17 Candles

my literary agent workiversary + nssa orientation post

Not So Secret Agent is an email newsletter all about the inside scoop on cookbook publishing from senior literary agent, Sally Ekus (that’s me!). Make sure we never miss the chance to connect. Subscribe!

Dear Not So Secret Agent readers,

Today, February 9^th, marks my 17-year work anniversary! Though I’ve never been great with dates and/or milestones, I do like to take time to reflect whenever I catch one before it passes me by. (Shoutout to myself for remembering my workiversary two years in a row – see my Sweet 16 post for 16 lessons learned along the way).

At the beginning of my career, it seemed like most new clients came to our agency via a warm lead, often via Lisa herself. Either that or an existing client connection, a beloved restaurant, a conference, or an editor introduction. In fact, for years, I could always say that I had only ever signed one new project from an unsolicited pitch in the general query box.

Let me tell you, things may be changing! I dipped into my query box for the first time in 2026 just last week, and WOW, the queries I’ve been receiving lately are absolute standout level. Even the ones I have to pass on are incredibly well composed.

To put it into perspective, of the 18 pitches I read last week, 4 caught my eye enough to request full proposals. For anyone who’s been querying agents for a while, you know that this is an INCREDIBLY high percentage.

***Not So Secret Agent sidenote: Since I mostly represent cookbooks, the amount of queries I get is tiny and manageable compared to my cross-genre colleagues. For more about that (with stats!), check out my How many clients does a literary agent *actually* have? post.***

Like I said, even the pitches I passed on were awesome. Here are my main reasons for sending those rejections:

1. My client list is pretty full.

2. The pitch was for a subsection of culinary that deviates too far from what I want to take on right now.

3. I already have a client that works in a similar space. In cases like this, to support said subsection, I’ll often make intros to other agents or offer resources. Collaboration > competition in my opinion. I want to see more books about the topic, but I don’t want to/shouldn’t represent all of them!

I suspect that one of the reasons these queries have been so good is because all of you have been leveraging the resources I share in this space. The NSSA readership community shows up time and time again, and I’m frequently amazed by how informed and engaged you all are. For those who have been here since day one, THANK YOU!!

And for those who are newer, below is a bit of an orientation. A roundup of posts that address some of the most common questions I get. While it is not a full table of contents for everything I’ve written, it offers insights into what you need to know to stand out when you go down this path we call authorship.

Wondering where to begin? I have a post for that! Head to Where to Begin in Publishing for my guide to getting started in cookbook publishing and how to find an agent.

Then you can check out my Non-Fiction Proposal Guidelines. I wrote these for non-fiction proposals across the board (not just culinary) and for pitching a wide swath of agents.

If you’re curious, I’ve covered some of the ins and outs of cookbook photography. I also had a great live chat with photography expert Eva Kolenko about the subject.

One of my favorite community resources is the NSSA Non-Exhaustive List of Specialty Cookbook Stores. I urge you to visit one of these lovely places! Or, if you’re at this stage, maybe reach out and plan a book tour event. Speaking of that…

In my Book Tours & Author Expectations post, I delve into – wait for it – book tours and author expectations (wow I’m creative at titles). I also take a few moments to prep you for your M&P kick off call.

Did you say M&P? Do you know the difference between marketing and publicity and the role the author plays in both? I got you!

Baby got backlist is all about how authors can promote their books after publication. This also happens to be one of my most popular/widely shared posts. SO much so that I revised it for a special edition that goes beyond just cookbooks for the wildly popular Publishing Confidential newsletter by Kathleen Schmidt.

There’s also a discussion that goes into why you should or shouldn’t design your book proposal.

If recipe testing is on your radar, there is a lot to unpack. I explain recipe testing and why it’s SO important, teach you how to recruit your friends to test for you, and share an NSSA-community-generated list of recipe testers you can hire.

