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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 » Writing Craft

Writing Craft

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 information quickly. Occasionally, I will dive deep for real food; but mostly it is a thin sampling. Five miles wide and two inches deep is one description. I estimate that I read/skim at least 200+ pages each week of industry-related material, just to stay on top of this ever-changing profession.

Note the intentional diversity of theological and political perspectives. I believe it is important to read widely to stimulate your thinking.

Magazines (received in the mail)

Topic: Publishing Industry (not many print publications left)

Publishers Weekly
Writer’s Digest

Topic: Christian Worldview

World
Christian Century
Charisma
Touchstone
Salvo
Modern Reformation
Tabletalk
Plough
Sports Spectrum
Bible Study Magazine

 Topic: Business/Finance

Bloomberg Businessweek

Topic: Miscellaneous

BBC Music Magazine (classical music world)
BBC History Magazine
Biblical Archeology Review
Christian History
Consumer Reports

Email Subscriptions: These newsletters arrive periodically in a separate inbox reserved for this kind of information. These are not RSS emails; they are email newsletters. Some, as indicated, are paid subscriptions. In no particular order:

Publishers Lunch (a part of Publisher\’s Marketplace)
Publishers Weekly Daily
PW Religion Bookline
1440 Daily Digest (best free summary of yesterday\’s news)
Shelf Awareness Pro
Rush to Press from ECPA
The Hot Sheet by Jane Friedman (I\’m glad to subscribe to her insightful, weekly newsletter. She is one of the smartest observers of the publishing industry.)
The Worldview Bulletin Newsletter (brilliant writing by brilliant thinkers)
Banner of Truth magazine (comes monthly as a PDF)
Text & Canon Institute
The Passive Voice
Family Fiction
Thirdmill Weekly (Biblical Perspectives Magazine)
Terms of Service with Chris Martin (biblical worldview perspectives on technology)

I also have bookmarks, on my customized browser home page, to a half dozen sites that I visit regularly. Each day I view Not the Bee and The Babylon Bee. (I happily pay a membership to have access to all the bonus content on both these sites.) Other daily visits include Tim Challies, The Christian Post, and The Stream. The most intriguing articles I send to myself as an email using the Chrome plug-in called AddtoAny. I rely on my customized browser home page for world news updates.

Blogs: Bazqux Reader is the main collector of over 300 RSS subscriptions. Some are blogs and some are RSS feeds from a website. I then use the FeeddlerPro app on my iPad. This app draws from the Bazqux Reader and helps me to read these feeds each day as part of my morning routine after reading the newspaper. The app allows me to scan the headlines quickly and send ones I want to read more carefully to myself as an email. These RSS feeds are grouped into nine categories for ease of organization (Publishing, Marketing, Theology, Technology, Blogging, Clients, Daily, Weekly, and Christian Writers).

I subscribe to far too many blogs to list here. (You really don\’t want to follow 300+ blogs; you have better things to do.)

There you have it. A ridiculous list of information. However, to do my job effectively, I need to keep on top of what is going on. Yes, I have read Nicholas Carr\’s book The Shallows: What the Internet Is Doing to Our Brains.  It is a terrifying read due to its insight and accuracy, but I know of no other way to keep abreast of our industry.

Your Turn: Is there another source you would suggest or blogger I should be following (other than yourself)?

Leave a Comment
Category: Book Business, Reading, TrendsTag: Informed, Reading

Your After-Conference Checklist

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 16, 2022
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Since the conference season is in full swing, you may have just returned from a beautiful event of learning and fellowship. Or you may be planning to go to a conference soon. With that in mind, consider a checklist of what to do upon your return. 1.) Rest. Give yourself at least a day after travel to refresh and relax. I realize very few authors take this advice, but I offer it all the same. …

Read moreYour After-Conference Checklist
Category: Conferences

Hints for a Great Cover Letter

By Steve Laubeon June 13, 2022
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Here are a few suggestions for you to consider when approaching an agent. Remember to use these as hints…do not follow them slavishly as if a literary agent is going to spend their time critiquing your cover letter.

By the way, we make a distinction between a cover letter and a query letter. A cover letter is what goes on top of a longer proposal and sample chapters. The query letter is a …

Read moreHints for a Great Cover Letter
Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, Publishing A-Z, Writing CraftTag: book proposals, Cover Letter, Pitching

The Bronze Mirror

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 8, 2022
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I’m reading the HCSB Study Bible for Women with notes from Dorothy Kelley Patterson and Rhonda Harrington Kelley. The notes on Exodus 38:8 discuss how women donated bronze mirrors to build Temple basins for the priests. I thought, Bronze. That means they never saw themselves as we see ourselves. They only saw themselves through a yellow haze. I realize the Bible speaks of mirrors more than …

Read moreThe Bronze Mirror
Category: Craft, Inspiration

When You Hit the Wall of Discouragement

By Steve Laubeon June 6, 2022
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by Steve Laube
 
I recently received the following question from a client (an award winning author):
Is it common for an author to hit a wall of discouragement? To feel as though they're working so hard for so little? To question why they're doing this?

Unfortunately it is quite common. Doesn't mean it aches any less. Sort of like getting old…everyone does and it aches, but it is a common …

Read moreWhen You Hit the Wall of Discouragement
Category: Book Business, Career, Personal, Writing CraftTag: Career, Discouragement

Deadlines and Taxes

By Steve Laubeon May 23, 2022
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Two certainties in the life of a writer. Deadlines and Taxes.

You know what a deadlines is. It has the word “dead” in it for a reason. And intrinsic to the reality of taxes is that April 15th filing deadline.

But what about those taxes?

Many articles appear in early April about taxes when approaching the filing date. But I thought we should explore a couple items now so there won’t be any …

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Category: Book Business, Legal Issues, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Contracts, taxes, Writing Craft

The Writers Conference Bell Curve

By Bob Hostetleron May 19, 2022
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I’ve attended and presented at Christian writers conferences for more than three decades. (I know, I don’t look anywhere near old enough to make that claim, and thank you.) I’ve sometimes served on faculty at as many as a dozen conferences in a given year. (I know, it’s hard to believe that many conference directors would actually book me for their event, no offense taken.) And so I suppose I’ve …

Read moreThe Writers Conference Bell Curve
Category: Conferences

The Conference Appointment

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 18, 2022
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If you’re preparing to go to a writers conference, here are a few tips based on questions authors have asked over the years about agent and editor appointments: 1. What do I wear?  Each conference has its own personality. Visit the conference website to glean information concerning accommodations and weather. Comfortable, flattering clothes that show polish are available at different price …

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Category: Conferences

My Editor Made My Book Worse!

By Steve Laubeon May 16, 2022
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by Steve Laube

You just received a 15 page single spaced editorial letter from your publisher. They want you to rewrite most of the book. But you disagree with the letter and are spitting mad. What do you do?

Or your agent took a look at your manuscript and told you to cut it in half to make it sellable. What do you do?

Both examples are true stories and illustrate the universal …

Read moreMy Editor Made My Book Worse!
Category: Craft, Editing, Steve, Writing CraftTag: Editing, Writing Craft

Does Faith Limit Creativity?

By Dan Balowon May 12, 2022
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No, it doesn’t. Look at nature or biology or astronomy and see how creative our God is. If anything, a Christian can see things clearer and be inspired to even greater creativity than someone who is not a Christ-follower. But, I think writers of Christian books have limited their vision for what they can write about; and maybe, just maybe, publishers have a role to play in limiting creativity. A …

Read moreDoes Faith Limit Creativity?
Category: Creativity
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