How I got a book deal using ABM

Step-by-step guide for leveraging 'account-based marketing' for finding publishers and agents

In case you missed it, I recently announced a book deal for my debut fantasy novel (The Forbidden Parallel will be released in 2025 via Provender Press). I’m still wrapping my brain around achieving this life goal, but what’s 100% true is that my deal is the result of a very targeted approach that had its roots in B2B (business-to-business) marketing and sales strategy.

Let me first apologize for how snobby that last sentence reads. Yes, I work in tech. I can’t help but flex the jargon. In fact, I’ve worked in marketing my entire career. For the past five or so years, I’ve become specialized in a segment of B2B marketing called “account-based marketing” or ABM, which is basically a hyper-focused selling motion with marketing support.

After I finished writing my novel (as much as any manuscript could ever be finished), I decided I didn’t want to self-publish. This meant I had to query. I’m sure you know what came next: all the research, all the things. I read the blogs. I joined a local writer’s group. I attended writer’s conferences. I listened to podcasts. I signed up for QueryTracker. I lit a candle and prayed to Christopher Little, the Patron Saint of Book Agents.

Then it hit me. What if, instead of doing what everyone else did, I used my ABM powers for good and tried to get a book deal using those strategies? After all, I had a product to sell (my book) and accounts to reach (publishers and agents). It would at least be worth a shot. So, here’s what I did. This might get a little in the weeds, but stay with me. I’ll likely also do a few follow-up posts do dive even deeper for those interested in going the extra mile.

First, let’s properly define ABM so we are all on the same page.

Account-based marketing

Account-Based Marketing (ABM) is a targeted marketing and sales strategy where sellers focus their efforts on specific companies (i.e., accounts), rather than a broad audience. Instead of marketing to everyone, ABMers identify key potential clients and create personalized campaigns to engage them. This approach often involves close collaboration between the marketing and sales teams to tailor messages and offers that resonate with each targeted account. The goal is to build strong relationships with high-value prospects, ultimately driving more meaningful interactions and higher conversion rates.

One note for the non-tech people reading this. We say “accounts” instead of “companies” or “prospects” because most sellers use a CRM tool like Salesforce, which labels companies as accounts.

Step 1: Determine your ICP

ICP stands for “ideal client profile/persona” and it’s one of the main ingredients to the ABM secret sauce. For those with no business background, ICP is basically answering the questions: “where do my best clients come from?” “who do I realistically have shot with” “what type of company will make a decision within my desired timeline?”

These are questions that — you’d be surprised — are generally not asked by more common, broad-based marketing efforts. When ABM teams plan a campaign, we start with those questions. This helps us focus on a key audience which makes everything more efficient and improves our chances.

This can be more painful than it sounds. You have to be comfortable with yourself enough to know, “Who will I strike out with?” “Where will I NOT succeed?” Once you know those answers, you can proceed with designing your ICP.

For me, this meant knowing which publishers and agents I had a realistic shot with. I looked at myself as brutally honestly as possible: I was a brand new author with little-to-no online platform. I didn’t have any awards or accolades. I was writing in a noisy, hyper-competitive genre. I was writing fantasy, but not romance fantasy, which was the current trend. I decided, then, my sweet spot ICP was indie publishers who specialized in fantasy and science fiction — ideally smaller shops launched in the last few years. I avoided agents altogether.

I’m not saying this is what you should do, but it’s what made sense for me. My ICP.

Step 2: Create your TAL

TAL stands for target account list. It’s exactly like what it sounds. Your list of agencies and publishers you plan on actively reaching out to. This can be as many as 1000 or as little as 50. I wouldn’t recommend less than 50 unless you feel very confident with your list. In general, ABM success can be anywhere from 1 - 10% of your TAL. All it takes is 1 win, of course.

How did I make my TAL? I certainly started with QueryTracker (QT), because why not? That’s an (almost) free resource with a ton of great data. The problem with QT is that everyone on there is getting blasted day and night with queries. I wanted to find some targets with a little less noise, so I expanded my search. The second tool was Google, of course, and I found quite a few results of newer publishers not using QT. My third tool was Linkedin Sales Navigator, which is a super common tool used in ABM world, but not so much for writers. This unlocked some amazing results; in fact, all my opportunities (i.e., traction with publishers) were sourced from this tool.