***Not So Secret Agent sidenote: I know at least 3 people who have secured recipe testing work (paid!) from this series and am endlessly delighted by the way connections are being made via this newsletter. Thank you!***

Or maybe you’re looking for a peek into my not-so-secret personal life. As I’m sure you can imagine, it’s completely intermingled with my career as an agent:

• First you should meet my superhero sister, Amelia Ekus, in our SeeeesterStack team-up video.

• Then you can visit Will we be okay? Maybe. if you want to know how I turned my fear of public speaking into my favorite hobby, or check out A slice of life to read about one of my earliest taste memories and just how far back the legacy of this work runs in my family.

• If you want more, Hillary Dixler Canavan invited me to discuss how a cookbook agent feeds her family in a piece for her Substack What Are We Having?

• I’ve also cried into congee and even shared about my baggage! Okay okay, I’m just kidding about the baggage – that post is actually full of tips on how to prep for a conference. :)

not so secret agent sally, age 4

From the jump in my career, I have been blessed with hypermentorship. It all started with Lisa Ekus, my mom and the founder of The Ekus Group, who brought me to every meeting and had me shaking every hand from day one. The access that is typically reserved for people farther into their careers was literally how I was raised and then welcomed into my professional career. I know how lucky and privileged I am. As such, everything I do here in the newsletter and out in my daily work is rooted in reciprocity and generosity.

The whole reason I started this newsletter was to offer transparency and access.

Though today’s post marks a milestone moment for me in the industry, it’s really a chance to present key information that will help orient you to nonfiction publishing.

I want to underscore that my newsletter content will always be free and never behind a paywall. However, if you choose to support my work via a paid readership, you’ll also have access to the skill building sessions. These 90 min sessions include an hour with a publishing industry expert followed by 30 mins of intentional networking.

During these “offer and ask” sessions (I LOVE an opportunity to pseudo-brand what we’re doing in our little corner of the internet), participants can make an offer to the group or an ask of the group in order to help support one another’s goals, whatever they may be.

Yep, collaboration > competition. I LOVE our community!!

The only content behind paywalls in this newsletter are the recordings of these skill building sessions.

The reason I reserve these virtual gatherings for paid readers is to curate a room for people that are 1) serious and 2) searching for 2.0 information and community building.

Equity spots are always available, no questions asked. Just email me or slide into my DMs.

Here are all the previous NSSA Skill Building Sessions’ FREE content:

• Recipe testing w/ Afton Cyrus: intro post; takeaways

• Cookbook proposal & design w/ Frances Baca: intro post

• Solo NSSA Sally AMA: intro post

Click HERE to upgrade your subscription which will unlock access to the recordings of all skill building sessions at the bottom of this newsletter (for some reason Substack also restricts comments for paid readers on posts that have a paywall. Hence why comments on today’s newsletter are for paid only. This is NOT my preference as I love hearing from all of you and all of my other posts have comments turned on for everyone).

Come join Gina Guilinger and me for the next skill building session, which is all about indexing.

When: Wednesday February 25th from 2-3:30ET

Where: on Zoom (recording provided after)

This event is reserved exclusively for paying readers to ensure that those most engaged in professional development are in the same room. Equity spots are available as always.

Click HERE to upgrade your subscription to join.

This NSSA skill building session is for those of us who love and appreciate the craft of making a book.

not so secret agent sally, doing the mom juggle since 2019

My career has turned 17, which means it’s almost old enough to get its first (legal) tattoo!

***Not So Secret Agent sidenote: I thought about my first tattoo for 5 years before I lay on the table under the ink. I feel like there is a lesson in there about what kind of agent I am too, but I will leave that to you to interpret.***

Could my career be at an age where responsibility often loses out to impulsiveness? I guess time will tell. My workiversary is a good reminder to channel youthful playfulness, fun, and excitement. Where energy is high, possibilities are everywhere, and the stakes still feel low enough that most mistakes are actually steps in the right direction.

Here in Massachusetts, my career’s just been handed its driver’s license and isn’t even able to have friends in the car yet. Lucky for me I have all of you.

Thank you,

~Sally~

Below are recordings for all Skill Building Sessions: