In This Episode:
Barbara Poelle began her publishing career as a freelance copywriter and editor before joining the Goodman Agency in 2007.
But if you ask her, the best training she had for the industry during her brief stint as a standup comic in Los Angeles.
She’s successfully published thrillers, literary suspense, young adult and upmarket fiction – and she wants YOU to know that publishing agents are not scary gatekeepers, but advocates who WANT to publish your book.
Barbara is also the author of Funny You Should Ask: Mostly Serious Answers to Mostly Serious Questions About the Publishing Industry (Jan, 2020) based on her Writer’s Digest column of the same name. Today she shares the answers to some of those biggest questions. Let’s dive in.
Listen to this episode here:
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Episode Highlights
- How to write a great “query letter” when pitching your book to an agent
- The #1 thing you should do if you’re looking for an agent
- How to find an agent who’s more of a “publishing buddy” to make the process way more fun.
- Why the agent you’re pitching truly WANTS to publish your book
- How to embrace the weirdness of publishing where art and business collide
- What to expect from collaborating with an editor
- How to prepare for what happens AFTER you find an agent
- The questions you should be asking your agent to make sure you’re getting the best out of your publishing deal
- Barbara’s advice after publishing her own book (and why she’d go with an agent next time)
- The best time in the writing process to get a second pair of eyes on your book
And plenty more along the way. Get the resources mentioned in this episode below.
Resources Mentioned In This Episode
- Funny You Should Ask: Mostly Serious Answers to Mostly Serious Questions About the Publishing Industry by Barbara Poelle
- Irene Goodman Agency
- Barbara’s column in Writer’s Digest
- Mary Oliver
- Jack Reacher by Lee Child
- Ahab’s Wife by Sena Jeter Naslund
- White Oleander
- Art Matters by Neil Gaiman
- Isaac’s Storm by Eric Larson
- Healthy as F*ck: The Habits You Need to Get Lean, Stay Healthy, and Kick Ass at Life by Oonagh Duncan
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