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
G Is for Great
“There are a lot of good manuscripts out there. What we want are those which are great.” I’ve said this many times but thought I should elaborate. Please note the following information applies mostly to nonfiction projects.
When it comes to the nonfiction books that attract major publishers, I believe the author must have at least two of three “great” things:
Great Concept
Great Writing
Great Platform
Let’s look at the various combinations to see how this plays out.
Platform + Writing
These books are well written by a highly visible author. They get published but have modest sales. It may be that the concept or idea doesn’t resonate with readers. It may be the author’s constituents are the only ones who buy a copy. It may be the topic is too academic for a commercial audience. But if you are a great writer with a great platform, there is no question you will find a publisher who will partner with you.
Platform + Concept
These books are often celebrity driven. The publisher and the author brainstorm for the right package. Or the author’s material is based on a great title from a sermon series or a particularly popular talk. Unfortunately, the writing is weak for whatever reason. They converted a sermon series without much editing. Or they hired a ghostwriter who did their best under severe time constraints. You get the idea. You may have bought a book like this. Famous author with a great book title; but when you tried to read it, it felt forced or manufactured. (Disclaimer: That is not to say that all Platform + Concept books are poorly written. My attempt here is to highlight great writing versus good writing.)
Concept + Writing
This is where most writers land. They aren’t famous–yet. They have a great concept and are an amazing writer. The combination can overcome a lack of platform in the right circumstances. It’s not a given, but it can happen. We’ve frequently sold unpublished authors to a major publisher because the book idea is tremendous and the writing is stunning. That should be an encouragement to anyone who is working on their first book. It is not easy; but it can, and still does, happen.
Platform + Concept + Writing
There are those magical books where all three elements come together and create a bestseller that outsells even the wildest projections.
Is platform important? Oh my, yes. Increasingly so. But it isn’t the only thing.
Your Turn
Can you name recent (in the last five years) releases that, in your estimation, fit all three criteria?
Is there a broad-stroke area that is missing in this overview?
Is this a helpful way to think about platform vs. no platform?
Fun Fridays – August 5, 2022
I may have shown today’s video to you before, but it still thrills me to watch it again. This young prodigy is given four random notes, drawn from a hat, and improvises an entire piece in about a minute. Amazing. Can you, as a writer, take four words and improvise a story in one minute? “See the ball bounce.” Now go write something beautiful! Share14Tweet
Theology for Writers
Spoiler alert: God’s nature never changes. His truth is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow. While Christian writers seek to write in a compelling, engaging manner, seeking to pull readers through their books from paragraph to paragraph and page after page, the foundational theology of which they write never changes. You might write about the need for someone to make Jesus the Lord of their lives, but it will be this verse which is the reason: For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have …
Mysteries of the English Language
I love the English language. It’s been very good to me. But it can be a booger too. For example, you know that a slim chance and a fat chance are the same, right? And a wise man and a wise guy don’t mean the same thing? It’s a crazy language. And those who must learn it as a second language face many strange twists and turns—as do those of us who try to speak and write with something resembling clarity and erudition. So, in the service of all humanity, I offer the following quick list of some of the …
4 Questions a Fiction Proposal Must Answer
Last week we dealt with five questions a nonfiction proposal must answer. As promised, we now turn to those who are putting together a novel proposal. If you compare these two posts, you’ll see why a one-size-fits-all proposal template isn’t always helpful. There are differences between the two types of proposals. Please try not to shoehorn a novel proposal into a nonfiction presentation. What Is Your Word Count? Think carefully before you put a number in your proposal. I don’t know how often I’ve seen someone propose a 270,000-word manuscript or, on the other end, a 27,000 word-manuscript. (One zero …