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The Steve Laube Agency

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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 » Agency » Page 2

Agency

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 down from the mount where such personages dwell, at least long enough to play along. She said, “I had to give this some thought because writers are quite good about being respectful. I can’t call it a ‘pet peeve’ but the error I see surprisingly often is an issue with word count. Hardly a week goes by that my office doesn’t receive a submission of 30,000 words or 150,000 words. Unfortunately, these are lengths I can’t work with, at least not in the current market. To avoid submitting a manuscript that will garner an automatic rejection because of word count, please refer to the guidelines for the publishers you are targeting before approaching an agent.”

Dan Balow said that his pet peeves include writers who send him something they know he is not looking for, sometimes saying, “I know you said you weren’t looking for this type of book, but…” He also laments submissions that claim, “Your agency website says you are looking for _______,” when a more careful read of the website would reveal that we are not looking for this type of book listed. He says, “I am not sure what type of professional relationship could develop between me and an author if the author starts by paying no attention to my stated focus.”

Steve Laube says, “I don’t think I have ‘pet peeves,’ per se. But if I did, one might be writers calling the agency to pitch a book idea, which is never a good idea. Please follow the guidelines first. As a writer, it is your ability to express your idea in writing that is important. Not your elocution. Also, sending a link to your Amazon listing and asking me to buy a copy of the book that you are now pitching is simply not going to happen.”

Wow. Right? My own pet peeves seem to pale in light of those. But they include pitches for a “fiction novel” (pro tip: there is no other kind). And mass submissions that include the addresses of dozens of other agents in the email address field (send it to as many agents as you want, but one size does not fit all when pitching a book to an agent, and you’re only hurting yourself in ignoring that reality). And, like my colleagues, I frequently shake my head at writers who don’t take the time and effort to read the (free!) guidelines for submission (or utterly and obviously ignore them) before pitching a project. If an agent or agency tells you how to look good, why would you ignore that advice?

Unless, of course, your pet peeve is looking good.

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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

Tamela Hancock Murray Named Agent-of-the-Year

By Steve Laubeon September 25, 2017
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We are very excited to announce that during the recent ACFW (American Christan Fiction Writers) annual event, Tamela was named Agent-of-the-Year! ACFW has the largest gathering of Christan fiction authors in the country. I can personally attest to Tamela’s abilities and her success. She is an extremely hard worker who loves her clients and her job. There are few in this industry who can match her …

Read moreTamela Hancock Murray Named Agent-of-the-Year
Category: Agency, AwardsTag: Agency, Awards, Tamela Hancock Murray

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

Two Questions We Might Ask and Why

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon August 3, 2017
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Sometimes writers feel the need to switch literary agents. When an author approaches me after working with another agent, I always ask why. Most are reticent to let me know. I understand and respect that. We don’t want to gossip or speak poorly of an agent, particularly when that person was instrumental in helping us get our start. However, a new agent needs to know what went wrong. Here’s why: We …

Read moreTwo Questions We Might Ask and Why
Category: AgentsTag: Agency, Agents

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

Glad to Join the Fun

By Bob Hostetleron July 12, 2017
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A Self-Interview with Bob Hostetler It is an honor and a joy to join Tamela Hancock Murray, Dan Balow, and my long-time agent and longer-time friend, Steve Laube, as a literary agent with The Steve Laube Agency. So, for my first SteveLaube.com blog post, I took the time to sit down with myself for an in-depth, hard-hitting interview. Why don’t you start by telling us a little about yourself? …

Read moreGlad to Join the Fun
Category: Agency, AgentsTag: Agency, Bob Hostetler

Welcome to Bob Hostetler

By Steve Laubeon July 10, 2017
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I am excited to welcome Bob Hostetler as the newest agent with The Steve Laube Agency! Please give him a warm welcome. I’ve known Bob for years. First as a reader of his books, then as a fellow faculty member at various writers conferences, then as his literary agent. I’m guessing he lost his mind because he agreed to join us. His resume is incredible. A thirty-year veteran of the …

Read moreWelcome to Bob Hostetler
Category: Agency, Agents, News You Can UseTag: Agency, Agent, Bob Hostetler

Oh, What a Time I’ve Had

By Karen Ballon July 5, 2017
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There are so many things about being an agent that I love. Finding new writers whose work resonated with, and moved, me. Building relationships with my amazing clients. The joy of working with them on their projects. Playing “matchmaker” and finding just the right publisher for them. Seeing publishers treat these wonderful writers with such enthusiasm and respect. Working with Steve, Tamela, and …

Read moreOh, What a Time I’ve Had
Category: Agency, Editing, Encouragement, Inspiration, Karen, PersonalTag: Agency, Karen Ball, Personal

Where Do You Find New Clients?

By Steve Laubeon April 3, 2017
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“As an agent, what percentage of your new clients come from meetings at conferences vs. general email or postal proposals? Can you address the importance of conferences?” Thanks to Scott for the question. It is a good one. Another way to frame it is “Where do you find new clients? Blind submissions or conferences?” The answer, as always, is “It depends.” Meeting someone at a conference is a …

Read moreWhere Do You Find New Clients?
Category: Book Proposals, Christian Writers Institute, Conferences, ConventionsTag: Agency, book proposals, Christian Writers Institute, writers conferences
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