​An insiders guide to getting published, and get paid, for your writing!

​Leila Sales is the author of eight critically acclaimed novels for children and young adults, including This Song Will Save Your Life and Once Was a Time. Her books have been optioned for stage and screen, selected for many state award lists, translated into a dozen languages, and received numerous starred reviews.

​Based on her eleven years as a full-time employee at Penguin Random House, as well as her experiences being published by Abrams, Chronicle, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, and the University of Chicago Press.

​Leila will walk us through exactly:

• ​What makes a strong nonfiction book concept in today’s market

• ​How to shape a compelling book proposal

• ​How to pitch a nonfiction book to agents and what agents are actually looking for

• ​What a nonfiction agent does beyond selling your book, and how to evaluate whether an agent is the right fit

• ​How advances are structured and how nonfiction deals are negotiated

• ​What to expect from the editorial process

• ​How publishers decide positioning, pricing, print runs, and bookstore placement

• ​What marketing and publicity realistically look like for nonfiction authors

• ​How subsidiary rights, foreign rights, audio, and film options factor into your long-term strategy

• ​and much more....!

​Leila has edited award-winning and bestselling fiction and nonfiction books for readers of all ages.

​Her authors have included:

• ​Award-winning actors Viola Davis and Bob Balaban;

• ​New York Times bestselling authors Gayle Forman, Max Brallier, and Ame Dyckman;

• ​National Book Award Finalist Elizabeth Partridge;

• ​MacArthur Fellow Xu Bing;

• ​and many more....

​🎟️ What's Included with your ticket?

​✅ A 60-minute presentation from Leila Sales focused specifically on nonfiction publishing, pitching, proposals, agents, advances, and what actually happens after you sign a deal.

​✅ An extended open Q&A where you can ask about your specific book idea, proposal draft, platform strategy, or agent outreach plan.

​✅ A small-group of 12 other writers based here in Austin.

​✅ Fresh coffee, tea, and morning snacks.