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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 » Trends

Trends

Book Proposals I’d Love to See (What Tamela Hancock Murray Is Looking For)

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 19, 2023
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(Updated 1/19/2023)

I’m thankful to the Lord that I’m a literary agent working for Him in Christian publishing. I’m grateful to the readers of this blog for being part of our writing community.

As for approaching me with your work, let’s see if our passions match:

Christian Romantic Suspense and Suspense

Readers of Christian romantic suspense and suspense are a large and devoted fan base. I’m privileged to represent many significant authors in this space. I would like to see category novels and longer stories.

The suspense author creates a realistic situation involving immediate, life-threatening danger that doesn’t diminish until the perpetrator is apprehended. Authors must know proper law enforcement procedures, weapons, and how criminals think and operate. The plot needs to be logical. The motive must be strong enough to justify the crime. The reader is waiting to see the reason for the crime, so a weak motive will diminish the reader’s enjoyment of the novel. But a twisty conclusion will encourage readers to become lifelong fans!

Romantic suspense novelists should follow the above guidelines, but stories must feature a compelling and natural romance. The couple is in imminent danger. The romantic protagonists are appealing both inside and out, emphasizing personality and integrity over physical appearance.

Historical and Contemporary Christian Romance Novels

Christian romance readers love their authors and books. I’m honored to be an agent entrusted by many prominent authors to represent their work. I would like to see category romance novels, as well as longer novels.

This author creates a fresh take on traditional plots for uplifting, inspiring stories. The author is an expert in the chosen setting, attitudes, and mores of the time. For example, to ensure accuracy, authors of Amish fiction should have a close connection with the particular community they’re portraying in their novels.

When considering historical novels, choose an era you’re passionate about enough to spend numberless hours researching. Hone the discipline to include historical elements the reader needs to know and will enjoy while keeping nonessential factoids off the page.

As with all Christian romance novels, the star couple is attractive inside and out, emphasizing sincere charm, temperament, and integrity over physical attributes.

Other Christian Fiction

I seek a tale well told that deserves a place in CBA. While novels not within a genre may have fewer guidelines, traditional publishers seek a word-count range. For example, a standalone 30,000-word novella and a 250,000-word novel from an unproven author are each likely to secure rejections from traditional publishers. Unfortunately, I must decline many submissions because of length.

General Market Fiction

My list boasts successful authors writing for the general market. Some authors on my roster write for both the Christian and general market because I only represent clean reads. This author has studied the market and knows where and why the work will fit.

Nonfiction

The importance of platform here is magnified a thousandfold in comparison with fiction. I need to see an author already connecting with a sizable number of potential readers.

Nonfiction readers seek insight, help, knowledge, and encouragement. An author must show authority in the chosen topic when delivering a book to these readers.

Dynamic writing is essential, even when the topic is intense. I love books that beg me to read them even when the subject doesn’t apply to me. Now that’s a well-written and engaging book.

Read Before Writing

Writers eager to be published must know the competition, so read what’s already available, preferably published within the last couple of years. Take notes to keep from repeating the same settings or ideas in fiction. The nonfiction author should make sure an author with an international platform has yet to publish a similar book.

Visit publishers’ websites to discover their books. Some publishers offer submissions guidelines.

Hearing From Me

We aren’t perfect in our response speed. Please follow up if you don’t hear from us. Every submission we receive is reviewed. We attempt to respond to every offer. You can send proposals to ewilson@www.stevelaube.com. (Please visit the guidelines for specifics.)

I look forward to hearing from you!

 

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Category: Agency, Book Business, Book Proposals, Career, Craft, Creativity, Romance, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Agency, book proposals

Bring the Books (What Steve Laube Is Looking For)

By Steve Laubeon January 16, 2023
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Read moreBring the Books (What Steve Laube Is Looking For)
Category: Agency, Book Proposals, Creativity, TrendsTag: Agency, book proposals

Book Industry Trends

By Steve Laubeon November 7, 2022
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Publishing is partly an exercise in guessing what might be the next surprise bestseller. Some of it is an educated guess based on certain trends we see in the industry and in society at large. Any exercise in naming these trends bears the risk of expressing the obvious or being out of date the moment they are stated. So bear with me as I tinker with some of the factors that are either influencing …

Read moreBook Industry Trends
Category: Book Business, Contracts, E-Books, Get Published, TrendsTag: book industry, Trends

Publishing Is Publishing

By Dan Balowon October 6, 2022
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Every part of the book publishing ecosystem adjusted its perspective to accommodate both traditional publishing and author-published works. It wasn’t long ago these two paths were treated as either/or decisions; but now they are both/and. Many traditional publishers offer author-paid services, some agents have indie services for clients, and a large number of authors publish both traditional and …

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Category: Book Business, Book Business, Indie, Marketing, Self-Publishing, Trends

Just the Facts

By Dan Balowon August 17, 2022
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With the omnipresence of social media and other ways for people to directly express opinions, Christian writers should take extra care to be aware of the facts when it comes to both theology and society. Since Christians actually believe there is truth and it is knowable, Christian writers should be a lot more like classic journalists, researching, studying, and reporting truth, rather than simply …

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Category: Reading, The Writing Life, Trends

What Do You Read to Stay Informed?

By Steve Laubeon June 20, 2022
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I am occasionally asked to list the magazines, newsletters, and blogs I read to stay informed about our industry. It is a good question. But when I started compiling the list, I realized how ridiculously long it is. Therefore, I can only list selected highlights by type of media. Lest you get the wrong impression, realize I’m an eclectic reader who skims the surface of the waters gleaning …

Read moreWhat Do You Read to Stay Informed?
Category: Book Business, Reading, TrendsTag: Informed, Reading

21st-Century Writing

By Bob Hostetleron October 13, 2021
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I’ve been writing and publishing for a long time. Just look at me: a lonnnnng time. During those many years of experience, I’ve learned a thing or two. Maybe three. And among the things I’ve learned about writing for publication is that writers in the twenty-first century must do things differently than writers in previous centuries. Sure, generally speaking, the rules of fiction and nonfiction …

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Category: Grammar, Language, The Publishing Life, The Writing Life, Trends, Writing Craft

Men Read Too

By Dan Balowon August 26, 2021
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I first wrote about “Writing to Men” in this post five years ago. I still hold the same opinions about this issue, but today I want to take a different angle. One of the many factors explaining why more books are not read by men and more authors don’t write to men is that we tend to view them as a singular group who are all alike. Not so for women, as there are books for just about every life …

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Category: Book Sales, Trends

Visual Marketing for Your Books

By Steve Laubeon August 2, 2021
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Yesterday, August 1, was the 40th anniversary of the launch of MTV. Back in 1981 Music Television (MTV) debuted on a cable channel initially only available in New Jersey. It eventually changed the way music was consumed in the pre-Internet era. It quickly became a vital part of the music industry and worked its way into pop culture. A number of years ago, many authors began using video trailers as …

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Category: Branding, Marketing, Trends

Bookstore Economics 101

By Steve Laubeon May 3, 2021
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by Steve Laube

Understanding the economics of your local brick-and-mortar bookstore should help you understand the upheaval that is happening in our industry. So put on your math cap and let's take a ride.

This article focuses on the bookstore not the publisher or the writer. I spent over a decade in the Christian bookstore business, and while that was a long time ago the economic principles …

Read moreBookstore Economics 101
Category: Book Business, Book Sales, TrendsTag: Book Sales, Bookstore, Economics
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