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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 » book proposals » Page 7

book proposals

I’m Always Open to Submissions

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon July 21, 2016
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Sometimes authors send me an email asking, “Are you looking at new submissions?” or “Are you accepting new clients?”

I appreciate these authors’ desire not to waste my time or theirs, but I’ll say it here: I’m always open to submissions and new clients. Now, does this mean I’m open to reading entire unpublished books on every and any topic? Or that I hope to sign five new clients every week? No. I still need the submissions to be marketable to the publishers I work with, and for you to want to work with me.

Moratoriums

I’ve seen some industry professionals and publishers put a temporary moratorium on when they’ll review submissions.

Believe me, I get it. Sometimes busy professionals really and truly need to clear their IN boxes and one help is to stop incoming submissions. Or the reasons for a moratorium may be more complex. For example, the editor may be switching careers, or a publisher’s desire and ability to publish a certain line may be in question.

On the flip side, I’ve witnessed confusion concerning moratoriums. It seems as though half of all authors don’t find out about a moratorium until about three months after it’s in effect. Then, when you feel comfortable taking submissions again, the other half don’t seem to get this news.

I view setting a moratorium as a possible loss. If I tell you not to send your submission when the time is right for you, I miss the chance to review it. For this reason, I have never put a moratorium on submissions.

Personal Contact

Another way to stem the tide is to put conditions on submissions such as, “Submit only if I have met you in person,” and/or “Only if you come highly recommended.” In other words, no cold call submissions. Of course, this is a great way to assure you receive submissions from authors already known to you. You’ve made a connection, and this is an awesome way to start a business partnership. I have met many wonderful authors at conferences and have been pleased to receive strong recommendations from current clients.

But this means that an author who can’t afford to go to a conference, or who has too many family obligations to travel, has limited potential to be seen. As for getting a client to recommend you to a publisher or agent? Establishing that type of relationship takes time. Even then, it may not happen because most authors don’t want to abuse the privilege of recommending their friends to agents and publishers.

I don’t mind hearing from authors I don’t know. Perhaps I’m sympathetic because I broke in to the industry as a writer who had never been to a conference. As for travel, when my girls were younger, our Christian school didn’t have bus service, so I drove to and from school twice a day – one year, three times a day – thanks to half-day kindergarten. If I did travel, my husband had to cover me by taking off from his job. So my own possibilities would have been restricted if I had been required to go to a conference to be published.

Though I’m past these intense obligations now, I remember what it was like. I want to give authors in similar circumstances a hearing.

Seasonal

I’ve seen some guidelines that say, “We consider submissions only during the month of January,” and the like.

When I was still writing books and articles for publication, this type of guideline was a pinnacle of frustration for me. Invariably, I’d finished my work on February 2.

A second pinnacle of frustration happened when I did wait to submit to a magazine only to be told before the season even opened that they were already full.

After that, seasonal guidelines always drove me to find other publishers.

No End in Sight

Does being open to submissions all the time mean extra work? Absolutely.

Does it mean wasting some time? Probably.

But as a literary agent who plans to participate in the industry for the foreseeable future, I don’t mind doing some extra work when it means I can connect with authors who otherwise wouldn’t have a chance to communicate with me. So if you think we may be a good professional match, feel free to press SEND.

Your Turn:

What is the most frustrating aspect of submitting your work to agents, editors, and publishers?

What limitations on submissions have you seen? Were you able to submit, and were you successful?

 

 

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Category: Agency, Book Proposals, Get Published, RejectionTag: Agency, book proposals, Submissions

What’s Wrong with my Book?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon July 14, 2016
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As you can imagine, we see hundreds of proposals and manuscripts each month. And, as you can also imagine, we must decline most. However, there are a few mistakes you can avoid to help your submission rise above others: Not beginning the story in the right place. All too often, an author will tell us about the main characters’ backgrounds before getting to the crux of the story, where the …

Read moreWhat’s Wrong with my Book?
Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Editing, Get Published, RejectionTag: book proposals, Get Published

