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The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World…Word by Word

The Steve Laube Agency

The Steve Laube Agency

Helping to Change the World Word by Word

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Home » Art

Art

Author Nuances

By Dan Balowon October 3, 2017
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Writer and humorist Dave Barry wrote, “The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion or ethnic background, is that we all believe we are above-average drivers.”

The same applies to artists and writers. Most feel they are pretty good at their craft. But success as an author is a complicated mix of factors. If accuracy, neatness and timeliness were the secret to success, book publishing success would be relatively simple to achieve.

It’s not.

I’ve been privileged to attend a number of concerts performed by one of the major world orchestras. The performances are stunning. There is something much deeper going on than playing all the right notes. There are nuances to the performance, which go far beyond the content of the musical score.

In a similar fashion, the secret to effective book publishing is also found in the nuances, the shadows and fringes, not the checklists. A checklist will help you dig and build a good foundation, solid walls, energy efficient windows and a rainproof roof.

But it is the paint and furnishings, which make a house beautiful. And if you want to press the metaphor to the logical conclusion, it is the inhabitants, which make it a home others want to visit.

The same with publishing books. The secrets (if there are any) to success are in the nuances, not in the notes from a workshop, unless the workshop is about the subjective nature of art!

For example, I seek to represent authors I feel good about…sometimes more of a heart-decision. I’ve also declined to work with someone I didn’t feel good about. Can’t explain it, we just didn’t connect.

When agents gather, we talk about the nuances of our profession rather than how many clients we each have and how many proposals we send.

If playing the right notes in the right order was what separated great musicians in the Chicago Symphony from the rest of the world, then spell-check and the Chicago Manual of Style should be enough to guarantee success as an author.

And of course, this is not the case.

Here are some nuances of the publishing world. I’ve put them in three levels of increasing complexity, hoping you can draw some practical help from the list:

Level I Nuances (Seriously, you needed to write these down?)

  • Be professional. Act the part. You are trying to get others to invest time and money in you.
  • Don’t be a “prickly” person. Publishing is about relationships and if you are not pleasant, few people will want to have anything to do with you. Wait until you are making millions for the publisher and you can demand a certain type of sparkling water at a certain temperature in your hotel room!

Level II Nuances (These are hard!)

  • Spend some time learning about publishing and your publisher. Claiming ignorance over everything a publisher does will not endear you to them. You can be humble and knowledgeable. Inadvertently you are saying, “I want you to understand me, but I don’t care a hoot about you.”
  • Show respect to publishing people and booksellers. Seriously, they probably know more than you and for sure, honey draws more flies than vinegar. These people are paying to publish and sell your book.

Level III Nuances (Betcha never thought of these.)

  • Actually take time to know the difference between good technical writing and great writing. Accuracy and artistry can be mutually exclusive.
  • Maintain a healthy respect for intellectual property law. Be the first one to say photocopying sheet music or a copyrighted page is not right. Respecting copyright and trademark should eventually come naturally to you. If you don’t, how can you expect other people to respect your intellectual property?

Yes, writing is much more of a dance. Learn the moves and you won’t step on as many toes.

(In case you are wondering, I didn’t set out to see how many different metaphors I could fit into this post. Just sort of happened, like going to a salad bar and finding your plate isn’t big enough.)

 

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Category: Craft, Creativity, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Art, Nuances, The Writing Life, Writing Craft

Lyrics as Literature

By Steve Laubeon October 17, 2016
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I normally steer away from controversial topics in this blog but the announcement that Bob Dylan, the popular musician, was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature gave me pause. My first thought was “What?” To place Dylan alongside previous Nobel laureates like Solzhenitsyn, Steinbeck, Kipling, Hemingway, Camus, Faulkner, T.S. Eliot, and Churchill? I wondered that if, upon hearing the …

