Publishing | Bootcamp

How to Get an Agent & Sell Your Book

This intensive publishing bootcamp will teach you what to do, and what not to do, when trying to sell your work. Over the course of three hours, we'll address querying, what goes in to a proposal, and what to look for in an agent. I'll answer all your questions about the big bad world of publishing, and we'll get into everything from what an agent actually does to the nitty-gritty of how the business works. Although some information will be just for one party or another, both fiction and nonfiction writers should find something useful here.

-Using examples and some in-class writing, we will talk query letters and why they get attention (or get deleted). 

-We'll go over proposal formats and some hot tips for do's and don'ts, as well as the types of projects that can get sold on proposal.

-There are 3,000 agents out there working today. I'll explain how to find one.

-Practice makes perfect! We'll do some elevator pitching to prepare you for the day when you come across an agent who wants to know what you're working on.

We will also set aside time to answer any questions not covered by the above!

Christopher Hermelin

Christopher Hermelin is a literary agent working and living in Brooklyn. He studied creative writing in undergrad at UC Santa Cruz and received his MFA in Fiction from the New School. He loves working with folks who write good books. Several books he's worked on have gone on to be National and New York Times Bestsellers. Christopher has sold and edited books in fiction, non-fiction, children's, humor, and self-help.

Testimonials

"Christopher Hermelin is the kind of agent who knows how to take risks and make out-of-the-box book ideas sound like instant classics. His work with my book proposals made me sound more like myself than I ever thought possible."

Ryan Britt author of LUKE SKYWALKER CAN'T READ AND OTHER GEEKY TRUTHS

"Christopher spoke to my Creative Writing Professionalism class about querying agents and publishing. Christopher did a wonderful job painting a picture of the process, beginning with that first draft of a manuscript, to polishing and pitching it, all the way to publishing and promoting one's writing. Even with technical difficulty on my end, Christopher was incredible, a testament to his passion for the subject and his preparation to teach the class. I cannot commend him enough as an instructor. And, he's my absolute go-to professionally, whenever I have a writing/publishing-related question."

Luke Wiget creative writing professor and producer of DrDoctor

"It’s been great to work with Christopher. He’s got excellent judgment, takes care of things in a timely and careful way, and has the fun/professional vibe perfectly tuned."

Andy Mozina author of CONTRARY MOTION

"Not only did Christopher sell my first book, he has also become a trusted voice and editor for works in progress. Christopher has been an invaluable resource to help guide me through the ins and outs of the publishing world."

Greg Danylyshyn author of CRASH OF RHINOS

"Christopher Hermelin is a wonderful agent, partner, and friend, and he was an integral part of making our book a reality. He guided us through the process of crafting a proposal, offering feedback and edits each step of the way until it was ready to be shopped to publishers. Working with Christopher not only made the process of publishing a book easy and straightforward, it made it enjoyable."

Jill Poskanzer author of LITERARY STARBUCKS

"Christopher had a great style; he was personable and made everyone feel at ease. I loved the structure of the class—especially hearing everyone's query letters aloud and his targeted feedback. It was great to get personalized suggestions for your own query as well us understand where/why others were successful."

former Catapult student

"Christopher provided lots of great industry info but also was a master at given us constructive feedback that was pointed and also supportive. From the many writing classes I've taken, I've found that's a hard thing to do."

former Catapult student