While Mark Gottlieb has agenting in his blood—he’s a second generation lit agent—he’s not your typical agent. He doesn’t specialize in any particular genre but bounces between fiction and nonfiction, with some children's books and graphic novels in between. And though he works with the Big Five publishers, he’s open-minded when it comes to self-publishing and the new wave of publishing.

In this episode we talked about how being a writer requires audacity, how tough it is to make a living as an author without a side profession and how most people don’t even know what a lit agent is, among many other topics.

Here's a special release for you: the keynote I recently gave at a mastermind that encompasses so much of what I know to be true about coming up with your book idea. It's short but sweet. Enjoy!

FOR MORE ABOUT THE PODCAST AND OTHER STUFF, GO TO WWW.ONGOODAUTHORITYPOD.COM.

You know that kindergarten teacher we all wish we'd had?

That's Erin Lee. But part of what makes us all wish she'd been our teacher is the fact that in addition to being a teacher, she's an award-winning children's book author.

Still, as we discuss quite a bit around here, being an amazing author doesn't always guarantee book sales.

But Erin HAS sold thousands of books. So how has she done it? Well, she started dressing up as her five-year-old students to create engaging Instagram reels. These relatable and humorous videos have since fostered a thriving online community where Erin shares educational content, entertainment and promotes her books.

I was actually interviewing Erin for my other podcast when I realized the information she was sharing was such book publishing GOLD that I had to switch gears and release it on this long-neglected feed.

In this episode, she breaks her IG strategy down piece by piece. So good, so tactical. She actually makes Instagram sound fun AND useful. When have you last heard it described that way?