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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 » Book Business

Book Business

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

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 …

Read moreDeadlines and Taxes
Category: Book Business, Legal Issues, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Contracts, taxes, Writing Craft

L Is for Libel

By Steve Laubeon May 9, 2022
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by Steve Laube

 To libel someone is to injure a person’s reputation via the written word (slander is for the spoken word). I wrote recently about Indemnification but only touched on this topic. Let’s try to unpack it a little further today.

First, be aware that the laws that define defamation vary from state to state, however there are some commonly accepted guidelines. Anyone can claim …

Read moreL Is for Libel
Category: Book Business, Contracts, Publishing A-ZTag: Libel, Publishing A-Z

I Is for Indemnification

By Steve Laubeon April 25, 2022
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by Steve Laube

Publishing is not without risks. Plagiarism, fraud, and libel by an author are real possibilities. Thus within a book contract is a legal clause called indemnification inserted to protect the publisher from your antics.

The indemnification clause, in essence, says that if someone sues your publisher because of your book, claiming something like libel (defamation) or …

Read moreI Is for Indemnification
Category: Book Business, Contracts, Copyright, Legal Issues, Publishing A-ZTag: Contracts, indemnification, lawsuit, warranty

A Is for Agent

By Steve Laubeon March 14, 2022
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by Steve Laube

I thought it might be fun to write a series that addresses some of the basic terms that define our industry. The perfect place to start, of course, is the letter "A." And even better to start with the word "Agent."

If you are a writer, you've got it easy. When you say you are a writer your audience lights up because they know what that means. (Their perception is that you …

Read moreA Is for Agent
Category: Agents, Book Business, Book Business, Career, Creativity, E-Books, Legal Issues, Publishing A-Z, Writing CraftTag: Agent, Book Business, publishing

B Is for Buy Back

By Steve Laubeon February 28, 2022
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by Steve Laube

Many authors are also speakers and as such usually have a book table in the back of the room where the audience can purchase a copy of their book during an event. This can be a very valuable source of income for the author if they have negotiated a “buy back” price (also known as the author’s discount) at the time of signing their book contract.

Check Your Contract …

Read moreB Is for Buy Back
Category: Book Business, Publishing A-ZTag: Author Buy Back, Author Purchases, Author Sales Tax, Book Business, Publishing A-Z

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

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon January 20, 2022
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(Updated 1/20/2022) Every morning, I wake up thankful to the Lord to be 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. I always tell writers that I want you not to be with just any agent, but with the right agent for yourself. As for approaching me with your work, we can start with whether or not you are …

Read moreBook Proposals I’d Love to See (What Tamela Hancock Murray Is Looking For)
Category: Agency, Book Business, Book Proposals, Career, Craft, Creativity, Romance, Trends, Writing CraftTag: Agency, book proposals

A Is for Advance

By Steve Laubeon November 22, 2021
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by Steve Laube

Whenever I lecture about money the room becomes unusually quiet. Instead of a common restlessness from listeners there is a thrumming impatience to reveal the punch line. The punch line that declares every writer will be rich.

Now that I have our attention let’s turn to the topic of the day. The Advance. This is defined as the money a publisher pays to the author in …

Read moreA Is for Advance
Category: Agency, Book Business, Publishing A-ZTag: advances, Book Business, Publishing A-Z

What to Do About Morals?

By Steve Laubeon November 8, 2021
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In a post written last weekend Richard Curtis, agent extraordinaire, expressed surprise at a new morality clause that has apparently appeared in HarperCollins' contracts. Read his post here [warning: there is some Adult content and comments included in the post].

What the general market doesn't realize is that many Faith-based publishers have had a "moral turpitude" clause in their contracts …

Read moreWhat to Do About Morals?
Category: Book Business, Contracts, Legal IssuesTag: Book Business, Contracts, Legal Issues
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