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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 » Page 5

Book Business

When Your Proposal Doesn’t Sell

By Steve Laubeon May 10, 2021
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It happens. Despite all efforts and good intentions, not every proposal we shop will end up being contracted by a major publisher. Of course, our agency tries our best to keep that from happening. We carefully choose which projects and authors we represent. We work with our clients to create and develop top-notch proposals. And our success rate is extremely high.

But that success rate is not 100%.

Here are four examples of projects I represented in years past that did not sell to a major publisher (but great projects nonetheless):

  1. The autobiography of a well-known, former NFL coach who became a follower of Christ late in life. In his later years, he devoted considerable time to prison ministry. The story gave deep background into his time in the NFL.
  2. An extraordinary graphic novel series. It was ahead of its time, but no publisher was willing to take the obvious risk to produce and distribute the project. The author-artist later found his own backing and formed a company to create the material. They found a nontraditional distributor and ended up selling more than 250,000 units.
  3. An already self-published book on the importance of character in a person’s life, what it is and how to cultivate it. The author was a judge and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court in his state. His credentials were impeccable. He was media-ready and spoke regularly on the topic.
  4. A supernatural fiction manuscript that caught my eye for its great story line and wonderful storytelling. The combination of being a debut author and having a thinly veiled science-fiction thread caused it to be rejected by everyone. The author shelved it and wrote another novel, which didn’t sell. The author shelved that one and began writing nonfiction where the author has become quite successful.

So what do you do if your project doesn’t capture a major publisher’s attention?

Try Again
See the fourth example above where the author did not give up, even switched to a different discipline entirely and found the perfect outlet for his talent. This is the most-common solution for professional writers. Tears of frustration may be shed, but they step back and come up with a new idea.

There’s more to this story! After developing a following as a nonfiction writer and a platform, I sold that original novel to a publisher nine years after the original attempt. Then seven years after that the author was able to publish yet another novel.

Do It Yourself
Let me reiterate that self-publishing is always an option if (a) you have an audience to which to sell the book, (b) you have the gumption to be an entrepreneur and sell your project successfully, and (c) you have the money to invest in making it an excellent final product. The first example above is what this author did. He was well loved in his community, even did local TV commercials, and thus had a ready-made market for his story. (He passed away a couple of years after publishing his book, but it remains in print to this day.) This is a perfect example of where self-publishing makes a lot of sense.

Find Another Way–Anything Is Possible
The second example above illustrates this strategy. The author did not take no for an answer and ended up with a company behind his work.

The judge, example three above, retired from his position and continued to speak and influence those around him. He continued to sell his self-published book to his listening audience. He was no worse off than before he approached me for representation. He gave it a shot, and it didn’t work out.

Or do as one lady did at a writers conference. During her 15-minute writers conference appointment, she asked me point-blank, “Do I have what it takes to be a successful writer?” I stammered a bit, not wanting to hurt her feelings. “You have the foundation of a good story, but it is going to take a lot of work to get it ready to be competitive.” She thanked me and abruptly ended the meeting. Later that afternoon she came bounding up to me full of smiles. She proclaimed, “I quit! I called my husband and told him I’m quitting this writing stuff and taking up knitting instead. I’m so happy! Thank you for telling me how much work it was going to take. I’d rather spend that time doing something I know I will enjoy.” The moral of that story is to ask yourself the ultimate question of whether you are willing to continue to work hard in order to overcome any objections to your next idea.

______________________

[A version of this post ran in February 2013. It has been thoroughly revised and updated.]

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Category: Agency, Book Business, Book Proposals, Get Published, Self-Publishing, The Writing LifeTag: book proposals, Get Published

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 …

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Category: Book Business, Book Sales, TrendsTag: Book Sales, Bookstore, Economics

When the Outlook Is Bleak

By Steve Laubeon April 26, 2021
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by Steve Laube

In the constant ebb and flow of this industry we have authors celebrating and authors in tears. Ask any agent and you will hear the same. For every author excited about their new contract there is another experiencing bitter disappointment.