Why I Don’t Critique Your Work

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 30, 2016
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A fantastic blog post from Ramona Richards reminded me why I, as a literary agent, don’t offer critiques on rejected proposals. Believe me, as someone who used to write books, I understand the disappointment of the unhelpful rejection letter. So much that I blogged about it (click to read it). I appreciate writers who are looking to learn more about craft, style, and what will make their books …

Read moreWhy I Don’t Critique Your Work
Category: Agents, Book Proposals, Editing, Get PublishedTag: Agents, book proposals, Editing, Get Published

The Why and How of Selecting Endorsers

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 23, 2016
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Some authors find the endorsers section tricky when they write book proposals. If this describes you, or if you would like a refresher, I hope this post will be helpful. The Why: I can’t say I’ve ever sold a book based on an endorsement alone. Content is king. But the endorsers (or you can call it Potential Endorsers) section is important. To wit, here’s a quote from Mallory Ortburg’s May 3 …

Read moreThe Why and How of Selecting Endorsers
Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, MarketingTag: book proposals, Endorsements, Get Published

The Hardest Part of Being a Writer

By Karen Ballon June 8, 2016
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If there’s anything I hate to do, it’s wait. At the gas station, at the grocery store, at the doctor’s office…it’s wait, wait, wait! Drives me nuts. I want to get going, get things done, move, do something! Not just stand or sit there. If you’ve been at this writing gig for long, you’ve faced that most difficult aspect of writing. The Waiting. You scramble to refine your craft, make your …

Read moreThe Hardest Part of Being a Writer
Category: Book Proposals, The Writing Life, TheologyTag: book proposals, The Writing Life, waiting

Limitations Inherent to Non-Fiction Publishing

By Dan Balowon May 31, 2016
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Some categories of books in the Christian market have very limited potential for publication. A publisher may do just one every year or every ten years on a particular topic or category. When you send your proposal to an agent or ask your agent to pitch a title in one of these categories, our first reaction would be how limited the potential is to sell. I am not writing about the potential for …

Read moreLimitations Inherent to Non-Fiction Publishing
Category: Book Proposals, Branding, Career, Economics, Get Published, PlatformTag: Bet Published, book proposals

The Right Number of Words

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon May 26, 2016
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More times than I’d like, my office must send out letters advising aspiring authors that their manuscripts are too short or too long. Much of the time, the author is talented but hasn’t investigated the market well enough to know if the word count is right. Submitting a project that’s simply the wrong word count wastes everyone’s time – including yours. If we mention that your book is the wrong …

Read moreThe Right Number of Words
Category: Book Proposals, Craft, Get Published, Rejection, Writing CraftTag: book proposals, Get Published, word count

Nonfiction Checklist

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 28, 2016
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Although I represent many works of quality fiction, I also look for the very special nonfiction project. As you prepare your proposal, here is a four-point checklist that might help determine if yours could work for an agent: A Great Title Lots of nonfiction is geared to impulse buyers. If you can convince a shopper to pick your book up from a spin rack or click and place in a virtual cart, based …

Read moreNonfiction Checklist
Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: book proposals, Get Published, Nonfiction

What Makes an Agent Say Wow?

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon April 14, 2016
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As part of an interview for the upcoming Blue Ridge Writers conference in Ridgecrest, NC, May 22-26, Tamela was asked a series of questions by Al Gansky. (Be sure to check out the new conference web site.) 1) When you review proposals what stops you in your tracks? Tamela: Since this question is aimed at writers attending a major conference, I’m answering as though you’re an author …

Read moreWhat Makes an Agent Say Wow?
Category: Book Proposals, Get PublishedTag: book proposals, Get Published

Why Should I Follow Your Guidelines?

By Steve Laubeon February 15, 2016
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Recently we had someone write and say that forcing an author to follow our guidelines when submitting a proposal is the height of arrogance. An artist should be allowed artistic freedom of expression and cramming ideas into a pre-prescribed format is squelching that creativity. While I understand the frustration and the amount of work involved in creating a proposal, there are reasons why we ask …

Read moreWhy Should I Follow Your Guidelines?
Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, Marketing, PlatformTag: book proposals, Get Published, Guidelines
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