How Many Followers You Need to Get a Nonfiction Book Deal

In this blog post I’m not going to give you a specific number you need to fit in order to please the Publishing Goddesses and get a book deal. 

Because there is no magic number. 

Sometimes I wish there was — like when a client with the ability to sell lots of books gets turned down by literary agents for what I think are dumb reasons. Or when editors at publishing houses don’t see what I do in a project. 

Traditional book publishing is subjective and whimsical (and not in a good way). 

One of my favorite stories to tell is that I only got to buy what became a massive bestseller because the publisher’s son believed in it. Not my colleagues, not the boss. Nope. The boss’s son, who at the time wasn’t even out of high school yet. I’ve been in rooms where people who don’t know how Instagram works or even that Canva exists say that a million followers isn’t enough. 

I could tell you more but I don’t want to discourage you. 

Because there is hope.

When folks ask me for a magic number, what they’re looking for is a level of certainty that doesn’t exist. However, the certainty that does exist is this:

• A good book will sell everyday (meaning that most book ideas aren’t time-bound or timely, so your idea can wait for you to build an audience and brand around it)

• Content is queen — because developing content like marketing emails (ahem) and social posts helps to grow your business, solidify and narrow your ideas, and make you really good at explaining who you are and what you do (which, by the way, is also awesome for Reels and audience-building)

• Followers are good but the ability to sell is better. Meaning that not every entrepreneur or expert is going to sell their book through social media. Some folks’ businesses run entirely through facilitation, or speaking, or courses, or email. 

What matters, ultimately, is your platform in the most basic sense of the word. 

How many people do you have listening to you? 

How many of those folks have bought from you before? 

How many people can you reach through the network you have? 

How will you mobilize your customers, network, and audience to not only buy the book but also spread the word creating a network effect where word of mouth starts to sell your book?

And ultimately, how will your efforts and your book generate a profit for the publisher?

When you can answer that . . . you could be ready for a book deal.