When Shirley Liu decided she was going to write a book, she didn’t just sit down and start typing. She did something rarer, and smarter: she learned the industry first. Shirley came in with everything an agent wants to see — a strong big idea, a clear vision, and solid credentials. What she didn’t yet have was fluency in the publishing world itself. Rather than charge forward blind, she spent a year investing in education, completing two high-quality book publishing programs, including Book Publishing Accelerators. Today, she has a finished proposal, substantial sample material, a clearly positioned book concept, and a carefully developed author-platform strategy. 

Her story isn’t about overcoming writer’s block. It’s about what happens when a serious author decides to become a serious publishing professional, too.

The Rare Move: Slowing Down to Speed Up

Shirley’s starting point was stronger than most. She had the big idea. She had the vision. She had the credentials to back it up. But she also had something that separates strategic thinkers from wishful ones: the self-awareness to know what she didn’t know.

“I knew I had a book in me,” she recalls. “I had a strong big idea, a clear vision, and solid credentials. But I also knew I did not understand the publishing industry enough to move forward strategically and efficiently.”

Rather than guess her way through a proposal or query before she was ready, Shirley made a deliberate decision. She would invest in education first — and she would take it seriously.

Twelve Months, Two Programs, One Clear Path

Over the following year, Shirley researched and completed book publishing education programs — Book Publishing Accelerators among them — before she began building her proposal in earnest. It was a disciplined, sequenced approach that paid off in concrete results: a completed book proposal, a partial manuscript, a clarified concept and positioning, and a fully developed author platform.

The framework that crystallized it most? Lucinda’s signature Get Signed model: big idea, good writing, strong platform. “It’s original, clear, straight to the point, effective and true,” Shirley says. Simple on the surface, rigorous underneath — exactly what she needed to organize her thinking and focus her efforts.

What emerged wasn’t just a better proposal. It was a better decision-making process. “I now have a more informed decision-making process and self-awareness on my author career,” she reflects. “Also, a stronger book proposal for my big idea to live to its full potential.”

About the Book

Shirley Liu’s prescriptive nonfiction book 

The Long Game: Education as Strategy

There’s a temptation, when you have a great idea, to rush toward the finish line — to query before the proposal is tight, to pitch before the platform is built, to move fast and figure it out as you go. Shirley took the opposite approach, and she’d be the first to argue it’s the right one.

“Book publishing education is key,” she says. “Solid knowledge is a prerequisite to making good strategic decisions as an author. Invest in knowledge to succeed in the long haul.”

That philosophy extends to how she thinks about the community she’s found at Lucinda Literary. Shirley has now submitted her proposal to Lucinda directly, the agent she hoped to approach first, bringing the same care and intentionality to that decision that has defined her approach throughout.  “I highly appreciate her education, her trust and faith in my book,” she says. “I aim to return that trust, good will and loyalty in equal share.”

In Her Own Words

“Before I joined the Book Publishing Accelerators Program, I already knew I had a book in me. I had a strong big idea, a clear vision, and solid credentials. But I also knew I did not understand the publishing industry enough to move forward strategically and efficiently.

A year later, I now have a stronger internal compass to navigate my author career and a better book proposal that gives my big idea the chance to live up to its full potential.

Education is key. Solid knowledge is the foundation for making good strategic decisions and delivering performance as a new author. At the end of the day, it takes a village to publish a book, but the author also has to become strong, clear, and prepared enough for the whole team to succeed.”

— Shirley Liu, forthcoming prescriptive nonfiction

A Final Word to Authors Who Are Ready — But Not Yet Sure

Shirley’s advice to anyone considering Book Publishing Accelerators is the kind that only comes from someone who’s lived it:

“As a first-time author, I believe it is important to hold fierce conviction in our big idea while staying extremely humble about the publishing industry if it is a new field.”

Fierce conviction. Extreme humility. That combination — and the education to back it up — is exactly what this program is designed to build.

→ Ready to invest in the knowledge that sets your book up to succeed? Join our next Book Publishing Accelerators cohort.

About Shirley Liu

Shirley Liu, a prescriptive nonfiction book at the intersection of leadership, psychology, and neuroscience.