Welcome back to The Microdose Diet a newsletter about personal and professional development using alternative medicines, such as microdosing psychedelics. 🍄
12 months ago I finished the first draft of my first book, Paris, Mushrooms and Me, a memoir on my experience microdosing psychedelics…at that time I had no idea about the wonderful world of publishing and what I was getting myself into!
Today, I have a NY-based literary agent and a book deal with a US-based independent publisher distributed by one of the Big 5 publishers for a different book, a non-fiction, The Microdose Diet - the 90 Day Plan for Success and Happiness.
This progress in barely 1 year is actually quite a feat. When you understand the mechanics of the publishing industry, which I do now, but didn’t at the time, you realize that the probability of this happening was extremely low. For me and my tribe this outcome is also a fabulous proof point that The Microdose Diet does work fabulously well in bringing success! 😀
It was fun for me to learn, however, in retrospect, I would not have mind knowing a bit more about the intricacies of the industry before launching myself into it.
I learnt quite a few lessons along the way, and am happy to share with you the most eye-opening ones. In a nugget, writing the book is just half the battle.
Happy Reading!
🧑🤝🧑 Platform-Author Wanted
The first and probably most important insight when you are looking at professionally publishing a book is: You need a following. Especially for a non-fiction book. Yes, you might think that this has nothing to do with writing a quality book and you would be absolutely right. However, (surprise, surprise!) the publishing industry being for-profit the focus is more on an author’s ability to sell books, than on their ability to write them.
For context, 500K to 1M books are published every year (and if you add the self-published books this amount skyrocket to 4M). The average US book now sells less than 200 copies per year and less than 1000 copies over its lifetime. The typical self-published author sells about five copies of his book. To be assessed as a success, depending on the publisher, a book will have to sell 30-50K copies. To appear on the coveted New York Times Bestseller list requires an author to make a minimum of 5K book sales in a single week across diverse retailers and from multiple geographic locations.
These statistics give you a better idea of why publishers and agents now want to represent platform authors with sizeable following; It maximizes the chance for the book to sell and be profitable.
If you have a solid following, which for a publisher means hundreds of thousands if not millions of people, but don’t like to write, fret not! Your publisher will match you with a ghost writer.
If you are a solid writer with something interesting to say and hope to one day traditionally publish a book (aka through a professional house), you know what you have to do; get cranking on building your following.
✍️ Are You Already a Writer?
The second insight is something I faced all my life, and you probably have too: you need to already be it, to be it. What I mean by that is that most authors who get published (especially fiction writers) have already been writing professionally for years, whether for magazines, or as ghost writers, editors and so on.
They know the business inside-out and have the right relationships; they also have a track record and are a known-quantity.
This is always quite frustrating and reminds me of moving to Canada where to find a job I needed to have Canadian work experience. Well, I just moved, so obviously no, I don’t have local professional experience.🙄
Here, new authors are facing the traditional conservative approach of “I want someone who did exactly the same thing before” that is prevalent in any industry. Not many people want to take a chance (a risk) on an unknown quantity. Nothing new under the sun.
What does it mean for you who wants to publish a book? Depending on where you are in your life-cycle and degree of motivation you can look for internships / entry-level jobs in the industry, submit proposals to magazines, and crawl your way into the industry.
You can also start writing on platforms such as Substack, build a track record and hopefully a following too.
🦸♀️ Agent Needed
Literary agents are the intermediaries between writers and publishers. I don’t know of any publisher who would speak directly to an unknown author who is not represented.
Agents are at the same time the gatekeepers of the industry and the facilitators. Obviously some agents are better than others.
When I looked for an agent for “Paris, Mushrooms and Me”, I was lucky to speak with many agents (that is not the norm!). Most of them were extremely professional and helpful. However they all turned down my book for pretty much the same reason “Love it, but don’t know how to sell it”. Again, this is a business. The quality of your book almost doesn’t matter, how to sell it with a minimal of effort and risk is all that matters to the professionals of the industry.
It is my agent who suggested that I write a non-fiction first laying out the process of The Microdose Diet (he even came up with the name, thank you Steve 🙏). The reason for that is very simple; he is extremely plugged in in the non-fiction publishing world and he knew how to best sell this book to whom. He reached out to me (yes, he reached out to me not the other way around) in January, early-March the book proposal was ready to go, in April I started getting interest in the book, in May I had a verbal offer, in June I signed the contract. This is pretty unheard of in the publishing industry…again a credit to me following the process of the fabulous Microdose Diet😉
If you want to get traditionally published your agent will have to be very knowledgeable and connected in the area your book will play in. My agent Steve has represented dozens of authors in the professional and personal development space, it is it’s sweet spot and the reason behind a successful outcome.
Finding an agent is not an easy task, I used Linkedin extensively to uncover and reach out to them. The guide to literary agents is a fabulous resource too.
👩🏫 The Economics of Being a Published Author
Authors are paid by publishers via royalties from the sales of their books. It is usually paid quarterly or semi-annually.
Two main types of deals exist; 1) royalties calculated based on the income generated by the book, 2) royalties calculated based on the profit generated by the book.
In the first case, in traditional publishing, the standard royalty rates are around 5-15%. Royalty rates depend on format, such as hard-cover, soft-cover, audiobook, e-book.
In the second case, the rates will obviously be higher ~35%. However, this is a profit sharing agreement, meaning all the costs incurred to not only publish but also market your book are coming out first, before you even get paid. You need to keep a close eye on the costs.
An advance is simply a loan against future royalties, not a freebie (unless you can’t earn it back via the sales of the book but that is not a best case scenario).
You will also have to pay your agent’s fee, ~10-15% of your royalties.
For an author, unless you are a many times NYT best-selling author, the economics of traditional publishing are moderately attractive.
An author has other ways to make money that a book will support indirectly; public speaking engagements, consulting, teaching, ancillary materials, merchandise, endorsements, articles, and so on. Overall for most authors of non-fiction, writing a book is a branding exercise
You now should have a better view of the publishing industry and what it means to publish a book via a traditional publisher. Many prefer the option to self-publish their book. It is indeed a viable option. I had the opportunity to publish the traditional way, which still brings quite a bit more credibility for the author, hence my decision to follow that path. Publishing a book, traditionally or not, is not for the faint of heart; it requires effort, passion, resources and resilience, However, FMP, this is still the best way to share your perspective, inspire others, and build a lasting legacy long after social media platforms fall into oblivion.
Wishing you a lot of success!!
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About The Microdose Diet
The Microdose Diet by Peggy Van de Plassche focuses on personal and professional development using alternative medicines, such as microdosing psilocybin, tapping meditation, journaling, guided meditation and visualization ✨
I am Peggy Van de Plassche, a former banker and VC who spent 20 years in the financial services and technology industries. I now speak and write about the benefits of alternative medicines, such as microdosing psilocybin, for professional and personal growth. I created The Microdose Diet - the 90 Day Plan for Success and Happiness🍾 My book will be published in 2024.
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This newsletter is designed to entertain and inform, not provide medical advice. You should always consult your doctor when it comes to your personal health or before you start any treatment 🩺