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You didn’t start writing to become a content creator. You started because you had something real to say, something that mattered. But now, it feels like the publishing world expects you to be a personal brand, a marketing machine, an overnight influencer. If you’re wondering whether marketing is really necessary to get a book deal, […]

You did it—you got signed. Cue the confetti, then cue the questions. Because while “get an agent” is the headline so many blogs and podcasts push, the real story begins after representation. What exactly does a literary agent do after a book deal? Quite a lot. The literary agent after signing becomes your strategist, advocate, […]

If you’re wondering how to get signed and accelerate towards a fiction book deal, debut novelist Deanna Washington’s journey shows exactly how it’s done. Though she had already authored 13 nonfiction books, she was ready to tackle a new kind of story. Over the course of 15 months, she immersed herself in the Lucinda Literary […]

You’ve asked, so let’s make this simple: how to choose book comps? If the road from idea to book deal is long and winding, comp titles are the signs that tell agents and editors exactly where you’re headed. A comp title is a recent, successful book your project can sit beside, chosen to prove audience, […]

Welcome to the final installment of my series, 7 Things ChatGPT Can’t Tell You About Publishing. We end with one of the most common and costly mistakes nonfiction writers make: sending an agent a full manuscript instead of a nonfiction book proposal. Why Sending a Manuscript Sabotages Your Chances This happens constantly. A writer, proud […]

Welcome back to my series, 7 Things ChatGPT Can’t Tell You About Publishing. As we near the end of this series, let’s talk about something deceptively simple yet profoundly important: the signals you send through the small details of your pitch. Too often, writers assume agents are evaluating only the story itself. In truth, we’re […]

Welcome back to my series, 7 Things ChatGPT Can’t Tell You About Publishing. So far, we’ve tackled four pitfalls I see time and again in query letters and proposals: Today, we turn to pitfall number five: the overwritten query letter. If you’ve ever worried about how to sharpen your query letter, whether because your pitch […]

We’ve already explored three of the most essential ingredients for a strong submission: how too much emotional weight can overwhelm a pitch, why personalization is the difference between forgettable and irresistible, and how researching agents ensures you’re landing in the right inbox in the first place. Now comes the next element, one that can either […]

In this ongoing series, we’re diving into the nuanced strategies and emotional intelligence required to pitch your book successfully, insights you can’t glean from ChatGPT. In Part I we tackled why grief-heavy pitches can fall flat, and in Part II we explored how to personalize a universal theme to make it irresistible. Now, in Part […]

Welcome back to my series 7 Things ChatGPT Can’t Tell You About Publishing. In our first post, we covered the pitfall of grief-heavy pitches. Today, let’s tackle another common mistake I see in query letters and book proposals: relying too heavily on universal themes, without putting your personal spin on them. If you want to […]

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