The Road to Me 2.0: How I Got My Book Deal

September 10, 2008 at 11:13 am | In Me 2.0, Personal Branding | 12 Comments

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I’m going to start a series of posts on the road to Me 2.0, which will be my first book, due out on Amazon in November and book stores nationally next April (2009). It will be published by Kaplan Publishing. You might know this brand name as the creator of study guides for the SAT’s or GMAT’s, amongst others. They also offer Kaplan Test Prep courses.

Today’s post is on how I got my book deal. I’ll be 25 years old on Sunday, so I’m sure this will be inspiring to any millennial out there.

The idea!

First off, I always hated writing, presenting and reading and now that’s most of what I do (didn’t find my passion). I spent 8 months trying to get a job without professional networking. It’s not because I wasn’t qualified, but more so that the jobs I was applying for were already filled by others who had “connections.” I had 8 internships, 7 leadership positions and straight A’s at College, but as I tell everyone, today that isn’t even enough. So this was certainly me pushing out to hiring managers in hopes of getting a full-time job upon graduation, which I eventually did.

After over a year, I experimented with this blog, an award, a TV podcast series, freelance writing and a magazine. The result, after 6 months, was a press article in Fast Company. This article was found by my company’s PR group and sent to a VP. Instead of being interviewed for a position that was aligned with my passion (outside of the company), I got to co-create it. Once this happened, I knew I had a story. My motto was “the goal of personal branding is to be recruited based on your brand, not applying for jobs.”

Cool huh!?

Trail #1 – the publisher reach out

At this time, I really didn’t understand the publishing game, so I figured I would do some research. I came across Wiley & Sons who wanted me to write them a proposal. Without naming names and how I was treated, let’s just say that after a few months they rejected my proposal. Like everything else, the first job you apply for or book deal will be the hardest because everyone wants to see your previous results. There is even a section in a book proposal template where they want you to cite the amount of books you sold previously.

This first attempt failed BUT it really helped me outline the entire book and collect my thoughts, so it was a necessary evil.

Trail #2 – the agent spamming

A few mentors told me that in order to get a book deal, you need an agent. Agent’s take about 15% of the revenues for your book for the lifetime the book. The good side is that they have the burden for finding the offer and negotiating a competitive rate. I sent a pitch to 70 agents using www.agentquery.com.

Here are some of the lovely notes I received:

  • Come back when you’re a celebrity.
  • Sorry I don’t have time to take on another project.
  • Please mail me the entire manuscript.
  • Haha are you serious?

Most people would give up right? Not when you’re passionate, determined and believe in your project.

I went back to the drawing board and starting writing the book. I finished about 4 chapters, collected 60 research reports and about 30 or so expert quotes at that time. My idea? I wanted to attach personal brands to the book to give it credibility.

Trial #3 – one last stand

A few months later I met Paul Gillin, who is the author of “The New Influencers” and forthcoming book called “Secrets of Social Media Marketing,” at a SNCR conference. I knew that Paul had authored a book after my management told me. I asked Paul what I should do next and he said “just go for it.” Sounds simple huh?

It’s easier to accept guidance from someone else sometimes. Even though I knew I had to do it, that advice pushed me forward, so I thank him (especially because an unnamed author laughed in my face). I went back to the drawing board and wrote another 6-page proposal. I had come a long way at this point, with an established brand. At this time, I heard back from one agent that wanted to work with me. He was an ex-Yankees player, who published some Yank-books. I’m not a baseball fan, but I have lived in Boston forever.

Mission accomplished

Instead of spamming 1,000 publishers or agents, I targeted two: McGraw-Hill and Kaplan Publishing. Why these two? They publish a lot of books for my audience (Gen-Y) and have educational brand names that support my project. It was January of this year and I was expected to hear back, while on a cruise ship. A week before the one agent who wanted to represent me dropped off. I continued and got a book deal 2 days after I returned from my cruise. The rest is history!

12 Comments »

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  1. Dan this is such an inspirational story. Keep up the fantastic work.

