Dear Abby ~ by Tamela Hancock Murray

Borrowed with permission from Steve Laube's Agency blog

In my current stage of life, I find it freeing not to feel compelled to share my opinion about every topic and to defend that opinion to the verbal death. I don’t feel the urge to prove my rightness through verbal sparring. Joy, indeed!

In everyday life, a friend may ask any number of questions. “What do you think of this dress?” means you should say, “Wow! You look great!”

“What do you think of my new boyfriend?” is meant to elicit, “He’s wonderful!”

“Do you like this paper I wrote?” means, “Yes!”

In other words, few friends really seek your advice on anything. They just want you to confirm they made the right decision about everything, and everything they say and do is perfect. They seek affirmation.

But there is one arena where I’m paid for my opinion, and that is as a literary agent. I take this responsibility seriously, because I understand the risks.

With writers, I’m the first to wave pom-poms and jump up and down and say, “You rock!” I love to encourage people, especially when they’ve worked long and hard to achieve goals.

But writers pay literary agents a commission for our opinions. These opinions can change the trajectory of their careers, especially in light of the current publishing climate.

No agent gets it right every time. We let good opportunities slip by, and take other projects that end up being time wasters for everyone.

But here’s what we as agents do: we keep up with the latest in publishing, ranging from which editors are moving to what houses (and there are many, many job transitions at any given time), to what type of books editors are seeking, and on and on.

You may say, “Well, Christian publishing houses are always going to be looking for good Christian books.” True. But the nuances and shifts are often, many, and varied. And consider the change involving e-books, indie publishing, mergers, and lines shutting down. As agents, we learn everything we can so we can give our clients advice based on education and knowledge, not emotion and fuzzy math.

My clients know I tailor my advice to each person. I work with writers to achieve their personal goals so they can enjoy their careers while being successful.

So while giving advice is always risky, we strive to give our clients the best advice we can. Good guidance, talent, and hard work are the keys to success.

Your turn:

What part of publishing gives you the most anxiety?

What is the best advice you’ve ever been given in regard to publishing? 

Tamela Hancock Murray has been an agent for over 12 years. A bestselling, award-winning author of twenty novels, novellas, and nonfiction books, Tamela brings the perspective of a working writer to her role as a literary agent. As an agent she represents many top authors and continues to develop new talent. She earned her BA with honors in Journalism from Lynchburg College in Virginia. Today she enjoys living in Northern Virginia with her family. She can often be found reading books on her Kindle.

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Fancy Schmancy ~ by Tamela Hancock Murray

Tamela Hancock Murray joined The Steve Laube Agency after serving as an agent with Hartline Literary Agency for a decade. A bestselling, award-winning author of twenty novels, novellas, and nonfiction books, Tamela brings the perspective of a working writer to her role as a literary agent. As an agent she represents many top authors and continues to develop new talent. She earned her BA with honors in Journalism from Lynchburg College in Virginia. Today she enjoys living in Northern Virginia with her family. She can often be found reading books on her Kindle.

This article is reposted form the Steve Laube Agency blog with permission.

I just saw a funny short video about how to go from boring to fancy. Examples included labeling the same bread as “bread” and then “artisan bread” and the identical “cheddar” as “aged cheddar.”

I would have gone with “artisan” cheddar, myself. The last time our family dined in a restaurant with my in-laws in Connecticut, “Cheese made by Vermont artisans,” was offered as an appetizer.

How about adding letters to an ordinary word? An example: Ye Olde Shoppe. Would you rather shoppe there than shop at Nordstrom?

Does drinking water out of a crystal goblet make the water seem fancier than drinking the same water out of an everyday glass?

How about paying money for water that comes bottled instead of from the tap? I have read articles that claim some bottled water is, in reality, tap water. I don’t know if that’s true.

Since I’m a literary agent, I’m always about two steps from putting just about anything into the context of books. As I watched the video, I couldn’t help but think about character markers. How “fancy” are your characters?

Is your current WIP populated with suburbanites paying plenty to dine on artisan cheese or cowgirls sprinkling store-brand shredded cheddar on tuna casserole they made themselves? I suppose this example comes to mind since though I’m not a cowgirl, I’ll be sprinkling lots of Harris Teeter shredded cheddar on my homemade tuna casserole tonight.

Better yet, how do you keep your character markers fresh? The “beat-up Chevy” is an easy marker for a character of limited means, but I don’t find it especially original. Neither is a rich person driving a Ferrari. Give me character markers — yes. Those are great shortcuts to show us your character’s values. But don’t just give a rich character a Rolex, Dolce and Gabbanna perfume, Bulgari sunglasses, Christian Louboutin shoes, a Prada purse, a Bentley, and a Tiffany ring.

