Dear Not So Secret Agent readers,
Welp, if you missed me going live on Substack yesterday, you also missed my internet cutting out at the 7:20 mark. Don’t worry, I came back online just long enough to keep talking for another few minutes before I went dark again, only to think you could still hear and see me. Fun, fun.
TADL (too annoyed, didn’t listen): There are many reasons agents or editors may say someone needs 100,000 followers. Of the book deals I have closed so far this year, about half have been from people with small social media followings. Let that sink in for a minute please. Yes, I’ve sold books in 2026 without social media followings. I would venture to guess that most other literary agents have done this as well. In fiction for sure (though some of that is changing), and in non-fiction too.
This does NOT mean the authors lack platform.
It feels essential to remind people that book deals happen for all sorts of reasons. Social media may be part of the path to publishing.
So is a great book proposal.
So is an author who is a publicly-established expert in their subject.
So are the stars aligning in such a way that when the earth’s shadow hits the pavement just so, somewhere, far across the land, an editorial meeting flaps its magical butterfly wings of conceptual interest in your general direction. You get the idea.
A lot of factors go into the how and why someone lands that coveted book deal. Platform, and specifically social media following (which is not what defines platform btw), is just one element. I would also argue that shoehorning your way into a book deal without any sort of established platform means you are only thinking about the goal of publishing a book for yourself. Writers become authors when they start thinking beyond their individual goals. They become authors when it is not just personal, but also professional. They have an audience hungry for their book.
I didn’t mean to leave you hanging at the 8:33 mark (yup, I kept talking to myself for another 4 whole minutes). Hey, I’m human. At this point in today’s age of AI, that’s refreshing right?!
I was about to say:
Small = Under 10,000 followers.
Medium = Under 100,000 followers.
Large = Above 500,000 followers.
But Not So Secret Agent Sally, what the heck is in between 100,000-500,000?
Seriously?! What’s give or take 400,000 people when the goalposts between medium/large/whatever social media followings are always moving anyway?
Yea, this is me talking arbitrarily off the cuff on following count size. Again, I am human. The internet was out and I was riffing.
It’s more like:
Small = Agents might pass because they think you have an uphill battle on social to get editor’s attention. They might also just be being nice and saying it is your social media following when actually there could be a myriad of reasons they are passing. Social media following is an “easy out” IMO, and people use it all the time. Not knocking those who cite follower count. I just think it can leave a bitter taste in someone’s mouth about the industry and it might be more helpful to say, Your concept, in conjunction with your lack of social following, and lack of public platform, is not something I can confidently say I can sell right now.
***Not So Secret Agent side note: If an agent cites follower count as the only reason for passing, it might also mean you likely didn’t address what your platform actually IS in your book proposal.***
Medium = Agents might pass because they think you have an uphill battle on social. Yes, I meant to repeat myself. This is still too “small” a social following size alone to support a book deal.
***Not So Secret Agent side note: You may want to lean in to a concept-driven topic to help offset a lower social media following. Or start with a smaller independent press as your publishing goal and target agents that have a history of selling to those houses. Agents build lists and careers too. They may be looking to sign a variety of social sized clients or maybe only rep “big fish”. Or maybe it is a junior agent who is starting to build their career portfolio. There are a ton of great cookbook agents out there!***
Large = Agents may be impressed by the numbers, but that will be short lived because it’s just the tip of the iceberg. They will immediately start asking about the engagement, geography of audience, longevity, rate of growth, consistency in content, campaign nuances, goals, and more.
If any of the above thoughts resonate with you, I hope you will join me on July 29th from 2-3:30ET for our next Not So Secret Agent Skill Building Session: All About Platform!
Like all Skill Building Sessions, the first 60 mins will be a discussion. The final 30 minutes will then be the facilitated Offer & Ask networking time, which is just an invitation for community members to lean into self-promotion in a way that might make a meaningful difference to someone else in the room. Come with questions, connections, and an abundance mindset!
We will be workshopping select attendees’ platforms in real time.
This event is reserved exclusively for paying readers to ensure that those most engaged in professional development are able to engage with each other. I do this in order to gather people ready to commit, in dollars and time, to the community in the room. Anyone can gain entry though, see below.
The next NSSA Skill Building Session is All About Platform.
When: July 29th from 2-3:30ET
Where: on Zoom (recording provided after)
The deadline to register is Monday July 27 12pm ET! Paid readers will get the Zoom info emailed to them by Wednesday (the 29th) in the morning (ET). Check your spam if you don’t see it!
You can upgrade your subscription HERE (with 20% off annual subscriptions).
Equity Spots: As always, if you do not have the means to upgrade your subscription, I do not want the $8/month or $64/year to be a barrier. Please contact me for an equity spot, no questions asked. And yes, people take me up on this all the time. Drop me a line (via replying to this email or a DM on Substack) so you can participate in this community conversation!
Thank you to those of you who stayed on to connect with one another and see if I would return. Good to know Substack can leave a chat open when the host is in la la land talking to themselves without an internet connection.
The fact that there were people who kept chatting and connecting even without me speaks to the power of the over 7,000 of you doing far more than just “following” me here. You rock.
~Sally~
