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The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » You searched for rejection » Page 12

Search Results for: rejection

I Hate My Job!

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 1, 2018
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Well, I don’t always hate my job. I only hate it on the days I have to send rejection letters. Or maybe I should say, I only hate it during the moments of the day that I must send rejection letters.

If you receive a rejection letter either from my assistant or myself, you can count on a few truths:

  • If we say you are talented, we believe it.
  • If we say your work isn’t the right fit for us, you can believe it.
  • If we say you can send us proposals in the future, you can take us up on that offer.

In fact, you can believe anything we say in our letters. We don’t search for excuses. If you think you’ve gotten a form letter, then your work has a similar reason for being rejected that it shares with many others.

Next time, I’ll elaborate on those reasons. But in the meantime, I want to assure you that writing rejection letters causes us much pain. Much more than you may realize. I have a writer’s heart, and I remember rejection of my own work all too well.

So please know that while I’m not able to take on every project I like and every author I adore, I do understand the heartbreak of rejection.

May many acceptance letters be in your future!

Your turn:

What was the most painful rejection letter you received?

What was the most encouraging rejection letter you received?

Category: Book Proposals, RejectionTag: Rejection, rejection letters

You Are Not Your Words

By Bob Hostetleron December 6, 2017
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Writers love words. That’s a good thing. But when we become attached to our own words, that’s a bad thing. I see it often in meeting with writers and offering critiques at writers’ conferences. The writer will hand me a piece of his or her work, “to see what you think.” I’ll look it over, and identify several things to compliment about the piece. And then I’ll make a suggestion for improvement. I …

Read moreYou Are Not Your Words
Category: Rejection, Reviews, The Writing LifeTag: Craft, Rejection, The Writing Life

Agents Share Their Pet Peeves

By Bob Hostetleron November 8, 2017
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Agents are people, too. Most literary agents, that is. And, like most people, we have our highs and lows. Our problems. Our irritations. Our pet peeves. I asked my fellow agents at The Steve Laube Agency to share their pet peeves with me for the purpose of this blog post. Boy, did that open a Pandora’s box. Tamela Hancock Murray, the “ACFW agent-of-the-year” award-winning agent, agreed to come …

Read moreAgents Share Their Pet Peeves
Category: Agents, Book Proposals, Get Published, Pitch, PitchingTag: Agency, Agents, Pet Peeves

Variety is the Spice in an Agent’s Inbox

By Steve Laubeon October 23, 2017
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The other day a writer asked me, “Describe a typical work day for you.” I choked back a laugh and said, “There is no such thing as ‘typical’ in the day of a literary agent.” There are many things that repeat. Royalty statements, new deal negotiations, contract evaluations, reviewing client proposals, and the unsolicited inquiries. But within those is a constant variety. I wrote down a sample of …

Read moreVariety is the Spice in an Agent’s Inbox
Category: Agency, Agents, Book Business, The Publishing LifeTag: Agency, Agents

Writing Advice We Wish Would Go Away

By Bob Hostetleron October 11, 2017
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I mentioned in last week’s blog that I asked some of my writing and publishing friends to tell me what one “writing rule” they’d like to see go away…forever. Many cited the timeworn, “Write what you know” (see here). Others, however, gave different but similarly helpful answers. Author, speaker, and writers conference director Lin Johnson said, “I heard this often in my early freelance days and …

Read moreWriting Advice We Wish Would Go Away
Category: The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: The Writing Life, Writing rules

Send Simultaneous Submissions or Not?

By Steve Laubeon August 7, 2017
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Bryan Mitchell asked, “What is the max number of submissions you should send at a given time? I’ve heard ten but that sounds off; to me, it seems it should be less than that if you are carefully considering the agents you reach out to.” When approaching agents I encourage simultaneous submissions, as long as you let us know you are doing so. But, as Bryan answered his own question, there is no …

Read moreSend Simultaneous Submissions or Not?
Category: Agency, Agents, Book ProposalsTag: Agency, Agents, book proposals, Queries, Simultaneous Submissions

Should You Hire a Freelance Editor?

By Steve Laubeon July 31, 2017
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Katie Dale asked, “I am wondering at what stage should I have my memoir edited? After I have an agent? After I have a publisher? Before? Should I consider ever getting professionally edited before I get an agent or publisher? What’s the process?” This is a question being asked more frequently. Dare I answer with “It depends”? I have a client who has utilized a freelance …

Read moreShould You Hire a Freelance Editor?
Category: EditingTag: Editing, Writing Craft

Actually, It Is About Money

By Dan Balowon July 25, 2017
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It is well-documented, Jesus spoke about money more than any other subject, as recorded in Scripture. He knew it was part of everyone’s life and used it often to teach a myriad of lessons. Still, money can be a polarizing topic. One of my favorite sports books is Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game by Michael Lewis. It is the story of Billy Beane, the general manager of the Oakland A’s …

Read moreActually, It Is About Money
Category: Book Business, Marketing, MoneyTag: Marketing, Money, The Writing Life

What Happens in the Agency After I Send my Proposal?

By Steve Laubeon July 24, 2017
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Jeanine asked, “Please help me to get a picture of what happens to a manuscript that has been submitted (via email) to your office, from the time of its arrival to the time of the agent’s acceptance/rejection.” Thank you for the question Jeanine. I will first give a silly but kinda true answer of what happens in the agency as follows: We avoid looking in the incoming proposals inbox …

Read moreWhat Happens in the Agency After I Send my Proposal?
Category: Agency, Book ProposalsTag: Agency, book proposals

Ask Me Anything

By Steve Laubeon July 17, 2017
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With Summer in full mid-form and some planning the rest of their year’s writing efforts, I thought it might be a good chance for you to post below any question you might have about the publishing business. Editing? Proposals? Why so many rejections? How does it all work? Will Amazon doom us all? Are bookstores dying? etc. I only ask that you keep within the topic of writing and publishing. I …

Read moreAsk Me Anything
Category: Agents, The Publishing LifeTag: publishing, questions, Writing Craft
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