1. Are you a bookie?

(as in: “lover of books”, not trading in questionable money “loaning” practices. I’m not implying anything.)

Leo Babauta: Unquestionably. I’ve been in love with books for three times as long as I’ve been in love with my wife, and nearly as intensely. A good book isn’t just reading a story, it’s a relationship between you and the author, between you and the characters, between you and the physical pages of the book.

I count reading a good book up there with sex, running, good conversation, and spending time with my family as among the absolute best pleasures in life (not in that order).

2. Was writing a book a long-held, secret fantasy of yours?

Leo Babauta: Of course. It’s the secret fantasy of anyone who writes. That it became realized is flabbergasting.

3. Danielle LaPorte said in a firestarter that her smokin’ hot blog is about finding her people, creating a community, and she hopes that when the time comes, her book will be a best-seller.

Tim Feriss, I’m pretty sure, articulated (and did!) the same thing only with a less poetry and fewer dreadlocks and holy hassenfeffer* has that worked out something fierce for him.

Penelope Trunk, on the other hand, loves her blog because it gets her free fancy laptop bags and certain naughty acts but thinks that writing a book is a time-sink.

Which brings me to my questions:

Which came first, the idea for your blog or your book?

How did your blog help you get the book deal?

Which is your favourite child?

Leo Babauta: The blog is my baby, and will always hold a special place deep within my heart, untouched by the outside world. The book is a fantasy come true, but the blog is where I pour out my soul, where I connect with people in an ethereal but very meaningful way.

There’s nothing like blogging. You have a thought, you type it up and press “publish” and it’s out there in the world, to be used and cherished and spit upon and talked about by thousands of people, instantly. This is unparalleled in the history of writing.

4. Did you approach an agent or a publisher with a book idea or did someone approach you?

Leo Babauta: As my blog took off, publishers and agents approached me. My blog had 26,000 subscribers within the first year, so it was obvious my writing was connecting with a lot of people — people who responded enthusiastically. Small publishers and several agents approached me, and while I was excited about the idea of publishing a book, it was also a terrifying prospect.

5. Who’s your agent? Are you still on speaking terms? If I call him/her, will she confirm that?

Leo Babauta: My agent is Holly Root of the Waxman Literary Agency in New York, and she’s been wonderful. Pretty much everything you’d want in an agent: a pro, a hand-holder for a newbie like me, a therapist when my fears would surface, a dispenser of large checks.

She still talks to me, which only proves she’s an angel.

6. Did I tell you why I’m writing this piece? I want to write a book AND get it published AND I know nothing about how to do this.  Hence: How To Get a Book Deal. Anyhoo, here’s the q:

Josh Hanagarne told me that you don’t actually sell a non-fiction manuscript, you sell a proposal to write a manuscript.  Is he lying?

(He’s been known to lie for entertainment purposes so I’m fact-checking.)

Leo Babauta: It’s true. I hadn’t written a word of the book when I sold it to a publisher (Hyperion). I wrote up a proposal, and my agent shopped it around, and I signed a deal with the publisher that offered me the fattest check for a few pages of B.S.

7. What kind of research – resources read, people talked to –  did you do to prepare to write your book proposal?

Leo Babauta: I just found a few examples of proposals on the web and picked out the parts I liked best, merging them into one kick-ass document. My agent gave me some feedback on it before shopping it around, which helped.

In the end, all you really need to communicate is a) a great idea for a book and b) proof that it’ll sell (and that you can help sell it with awesome marketing). My blog was already evidence enough of both those things, so the proposal just needed to highlight that.

8. Did you consider hiring a proposal coach?

I didn’t know they existed. If they do, they are probably scammers. The info you need to write a proposal is available free online. A proposal coach would make money on the insecurities of writers, which are notoriously large and numerous.

9. So. You wrote a book proposal. Now what?

(By this I mean: did your agent shop it around? Did it go to auction? Did you go to New York and schmooze?  Tell us a pretty story. Don’t worry, I’m a lazy fact-checker.  See, for example, #6.)

Leo Babauta: The biggest change that happened to the proposal before my agent shopped it around was that she asked me to change the title. It was originally “Haiku Productivity” which was supposed to focus on setting limitations to be more effective, but the consensus in her office was that it sounded too Eastern and would be confusing to publishers. So I was disappointed because I thought Haiku Productivity was a rockin’ name, but looking back I think it was probably a smart move.

She shopped it around and immediately we had a few publishers interested. Hyperion’s editing and marketing folks wanted a phone call with me, so we set that up and they seemed to like me. They put in a bid and it was the highest, so I went with them.

