10 things to ask yourself before you ask an author for a call

(Or other free work)

Photo by Charlota Blunarova on Unsplash

I took a lil break from making posts here because my dog died, and it’s been just as awful as you’d imagine. Any of you who know my work know that Farley was my coworker—he’s thanked in every single one of my acknowledgments and my next book will be dedicated to him. Eventually, I am going to write about the grief, but I’m not ready yet.

So anywho … I receive requests for a call/meeting/free read of a manuscript from time to time, and all the other authors I know get the same. And to a point, I think it’s a natural inclination. It’s not what you know, it’s who you know, right? That’s what everyone always says. (More on this in a later post, but this isn’t really true in publishing, unless you’re truly at a certain level of fame and influence and then it’s another story.) So I think a lot of unpublished authors decide they want to be published and think: OK, how can I reach out to anyone I have even a tertiary am connected to so I can “network” and learn the secret sauce. But here’s the thing: networking to get an agent or traditional book deal really isn’t a thing. Like, I have sent my agent five or six of my close writer friends, with notes about their work. She’s signed one of them, passed on the rest. At best, a personal connection will move you to the top of the slush pile and get you read faster, but it won’t ever seal the deal. No one is going to go and sign up for a years-long relationship with someone to do little old me a favor. And as for being published, forget it. Editors buy what they buy. I can barely figure out how to get my own books sold, much less someone else’s. The other thing is, there really is no secret sauce. How to get published, how to write a book, how to do the work, god, there are so many different paths. And there’s no way mine is going to be the same as yours. So the general “advice” I can give you—it’s not really that helpful.

At this point you must be thinking—Leah, are you saying we should just never reach out. Do you and your fellow snobby authors think you’re too good to talk to us? And the answer is NO. NOT AT ALL. I love paying it forward. I wouldn’t be here if many, many authors hadn’t done me favors. I want to help people on their publishing journeys, but I want to do it in a way that’s actually useful, from an information and time perspective.

So here goes: Consider this before you send that email to an author you don’t know all that well.

1. Have you read/bought/at all supported their work?

   Okay this might seem a little obvious, but like 90% of the requests I get haven’t lol. How do you want my advice or help if you don’t even know if you like my writing? How can you expect the commitment of time and mentorship if you haven’t done the most basic element of support? (Libraries are free! Many ebooks go on sale!). Read their work before you ask a favor, not after.

2. Have you read up on their existing writings and interviews on your topic?

   So you want to be published and you want to know how. Do you know that almost all authors have already covered the details of their publishing journey extensively? Are you following their socials, subscribing to their Substacks, Googling any articles and interviews they’ve done? We all do a LOT of Q&As and guest essays around our book publications, and “how did you get published” is one of the most frequent topics covered. Is it possible your question has already been answered publicly?

3. Have you engaged with them in meaningful ways that don’t involve asking for favors?

   Sure, this could be buying a book, but it could be commenting on Instagram, it could be shouting them out on socials, it could be recommending their newsletter to friends. Most of us love to foster conversations in public—it makes it so everyone benefits from the advice—a question posed on Instagram or a Substack post has a high likelihood of being answered!

4. Have you done your own research on the topic?

   Maybe you want to land a literary agent. Have you Googled the question and seen how many free resources there are? Are you involved in any communities like r/Writing? Have you engaged with the wealth of books available on the topics of writing and publishing? Have you checked out the free resources from organizations like the Authors Guild, the Center for Fiction, or the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators?

5. Do you have a specific question. I.E. could this call be an email?

   A fellow author and I were just talking about how when we get these requests, we so rarely get specific questions, but when we do, we almost always answer right away. For example, someone I don’t know emails me to ask me how I like my agent and literary agency. Well, I am obsessed with The Book Group, and I will happily write them back and tell them that it should be the top of their query list. Boom. Done. Easy peasy. If what you need to know is not covered in what’s already out there on the Internet, then please, ask away. But be specific. It’s so much easier for everyone!

6. Does the author have a side business doing consulting or editing work?

   So this is a big one. Advising on people’s manuscripts, consulting how to get published, writing and revising query letters—all of that is its own business. It’s work like anything else. So think about what you’re asking when you email someone requesting a phone call. Is it a service that they offer, and you are essentially asking to get it for free? The thing is, writing, and especially writing by women, is extremely devalued, so it’s easy to think you’re not actually asking for free work. When in doubt, use the plumber analogy: would you call up a plumber who was a friend of a friend of a friend and say “hey, I’m having issues with my toilet, I was hoping we could catch up and you could fix it—it will only take an hour.” Hmm. I don’t think you would! Alternatively, if you did loosely know a plumber, it wouldn’t be so crazy to email or text them a *specific question* like, “hey I’m dealing with X do you think it’s something I could tackle myself, or should I hire it out?” See the difference? If you wouldn’t ask a plumber to do it for free, don’t ask a writer.

7. Do you really just want a beta reader?

   Listen, I get it! Good beta readers are hard to find! But most working authors will already have theirs established—it’s unlikely they want to be yours. Instead of asking an author to read your work for free, consider taking a class or joining a local writing group, Facebook group, book club, etc., to connect with other writers who are looking to be reading partners.

8. Can you make a gesture that shows you really value their time?

   Say you really want to just time to pick someone’s brain. If you really are friends with this person, offer to buy them a coffee, a drink, take them to lunch, etc., and be clear that you’d love a chance to talk through some publishing stuff while you meet. Just don’t be offended if they say no!

9. Would you like to just hire them?

   Again, many people do this as a job. So there is no harm in offering to pay them for an hour of consulting. If you really are friends, well, the author may even say “oh that’s not necessary” or “don’t worry about it, just buy me a beer!” If they consider it work, then why wouldn’t it come with payment?

10. Did their dog just die, and do you know this?

    Yes? Oh, then maybe consider NOT BOTHERING THEM AT ALL.

So there you have it. I’m not saying don’t make connections, but do your research, be direct and specific, and maybe skip the request for favors if they’re actively grieving … Ask yourself these questions, and you will be surprised at how fruitful your connections can become. Like I said, we all want to pay it forward, but no one wants to waste time.

Happy reading, and happy writing.

Leah