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Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Dan Balow of Steve Laube Literary Agency) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.

 

 

About Dan: Dan is a 30-year veteran of the Christian publishing industry. He was former director of marketing for Tyndale House Publishers. Beginning in 1995, he led the publisher’s marketing team for the successful Jerry Jenkins-Tim LaHaye Left Behind series, becoming director of business development for the series (which has sold more than 60 million copies to date). In 2002, he added the role of director of international publishing until leaving Tyndale in 2006. After stints as publisher for two audio book companies and some publisher consulting, Dan joined the Steve Laube agency in 2013. His publishing background is the business side rather than editorial, best for authors who need help navigating the shifting sands of publishing. A graduate of Wheaton College, he lives with his wife Carol, in Wheaton, Illinois. Together they have four grown children and one grandchild. Follow him on Twitter at @danbalow or through the agency blog at www.stevelaube.com where he posts every Tuesday.

(How many literary agents should a writer send their work to?)

Dan is seeking: Mostly nonfiction for the Christian market, but represents a select number of novelists working in Christian historical, contemporary, Biblical, and futuristic genres.

How to submit: Email a query to Dan through his assistant at vseem [at] stevelaube.com. A submission process and form is available at the Steve Laube Agency website at http://www.stevelaube.com/guidelines/

Upcoming conferences: Chicago Writing Workshop, May 16, 2015

(Book Payments and Royalties — Your Questions Answered.)

 

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

 

I (Chuck) Will Instruct At These Great Writing Events Soon:

• Oct. 24, 2014: Atlanta Writers Fall Conference (Atlanta, GA)
• Feb. 6, 2015: Kentucky Writers Conference (Louisville, KY)
• Feb. 7, 2015: Tennessee Writers Conference (Nashville, KY)
• Feb. 20, 2015: Portland Writing Workshop (Portland, OR)
• Feb. 21, 2015: Seattle Writers Workshop (Seattle, WA)
• March 27-28, 2015: Chesapeake Writing Conferences (Baltimore and DC)
• April 17-18, 2015: Carolina Writing Workshop Conferences (Charlotte, NC and Columbia, SC)
• May 15, 2015: Milwaukee Writers Conference (Milwaukee, WI)
• May 16, 2015: Chicago Writers Workshop (Chicago, IL)
• June 25-28, 2015: Jackson Hole Writers Conference (Jackson Hole, WY)
• July 31- Aug. 2, 2015: Writer’s Digest Conference East (New York, NY)
• October 2015: Books by the Banks Book Festival (Cincinnati, OH)

 

Want to build your visibility and sell more books?
Create Your Writer Platform shows you how to
promote yourself and your books through social
media, public speaking, article writing, branding,
and more. Order the book from WD at a discount.

 

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Reminder: New literary agents (with this spotlight featuring Julie Gwinn of The Seymour Agency) are golden opportunities for new writers because each one is a literary agent who is likely building his or her client list.

 

About Julie: Before joining The Seymour Agency, Julie Gwinn most recently served as Marketing Manager for the Christian Living line at Abingdon Press and before that served as Trade Book Marketing Manager and then Fiction Publisher for the Pure Enjoyment line at B&H Publishing Group, a Division of LifeWay Christian Resources. Last year she was awarded Editor of the Year from the American Christian Fiction Writers and won B&H’s first Christy award for Ginny Yttrup’s debut novel Words. She has more than 25 years public relations and marketing experience and has also worked in marketing for several Nashville non-profit organizations including the TN Assoc. for the Education of Young Children, the Nashville Area Red Cross and the YWCA. She is married and has two children.

(Query letter FAQs answered.)

She is seeking: Christian and Inspirational Fiction and Nonfiction, Women’s fiction (contemporary and historical), New Adult, Southern Fiction, Literary Fiction and Young Adult.

How to submit: E-query julie [at] theseymouragency.com. Be sure to include: genre/target audience, word count, contact information, references (conference, recommendation, etc.). No attachments, please. All of The Seymour Agency agents ask that you paste the first five pages of your manuscript into the bottom of your email. “Simultaneous submissions are acceptable for queries and partials. However, we only review complete manuscripts on an exclusive basis.”

(How many blog page views are enough to impress an agent?)

The biggest literary agent database anywhere
is the Guide to Literary Agents. Pick up the
most recent updated edition online at a discount.

 

Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:

• Agent Marie Lamba Seeks YA, MG, Women’s & Adult Fiction.
• How to Get a Scene From Your Head to Paper.
• Sell More Books by Building Your Writer Platform.
• 5 Ways to Get Rid of Writer’s Block.
• Blogs vs. Journals: Are They Becoming The Same Thing?
• The story of how young adult sci-fi writer Christian Schoon met his agent.
• Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter or find him on Facebook. Learn all about his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and how to write a query letter.

 

Want to build your visibility and sell more books?
Create Your Writer Platform shows you how to
promote yourself and your books through social
media, public speaking, article writing, branding,
and more. Order the book from WD at a discount.

Add a Comment

This is a recurring column I’m calling “7 Things I’ve Learned So Far,”

where writers (this installment written by Tricia Goyer, author of THE PROMISE BOX) at any stage of their career can talk about writing advice and instruction as well as how they possibly got their book agent — by sharing seven things they’ve learned along their writing journey that they wish they knew at the beginning.

 

 

            

Tricia Goyer

on Twitter




by SheKnows.com. Tricia, along with a group of friends,
recently launched NotQuiteAmishLiving.com
, sharing ideas about simplifying life.
Her latest novel is THE PROMISE BOX
(Zondervan, May 2013).

