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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 72

The Writing Life

A Writer’s Water Bill: A Hidden Cost of Doing Business

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 22, 2018
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If you’re dreaming of being a successful writer, you may not be aware of some hidden costs of doing business, such as buying your marvelous editor dinner every week,  subscribing to writing magazines and buying books on the writing craft, sending your fabulous agent gourmet coffee every month, increased coffee consumption for creativity and energy, a whopping Internet bill to help you do the inevitable research and access the latest sales at Nordstrom quickly and efficiently, and having Mr. Cheezzy’s Pizza Mindful Vegan to Go Restaurant on speed dial when multiple deadlines loom.

But you didn’t think about your water bill, did you? If you’re one of those writers who contemplates characters and plots while showering, perhaps you’ve seen an uptick in your water bill when you’re under deadline, or just pondering the prospect of sending your book baby into the world. If so, you’re in good company, as you will see from the water bill Lisa Carter’s husband submitted to her. Seems her most productive writing time coincided with an increase in water usage. Hmmm.

Was it worth it? Take a look at Lisa’s books and see what you think! http://lisacarterauthor.com/

Your turn:

Are you writing a book now?

When do you usually come up with your best ideas?

Leave a Comment
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Creativity, Money, The Writing Life

7 Good Reasons to Self-Publish

By Bob Hostetleron February 21, 2018
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I have mentioned before on this site (here and, most recently, here) that aspiring writers often shoot their publishing futures in the foot, so to speak, by self-publishing a book (or books). I won’t repeat myself again (see what I did there?). Instead, I will talk briefly about the good reasons to self-publish. There are many bad reasons to do so, of course (because no agents or editors seem to …

Read more7 Good Reasons to Self-Publish
Category: Indie, Self-Publishing, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Indie, Self-Publishing, The Publishing Life

Losing Track of Time

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 15, 2018
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When I first started sending books and articles to editors in hopes of being selected for publication, the passage of time possessed few markers. For example, the mail arrived once a day. There was no trail like this on the touchtone wall phone: Wednesday, 10 AM: Your Amazon order was received. Wednesday, 8 PM: Your Amazon order was shipped. Thursday, 11 AM: Your Amazon package is scheduled for …

Read moreLosing Track of Time
Category: The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, Trends

Markets are Different Than You Think

By Dan Balowon February 13, 2018
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Last week I addressed the issue of trying to be too specific or too general in identifying a reader-market and the need to continually address new generations. Today, let’s discuss the culture in the United States and the Christian writer. Here are some unavoidable things to keep in mind as you write: Ours is an “entertainment culture” where all forms of diversion are more important than just …

Read moreMarkets are Different Than You Think
Category: Communication, Marketing, The Writing LifeTag: Audience, Communication, readers, The Writing Life

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

The Writer’s Attitude

By Bob Hostetleron February 7, 2018
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Winston Churchill has been credited with the saying, “Attitude is a little thing that makes a big difference.” That may be nowhere truer than in publishing, and certainly in Christian publishing. The right attitude can make or break a writer. And the right attitude can take a fair writer to places that a gifted writer with a bad attitude can never go. What kinds of attitudes should a writer have? …

Read moreThe Writer’s Attitude
Category: The Writing LifeTag: Attitude, The Writing Life

Marketing to Younger Readers

By Dan Balowon February 6, 2018
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A challenge for book promoters is trying to market to a narrow group of people and discovering they are not easily distinguished one from another.  People are born every day and there is no definable space between demographic markets. Generational identifiers are not scientific, but arbitrary for marketing convenience sake. In case you don’t know all the terms: Traditionalists – Born up to 1945 …

Read moreMarketing to Younger Readers
Category: Marketing, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, TrendsTag: Marketing, readers, The Publishing Life

Once in a Blue Moon Publishing

By Steve Laubeon February 5, 2018
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Someone called the other day and asked, “If I’ve self-published my book and want you to consider it for representation, should I even bother sending it? Or am I toast?” I answered, “It depends.” [For you regular readers, do you think that should become the motto of the Agency?] The question suggests it is an either/or proposition…determined by a set of rules that cannot be broken. The reality is …

Read moreOnce in a Blue Moon Publishing
Category: Book Proposals, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Independent Publishing, Movie rights, Traditional Publishing

Timing Myths Dispelled

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 1, 2018
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Sometimes I receive submissions with the note, “I want to get this to the editor before fill in the name of the big conference, or before the holiday, or whatever! Does this make sense? I can answer this question right now. The perfect time to submit a manuscript is… Thursday, 4:45 AM local time, in Guam. Seriously, I understand the desire to enhance a submission’s chances by timing it when the …

Read moreTiming Myths Dispelled
Category: Book Proposals, The Writing LifeTag: book proposals, Submissions

A Writer’s Best Friend

By Bob Hostetleron January 31, 2018
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If I asked you what you considered to be a writer’s best friend, what would you say? Please don’t say “Wikipedia.” My clients would probably reply, “Bob Hostetler.” But that can’t be everyone’s answer. You might consider “a fine fountain pen” or “a blank page in a brand new journal” to be your best friend as a writer. Maybe the thesaurus is your best friend (ally, associate, buddy, companion, …

Read moreA Writer’s Best Friend
Category: Craft, Grammar, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Grammar, Writing Craft
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