10. Is Erin Brockovich your hero? That’s not really the question.  That is called foreshadowing. Let’s go EB for a minute and talk numbers:

“How ’bout this for a number? Six. That’s how old my other daughter is, eight is the age of my son, two is how many times I’ve been married – and divorced; sixteen is the number of dollars I have in my bank account. 850-3943. That’s my phone number, and with all the numbers I gave you, I’m guessing zero is the number of times you’re gonna call it.”

Still with me? Your book deal is signed.  Visions of spectacular, over-sized but truly, madly, deeply deserved cheques are dancing in your head…

What figure is on that cheque?

Leo Babauta: Honestly, I would have taken the deal for M&Ms (peanut), because all I really wanted was to get published. The blog was already paying the bills. But the amount on the check was $80K. Well, not actually — I got half upon signing the contract and another half upon submitting the manuscript, and my agent took 15% of each check.

11. HOLY HESSENFEFFER*! You got THAT much?! Clearly, it was time for the happy dance…which brings us to the MOST IMPORTANT QUESTION:

What were your dance moves?

Leo Babauta: I’m big on booty moves.

12. Is there video of this alleged dance and, if so, is anyone currently blackmailing you with the footage?

Leo Babauta: The danger of mobile devices with cameras, and YouTube, is that these days anyone can take and upload video without your knowing. But such video has not surfaced, and thank sweet Jebus for that, because it would either become the next Rick-rolled video, or no one would care, and the latter would be worse.

13. What is your book called, when did it come out, and how can we get it?

Leo Babauta: The book is “The Power of Less: The Fine Art of Limiting Yourself to the Essential in Business and in Life”, and it came out on Dec. 30, 2008 and immediately hit the Amazon best-seller list. You can get it on Amazon.com, BarnesandNoble.com, Borders.com, or from fine independent booksellers everywhere.

Bonus Question:

After your book deal was signed and during the book-writing process, did your editor ever force you to sleep in her office for weeks just to get a semi-coherent draft out of you?

(It happened to Elizabeth Wurtzel, or perhaps more accurately, to her editor.  There may have been illegal substances involved.  You don’t have to answer this but please do.)

Leo Babauta: No, but I’m surprised they didn’t send an elite strike team to Guam to kidnap me back to New York (or kill me). Writers are notorious for missing deadlines but I think they’d hoped, as a productivity guru, I’d be different. That thought still makes me snort with laughter.

Bonus Bonus Question:

Anything I’ve missed that you think is important?

Leo Babauta: It was essential that I built up my audience with my blog before I tried to sell the book. Publishers get a million requests per second (about the same as the number of Google searches done per second), and you need to stand out. If you have a successful blog that has shown your potential as a writer and marketer, you have a good shot at least. If you don’t, you’d better have an AMAZING proposal.

*gratuitous Laverne and Shirley theme song reference. You know you’ve made it when you can casually work a Laverne and Shirley lyric into your writing.  Book deal, schmook deal.

____________________

This most excellent interview with Leo Babauta – I’m delighted to know he’s bootylicious – is part of an accidentally epic series on How To Get a Book Deal.

Leo was my first interview, ever, and he gave me the sweetest feedback. So please go buy his book.

——————–

The accidentally epic how to get a book deal series:

The how-to-get-a-book-deal piece, in full:

How to Get a Book Deal. An Evolutionary, Biblical Approach. (This Is Why I am a Writer And Not a Scientist.)

The How To Get A Book Deal Interviews, with:

• Chris Guillebeau (Art of Non-Conformity): How To Get A Book Deal. Thirteen Questions with Chris Guillebeau.
• Erin Doland (Unclutterer): How To Get A Book Deal. Thirteen Questions with Erin Doland (of UnClutterer and Author of UnClutter Your Life in One Week)
• Danielle LaPorte (White Hot Truth): How NOT To Interview Someone
• Leo Babauta (Zen Habits) (this here thingie, above)

* I also did phone-interviews with Josh Hanagarne and Gretchen Rubin but get very, very sad when I think about doing more transcription

**My phone interview with Gretchen Rubin – in which she gave me some personal advice that really landed with me – inspired me to be a little nicer, online. Gretchen Rubin is my Jiminy Cricket.

Guest Posts at Write To Done (that triggered this whole series):

Guest Post at Write to Done: How to Get a Book Deal: Part 1 – Printasauraus Rex Vs. The Blog: Publishing 2.0

Get Thee A Blog, and A Big One: Guest Post At Write to Done

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