 

 

1. The more you write the more creativity you have. My best ideas come one week before deadline when I’m writing long hours and my eyes burn from staring at the computer. I write down these ideas—as much as will come to be at the time. Some ideas are for books. Some ideas are for blogs, but I just write. Good words work like a well pump. When you start pumping it takes a while to get the creativity flowing, but if you keep pumping the ideas start to gush.

2. It’s okay to have be passionate about many things … and to write about them all. I write fiction and non-fiction. I write historical fiction, contemporary fiction, Amish fiction. I write articles and blogs. All of it is me, and all of it has a similar themes, no matter the venue. I write about ordinary people rising to the call, finding healing from their past, and stepping out with courage—whether that is rescuing a child in World War II, daring to becoming an individual in a closed Amish community, or simplifying your life as a parent in everyday life. All of these are part of me, and it I share them in a dynamic way my readers will jump around with me as I share my passions.

3. Relationships with other writers are the most valuable resource in a writer’s toolbox. I attended my first writers conference

in 1994. I was 22-years-old and pregnant with my third baby. I was the most unlikely person there to become a published author, and while the knowledge I learned about writing has benefited me over the years, the people I’ve met changed everything. I met a multi-published author who became a good friend. She also introduced me (and recommended me) to my agent, who I’ve worked with since 1997. I met other new authors who I connect with for support and critique. They are still my friends, and all of us have found publishing success. So many times at conferences writers stalk the agents and authors. Just as important are those sitting at the lunch table with you.

4. Writing may rob time from your family, but the benefits can’t be numbered. For years I felt guilty for spending time on my computer instead of giving my children all my attention. (They still got a lot.) I felt guilty for limiting their extra-curricular activities, too, but as they grew I realized my kids benefited from my work. We traveled to amazing places on research trips. We met noteworthy people. Mostly my kids realized that following one’s dreams took a lot of hard work, but it paid off.

5. Living deeply and fully makes the writing more powerful. I would have been content to sit in an office all day and write, but the people in my life have pulled me into real world beyond the computer. Losing a loved one, welcoming adopted children into our home, and serving those in the inner city rub me raw, but it’s from a tender heart that words become sincere.

6. Every editor can teach you something different. I’ve worked with over twenty different editors for my forty books, and they each teach me something about stronger writing. Instead of being defensive, I take note of the weaknesses they find in my writing and strive to do better on the next project.

7. You can’t fake it. You can’t fake good research. You can’t fake articles that are thrown together. You can’t fake the time and attention it takes to flesh out fictional characters out and them to life. Readers can tell, and they’ll call you out. You also can’t fake good character or your care for the reader, which is equally important, especially in today’ social media world. Hard work, dedication, and transparency with the characters (and yourself) pays off in the long run.

 

Join the Writer’s Digest VIP Program

Other writing/publishing articles & links for you:How to Write Your First Novel: 6 Pieces of Advice.

The Importance of Setting in Your Fiction.

NEW Literary Agent Seeking Writers: Claire Dunnington of Vicky Bijur Literary.

How to Write a Plan a Book Series.

Sell More Books by Building Your Author Platform

.

Follow Chuck Sambuchino on Twitter

or find him on Facebook. Learn all about his writing guides on how to get published, how to find a literary agent, and how to write a query letter.

 

Want to build your visibility and sell more books?
Create Your Writer Platform

Order the book from WD at a discount

.

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"Agent Advice" is a series of quick interviews with literary and script agents who talk with Guide to Literary Agents about their thoughts on writing, publishing, and just about anything else.

This installment features Kimberly Shumate of Living Word Literary. 

She is seeking: Adult fiction, YA fiction, Christian living, dating/marriage, parenting, self-help, apologetics, health, inspirational, environmental, social issues, pop-culture, women’s issues, and men’s issues. No cookbooks, children’s books, science fiction or fantasy, memoirs, or poetry. No simultaneous submissions, please.

GLA: How did you become an agent?

KS: After twelve years with Harvest House Publishers—first in the Sales Department then Editorial—I found that the one thing that really got my heart pumping was discovering a first-time author who possessed the raw talent to compete with established authors already in print. My imagination would sprint from “never heard of you” to “published success” in less time that it took to nuke my lunch in the microwave. From manuscript submission to contract, edit to advance copy, I could see it unfolding in my mind’s eye.
     As time went on, I was directly involved with the discovery of several new authors for Harvest House who collectively sold upwards of 750,000 copies, some receiving nominations, awards, and PW star ratings. Becoming an agent seemed the likely progression when a portion of HH’s workforce was laid off in January 2009. I was then free to launch Living Word Literary Agency and step into my dream job.

GLA: How long can the process take from being signed by an agent to receiving a book deal from a publisher?

KS: With layoffs still occurring, there are fewer employees to bear the workload, which includes people who review submissions. This means a longer waiting period for agents and their authors to receive word. It is taking anywhere between three to twelve months to get a definitive answer regarding a project. Patience and faith in your work will serve you well in this uncertain climate of change. 

GLA: Besides “good writing,” and “voice,” what are you looking for right now and not getting? 

KS: Out of the 50+ submissions I receive each week, there will be five projects that catch my eye mostly for their originality. Out of those five, maybe one will survive the scrutiny and editorial changes I suggest. That can include the book’s title and/or subtitle, the content—omissions and additions to address plot issues or to simply reach the appropriate word count—and ideas on how to build the author’s platform. If the author is willing to work with me to make their book the best it can be, this usually results with an offer of a contract, but it’s about one out of 100 submissions that are signed. Originality is what I look for first.   
     It seems that I’ve read every scenario imaginable using flat, one-dimensional characters that run out of steam by page 100. However, when I do come across that unique, intriguing tale that keeps me turn

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