S3 E4: Serving Books 📚 Getting an agent and negotiating a book deal

Welcome to episode 10 of the Serving Books podcast series! We have covered so much ground in this series, and I hope you have found all of the previous episodes useful and interesting - please forward them on to any writers groups or writer friends you think might be interested. Copy this link and send it to your friends as it will open the podcast on whatever platform they use to listen: https://podfollow.com/1826841227 Today was supposed to be the final episode of the series BUT, as Robert Burns so elegantly put it, ‘the best laid schemes o’ Mice and Men, gang aft agley’… which is a phrase etched into my brain from when I used to teach Steinbeck’s novel to teenagers. Basically, what they were both getting at is that even good preparation can’t always stop things going astray… In my case the things that have gone astray are my ability to sit at my desk thanks to a frozen shoulder and carpal tunnel inflammation which means I never got round to inviting one of the guests I want to interview, while another guest had to postpone recording because of much more important things they needed to make space for in their own lives. This all means that for today, we are going to hear from one of my guests who is going to talk about future-proofing your career as an author. She has so much to say of value that it’s probably for the best that she gets her own episode and I can spread the wisdom out! There will be bonus episodes featuring other special guests once I am able to record them, so please tune in when those episodes are released. Please welcome, Claire Venus ✨ "Queen of Substack" and co-author of How to Build a World Class Substack! Before you dive into this episode though, if you are listening to this episode before the 24th September 2026, you might be interested in a free workshop I am running called Setting Up for Instagram Success. This is a FREE online workshop taking place on Thursday 24th September, 2-3pm GMT (replay available). We’ll spend an hour walking through the 5 opportunities you have to capture the attention of every (relevant) potential reader who lands on your account. You’ll learn how to make the best use of: * your handle * your bio * your profile picture * your links * and your pinned posts Come along and set yourself up for success as an author on Instagram! Sign up for free below to attend live and/ or receive the replay:

Welcome to episode 9 - the penultimate episode! - of Serving Books: from inspiration to publication. The podcast where I map what it takes for a book to go from being a glimmer of an idea to landing in your readers’ hands. In this series I’ve sought to answer the questions I have as a publishing industry outsider by interviewing industry experts including writing mentors, book coaches, writing community founders, editors, agents, book marketers, publicity and pr experts, and book shop owners to bring their insights and knowledge straight to your ears! In this episode I speak with three guests about a variety of ways authors can keep the momentum going post-launch that are off the beaten tracks of newsletters and social media: * James, founder of Reading Rebels, offers his insights into how authors can hold effective school visits * Karen Powell from ethical audiobook platform xigxag talks about the opportunities they offer authors to reach their listeners * and Elizabeth Morris , creator of the Crib Notes newsletter and community, tells us about the possibilities offered by working in collaboration with bookish influencers and content creators If you’re new to the podcast you might want to start at the beginning: Or, select an episode from this list of everything I’ve released so far: ✍🏻 How do you get words on the page?📖 How do you choose the right publishing path for you?🤔 What’s involved in the different stages of editing?🪝 How do you snag an agent and negotiate a book deal?🤝 What are the best ways to work *with* your publisher to prepare and promote your book?🗣️ How might you self-drive your book promotion whether you’re indie or traditional published?📕 What’s the bookseller’s view on how they select the titles they’re going to back?⬆️ How can you keep the ball rolling after publication?🔮 And how might you future-proof your career as an author?

Welcome to episode 8 of Serving Books: from inspiration to publication, the podcast for every industry-outsider who, like me, has lots of questions about how a book goes from being an idea, to landing in readers’ hands. If you’re enjoying the series so far, please share it with all your writerly friends to help me reach more listeners, or if you rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts this will help the algorithms do their magic 🪄 Serving Books answers questions like… ✍🏻 How do you get words on the page?📖 Which is the right publishing path for you?🤔 What’s involved in the different stages of editing?🪝 How to snag an agent and negotiate a book deal?🤝 What are the best ways to work *with* your publisher to prepare and promote your book?🗣️ How might you self-drive your book promotion, whether you’re indie or traditionally published?📕 What’s the bookseller’s view on how they select the titles they’re going to back?⬆️ How can you keep the ball rolling after publication?🔮 And how might you future-proof your career as an author?

Welcome to episode 7 of Serving Books: from inspiration to publication, the podcast for every industry-outsider who, like me, has lots of questions about how a book goes from being an idea, to landing in readers’ hands. If you’re enjoying the series so far, please share it with all your writerly friends to help me reach more listeners, or if you rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts this will help the algorithms do their magic 🪄 Serving Books answers questions like… ✍🏻 How do you get words on the page?📖 Which is the right publishing path for you?🤔 What’s involved in the different stages of editing?🪝 How to snag an agent and negotiate a book deal?🤝 What are the best ways to work *with* your publisher to prepare and promote your book?🗣️ How might you create an ‘author brand’ in a way that doesn’t make you want to die of cringe, and self-drive your book promotion, whether you’re indie or traditionally published?📕 What’s the bookseller’s view on how they select the titles they’re going to back?⬆️ How can you keep the ball rolling after publication?🔮 And how might you future-proof your career as an author?

Welcome to episode 6 of Serving Books: from inspiration to publication, the podcast for every industry-outsider who, like me, has lots of questions about how a book goes from being an idea, to landing in readers’ hands. In this series I’ve interviewed industry experts including writing mentors, book coaches, writing community founders, editors, agents, book marketers, publicity and pr experts, and book shop owners to bring their insights and knowledge straight to your ears by answering alllll my nosy questions! If you’re enjoying the series so far, please share with all your writerly friends to help me reach more listeners, or if you rate, review and subscribe wherever you get your podcasts this will help the algorithms do their magic 🪄 Questions like… ✍🏻 How do you get words on the page?📖 Which is the right publishing path for you?🤔 What’s involved in the different stages of editing?🪝 How to snag an agent and negotiate a book deal?🤝 What are the best ways to work *with* your publisher to prepare and promote your book?🗣️ How might you self-drive your book promotion, whether you’re indie or traditionally published?📕 What’s the bookseller’s view on how they select the titles they’re going to back?⬆️ How can you keep the ball rolling after publication?🔮 And how might you future-proof your career as an author?