FAQ: What Does It Mean When a Writer Is Approached By A Publisher Out of the Blue and What Should They Do?
Is it legit? A scam? Here are some ways to think about it.
A very smart person in my business mastermind was approached by a small publishing company to write a book. She is an expert in the world of dog sports and the offer was to write a book in her area of expertise.
She wrote:
“I realize that this is a big undertaking and not the priority in my business right now. However, I am considering this as a future project as I already have thought about it. Can anyone direct me to where I can educate myself on:
- What writing a book really involves (and how this might help / hinder my business)
- What to consider when choosing a publishing company
- Anything I want to be wary of with respect to the publishing company that approached me
- What I don’t know that I don’t know!”
These questions offer an incredibly valuable bit of insight into what people who are NOT in the world of books are thinking about and worried about — and why they so desperately need strategic help.
Let’s break down this person’s confusion and take it one question at a time:
What writing a book really involves …?
This is a BIG question. Where would someone go to be educated on what writing a book really involves? Most people who have not done it vastly underestimate how hard it is and how long it takes. Sure, you can crank out a book by cobbling together newsletters or dictating into a voice recorder, but that is not likely the kind of book that would serve someone’s career.
But where can you learn about what it’s really like?
I read all the publishing Substacks ( Publishing Confidential, Agents & Books, Before and After the Book Deal) but someone coming in cold from the outside might not glean what they need to know from those resources.
Courtney Maum’s book, Before and After the Book Deal would be a good resource and Jane Friedman’s The Business of Being a Writer
There are a lot of great podcasts on publishing, but they tend to be craft focused, or focused on pitching. I don’t think they would be much help here. A podcast episode where someone has shared their experience of writing a book could be a fast way to get some good insight. You could Google some of the big entrepreneurs who have written nonfiction books and spoken about the experience on their podcasts. I’d try Amy Porterfield, Rachel Rodgers, and Jenna Kutcher, to begin with. I mention these names because they weren’t writers before they wrote their books and I know I’ve heard all three of them talking about their experience on their podcasts. (It’s worth noting that all those entrepreneurs used book coaches; people who know they don’t know the world of writing and books are wise to get help!)
You could talk to a book coach who understands the process and works in your genre. Many coaches offer sessions that are strategy-focused or “pick my brain” focused so you can ask all your questions. You can search the Author Accelerator directory of certified coaches for someone who is a good fit: authoraccelerator.com/matchme.
Long story short: writing a book is hard. No matter how you do it, it’s going to take time, effort, energy, brain space, patience, and other resources. You want to make sure it’s a good move for your business, and for your heart and soul.
…(and how this might help / hinder my business)…?
This is another giant question. The two ways a book might hinder a business are:
You write a bad book. If you write a book that is poorly conceived, poorly produced, and does not represent you well, you could harm your reputation or your ego or both.
You waste resources. If you spend a lot of time, effort, energy, and money writing a book, it hurts you in two ways. You spend those resources, but you also don’t do other things that could have helped you with other goals, such as build a course, start a podcast, become a speaker, or learn a new marketing strategy that could boost your business.
The number of ways a book (which I will assume here is a good book) can help a business are countless, but here are a few of the big ones:
Build Credibility and Authority
Our culture places a high value on people who write books. Writing a book instantly positions you as a credible expert in your field. Whether or not they are right, people often assume that if you’ve written a book, you know more than other people. This can elevate your reputation and increase the trust people have in you.Attract More Clients
A book can act as a powerful way to amplify your business. When potential clients read your book, they get a clear, in-depth understanding of your methods, values, and personality. This helps build the essential “know/like/trust” factor that helps people feel confident investing in your services.Increase Visibility
Having a published book gives you a reason to pitch yourself to podcasts, blogs, conferences, and media outlets. Many hosts and event planners are actively looking for new voices and timely content. A new book gives them a reason to say yes.Open Doors to Partnerships
A book can help attract business partners, referral sources, and speaking or teaching opportunities. Other professionals and organizations may be more likely to engage with you when your ideas are captured in a book that communicates your expertise and vision.Codify Your Frameworks
Writing a book helps you distill your process, refine your thinking, and clarify your unique approach to whatever it is you do. It can serve as a foundation for future offerings—like courses, workshops, or signature programs—and it ensures that your intellectual property is documented in a way that adds long-term value to your brand and business.