Read moreLyrics as Literature
Category: ArtTag: Art, Nobel Prize, Song Lyrics

There is Power in Possibility

By Steve Laubeon May 9, 2016
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The publishing industry can be a challenge for someone with artistic sensibilities. The psyche can be worn down by disappointment, bad reviews, poor sales, and rejection by agents and editors. To be resilient in the face of such disillusion is a quality to be desired. I found this quote from Søren Kierkegaard (Danish philosopher and theologian 1813-1855) in his book Either/Or: “If I were to wish …

Read moreThere is Power in Possibility
Category: Art, Craft, CreativityTag: Art, Craft, Creativity, Possibility

The Gerbil Wheel of the Writing Life

By Steve Laubeon May 11, 2015
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I saw the below video showing “wheel gymnastics” and, other than being mesmerized, I thought it an apt metaphor for the writing life. Do you agree? Read and watch and see what it evokes. A writer spends hours, months, and even years in isolation practicing their art. They go forward a few steps and back a few steps. They get turned upside down and spin often without result. While there …

Read moreThe Gerbil Wheel of the Writing Life
Category: Art, Career, The Writing LifeTag: Art, Craft, The Writing Life

A Definition of a Successful Artist

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 30, 2015
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Recently I witnessed an artist (not a writer) put work out to the public that I believe needed some polish. Some of my close family and I agreed that it shouldn’t have been released without being improved first. However, this artist was being cheered by intimate friends and family. I’m not positive all of these people actually like the art itself. I think many of them just want to …

Read moreA Definition of a Successful Artist
Category: Art, Awards, Craft, CreativityTag: Art, Career, Success

And the Winner is: Words

By Dan Balowon December 9, 2014
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Everyone has a preference as to the type of art and media they consume. Some people like books, others prefer movies, television programs, live theater, music, online content and many simply like a combination of all of the above. Even though our modern society is captivated by “the next big thing” technologically, it is the written word, no matter how it is delivered (printed or on a screen) that …

Read moreAnd the Winner is: Words
Category: Art, CreativityTag: Art, Creativity, Written Word

Three Out of Four Dentists Leaves One

By Dan Balowon October 14, 2014
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I’ve covered this before ( “Art Wins” ), but I am going to take a little different look at the ever-present tension between the science and the art of publishing books. The great rocket scientist Wernher von Braun, one of the pioneers of the U.S. space program said this, “Research is what I’m doing when I don’t know what I’m doing.” Certainly, experienced people in publishing …

Read moreThree Out of Four Dentists Leaves One
Category: Art, Book BusinessTag: Art, Book Business, Book Sales

Orphan Trains & Wild Stallions

By Guest Bloggeron July 28, 2014
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by Allen Arnold I recently read about the unexpected publishing success of Orphan Train.  It’s a novel set in present-day Maine and Depression-era Minnesota. This fifth book from Christina Baker Kline has turned out to be a sleeper hit of the year, with more than one million copies sold. I’m intrigued by the book’s premise. But it’s the subhead of the article that caught my attention.  “Unlikely …

Read moreOrphan Trains & Wild Stallions
Category: Art, Guest Post, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: Art, Craft, The Writing Life

Real vs. Imaginary

By Dan Balowon October 29, 2013
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Simone Weil was being quite profound when she commented:
“Imaginary evil is romantic and varied; real evil is gloomy, monotonous, barren, boring.  Imaginary good is boring; real good is always new, marvelous, intoxicating.”
I can see the truth in those words in just about every book, TV program or movie. Anywhere a story is told, fictional villains or real heroes are the most interesting …

Read moreReal vs. Imaginary
Category: Art, Craft, Creativity, DanTag: Art, Craft, Creativity

Art Wins

By Dan Balowon July 30, 2013
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By Dan Balow

Over 25 years ago, one of my favorite magazines was a “geek” publication called "American Demographics." The magazine doesn't exist any longer, but the various contributors to the magazine continue to comment in other publications.

Almost every day, I think about one of the articles I read in AD from those many years ago. It was a tongue-in-cheek piece on the danger of …

Read moreArt Wins
Category: Art, Book Business, Craft, Creativity, Dan, Get Published, The Publishing Life, Writing CraftTag: Art, publishing

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