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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 » Marketing

Marketing

Ten Commandments for Working with Your Agent

By Steve Laubeon November 9, 2020
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By request, here are my ten commandments for working with your agent. Break them at your own peril. Thou shalt vent only to thine agent and never directly to thy publisher or editor.

  1. Thou shalt not get whipped into a frenzy by the industry rumor mill fomented by the Internet. Asketh thy agent if what you’ve heard is true.
  2. Thou shalt not covet thy neighbor’s success. Be content with thine own contract.
  3. If thou hast a dispute with thine agent, thou shalt talk to thy agent and seekest resolution. Jumping ship without reason is unprofessional … and agents talketh to each other.
  4. Thou shalt consider thy deadlines as sacrosanct. Thy hand signeth the contract, therefore thou art obligated. Thou shalt not expect thy agent to miraculously create extra time at the last minute.
  5. Respecteth the boundaries of the communication relationship with thy agent. Do not risketh being classified as a spammer or high maintenance by thy agent.
  6. Thou shalt be reasonable and balanced with regard to all social media. Remember, every word written on social media is a word not written on thy manuscript. At least don’t telleth the world that thou art eating ice cream to avoideth writing thy manuscript. Thy editor shall readeth your confession and weepeth.
  7. Keepeth it all in perspective. Selling only 8,000 books still meaneth 8,000 people have “bought a ticket” to read thy work. That crowd would filleth a megachurch auditorium.
  8. Remember thy calling to be a writer and keep it holy. You are in the business of changing the world word by word. Everything else is secondary.
  9. Thou shall rise and call thy agent blessed (and send chocolates at Christmas and cash on birthdays).
  10. If thou dost not have an agent, do not passeth “Go.” Instead, grabbeth one and bringeth said agent into thy camp ASAP. This industry is a labyrinth; and thou shalt someday discover thou needest one, and then it shall be too late. Real life examples available upon request.

__________
Permission is granted to use this in your own blog or website, as long as you include the following copyright notice:
© 2020 Steve Laube of The Steve Laube Agency (
www.stevelaube.com)

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Category: Agency, Book Business, Get PublishedTag: Book Business, Contracts, Copyright, Facebook, Get Published, Internet Usage, Marketing

Say It in a Sentence

By Steve Laubeon November 4, 2019
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Can you present your book idea in one sentence?

Can you present that idea in such a way that the reader is compelled to buy your book?

What motivates someone to spend money on a book? It is the promise that there is something of benefit to me, the reader.

Books are generally purchased for one of three reasons:

Entertainment
Information
Inspiration

If your book idea can make me …

Read moreSay It in a Sentence
Category: Book Proposals, Get Published, Marketing, Pitching, The Writing LifeTag: Marketing, Pitching, Trends, Writing Craft

Four Questions About Publicity

By Steve Laubeon July 29, 2019
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by Steve Laube

Publicity is the art of telling the world about you and your book. We recently received a few questions about publicity via the green button you see in the right hand column of our blog (yes, it really works).

1.) When should a writer hire a publicist?
I think an author should wait to see what their publisher will provide in this area. If you do hire a publicist make sure …

Read moreFour Questions About Publicity
Category: Marketing, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Marketing, Publicity

Would You Buy Your Own Book?

By Steve Laubeon May 6, 2019
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When I ask a room of writers if they would buy their own book if they saw it on the shelf at a major bookstore I am met with a variety of reactions. Laughter. Pensiveness. Surprise. And even a few scowls. How would you answer that question?

But the question is meant to ask if your book idea is unique. Whether it will stand out among the noise of the competition.

It is not a question of …

Read moreWould You Buy Your Own Book?
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Get Published, Marketing, Pitch, Pitching, Platform, The Publishing Life, Writing CraftTag: Marketing, Pitching, Proposals

Amazon Rank Obsession

By Steve Laubeon July 30, 2018
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Admit it. You've checked your Amazon.com sales ranking at least once since your book was published. You feel the need to have some outside confirmation of the sales of your book. And Amazon's ranking are free to look at.

I've even seen book  proposals where the author has gone to great lengths to include the Amazon ranking for each title that is competitive with the one the author is proposing. …

Read moreAmazon Rank Obsession
Category: Book Business, Marketing, Publishing A-ZTag: Amazon, Bookselling, Get Published, Marketing

Two Ways to Think About Your Book

By Dan Balowon July 24, 2018
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Two of the many complexities within book publishing are how often the book buyer and the book reader are different people and how books may sell only in limited locations. Some people read only what someone else buys for them. Some books sell primarily in one city at one retail location. Adults will always be the ones to buy a book for a small child. (A child might latch onto a certain book while …

Read moreTwo Ways to Think About Your Book
Category: Book Business, Marketing, Reading, The Publishing Life, The Writing LifeTag: Book Business, Marketing, The Publishing Life

Promotion: Faithful or Self-full?

By Steve Laubeon July 23, 2018
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"What's the difference between promotion and self-promotion? How do we promote ourselves/our books so that we honor God, respect others, and use common sense?"
The constant tension between marketing and ministry has plagued the Christian author, speaker, bookseller and publisher forever. Why? Because Jesus threw the money changers out of the temple. Because we are commanded to die to self and to …

Read morePromotion: Faithful or Self-full?
Category: Book Business, Career, MarketingTag: Agents, Book Business, Editors, Get Published, Marketing, Writing Craft

The Ultimate Sound Bite

By Steve Laubeon July 16, 2018
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Can you boil the essence of your novel or non-fiction book idea into twenty-five words or less?

This is one of the keys to creating a marketing hook that makes your idea sellable in today's crowded market.

You have less than a minute to make that hook work.

It is also called creating the "elevator pitch" or the "Hollywood pitch." The goal is get the marketing department to exclaim, "We …

Read moreThe Ultimate Sound Bite
Category: Book Proposals, Marketing, Pitch, Platform, Writing CraftTag: book proposal, Marketing, pitch, Pitching, Proposals, Rejection

Create Magic with Words

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon July 12, 2018
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Years ago, I took my five-year-old daughter to Toys R Us to meet “Barbie.” “Barbie” turned out to be a cute and charming teenager who, yes, looked like the classic blonde image of the doll. She wore a pretty pink gown. I expected a lot more fanfare around this event. Like, maybe some cheap swag, a chance to win a Barbie doll or Barbie convertible, or at least a throne for Barbie. Maybe a stage …

Read moreCreate Magic with Words
Category: Book Business, Book Proposals, Creativity, Marketing, Pitch, The Writing Life, Writing CraftTag: Book Business, Creativity, Marketing, Writing Craft

Starting an Author Newsletter Before Winning a Book Contract

By Tamela Hancock Murrayon June 14, 2018
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Writers often wonder how to start a newsletter before their book is released. The process might not seem to make sense when you’re publishing a newsletter to promote yourself as an author. However, since a newsletter is meant to establish a relationship with potential fans, being in communication with readers is a great idea. Here are some strategies: Include personal tidbits. You aren’t an author …

Read moreStarting an Author Newsletter Before Winning a Book Contract
Category: Branding, Marketing, Platform, Social Media, The Writing LifeTag: Marketing, Newsletters, Platform
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