Books that Change My Life

I read a lot of nonfiction, mostly in the personal development, business, and leadership spaces. It makes sense right, that’s the world I also live in. Thankfully, as an agent, I have the luxury of seeking out books that I can personally connect with. Most importantly, books that change my life.

When I’m digging through my query inbox or reaching out to potential authors I’m looking for two things…authors that can make a difference and books that will change me.

Authors that Change My Life

It’s no secret that the world of publishing, and especially the world of business book publishing is white and male. Frustratingly true. And in my mind, not changing at the speed it needs to be. Despite so many conversations about how publishing needs to do better I still feel that so many in the business publishing world still believe that women write business books for women while men write business books for everyone. White people write for everyone and people of color only write for their communities. It’s a construct I’ve been fighting to change one book at a time.

So when I seek authors to write business books I’m looking for voices to change the way publishing thinks of business. I’m looking for women to write for everyone, people of color to write for all communities and I’m only looking for white men who have something absolutely revolutionary to say, something only that particular white man can say based on his own experience. And I’m fighting publishers to make sure they publish the books this way.

I am tired of the same voices and experiences on my business shelves because as a woman my experience in business is very different from that of a white man and, while they can be of help, their advice is skewed from a place of privilege many of us don’t have.

Books that Change Me

When I’m looking at book proposals for nonfiction I’m looking for three distinct things…

1. Books from a lived experience not yet seen or often seen on shelves.
2. Books that are practical–I love exercises, journaling, and books that make me work a little to change.
3. I want to be changed when I’m done reading. I want to be better than I was when I first opened the book.

And while I talked a lot about business books in this post the truth is that when looking at any book, fiction included, the things I’m looking for are  a lived experience that’s not my own and a book that changes me and the way I see the world.