The February Edition: How First-Time Authors Succeed

Lucinda Halpern shared her latest publishing insights from this month. Read on to see her latest news, and if you’d like to receive her monthly newsletter directly in your inbox, sign up here.

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In the process of becoming an author, where is it that you tend to get stuck?

Many writers say they found it too hard to make the time to just write. Other times, aspiring authors express how they struggle to believe in themselves, harboring a fear of not being good enough to achieve their dream of publishing.

To this I ask: what would failure look like, if you haven’t entirely defined success? ​ For some, success is finally writing and publishing a complete book. While this act is certainly laudable, simply publishing one cannot be an act of ego. In my experience, the most successful authors achieve something more: they develop an understanding who their readers are, connect with them religiously, and track the data of what their audience wants most. These are all essential ingredients to getting seen and getting signed by the industry.

Many of the upcoming 2025 titles from Lucinda Literary authors, (which you can read more about ​here​) originated with years of soul-searching by these authors, who road-tested several variations of their book ideas and ultimately removed themselves as the stars of their stories.

For example, our clients Casey and Meygan Caston, founders of Marriage 365, have ​spoken candidly about their own personal challenges in their marriage​. Despite their love, Casey and Meygan found themselves in a place where they didn’t have the tools to navigate conflict and communication, nearly leading to divorce. The couple’s honesty about their journey resonated with so many others they connect with online, sparking a movement that has grown exponentially. From this, they founded their mission to help other couples, built a vibrant business, and landed major book deal.

Here’s another example: take one of our first students of the Get Signed ​course​, alumna-turned-published author Dr. Mary Anderson. Dr. Mary’s decade long journey to authordom and sharing her mission to help “happy high achievers” ​wasn’t without challenges​. Just as she prepared to take an important meeting for her book, her father passed away and she found herself on a plane across the country for his funeral. When she returned, she was grieving, but determined to honor her father’s legacy and her dream.

Putting her perfectionism aside, Dr. Mary pushed through rounds of feedback and critique. She worked diligently on her query letter—a skill she honed with the help of ​KN Literary​ and ​Nardi Media​, which led her to coaching with us—and finally felt ready to share her big idea and pitch with agents. It wasn’t long before Dr. Mary successfully managed to meet with a literary agent who recognized the brilliance and timeliness of her book idea. We were honored to represent Mary in finding her a publishing deal with a ​Big Five publisher.​

As you can see, book success hardly happens overnight. In fact, it’s often the case that the best stories emerge after a fair amount of trial and error. This growth and evolution is what sets apart great authors.

As we’re fully rolling into this new year, Lucinda Literary’s agents and talent ​scouts​ have combined forces and took the time from out of book-selling to guide writers in accelerating their ​process​—from ideation, to finding a readership (and pinpointing what they craved most), to identifying the right publishing path. Educating writers at scale was always my deepest mission in founding Lucinda Literary, so I’m very grateful to find an entire team shares this mission. But guess what: it took me over ten years to get there, too. Between building this business and publishing my own book… I wish I’d had an accelerator program of my own!

Whether or not you have participated in our ​classes​, free Q&As, Instagram ​Lives​, I am cheering you on in this long and winding journey. I want you to have the best strategies—the ones agents themselves used, which I describe in detail in Get Signed.

If there’s something more that we can provide for you, I encourage you to take this “Connection Session ​Survey​.”

Who knows, I may be connecting with you over a coffee in New York very soon. 🙂

Lucinda Literary Recommended Reads: What We’re Loving Right Now

There’s something special about the books we find ourselves drawn to—whether it’s the comfort of a classic, the thrill of a new release, or a hidden gem we just can’t put down. This week, we asked our community: What are you currently reading? And here’s what they shared:

Julia is diving into gothic literature with Carmilla by J. Sheridan Le Fanu, the vampire story that predates Dracula. With the buzz around the upcoming Nosferatu movie, it’s the perfect eerie read.

Elizabeth just turned the last page of The Song of Achilles by Madeline Miller—a breathtaking, heart-wrenching retelling of the Iliad through the eyes of Patroclus. A must-read for fans of mythology and lyrical prose.

Craig is deep into At War with Ourselves by H.R. McMaster, an insightful take on leadership and decision-making in times of crisis.

Emma is embracing the classics with The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes by Arthur Conan Doyle. Timeless, gripping, and full of twists—who doesn’t love a good mystery?

Portia is enchanted by Bloodmarked by Tracy Deonn, the second book in the Legendborn series. If you love magic, mythology, and fierce heroines, this one’s for you.

Kelly is rereading ​Breath by James Nestor​. Breathing is vital to our lives… and it’s an unnoticed art. Backed by medical texts of old to the latest cutting-edge research, this book turns everything you thought you knew about about breathing on its head.

Lucinda has finally ensconced herself in the New York Times bestseller The Most Fun We Ever Had by Claire Lombardo. She’s doing so slowly, happily interrupted by her two young daughters, and by fresh manuscripts just in from clients Chris Bailey, Nicole McNichols, and Ron Friedman.