Why read the Maven Game?

Most writing advice comes from writers. This comes from the other side of the desk.

The Maven Game is about one thing: what it takes to write a serious nonfiction book and get it published. I’ve approached that question from three directions. I started as a nonfiction editor at imprints including St. Martin’s Press and Portfolio, acquiring and editing several New York Times bestsellers. Then I spent a decade as a book collaborator, helping authors shape their proposals and manuscripts. (I worked with James Clear on the proposal for Atomic Habits, now past 25 million copies in print, and with Dr. Ali Abdaal on Feel-Good Productivity, among others.) Today I’m a senior literary agent at Writers House, representing nonfiction authors.

Editor, collaborator, agent: I’ve bought books, built books, and sold books. I’ve been writing this newsletter since 2015, and every essay draws on that work: things I’ve figured out, or watched go sideways, while helping authors write and publish serious books.

New here? Start with the size of the fight in the dog, a story about a scavenger hunt at a Catskills resort in 1989. It’s the closest thing I have to a thesis statement.

As a subscriber, you’ll get no spam and enter no sales funnel. Expect writing about writing, i.e., how to do it, why to do it, and what to do when life gets in the way.

(If you’re interested in working with me as an agent, my submission policy is here.)

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