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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 9

Book Business

Yippee Kay Yay Publishing

By Dan Balowon October 13, 2015
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There are so many metaphors we can use to describe what goes on in book publishing. Baseball, medicine, astronomy, physics, factory assembly lines, beavers gnawing on trees, hamsters on treadmills and many more each contain appropriate examples of various aspects of writing and publishing a book.

I believe one of the strongest metaphors is that of target shooting.

Ready. Aim. Fire.

Three simple words that can be used to explain everything from what an author does to how a publishing company operates.

Get Ready. Now Aim. Fire.

Take them out of order and you will not be an effective target shooter, or author, publisher, agent or anything.  Each of the three parts require some attention or else the next step is wasted.

Ready – education, training, practice, practice and more practice. Maintain your equipment. Feed your intuition with knowledge. Important to keep learning and growing.

Aim – If you don’t aim or have nothing to aim at, you definitely won’t hit a target, at least on purpose. You also cannot aim at two things at once. Speeding bullets do not ricochet in a controlled manner. It hits where it is aimed. Knowing what you want to accomplish focuses the training and practice. Knowing your author message platform, what you want to say or do is critical.  Knowing your audience is paramount.

Fire – A lot of emphasis on this today. “Just do it.” “Ship it.” Send it. Let someone see it.  Ask forgiveness rather than permission. Make the decision and live with it. Minimum Viable Product.

Maybe you can hit a bulls-eye by shooting at random targets with a dirty gun, but you will waste a lot of bullets and probably hurt someone.

Okay, now I am going to push this metaphor to its breaking point.

There are two kinds of writers and publishers of books. The marksman and the gunslinger.

Authors and smaller publishers primarily need to be marksmen because their resources are more limited.

Authors…it is just you. Each year has 365 days (or 366 every four years if you want to be a stickler) each with 24 hours. Time is limited.

Being a gunslinger is a lot more fun. Creatively, you write this and that, over here and then over there, try this and then that. This is just fine if you want to satisfy your creative desires and enjoy yourself by writing whatever you want.

Oh, you want to be a successful author?

Then you need to become a marksman. And an author-marksman prepares, practices and aims before they shoot. Not as spectacular as the wild west rodeo show with spinning six-guns, but focus usually wins over fanfare in publishing.

Smaller publishers need to be marksmen, with a clear purpose and goal (targets) simply because they need to be good stewards of limited resources.

Larger publishers still can’t be reckless, but they can be a little more like gunslingers than smaller publishers. Trying something new and different has a little more potential for the bigger publisher.

Publishing books is not a science, rather a mix of art and science, so this entire marksman vs. gunslinger comparison doesn’t mean that clear targets are discovered through some sort of computer program or scientific analysis of the word combinations in a manuscript.

But for authors, work needs to be a healthy combination of preparation, focus and a deadline (either self or publisher-imposed) so you know when it is time to fire.

Or  hit “send”, which seems a lot less violent.

 

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Category: Book Business, Book Business, Book Proposals, Career, Marketing, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Business, The Publishing Life

A $100,000 Threshold for a Worthy Book?

By Steve Laubeon July 20, 2015
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Recently Brad Martin, the President and CEO of Penguin Random House Canada, was quoted as saying the following: “I’m not interested in a book that is going to generate less than $100,000 in revenue unless the editor or publisher [division] has a compelling vision for the book and/or the author…If the person that’s championing that book in the acquisitions meeting doesn’t have a compelling view of …

Read moreA $100,000 Threshold for a Worthy Book?
Category: Book Business, Book Business, Economics, MoneyTag: Book Business, Economics, Money

Please…Preach to the Choir

By Karen Ballon July 15, 2015
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  How often have you heard a writer say, “My book isn’t for church people. I mean, I don’t want to preach to the choir, I want to reach those searching for Christ.” Not for nothing, but friends, who do you think is in the choir? Sure, some of the people sitting in the pews of any given church are life-long believers who know all they need to know about God and living a life of faith. I mean, …

