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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 » Page 69

Writing Craft

Do You Give Them What They Really Want?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 8, 2013
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Last weekend, my husband and I attended a family wedding in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. Though we didn’t have a chance to do much touring, we did drive through the town and neighboring Gatlinburg. We noticed that the shops, amusements, and attractions reminded us of another vacation spot we enjoy, Myrtle Beach, South Carolina. Except we were in the beautiful Smoky Mountains rather than at the sunny beach.

The tourist towns did their best to appeal to what their audiences want, yet each is unique. For instance, Tennessee boasts pottery made by local artisans while you’ll find opportunities to buy magnificent shells at the beach. Yet you’ll find frozen yogurt, putt-putt golf, carnival rides, concerts, restaurants, and other attractions at both locales.

Since I love books, I couldn’t help but make a comparison, and genre fiction came to mind. Each story holds elements of appeal to their audience. For instance, no romance novel is devoid of a heroine and hero falling in love. No mystery novel leaves the crime unsolved. Yet each story contains its own unique elements that readers will find fresh and enjoyable. Which is why readers keep reading!

Your turn:

What is your favorite vacation spot? Why do you return to it year after year?

What is your favorite genre fiction? What is its appeal to you?

Do you have a favorite author who writes a certain type of fiction, yet stays fresh?

Leave a Comment
Category: Craft, Creativity, Genre, Romance, TamelaTag: fiction, Genre

Be More Dog!

By Karen Ballon August 7, 2013
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Last Friday our blog featured a wonderful video called "Be More Dog." My dad had introduced it to me a couple weeks ago.

As I watched it, I realized what great advice this is for us as writers. In your writing, in your career, be more dog! How, you ask? Simple…

Meet each day—and each challenge—with abandon. Jump at the day, ready to take on whatever comes. Live in the moment. Embrace the …

Read moreBe More Dog!
Category: Book Business, Career, Creativity, Fun Fridays, Karen, Personal, Writing CraftTag: Career

One Day at a Time Technology

By Dan Balowon August 6, 2013
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Computers are the perfect example of something we learn about and then must constantly update that knowledge. It’s like we have all had to become scientists or doctors. Just a few years ago, computer storage was measured in megabytes. Then it reached a thousand megabytes and we moved on to gigabytes. When we reach a thousand gigabytes we need terabytes.

As a public service, here is something to …

Read moreOne Day at a Time Technology
Category: Book Business, Career, Dan, Marketing, TechnologyTag: Book Business, Technology

When You Don’t Do Anything At All

By Karen Ballon July 31, 2013
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Do you remember my fable of the Cherry Tree a few weeks ago. During an email exchange with April Gardner, one of my clients, she shared her own fruit tree tale. As soon as I heard it, I asked if I could use it as a follow-up blog. She was happy for me to share it with you, so here you go!
I enjoyed your recent blog post about your cherry tree struggles. I have an apple tree that I do NOTHING to. …

Read moreWhen You Don’t Do Anything At All
Category: Book Business, Career, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Career

Art Wins

By Dan Balowon July 30, 2013
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By Dan Balow

Over 25 years ago, one of my favorite magazines was a “geek” publication called "American Demographics." The magazine doesn't exist any longer, but the various contributors to the magazine continue to comment in other publications.

Almost every day, I think about one of the articles I read in AD from those many years ago. It was a tongue-in-cheek piece on the danger of …

Read moreArt Wins
Category: Art, Book Business, Craft, Creativity, Dan, Get Published, The Publishing Life, Writing CraftTag: Art, publishing

Attract Attention…(Part Four)

By Karen Ballon July 24, 2013
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So we've considered three of the four BPs of attracting the attention of an agent or editor. BP number one was “Be Professional.” Number two was “Be Passionate.” The third BP was "Be Plugged In."  I've loved the discussion for each one, and look forward to reading what you think of this last BP. Especially since I think this is the hardest one for us. We writers are so focused on learning and …

Read moreAttract Attention…(Part Four)
Category: Agents, Book Business, Book Proposals, Career, Get Published, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Agents, Editors

What Am I Looking For?

By Dan Balowon July 23, 2013
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I started in Christian publishing in 1983 working in the telemarketing department for David C. Cook Publishers when they were located in Elgin, Illinois.   As a young guy working for a company that had been around for over 100 years, I was in awe.

Starting to work for Steve Laube and with professionals like Karen Ball and Tamela Hancock Murray, I am stunned once again.  We combine for over 100 …

Read moreWhat Am I Looking For?
Category: Agency, Book Business, Book Proposals, Craft, Creativity, Dan, Writing CraftTag: Agency, book proposals

Fun Fridays – July 19, 2013

By Steve Laubeon July 19, 2013
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This is a fun cover of a popular song. The unfortunate thing is that the chorus is one of those that sticks in your head...all day. But to make it worse the lyrics of the chorus could be the anthem song for either publishers or bookstores. Listen yourself to see if you agree (you can skip the part where the arranger begins talking at the end):

Read moreFun Fridays – July 19, 2013
Category: Book Business, Creativity, Fun Fridays, Get Published, Steve

Attract Attention…(Part Three)

By Karen Ballon July 17, 2013
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BP number one was "Be Professional." Number two was "Be Passionate." The third BP is one I like a lot: Be Plugged In. You need to be the expert on not just your book, but on the readers, the competition, and the craft. Doing that will enable you to equip your team! So…

Know your audience

It’s rare to find a book--or an author--that will be read by everyone. You book should have an …

Read moreAttract Attention…(Part Three)
Category: Agency, Agents, Creativity, Get Published, Karen, Writing CraftTag: Agents, Get Published

Summerside Press Shuts Down

By Steve Laubeon July 8, 2013
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by Steve Laube

“Another one bites the dust.” This past week Guideposts announced they were discontinuing all new acquisitions of titles for both their Summerside Press (fiction) and  Guideposts Books (non-fiction) trade lines. To have a complete picture of what this means we first have to understand that there are FIVE different book publishing programs under Guideposts. Two of them are …

Read moreSummerside Press Shuts Down
Category: Book Business, Get Published, Steve, TrendsTag: Book Business, Summerside Press, Trends
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