How I Stumbled into a Book Deal (And You Could Too!)

Have you thought on occasion “I should write a book someday”? I have, but I don’t think I ever really believed that it would happen. I’m a writer in an official capacity, working in marketing and communications with a few freelance writing gigs on the side. In an unofficial capacity, most of my work is life writing that takes the shape of private journal entries and occasionally public blog posts and short stories. So when I found myself signing a book deal, I was the definition of dumbfounded. It turns out, getting a book deal wasn’t as unattainable as I imagined.

If you’ve ever thought to yourself “I should write a book someday,” try following these four steps, and that thought just might come to fruition.

1. Find a niche. Or let a niche find you.

I’ve always resisted the idea of limiting myself to a niche. I like to write about whatever I find interesting about life at the moment — this is how my often-neglected personal blog came to be titled “I.M.H.N.E.O.” (In My Humble Non-Expert Opinion) subtitled “What I think about things I know little about.” But while I was busy actively trying to avoid a niche, I was unwittingly becoming an expert in a topic that would snowball into a book deal.

Lucky, Little Man and I have been through a lot together: grad school, my ex’s deployments, divorce, moving back in with my parents for eight months, buying a house, starting two new careers, Little Man becoming epileptic, and Lucky being diagnosed with Addison’s disease to name a few. Through these experiences, I’ve learned a lot about dog psychology, behavior and health, plus a lot about myself too. While I still wouldn’t claim expert status, friends and family seek my advice and recommendations on dog related matters. And though I still resist the idea of being pigeonholed as a “dog writer,” I can’t deny that writing about dogs is a niche I can comfortably occupy.

2. Look for what’s missing and fill the void.

One cloudy day in July of 2016, I wanted to take Lucky for a swim. He loves to swim, and I love to know what I’m getting myself into. A google search for “places your dog can swim in Madison” yielded a few random results, none of which were very thorough or current. For example, the Lake Kegonsa State Park DNR website says, “A pet swim area has been established and is a great way to swim with your pet.” I scratched my head, “Swim area? What a curious way to describe what surely must be a dog beach!” When Lucky, Little Man and I got there, we realized why it had been described as a “swim area.”

This disappointing experience got me thinking and researching. I discovered that the information I was looking for about taking my dogs to Wisconsin’s State Parks was either incomplete, buried on the fourth page of search results on an obscure blog, or nonexistent. And if I was looking for this information and it wasn’t available, surely other people were looking for this information too.

3. Find favorable environmental conditions.

Around the same time as Lucky’s Addison’s diagnosis, I recognized something was missing in my life too. Lucky’s body wasn’t producing cortisol, and I wasn’t producing anything creative for myself. I had just started a new job, and while I really enjoyed it, it was bogarting my creative energy. One day, this random social club account liked one of my photos on Instagram, and the next thing I knew, I was filling out an application to join this club for creatives.

It didn’t take long for the environmental conditions of the social club to wear off on me. At a Hand Crafted Happy Hour I had a conversation about the Moth Story Slams at the High Noon Saloon — a few months later I was on stage telling a story. Being surrounded by other people who were pursuing their dreams inspired me to just go for it. I didn’t really know what it was, but seeing the young entrepreneurs, artists, and all around bad-asses in the social club rocking life was the impetus I needed to challenge myself, to see what was possible.

4. Identify a niche publisher for your niche topic and pitch!

My Wisconsin State Park Dogs project started out modestly. Hiking is a good way for Lucky and I to exercise together, and I wanted to see more of Wisconsin. The initial plan was just to take Lucky to some of Wisconsin’s State Parks. Then one night, I made an Instagram account where I planned on posting photos of our trips. Then, I thought why not blog about the trips too? And then I was reminded of that “I should write a book someday” thought.

That Friday night I googled “Wisconsin hiking guide books.” There are a few publishers in the Wisconsin guidebook scene, so next I went to their websites and looked at each publisher’s mission and collections. And then, I sent two publishers my email elevator pitch — literally, that same night. I never heard back from one of the two publishers, but about a month later, I got an exciting email from the other. Three months later, with no more ceremony than any other Monday night, I signed my first book deal.

For the last four years, my life has been consumed with visits to state parks, writing about those visits, and pinching myself to confirm that it’s all real. When I reflect on the process that led me here, I realize the actual steps were simple. Convincing myself that writing a book could be a reality — that was the part that was hard. So if you’ve ever thought “I should write a book someday,” get the hardest part over first. Change your thinking from “I should” to “I’m going to” and then get going.

P.S.

I just received the good word that the editorial review board has “unanimously and enthusiastically” approved my book for publication.