I loved being an editor in traditional book publishing.

Being an editor at big publishing houses — like Simon & Schuster and Penguin, where I worked — requires a lot of different skills. You have to be willing to socialize constantly — to build relationships with literary agents, to curry favor with authors but also your colleagues — designers and marketers and publicists and the entire production department.

At the same time, you must be willing to hidey hole somewhere for days in order to read and edit manuscripts. Editors also have to be excellent at spotting opportunities and talent.

A large part of an editor’s job is acquisitions — offering authors book deals.

While I was at Penguin, agents sent me proposals by multiple future New York Times bestsellers — including authors like transgender activist Janet Mock and Scary Mommy Jill Smokler. But I wasn’t allowed by my bosses and higher-ups to make offers on those projects. For whatever reason, the people I worked for didn’t see the same potential that I saw in these authors and their books.

I remember one project in particular. My friend Meg, an accomplished literary agent, sent me a project by author Kelle Hampton. Kelle had written a gorgeous memoir about the first year in the life of her daughter Nelle who has Down Syndrome. The writing was amazing, and as a photographer, Kelle had taken gorgeous photos to go along with her words.

I loved this book. And I wanted to make an offer — but the publisher wouldn’t let me.

A year later, I was sitting in my performance review and my boss told me that she and the publisher were concerned that I wasn’t acquiring enough. I remember sitting there speechless as my boss went on to say that they’d like me to seek out projects more like this —

And pushed Bloom across the desk to me.

Kelle’s book. That had hit the New York Times bestseller list.

That was the moment that I knew I had to leave Penguin.

You see, I had brought that project in. At that moment, I realized that it wasn’t the projects my bosses didn’t believe in. It was me. I knew at that moment that despite my hard work, despite my talent, despite a proven track record, despite doing fucking everything they asked me to do — I was never going to get a fair shot.

So I quit.

I still love traditional publishing because I understand, deeply, the impact it can have on an author’s career. When authors have the right champions, anything is possible.

Today, I am that champion.

I’m just at the beginning of the process instead of toward the end. I still make book deals happen for authors. I’m still a dream-maker, an author wrangler, the person who can champion a project and get in front of the right people. I have all the relationships I had as an editor (and more!) but today, I am free. I can say whatever the fuck I want. I can champion whoever I want.

And my fucking track record speaks for itself.

In 2008, as a young editor — as a fucking assistant — I brought in an idea for a book based on the TV show How I Met Your Mother. At the time, the publisher I worked for was skeptical, but his son convinced him the book had potential. The Bro Code was an instant New York Times bestseller and sold over 300,000 copies.

In 2019, I met a woman who impressed the fuck out of me. She was loud and charismatic and really, really smart. She had an idea and title for a book that everyone else told her wouldn’t work because it was too brash. I told her everyone else was wrong. Rachel Rodgers not only got a six-figure book deal for We Should All Be Millionaires but her book was a huge bestseller. Rachels’ book sold 20,000 copies in the first month and appeared on both theUSA Today and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists.

In 2020, I launched the only program — Platform Builders — that provides an answer to the two most common questions about getting a traditional book deal: what is an author platform and how do I get one. By offering the knowledge, clarity, and accountability authors need, my team and I make publishing more equitable by offering a proven path to securing a book deal.

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And in 2021 . . .

I helped ten entrepreneurs get literary agents

I finished thirteen book proposals

My team and I are helping three entrepreneurs to write their books

Our clients earned more than 1.3 million dollars in advances

. . . And we’re just getting started.

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Because here’s the deal: I have seen — and am myself proof — the truth that ANYTHING is possible when you believe in yourself.

Including, but not limited to:

• Building an engaged and authentic audience (i.e., an author platform)
• Writing an amazing book proposal that attracts your dream literary agent (who I already know personally)
• Getting a six-figure book deal for that proposal with a famous publisher (like Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, Hachette Books, and Hay House — all of whom my clients have landed deals with this year)
• Hitting the bestseller list when your book comes out (it’s has happened six times for my authors)
• Making a huge impact with your work and message (because that’s what I’m about too)

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It’s our mission at MSB to help every client achieve their goal of getting a six-figure book deal with a major publisher. If that’s your dream, we’d love to be your champion too.

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Cheers to your success,

— Meghan

P.S. P.S. Want to know if you’re truly ready to write your book? Take the quiz. ​

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