What Happens When My Clients Don’t Get a Book Deal

The worst happened.

My client, who I’ll call Dani (not her real name), didn’t get a book deal. 

We had worked for months on her book proposal, and secured a literary agent with a great reputation. After some revisions, her literary agent sent the proposal to editors at every major publisher in the United States. After a round of exciting meetings in New York, the emails started to come in. 

Thanks, but we already have a similar book coming out in 2024.

I liked Dani, but this isn’t for us.

Regretfully, we’ll have to pass.

Dani’s literary agent was stumped, and didn’t have an action plan.

But I did.

First — Dani got out of her agreement with her literary agent so that she could have the flexibility and freedom to do whatever she wanted with her book in the future.

Second, I emailed a friend who worked in the foreign rights department of Penguin Random House to ask for suggestions on who might be interested in the book abroad. As an online entrepreneur based in Europe, Dani has a large audience internationally. I figured that editors and publishers in the UK (which is the world’s second-largest publishing market) might be interested.

And lastly, I revised the proposal to address the objections we had heard, at no extra cost to Dani. Suddenly, Dani had a second chance at her dream. And while it’s still not a guarantee, both Dani and I will know that we gave it our absolute best shot. 

Which is what I do for each and every client I work with — whether that’s the 80% of clients who do land the six-figure deal of their lives, or the 20% like Dani who don’t land their dream the first time.