And I wish I could fix it.

To hear the anguish is difficult, but to be the one who delivers the bad news is heart-wrenching. Why is it …

Read moreWhen the Outlook Is Bleak
Category: Book Business, Career, TheologyTag: Career, Encouragement, Outlook

Age Is Just a Number

By Steve Laubeon March 22, 2021
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by Steve Laube

Last Friday in the comments Dr. Richard Mabry wrote, "Tired after doing a few household chores that never used to leave me dragging. Now I’m ready to be up and dancing. Age is just a number, isn’t it?"

Then on Saturday I spoke at the Christian Writes of the West mini-conference where one of the writers asked "Do older writers have a chance? Especially if agents and …

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Category: Book Business, Career, CreativityTag: Age, Career

Am I on a Deadline?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon February 25, 2021
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Many authors submit book proposals to agents and editors with the thought, If this doesn’t work, I’ll self-publish. That plan is reasonable. However, when strategizing your career, consider the timeline. As an agency, we set a time frame to respond to author queries. Often, we miss our stated deadline. In working with other publishing professionals, we are aware that this is an industry-wide …

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Category: Book Business, Rejection, Self-Publishing, The Writing Life

Welcome Back, Dan Balow!

By Steve Laubeon January 18, 2021
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by Steve Laube

I am very excited to announce that Dan Balow has joined our agency as the Director of Publishing Development and Literary Agent. This gives us four members of our team, me, Tamela Hancock Murray, Karen Ball, and Dan.

I’ve been looking for ways to increase the services our agency provides to current and potential clients. I have known Dan for 15 years and by adding him to our …

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Category: Agency, Book BusinessTag: Agency, Dan Balow

Are You High Maintenance?

By Steve Laubeon November 16, 2020
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by Steve Laube

Last week I was asked to define what is meant when an author is deemed "high maintenance" by an agent or a publisher. The more I thought about this the more I realized how difficult it is to quantify. Any attempt to do so is fraught with potential misunderstanding because most people are looking for specific rules to follow.

Normally "high maintenance" is a description of …

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Category: Agents, Book Business, Get Published, The Writing LifeTag: Agents, Editors, high maintenance, publishers

Ten Commandments for Working with Your Agent

By Steve Laubeon November 9, 2020
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By request, here are my ten commandments for working with your agent. Break them at your own peril. Thou shalt vent only to thine agent and never directly to thy publisher or editor. Thou shalt not get whipped into a frenzy by the industry rumor mill fomented by the Internet. Asketh thy agent if what you’ve heard is true. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s success. Be content with …

Read moreTen Commandments for Working with Your Agent
Category: Agency, Book Business, Get PublishedTag: Book Business, Contracts, Copyright, Facebook, Get Published, Internet Usage, Marketing

What if You Get a Book Deal on Your Own and Then Want an Agent?

By Steve Laubeon October 12, 2020
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One of our readers asked this via the green “Ask us a question” button.
What happens if you get a book contract before you have an agent? What if, by some miracle, an editor sees your work and wants to publish it? (1) would having a publisher interested in my work make an agent much more likely to represent me, and (2) would it be appropriate to try to find an agent at that point (when a …

Read moreWhat if You Get a Book Deal on Your Own and Then Want an Agent?
Category: Agents, Book Business, Conferences, Contracts, Get Published, SteveTag: Agent, Conferences, Contracts, negotiations, publishers

Learn the Lingo

By Bob Hostetleron September 16, 2020
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The opening scene of the Meredith Wilson musical The Music Man begins on a train, as a bunch of salesmen debate the best sales techniques. One salesman, however, insists repeatedly, “You gotta know the territory.” That applies not only to selling “the noggins, and the piggins, and the firkins,” but also to writing for publication. So I asked a number of my writing friends and clients what …

Read moreLearn the Lingo
Category: Book Business, Contracts, The Publishing Life
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