What to consider when choosing a publishing company..?
This is another HUGE question. There are so many things to think about, but here are the big ones:
The structure of the deal and what they are offering in terms of financial reward, and creative and intellectual control. With so many different kinds of paths to publishing now available, there are a thousand ways to slice and dice a deal and it takes some time to understand most offers. This is one of the reasons agents are so valuable; they help writers discern whether or not an offer is a good one.
The particular services they are offering. Traditional publishers offer editing, production, distribution, marketing, and PR. Writers are expected to participate in all of these efforts (well, they’re not at the printing press looking at paper choices…). The writer is part of the team, but the publisher is carrying the financial risk and provides the professionals. Hybrid publishers split the risk with the writers in different ways, but still may provide professionals to help with all the elements of publishing a book. When you self publish, you act like a general contractor, taking on all of the risk and all of the tasks of producing the work and publishing it yourself. ]
Their reach, especially as it relates to media and distribution. Can they get the book into bookstores? Target? Costco? Airports? Can they get books reviewed in mainstream media? Into the hands of influencers? You want to think about your goals for the book, how you will market it, and what a strong publishing partner would be for you.
Their reputation, which is to say the kinds of books they publish, the way those books tend to do in the marketplace, and the way the authors feel after working with them. Certain publishers have excellent reputations, which an be valuable in and of itself—to have been chosen can mean something.
Anything I want to be wary of with respect to the publishing company that approached me?
My first thought was that this sounded exactly like one of those scams that I get all the time from people inviting me to pay to be part of some magazine write-up of high achievers or to join a very special networking group for the low price of whatever it is.
Legitimate publishers don’t usually approach writers in this way because they don’t have to. Writers are coming to them in waves.
This company could be a packager, which is an entity that produces a book or a series of books and hires writers to do the work as a work-for-hire contractor. In this case, the writer may be giving up far more control and many more rights than they imagine.
So I would be wary of everything. Who are they, what is the deal they are offering, why are they approaching writers, what is their reputation?
This is where you have to dig in and do some research — and someone who is not in the industry might have a hard time doing this on their own. There are a lot of scammers and bad actors out there. But there are also a lot of new and interesting hybrid models that might LOOK unusual but could be awesome for the right writer in the right situation.
I asked my friend for follow-up information — who is the publisher, what exactly did they offer?— and she shared some things that would be red flags for sure. Among those red flags:
A very low advance
A split of the intellectual property rights
Pressure to make a decision quickly
A super low advance offered before there is even a synopsis of a book smells fishy to me. Pressure to make a move fast smells on a deal like this (one that came in cold) smells really fishy to me.
And the question of who owns what right to a work is a very nuanced question where writers can get in a lot of trouble if they don’t know what they’re doing; you definitely want to study the offer and consult an intellectual property attorney (or an agent, if you had one.) I would not even trust myself to evaluate this aspect of a book deal, and I have been in this business for 35 years.
I can’t get control back from one of my books because of a clause in a contract that was standard back in the day and I don’t even want to burned in that way again.
More Intel
What’s interesting is that my friend said there are a number of well known experts in her field already on the publisher’s list. So while my first impression was that something was very off with this offer, that bit of information would lead me to look more closely, dig into this situation, and talk to some of those writers to see what their experience was.
Maybe this publisher happens to be carving out a really specialized niche in dog sport books and they have a model that works and it’s a cool opportunity.
But then why the pressure to move quickly? I still don’t like that.
What I don’t know that I don’t know!
The thing to understand is that a writer in this situation doesn’t know anything except that they have been approached with an intriguing offer. It’s flattering to think that someone wants your work, but flattery is not enough motivation for making a complex business decisions.
When faced with an inquiry like this, I would take several deep breaths. I would not make any quick moves. I would be skeptical as I thought about each aspect of the offer. But above all else, I would step back and think about WHY.
Why write a book? Why now? If you weren’t pursuing it before, why pursue it now? Or if you were considering it as a someday thing, why would you let someone else’s timeline dictate your own?
If you are an expert in your field with a great reputation and an audience who is engaged with your work, you can write a book whenever you wish. Unless your topic is super timely, there is no rush.
In Conclusion
Seeing this question come in from my friend reminded me of how valuable a book coach can be for someone who doesn’t know anything about our industry. We may not have all the answers, but we know what questions to ask and we can keep a writer from letting their ego drive their business decisions.