How I Got a Literary Agent + Book Deal with a Publishing House

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You asked I answered! The scoop on maybe my proudest moment to date.

 

Have you ever wanted to write a book and get it published? Well, then today’s episode is a MUST listen! In this episode, I break down how I got a literary agent (after pitching 200+ people) and what it looked like to score a publishing deal with my #1 top choice of publishing houses. (Holy crap, pinch me! I can’t believe I even can write that officially now!) This has been a 7-month journey from start to finish and I break down everything you need to know if you want to score a book deal too. So, here are all my tips! AND — I can say it for real now — I’m going to be an author!! (I literary could cry happy tears as I write this from my laptop).

 

In this episode, you'll learn:

 

  • The whole A to Z process of getting a publishing deal with a traditional publishing house.

  • How to get a literary agent (even if you don’t have a big following).

  • How to query literary agents and what you should write in your pitch.

  • What goes into a non-fiction book proposal and how to write one! (I give you the scoop on my 53-pages of awesomeness).

  • How I got a top literary agent (and one of the top 5 dealmakers in my niche).

  • What I did when I got two offers from agents, how I interviewed them and did my due diligence on each of them in order to make my choice. (+ The sign from the universe that I asked for and received!)

  • How my agent LITERALLY sold my book in 1 month — which is kind of unheard of, but Maryann is an incredible agent and she did say my book was really special. * swoon! *

  • What a literary agent does and how they help you.

  • How much money you can make from a book.

  • My advice if you want to get a book deal with a small following + what else you can leverage instead.

  • What it was like to get interviewed by an editor at a publishing house.

  • The difference between self-publishing and traditional and 3 reasons why I was super keen on doing it the traditional way (which actually might surprise you!)

 

Resources mentioned:

Free Quiz: What’s Your Zone of Genius?

Your Conscious Empire

Publisher’s Marketplace

Jen Sincero’s Book Proposal Course: How to Write and Sell Your Non-Fiction Book Proposal

List of books mentioned here: kellytrach.com/tools

 

Find Kelly:

 

Instagram: @kellytrach

kellytrach.com

Music for The Kelly Trach Show is by Ikson: soundcloud.com/ikson

Support for this episode comes from our partners. You can find their discount codes here: kellytrach.com/tools