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7 Insider Secrets to Get a Top Agent, Publisher, and Book Deal

• 3 types of agents, and finding the best one
• How agents really work, and why you need one
• The main thing literary agents consider with your work
• 5 writer scams to avoid
• 8 seconds to get an agent’s attention, and how to do so
• Why most query letter advice is wrong

Press the play button below to listen.

Click here to view and/or download a free PDF transcript of this audio program

Interview with Brad Harper – A Knife in the Fog
(Prometheus/Seventh Street Books) 

Brad Harper was offered representation by a top literary agent, who got multiple publishers interested and a two-book deal with Seventh Street Books, an imprint of Prometheus Books in New York, distributed by Penguin Random House. Click here to listen and/or read the text transcript.

Interview with Nhi Aronheim
Soles of a Survivor (Skyhorse Publishing)

Nhi got a literary agent and her book was published in hardcover by Skyhorse Publishing, distributed by Simon & Schuster, with 56 New York Times bestsellers, named by Publishers Weekly as the fastest-growing small publisher in America. Click here to listen and/or read the text transcript.

Interview with David Hamme
Customer Focused Process Innovation (McGraw-Hill) 

David got a literary agent who secured offers from three major publishers: Amacom, Palgrave Macmillan, and Mc-Graw Hill, which published David’s book in hardcover. Click here to listen and/or read the text transcript.

Interview with Miri Leshem-Pelly
(Penguin Random House/Philomel & Kane Miller/EDC)

Miri got a literary agent and is now published with Penguin Random House/Philomel and Kane Miller/EDC publishing. Click here to listen and/or read the text transcript.

Interview with Jeri-Anne Agee
The Life and Times of Birdie Mae Hayes
(Skyhorse Publishing)

Jeri-Anne was offered representation by a top literary agent, which sold her book to Skyhorse Publishing, distributed by Simon & Schuster, with 56 New York Times bestsellers, named by Publishers Weekly as the fastest-growing small publisher in America. Click here to listen and/or read the text transcript.

Interview with Lakshmi Subramani
Lights Out (Random House)

Lakshmi got his dream literary agent, which led to a bidding war between three major publishers. Lakshmi then signed a publishing contract with Random House. Click here to listen and/or read the text transcript.

Interview with Jane Jago – The Wrong Hand
(Penguin Books/Michael Joseph)

Jane got a literary agent and her book is now published by Michael Joseph, an imprint/division of Penguin Books “‘principally interested in publishing Top Ten Bestsellers.” Click here to listen and/or read the text transcript.

Interview with Kerry K. Cox
Successul Screenwriting (Writer’s Digest Books)
Money Bear (Level Best Books) 

Kerry got two offers for representation from top literary agents, and a three-book deal, for his eco-conscious crime novel series. Kerry is also the co-author of Successful Scriptwriting, published by Writer’s Digest Books (more than 65,000 copies sold). Click here to listen and/or read the text transcript.

Interview with Soo Peer
The Essential Diversity Mindset (Red Wheel/Weiser)

Soo got a literary agent who sold her book to Red Wheel/Weiser. The book has a foreword by Clarence Page, Pulitzer Prize-winning syndicated columnist and senior member of the Chicago Tribune editorial board. Click here to listen and/or read the text transcript.

Interview with Damone Bester
Mendel (The Story Plant)

Damone is the author of the YA novel, Mendel, published by The Story Plant, a traditional publisher dedicated to quality fiction, founded by long-term industry professionals Lou Aronica and Peter Miller. Click here to listen and/or read the text transcript.

Interview with Erika Armstrong
A Chick in the Cockpit (Behler Publications)

Find out how Erika Armstrong wrote her book and got six literary agents to request her manuscript in a short amount of time. Within two weeks of her agent starting to pitch her book to publishers, Erika had an offer and a book deal. Click here to listen and/or read the text transcript.

Nelson DeMille

Nelson DeMille (who’s also written under the pen names Jack Cannon, Kurt Ladner, Ellen Kay and Brad Matthews) is a bestselling author of action adventure and suspense novels including Plum Island, The Charm School, and The Gold Coast. He is a member of The Authors Guild, past president of Mystery Writers of America, and a Book-of-the-Month Club Judge. Press the play button below to listen.

Mary Higgins Clark

Known as the “Queen of Suspense,” Mary Higgins Clark was the author of 56 bestsellers, with more than 100 million copies sold in the United States alone. Her most popular books include Where Are the Children?; Loves Music, Loves to Dance; No Place Like Home; The Cinderella Murder; and All Around the Town. Press the play button below to listen.

David Baldacci

Amy Harmon

Amy Harmon is a Wall Street Journal, USA Today, and New York Times bestselling author. Her books have been published in more than two dozen languages around the globe. Amy has written nineteen novels, including the USA Today bestseller Making Faces. Amy knew at an early age that writing was something she wanted to do, and she divided her time between writing songs and stories as she grew. Press the play button below to listen.

Rick Killian – Professional Ghostwriter

Rick Killian is a ghostwriter who (with the help of his wife and business partner, Melissa) has been helping authors and publishers create bestselling books since 1999. The Killians have helped produce nearly 75 titles that, combined, have sold over 3 million copies, including two New York Times bestsellers. Press the play button below to listen.

Beth Barany – Author Blogging & “Blog Tour” Expert

Beth Barany is a blogging expert and creator of “How To Run A Successful Blog Tour for Authors Video Course.” Over 100 students have taken Beth’s course and it has an average 5-star review rating! Press the play button below to listen.