The Steve Laube Agency is committed to providing top quality guidance to authors and speakers. Our years of experience and success brings a unique service to our clients. We focus primarily in the Christian marketplace and have put together an outstanding gallery of authors and speakers whose books continue to make an impact throughout the world.
Our Service Philosophy
Content
To help the author develop and create the best book possible. Material that has both commercial appeal and long-term value.
Career
To help the author determine the next best step in their writing career. Giving counsel regarding the subtleties of the marketplace as well as the realities of the publishing community.
Contract
To help the author secure the best possible contract. One that partners with the best strategic publisher and one that is mutually beneficial for all parties involved.
Recent Posts
Platform Now, Agents Later
Many authors, understandably, seek to discover if there’s enough interest in their work for them to toil to build a platform. If there is no interest in Devotionals for Grasshopper Farmers Who Crochet, then why go to the trouble and expense?
One, if you discover on your own that exactly fourteen people will buy your devotional, and ten of them are your mother and her friends, that’s a good thing. Better to find out yourself that your book has no audience than to end up with 500 copies of a book that didn’t sell and a publisher who won’t offer a second contract because they are warehousing or remaindering 2,500 copies of said title.
A more likely scenario is that you’ll write a great proposal, with a passionate plea as to why your book should be published today, only to secure rejections from every major traditional publisher.
No problem, you think. I found out that there isn’t enough interest from a publisher before I went to the effort to build a platform. Good news, right?
Wrong.
Because by sending out your work before you could offer a solid platform, you wasted your first impression. That opportunity will never return once it’s spent.
Let’s say an agent does take your project on the merit of the idea and writing. The agent may sell your project. Congratulations!
However, if the agent collects a bunch of kind and lovely rejections, then if you decide to continue working together, the agent will need to take you out a second time with another project. The editor will remember seeing your work and rejecting it before. A great agent can certainly pitch one project after another and pitch your work well so you may land a contract after several attempts. Still, wouldn’t it be nicer to gain a contract early, strengthened by a solid and growing platform?
Only you can decide.
Leave a CommentTossed by the Ocean of Emotion
It is hard to be a writer or to work in the publishing industry. Everyone defines success differently, and we strive to meet those expectations at every turn. Often we let “success” define us, especially when a writer is told, “You are only as good as the sales of your last book.” Or an agent is told, “You are only worth the value of your last contract.” Henri Nouwen, in his book The Return of the Prodigal Son, said it best: Many of my daily preoccupations suggest that I belong more to the world than to God. A little criticism …
Fun Fridays – September 12, 2025
Palindromes: A word or phrase that reads the same backward or forward. Like “we panic in a pew” … perfect for a Sunday sermon! Weird Al, singing like Bob Dylan, performed an entire song whose lyrics are entirely composed of palindromes. It is one of those videos that you want to stop watching but can’t. Creative is one word. Strange is another. But it is all about word “play” which makes it perfect for Fun Friday! [If you cannot view the video in your emailed newsletter, please visit the site itself where it is embedded.] ShareTweet2
Start With an Audience of One
In every introductory communications workshop or class, some version of “imagine your audience” as you speak or write is part of the first session. Of course, for the Christian communicator, our preeminent audience is God, as whatever we do is seen and heard by the one who made us and gave us the ability to do anything. However, from an earthly standpoint, we communicate with other people. And the concept of “imagining your audience” as you prepare what to say or write is an important part of being effective and fruitful. But we might be overlooking the one audience member …
Beyond Book One: Weaving Plot Continuity Across Your Series (part 3)
If you’re writing a fiction series, you already know it’s more than just writing more words—it’s about weaving together multiple books with continuity, cohesion, and ALL. THE. DETAILS. Because readers notice these things. So, today, I thought we’d talk about how to manage plot threads, foreshadowing, timelines, secondary characters, and tools that will help you stay sane—and impress your readers. Plot Threads: To Resolve or Not to Resolve? Every book in your series needs to stand on its own. That means the central conflict of the book should be resolved by the final chapter. But what about everything else? Not …