Read morePlease…Preach to the Choir
Category: Book Business, Book Business, Book Proposals, Career, Christian, Creativity, Faith, TrendsTag: Christian, Craft, Faith

Christian Fiction is Not Dead

By Steve Laubeon July 13, 2015
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Last week’s news of Abingdon Press deciding to no longer acquire new Christian fiction has created another clamor of claims regarding the demise of Christian fiction. The articles, emails, and comments range from glee (“it needs to die”) to consternation (“woe is me of ever getting a book deal”). Fewer Publishers There is no question that there has been considerable shrinkage in the …

Read moreChristian Fiction is Not Dead
Category: Book Business, Economics, TrendsTag: Book Business, Christian Fiction, Trends

Bestsellers Twenty Years Ago

By Dan Balowon June 30, 2015
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Twice each year, I take this space on the agency blog and make a trip down memory lane to see what books were selling many years ago. If you understand from where books have come, you can understand where books are going. Below is the New York Times bestseller list from July 2, 1995 and the Christian Booksellers Association list from July, 1995. A lot has happened in twenty years. NOTE: Check out …

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Category: Book Business, TrendsTag: Bestsellers, Trends

The Great Slot Mystery

By Dan Balowon May 26, 2015
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Every traditional publishing company has a personality or focus that defines them and their product. Usually that personality or focus is determined by past success. They also know how many books they can effectively publish during a year. Combining focus and capacity, you have the beginnings of a publishing strategy. No publisher (or for that matter any company) will succeed for long unless they …

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Category: Book Business, The Publishing LifeTag: Categories, publishing, The Publishing Life

How Many People Are Involved in Publishing Your Book?

By Steve Laubeon May 18, 2015
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The above photo is somewhat illustrative of the number of people involved in getting your book to market. Even if you self-publish there are still many functions that you may have not done yourself. Below is not an exhaustive list but a rambling stream of consciousness when thinking about the people who are involved in the publishing process: Author (kinda important) literary agent (we think this …

Read moreHow Many People Are Involved in Publishing Your Book?
Category: Book Business, Book Business, Defense of Traditional Publishing, Marketing, The Publishing LifeTag: Book Business, Traditional Publishing

Tools from the Front Lines: Writers Conferences

By Karen Ballon April 8, 2015
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Last week this time, I was sitting beneath towering redwoods, the warm sun tickling my neck, watching as writers from all over the country converged to learn and commune at the Mount Hermon Christian Writers’ Conference. And I realized that, over the 35 years or so I’ve been involved in the Christian publishing world, like Steve, I’ve attended close to 150 writers conferences! Now, admittedly, I …

Read moreTools from the Front Lines: Writers Conferences
Category: Book Business, Career, Conferences, Get Published, TrendsTag: Get Published, writers conferences

To Those Who Went Before Us…Thanks A Lot

By Dan Balowon April 7, 2015
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Any author who experiences disappointment is bound to ask the question, “What am I doing wrong?” Using Rick Warren’s first line of The Purpose Driven Life, “It’s not about you,” might just be one explanation of why it is so hard to get published and succeed at it. Whether you have already been published or are an aspiring author, the greatest threat to your present or future writing career could …

Read moreTo Those Who Went Before Us…Thanks A Lot
Category: Book Business, Career, Rejection, The Publishing LifeTag: Rejection, The Publishing Life

It Really Is Like Riding A Bike

By Guest Bloggeron March 31, 2015
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By Michelle Van Loon Today, I’d like to introduce Michelle Van Loon as guest blogger for Holy Week. In 2016, NavPress will publish her new book focusing on the connections between Jewish traditions and our Christian faith. Michelle’s deeply-rooted faith in Christ and secular Jewish heritage are apparent in her creative, carefully-crafted storytelling. A focus on spiritual formation and education …

Read moreIt Really Is Like Riding A Bike
Category: Book Business, Career, Creativity, Get Published, Guest Post, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Memory, The Writing Life
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