Sarah Lacy

Three reasons I see people put books down in our store. 😬

Here's another one on things I've learned working in a bookstore I wish I’d known as an author: Three reasons people put great books down no matter how hard I work on hand selling them.

The Mystery of the Sarah Cards

In some ways, I think my greatest value-add as a collaborative writer is not that I’ve written three books. It’s not that I was a journalist for a few decades and so I understand the difference between the story you want to tell and the story readers want to hear. It’s that I co-own a bookstore. 

Book math.

The first questions I get are about the math of business books. How it all adds up and makes sense in the end. The work that goes into them. (Years.) How it squares with the advances that get paid. FWIW, anything six figures is a great deal.

Stage one: The Proposal

There are four basic stages to getting a book from "maybe?" to my store. I’m going to describe each one in four posts. And also the people you may need. And how long it takes, what success looks like, and your odds of success. Today we’ll do stage one: The Proposal.

"Rip the Throat Out" Sentences

You know what I love about writing for a living? It is never un-humbling.  And I’m good at it. I have written professionally every day for 27 years. But lately, I have had my a** handed to me by an agent I’m working with on my first sentences.

The #1 Thing You Need to Do Right This Very Minute (Part 1)

“Platform” is the single most irritating word you will hear when you are trying to get a book deal. What does it mean? And why is it the SINGLE BIGGEST DETERMINER of your future book deal? Read on.

Yes, YOU.

Am I the only bookseller whose favorite section is “business”? Maybe. Am I the only person who can’t sleep on a red-eye if I start a business book, because I have to know how the CEO saved the company? Probably. Am I the only one who wishes publishers did