Welcome to BookEnds, Megan Gerhardt!

  • By: Jessica Faust | Date: Jul 17 2019

As a business owner, it should come as no surprise that I love representing books for entrepreneurs, business leaders, and business owners. I’m also strongly looking for more women and people of color in the business section. When Megan Gerhardt’s book for leading intergenerationally in business came into my Query Manager I was sold.

While I’m not a fan of books that target any one generation (specifically in a negative way) I have seen first-hand how different generations work and think and believe that all leaders can benefit from Megan’s knowledge.

What book do you wish you had written, and why?  There’s so many! I love books that take a complex idea and communicate it in an engaging way. If I were to pick just a few, I’d say Outliers (Malcolm Gladwell), Start with Why (Simon Sinek), and Originals (Adam Grant).

If you’re not reading or writing, what would we catch you doing?  Teaching (I’m a leadership professor) or hunting down antiques. I love finding interesting things and finding a way for them to be seen differently—this applies to the classroom and the antique store.

Where can readers find you on the web and social media? You can find me on Twitter and Instagram @profgerhardt, on LinkedIn, and via my consulting website at www.thegerhardtgroup.com

What’s the last book you read? Dare to Lead by Brene Brown. I love how she is able to authentically communicate research and personal narrative in her non-fiction work.

If money were no object, what would be your dream writing location? A flat in London, close to Portabello Road.

What’s your favorite quote about reading or writing?  “The only thing that you absolutely have to know, is the location of the library.” ― Albert Einstein

What’s your favorite piece of writing advice you’ve received? I love Anne Lamott’s book Bird by Bird and turn to it whenever I begin to get overwhelmed by the enormity of writing a book.  As she says: “Bird by bird, buddy. Just take it bird by bird.” 

What excites you most about joining the BookEnds family? I did a lot of research before querying Jessica @ BookEnds, and was drawn to her ability to be direct, honest, and developmental all at the same time. I am looking forward to collaborating with her to push my work to its strongest potential and to learning as much as I can about the process of publishing.

What advice would you give to other authors in the query trenches? I think you have to be very self-aware about what strategy best fits your personality. My entire life, I have been the kind of person who puts all her eggs in one very carefully chosen basket. I researched agents, scoured #MSWL, hunted down which agents represented authors I admire and books I enjoyed. Based on what I learned, I queried the one agent that I thought I would enjoy having coffee with the most. That agent was Jessica. When she offered to represent my work, I was confident it would be a strong partnership. So my advice would be to decide if you the kind of person that wants to cast a wide net and hope someone (anyone!) bites, or the kind of person who is wants to have a more deliberative strategy limited to agents you want in your tribe and want having a say in your work.