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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 » Agents » Page 7

Agents

An Atypical Time in an Agent’s Life

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 6, 2014
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I have enjoyed reading various “typical day” posts lately on other blogs, so I thought instead of sharing a typical day, I’d share an atypical month:

Sad News for Us

My father-in-law, a Baptist minister, passed away at age 89 after two strokes. While our family is sad to lose him, his funeral was a celebration of his life. 

Snow, Snow Everywhere!

I realize snowfall in Virginia is laughable in comparison to other places, but the number and intensity of our storms has been atypical this winter. We drove to Connecticut in between storms, only to be greeted by a storm when we arrived. Instead of visiting my mother-in-law on our first full day in town, we had to hole up in the hotel room.

And Speaking of Hotel Rooms…

Because of a variety of circumstances, my father-in-law’s funeral in one state and internment in another state required that my husband and I be on travel for eight days. So we stayed eight days at the Hampton Inn. 

Contracts Abound!

All the while, I kept getting messages that contracts were pending, on their way, or attached to emails arriving on my smart phone. Thankfully, this is the one aspect of this time period that is not atypical. My 88-year-old mother-in-law asked if all the ringing notifications got on my nerves. “Oh, no!” I assured her. She also said, “You are always on the phone.” I forget that not everyone is as plugged in as I am.

Are You in a Cult?

The nice lady who prepared our free breakfast every morning (Yay, Hampton Inn!) asked us why we were there and we said we were there for a funeral. And we were there. And we were there. And we were still there. On our last day, I asked her if she wondered if we were part of a weird religion where burial requires eight days. She laughed, but I still wonder if anyone there did a Google search on weird religions.

Florida Christian Writers Conference

No time to settle in before leaving for the Florida Christian Writer’s Conference! http://www.floridacwc.net/

This conference is headed up by the lovely Eva Marie Everson and the awesome Mark Hancock. Of course, Hancocks are always awesome. Everyone was wonderful and understanding about my late arrival. By the way, this is a very good, informative, and enjoyable conference. This year, several key note addresses were given by our agency’s own Ellie Kay! (www.elliekay.com) Do consider attending next year.

And finally, Snow!

Today is Monday and in honor of my arrival home, more snow! So a-shoveling I will go.

And there you have it: an atypical time in the life of an agent.

Your Turn:

What has been the most atypical time in your life?

Leave a Comment
Category: Agency, Personal, TamelaTag: Agency, Agents

Why Not Take a Chance?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon November 7, 2013
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Often I receive queries and proposals in which the author will say his submission is out of the box. I'm not opposed to groundbreaking work, but I have to decide what will and what won't work for me. I am the first to admit, this process is subjective. Our own Steve Laube is routinely teased by a couple of his successful author friends he turned down. If an agent as wise as Steve Laube misses a …

Read moreWhy Not Take a Chance?
Category: Agents, Book Business, Book Proposals, Get Published, Platform, TamelaTag: Agents, book proposals, Editors, Get Published

Five Myths About an Agent’s Rejection

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon October 31, 2013
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1.) The agent hates me. Unless you approached her and said something along the lines of, "You and your kids are ugly and you have lousy taste in manuscripts," a rejection shouldn't be personal.

But if you are worried that you unintentionally offended an agent or other publishing professional, take action. Email to let him know you have been worried about why you may have been the cause of …

Read moreFive Myths About an Agent’s Rejection
Category: Book Proposals, Conferences, Craft, Get Published, Rejection, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Agents, Get Published, Rejection

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

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

Attract Attention (Part Two)

By Karen Ballon July 3, 2013
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Wasn't it fun to read Steve’s observations about ICRS? There is so much going on this time of year in our industry, and so many opportunities to spend time with other writers, with editors, and with agents. I love networking with these wonderful folks. But even more than that, I love seeing writers have meaningful and positive interactions with editors and agents.

With that in mind, here’s the …

Read moreAttract Attention (Part Two)
Category: Agents, Book Business, Get Published, KarenTag: Agents, Editors, Get Published

Attract Attention…in a GOOD Way!

By Karen Ballon June 26, 2013
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I travel to writers’ conferences all over the country. I love being surrounded by others who love words and want to serve God through their writing. But over the years I've seen a number of interactions between agents/editors and conferees that were…well, less than positive.  It was clear the conferee was passionate about his/her work, and that the writer was looking on this encounter as THE …

Read moreAttract Attention…in a GOOD Way!
Category: Agents, Book Business, Book Proposals, Get Published, Karen, Marketing, Writing CraftTag: Agents, book proposals, Get Published

Really, You Don’t Have to Ask

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 13, 2013
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Over the years I've seen lists of questions you're supposed to ask an agent before signing a contract. Some of the questions are excellent. But I believe if you ask others, at least at the stage when the agent is discussing the possibility of representation, you may have not done the right research ahead of time. I culled these questions from a number of lists on the Internet. Most of these …

Read moreReally, You Don’t Have to Ask
Category: Agents, Book Business, Communication, Get Published, TamelaTag: Agents, Find an Agent, Get Published

When Your Agent Makes You Speed Up

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 21, 2013
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by Tamela Hancock Murray

Since I wrote last week about when your agent may make you slow down, I thought this week it might be fun to write about why your agent may make you speed up. Now, speeding up is never, never to occur at the risk of writing less than your best. Story craft, along with  care and attention to detail, are always musts for fiction and nonfiction. But there are times …

Read moreWhen Your Agent Makes You Speed Up
Category: Book Business, Career, Get Published, Tamela, Writing CraftTag: Agents, Get Published

Why Your Agent May Slow You Down

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon March 14, 2013
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Your agent may slow you down.

And this is good!

And, why is that?

I've been a writer myself, so I understand the frustration you must be feeling as you read my words. Who wants to slow down? Believe me, when I was waiting for my first book to be published, I only half-joked that it would be released posthumously. So I understand that writers don't want to wait another ten minutes to see …

Read moreWhy Your Agent May Slow You Down
Category: Agents, Book Proposals, Career, Get Published, TamelaTag: Agents, Get Published, Writing Craft
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