    Comment by Scott Bradley — September 10, 2008 #

  2. Hi Dan,

    Thank you for sharing your personal story of perseverance. I truly appreciate it.

    Comment by Roxanne Ravenel — September 10, 2008 #

  3. [...] function submitform() { document.bcsearchform.submit(); } Dan Schawbel The Road to Me 2.0: How I Got My Book Deal 09.10.08 Print This | Email This Subscribe to my podcast series I’m going to start a [...]

    Pingback by The Road to Me 2.0: How I Got My Book Deal : Brazen Careerist - A Career Center for Generation Y — September 10, 2008 #

  4. I remember talking to you but I hope I gave you more practical advice than that! LOL. I’m delighted it worked out for you. Getting a book contract at 25 is quite an accomplishment and you should be proud.

    Comment by Paul Gillin — September 11, 2008 #

  5. Why not just write the book then find a publisher? I went through the same process as you, but I decided I’m writing my book regardless if I have an agent or publisher, and if they want it after, maybe I’ll consider it, or I’ll just self-publish.

    The agent I had for a bit did nothing for me except review a proposal I did and tell me to redo it and send it back. 9 months later, after never hearing from him, I nullified the contract.

    Just go for it is appropriate, that’s what I’m doing.

    Comment by Jim Kukral — September 12, 2008 #

  6. Thanks for the story Dan (and ‘hello again’!).
    Congratulations on your book.
    My story with getting a book deal was down to a smart idea and luck.
    I’d already written 15,000 words when i approached a few publishers cold. I created a video of me talking about the book and sent the youtube link to some publishers and agents. Wiley picked me up and offered me a deal. I didn’t bother with any proposal forms, i just sent them what I’d written. Sure, they get loads of synopses and ideas emailed to them every day, but not so many video clips!
    My second book ‘Juggle’ is out early 2009…

    Comment by Ian Sanders — September 16, 2008 #

  7. Great, inspirational story. It’s surprising (but shouldn’t be, in hindsight) how similar to job hunting your adventure was. For example, like you found out with the book proposal, agent spamming (resume blasting) is much less effective than highly-targeting only a few publishers (hiring companies). And in the end you did it all yourself, without needing an agent (headhunter).

    I think that at the rate your brand is going, if you’d have waited another year, a publisher or 2 would have come to insist you write a book.

    Stumbled this for you, Dan:
    http://jobmob.stumbleupon.com/review/25466863/

    Comment by jacobshare — September 16, 2008 #

  8. [...] My first post talked about how I got the idea to write Me 2.0 and how I confronted adversity head-on to claim my publishing deal with Kaplan. Today, I’m going to enlighten you on a few coincidences that are ironic and really set the stage for the future (and my future). [...]

    Pingback by The Road to Me 2.0: How I Was the Chosen One « Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel — September 17, 2008 #

  9. [...] Schawbel from http://personalbrandingblog.wordpress.com/ (No Ratings Yet)  Loading … My first post talked about how I got the idea to write Me 2.0 and how I confronted adversity head-on to claim my [...]

    Pingback by HRM Today - Blog Archive » The Road to Me 2.0: How I Was the Chosen One — September 18, 2008 #

  10. [...] a chance to give you some background and context before you start reading it. I’ve told you how I got my book deal and why I was the chosen one. Now it’s time to tell you why I wanted to write this book. Ari [...]

    Pingback by The Road to Me 2.0: Why I Decided to Write this Book « Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel — September 26, 2008 #

  11. [...] “Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success.” I’ve spoke about how I got my book deal and how fate has led to me write this book. I’ve also mentioned the idea behind the title [...]

    Pingback by The Road to Me 2.0: Presentation at MIT and Book Cover Revealed! « Personal Branding Blog - Dan Schawbel — November 5, 2008 #

  12. [...] book is called “Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success.” I’ve spoke about how I got my book deal and how fate has led to me write this book. I’ve also mentioned the idea behind the title “Me [...]

    Pingback by HRM Today - Blog Archive » The Road to Me 2.0: Presentation at MIT and Book Cover Revealed! — November 6, 2008 #


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