The Steve Laube Agency is committed to providing top quality guidance to authors and speakers. Our years of experience and success brings a unique service to our clients. We focus primarily in the Christian marketplace and have put together an outstanding gallery of authors and speakers whose books continue to make an impact throughout the world.
Our Service Philosophy
Content
To help the author develop and create the best book possible. Material that has both commercial appeal and long-term value.
Career
To help the author determine the next best step in their writing career. Giving counsel regarding the subtleties of the marketplace as well as the realities of the publishing community.
Contract
To help the author secure the best possible contract. One that partners with the best strategic publisher and one that is mutually beneficial for all parties involved.
Recent Posts
Your Best Title
As you can imagine, publishers consider titles carefully. Many hold titling meetings to arrive at the best decision. This care is well placed. Avid readers rarely say, “Who cares about a book title?”
Granted, fame might allow an author to publish under any title. I remember perusing library books to find no plot summary or any information other than the author’s name and book title. The author’s photo consumed the entire back cover. That’s it. Certain readers will buy any book by some authors, but offering no information doesn’t attract new readers.
What Should the Title Say?
Regardless of the author, for a novel, I want to know about the plot; and for nonfiction, I want to know the topic before I invest time and money. To wit, here are a few titles from my personal library:
The Meaning of Life
Discovering the Character of God
Real Christianity
Mary Magdalen
Billy Graham in Quotes
Grimm’s Complete Fairy Tales
Heaven Awaits
The Tales of Guy de Maupassant
Mrs. Dunwoody’s Excellent Instructions for Homekeeping: Timeless Wisdom and Practical Advice
The Price Was High: Fifty Uncollected Stories by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Names through the Ages
These titles immediately reveal each book’s contents and intent. Admittedly, titling your book may not be as straightforward. Most readers will still need context to discern a book’s intent.
A Title May Not Tell Everything
I own a copy of Sin and Temptation. Oops! Maybe I shouldn’t have told you. That’s a racy romance novel, right?
Sure isn’t.
Additional information on the cover tells a different story. How about the sidebar touting Classics of Faith and Devotion. On top of the title, From the works of John Owen. Then the subtitle, The Challenge of Personal Godliness.
Granted, the design sacrifices eye-catching artwork. Because most publishers want to present pleasing and impactful cover art, most authors don’t have the luxury of including several boxes of written information on their covers.
Selecting Your Title
In light of most authors’ restrictions, what can we do?
- Choose few words. This makes the title easy to remember and allows the most room for fascinating artwork. Not to mention, your byline!
- For a novelist, capture a place, characters, or essence. Arizona Sizzle denotes an entirely different feeling than Vermont Cocoa.
- For nonfiction, reveal the topic. When I’m searching for nonfiction, I’m on a mission to learn and discover so the topic’s prominent appearance is helpful. To narrow my search, subtitles help even more. A Comfortable Home says a lot. A Comfortable Home: Welcoming Elderly Parents says more.
Is the Title Taken?
After you’ve chosen your title, search the internet to see if it’s been used in the past few years. Perhaps your book is nonfiction, and your chosen title is that of a novel. But many people search by title on the internet rather than perusing physical bookstore shelves where the books have been sorted by category. Thus, a recent title appearing in a search will only serve to distract your potential reader.
Steer away from classic titles. Gone with the Wind might be a great title for a storm chaser’s memoir, but difficult to market.
By the way, I searched online for titles to use in this post to be sure I didn’t make a misstep. To my amazement, I found an independently published novel titled A Comfortable Home: A Pride and Prejudice Variation.
Be Flexible
Please know that unless you’re publishing independently, the title you choose for your proposal is meant to attract agents’ and editors’ attention only. The marketing team at your publisher may decide to change your beloved title. And that’s more than okay. Trust them. They know what they’re doing.
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Monday Moments – October 5, 2026
Be Watchful Watch and pray that you may not enter into temptation. The spirit indeed is willing, but the flesh is weak. For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. Lord, we wait for you; your name and remembrance …
Fun Fridays – October 2, 2026
If I were to attend this particular book fair, I’d probably pass out from the sheer weight of history and uniqueness. The prices, however, could be fatal. Enjoy today’s video about one of the world’s greatest antiquarian book shows. [It is ten minutes long, so sit back and enjoy!] ShareTweet
Make Every Scene Matter (Part 3): Scene Endings That Keep Readers Turning Pages
You’ve probably heard this advice: End every chapter with a cliffhanger. And I agree with that to a point, but cliffhangers have different tones. If every chapter ends with someone screaming, a gun going off, or a car exploding, readers may eventually say, “Enough!” But every scene should end with a reason to keep reading. A strong scene ending creates a question, a problem, an emotional shift, or a new piece of information that makes the reader think, Okay. One more page. Here are a few ways to do that. End With a New Problem What this means is that your …
The Art of Persuasive Writing Series (6 of 7): The Work That Strengthens Writing
Your initial draft is often done with energy and care. However, its persuasive strength will only come through revision. This stage is the least fun and the hardest work because it requires a different kind of attention. It is here that your writing begins to truly shine. Revision involves careful thinking. Books are written over time, and chapters done five weeks ago may no longer be easily recalled, which creates common problems. Look for repetitive thoughts, for sentences that circle around an idea without moving it forward, and for meandering sections that slow the progress of the idea without adding …