Likewise, don’t just give your poor characters clunker cars. You can, but perhaps also let us know that Dad gave them the car as a graduation present. And away from the car issue, you might show us how creative they are with thrift store and yard sale finds. Or perhaps show the character spending where she needs to spend and being thrifty when she can. Perhaps she splurged on a string of cultured pearls or gold hoop earrings on sale at the local family jeweler, and wears them every day as a signature.

Even more interesting is why those markers mean something to the character. For instance, when I was a little girl, Grandma Hancock liked to wear a fox stole. The kind where the foxes bite each others’ tails. 

My mother thinks it’s creepy. But my grandmother left it to me in her will because I was always so fascinated with the stole when I was a little girl. I don’t wear the stole, despite my husband’s jokes I should wear it to the ACFW banquet, but it means a lot to me.

My other grandmother, “Precious,” gave me two coats with fox fur collars. I don’t wear them because the cut and colors are out of style, but they mean a lot to me. Why? Not only are they from my grandmothers, but the items represent luxury enjoyed by rural women who were richer in love than money.

If you give a character a possession marker, say, a Rolex watch, why does he own it? Is because the name is famous and he has recently become wealthy? Or did his father own a Rolex? Or three?

Or does your hero wear a Timex and wouldn’t buy a Rolex if he had the money? Or he has the money but chooses to not to buy traditional markers of the wealthy?

Let me give a word of caution on characters with designer knockoffs. The fashion industry considers knockoffs a form of stealing. By “knockoff” I do not mean a Chanel-inspired bag your character bought at Macys. I refer to an item that’s a direct imitation, meant to deceive.

Of course, you never want to get too bogged down with your characters’ possessions. But having her share a story about a key item can be fun and enlightening. Just like learning about a real-life friend you want to know.

Your turn:

Do you wear a signature piece of jewelry or perfume? Have you thought of giving a character this type of marker?

What is the most memorable character marker you have seen?

In the context of a great story, do you prefer to read about characters who are extremely rich or extremely poor?

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Keys to a Great Book Proposal ~ by Tamela Hancock Murray

“I think book proposals are one of the most difficult things to write, second only to obituaries.”



When I received this email from one of my authors, Sherry Gore, (and yes, I have permission to quote her), I could relate. I’ve never written obituaries, even though writing one’s own is a popular goal-setting exercise. But I have written and read many book proposals so I know they aren’t easy to write. Sometimes they aren’t easy to read. So how can you make your book proposals easy to read? When my assistant and I are scanning proposals, here are the key points we first notice:

1) Format: Is the overall look of the proposal easy on the eye? A poorly-formatted proposal won’t be rejected if we are wowed by the content, but proposals with a pleasing appearance make a great impression.

2) Title: Tell us immediately what we are viewing: Fiction/nonfiction? Series/standalone? Genre? Historical/contemporary?

3) Hook: What is the spirit of your book?  Fried Green Tomatoes meets Star Trek? Or A Systematic Approach to Spiritual Spring Cleaning?

4) Back Cover Blurb: In two or three short paragraphs, make me want to buy your book. Take the time to make this sparkle, because great back cover copy will help sell me on your book, then the editor, then the pub board, then marketing, then your readers.

5) Info: Can critical facts be found with little effort, including:

      a.) published/unpublished status


       b.) sales figures for published authors


       c.) manuscript status, including when it can be completed


       d.) manuscript history

6) Summary: I find that one-page summaries usually work best. If you have already invested in a lengthy summary, you can include a short summary and a long summary.

7) Market Comparisons: Showing us books that are similar to yours will help us know where your book will fit in today’s market. Be respectful rather than critical of other authors’ work when comparing. Show how your book fits into the market, but is still unique enough to attract readers.

8 ) Endorsers: This area causes many authors anxiety because they may not be acquainted with big name authors, or they are afraid that listing a friend may be promising too much. Rest assured that no agent or editor thinks a big name author is a guaranteed endorser. We all know that popular authors’ schedules are packed and that the timing to read your book may or may not work. I recommending listing three names of authors you know well enough that you can approach them for an endorsement. If you honestly have no idea, it’s better not to list anyone than to list impossible names. Don’t distress — your agent can work with you here.

These key points are by no means inclusive. I have only hit the high points on some of the areas that tend to make authors jittery. Don’t worry. Do your best with the proposal, and write the best book you can. That’s all we ask!

For complete guidelines, visit our site here. These may be our guidelines, but they are universally accepted as an excellent and proper way to write a proposal.

We look forward to seeing your work!

Your turn:

What do you think is the hardest part of a proposal to write?

What is the easiest part of a proposal to write?

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