Stop Thinking Small

Many of you are dreaming about a book deal, but haven’t yet dared to consider the possibility of a bestseller. First things first…

But if you’re not thinking about your book as a bestseller, or considering how to set yourself and your book up to achieve that, you’re approaching this all wrong.

What a publisher means by a bestseller is a book that continues to sell over time. Hitting the ever-elusive New York Times list can help toward this goal… but it is actually long term sales that publishers care about—and what they’re really after when evaluating your work.

Producing a bestselling book doesn’t often happen on the book’s merit alone, but rather through careful and meticulous planning. In today’s competitive book market, you can’t afford to present yourself and your work as anything less than having this potential. The best proposals—the ones we sign—demonstrate not only an existing tribe rallying behind the idea, but a vision for finding all of those (thousands of) readers beyond the ones that already know and love you. This vision is typically communicated in a stellar and concise marketing plan included in the book’s proposal.

But so many writers are lost on how to craft such a plan. They’re natural writers, not marketers.

Fortunately, there are secret strategies, shortcuts to building a platform, and ways to give agents and editors a reason to place a bet on you.

One of our favorite secret strategies?

If you need more social media followers but prefer to concentrate on what you do best—writing—consider a short pitch to a notable publication. One well-placed article could bring you agent attention, social media followers, and more.

In the coming days, we’ll tell you about one of our longtime authors and dearest friends—how social media helped Lucinda to find him, and how he created bestselling books that changed his career and life’s trajectory in ways he never thought possible.

You’ll also have the chance to meet with this author and Lucinda both in November 2021. We hope their story, and all the lessons they have to share, will inspire you and help you on your path to publishing your very own bestselling book.