybe a break. Maybe an escape.

ME: Right. Those are her felt needs. Strongly felt needs. So do you think she’s more likely to pick up—and maybe even buy—a book about one of those needs, or something you know she needs but she doesn’t yet know?

SHE: But—

ME: So…what is it you need right now?

SHE: I need someone to buy my book!

ME: So, if I were to write a book about how you need to clearly and forcefully connect with your reader’s felt needs, I would most helpfully do it by showing you that that is the most likely path to selling your book—right?

SHE, nodding slowly: Ohhhhh.

 

We talked a little longer, but I’m still not sure we got anywhere. And I certainly could have communicated better. But it seems to be a hurdle many of us—perhaps especially writers who are also followers of Jesus—struggle to clear. We must write books that meet needs—not needs that only the author knows about, but needs that are felt by our readers before they even see our book. Or why would they pick it up, let alone buy it, and read it?

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Category: Book Proposals, Conferences, Pitch, Pitching, The Writing LifeTag: Audience, book proposals, pitch, Pitching, readers

Author Says / Agent Hears

By Dan Balowon June 12, 2018
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Many aspiring authors communicate things they think are positive, or at least in the spirit of honesty and transparency, but end up being understood entirely different than the intended message. In an attempt to show commitment, an aspiring author says, “I’ve been working on this book for ten years.” An agent hears, “I am an extremely slow writer and once finished, enter a protracted spiral of …

Read moreAuthor Says / Agent Hears
Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, Pitch, Pitching, The Writing LifeTag: Agents, book proposals, Get Published, pitch, Pitching

Finding Time to Write

By Bob Hostetleron May 16, 2018
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How do you find time to write? You don’t. Non-writers try to find time to write; writers make time to write. A couple lifetimes ago, after having been a pastor for seven years, I took a desk job—the first time in my adult life when my job wasn’t 24/7. But it was also the first time when I had a boss on site, and set office hours. I had written and published a few articles every year during my …

Read moreFinding Time to Write
Category: Social Media, Technology, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: The Writing Life, Time

Your Obligation to Your Editor

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 3, 2018
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You’ve done all the hard work of writing and pitching a book and now your agent has secured a contract for you. Congratulations! Now you’re set to work with an editor! You may have met the editor at a conference. You may have talked with the editor many times during 15-minute pitch sessions over several years. You may have attended their workshops and spotlight sessions at conferences. This may be …

Read moreYour Obligation to Your Editor
Category: Editing, The Writing LifeTag: Editing, Editor, The Writing Life

Twenty-five More Quotes About the Writing and Publishing Process

By Bob Hostetleron May 2, 2018
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In recent weeks I have posted a bunch of quotes about words, writers, and writing. But there are so many that I had to return to this proverbial well once more. Following are twenty-five more quotes, mostly about the writing and publishing process, which have been sent to me by friends hither and yon (mostly yon). “Reading maketh a full man; and writing an exact man” (Francis Bacon). “It’s …

Read moreTwenty-five More Quotes About the Writing and Publishing Process
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Quotes, The Writing Life

Your Part in Your Agent Relationship

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 26, 2018
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Some writers want to work with an agent, but even after securing representation, don’t always take full advantage of the help an agent can offer. Agents appreciate authors not wanting to be high maintenance. However, it’s better to keep us in the loop than to leave us out. The expression, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure,” applies to so many situations that can occur! Manage …

Read moreYour Part in Your Agent Relationship
Category: Agency, Agents, Book Business, Career, The Writing LifeTag: Agents, Career, Contracts

How to Find Your Perfect Critique Partner

By Bob Hostetleron April 25, 2018
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When I teach at writers’ conferences, the value of good critique partners often comes up. An insightful critique partner can help a writer improve the level of his or her craft, sometimes more than either person would have thought possible. The conversation often leads to the question, “How do I find such a magical being?” Chances are, it’s not your mom. Your spouse is probably not your best …

Read moreHow to Find Your Perfect Critique Partner
Category: Career, Editing, The Writing LifeTag: Career, Critique Partners, The Writing Life

Make Much Ado of Your New Book

By Bob Hostetleron April 18, 2018
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(5 Ways to Plan a Success-Guaranteed Book Launch Event) I am no marketing genius, and though I’ve written fifty books, I still have much to learn about author and book publicity. But I nonetheless had a great time launching my book, The Bard and the Bible: A Shakespeare Devotional, a book of daily reflections drawn from a quote from Shakespeare and a verse from the King James Version of the Bible …

Read moreMake Much Ado of Your New Book
Category: Book Sales, Career, Marketing, Platform, The Writing LifeTag: Book Launch, Book Sales, Marketing, Platform

Your Obligations to Yourself

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 12, 2018
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Anyone who writes books knows it’s not a sprint, but a journey. Here are some tips for staying on the path: Allow Yourself Time No matter where you are in your career, allow yourself time to write. Making time may be especially hard before you start seeing income from your work if for no other reason, because someone paying you to write is a form of validation. But the more you persist, the …

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Category: Career, The Writing LifeTag: Career, The Writing Life, Writers

Two Kinds of Writers in the World

By Bob Hostetleron April 11, 2018
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I often tell developing writers at conferences that there are two kinds of writers in the world: the “hobbyist” and the “professional.” Yes, it’s an oversimplification. It’s shorthand. But I think it gets the point across. Both the hobbyist and the professional may be good writers, even great. Both may often work hard. Both are valuable and worthy of admiration. Both may publish. But there is a …

Read moreTwo Kinds of Writers in the World
Category: Editing, Get Published, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Career, Get Published, The Writing Life, Writers
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