Note: I’ll make a post in the future where I deep dive into my tactics with Sales Nav.

Step 3: Identify your key persona contacts

Just because you now know the accounts to reach out to, it doesn’t mean you yet know the exact contacts to prospect (sorry again for all the sales jargon, this is just my world). Take your TAL and try to find 2 - 3 contacts at every account. Sometimes there is only one. Other times there are 5+. Try to find the best contacts, always.

From my research, people newer to their role were more likely to reply. This is another use-case for Sales Nav. Import your account list and research recently hired employees. Again, I promise to do a deep-dive post on this (if readers want).

Like all good sales motions — because that’s what we’re doing, remember! Selling! — I recommend using multiple data sources and layering when appropriate. QT, Sales Nav, Google, Publisher’s Marketplace, etc.

Bonus tip: Use Phantombuster to help you scrape contacts from the web. It’s a life saver for those who don’t have a ton of time but still want a spreadsheet to work off of.

Step 4: Consider advertising to “warm up” prospects

This is easily the most controversial part of my entire strategy, and I won’t be offended if you disagree. I purposely decided to query a bunch of contacts that I knew were on Linkedin, because I also knew I could reach them with ads.

I spent $200 on a light “warm up” advertising campaign. I shared a killer video trailer I created using Adobe Express and experimented with a couple different captions.

On Linkedin, you’re allowed to promote to an audience that is as small as ~300 people. This means you have to do the work ahead of time and make sure your TAL and your prospect list is air tight (otherwise, you’re just wasting money).

Many people in the industry out there will scream, “Don’t do this!” And, well, sure. My argument is that people are more likely to respond to emails if they are familiar with a brand, which is the whole hypothesis of B2B digital advertising. I had two opportunities from publishers I had warmed up in my advertising campaign.

However, full disclosure, the publisher I ended up signing with came later, after my ad campaign ended, when I returned to my TAL to refresh it (see Step 7).

Step 5: Begin personalized outreach

Nothing new here: you have to personalize your query letters. This is true for B2B sales, too. The more you personalize (and time your outreach to ICP accounts that are appropriately warmed up by ABM advertising), the better your chances are for a reply.

What will probably shock you is that most people really don’t personalize. Even in sales. It’s the weirdest thing. We all know personalizing in outreach matters, but it’s the first thing we sacrifice due to our hunger for volume. More, more, more. We update the name in the email, sure. We change the name of the company, sure. But is that really enough? Of course not!

All the best practices for query letters are out there. You likely know them. Make sure you’re leveraging those and anything else you can do to stand out. For example, with every query letter I submitted, I included a personalized marketing plan.

Step 6: Track results

One of the best, most satisfying aspects of ABM? How easy it can be to measure results. You have a spreadsheet, say 100 accounts. How many have you reached out to? How many replied? How many have opened an opportunity? How many are “closed-lost”? Keep working until you have your one “closed-won”.

Step 7: Monitor signals to add to your TAL

After about 3 months, I decided to revisit my TAL and see if there were any new accounts I should be adding. Remember: my ICP suggested small indies. This meant it benefited me greatly to keep an eye on any new shops opening And to get in early.

On Sales Navigator, I created an alert for new publishers in North America. You can also do something similar with Google Alerts. I added about 5 new accounts to my TAL, one of which was the publisher I ended up signing with. Woot, woot!

Step 8: Engage “opportunities” and close the deal

Anyone in sales will tell you that opening an opportunity is not the end of the story. In fact, think of an open opportunity as the sequel to your first novel. (Note to non-sales folk: ‘open’ means the deal is not ‘closed’; also frequently referred to as open pipeline).

You put so much work into writing and polishing your manuscript, defining your ICP, building your TAL, sourcing contacts, querying, etc. Now you have to close the deal. Rookies will tell you this part is out of your hands. More accomplished professionals will say the opposite, that when the deal is in progress, this is where you shine.

In the least, it means not being afraid to check in. Be present. Be knowledgable. Be courteous. Be someone they want to work with. Remember that you’re selling yourself as much as you’re selling your book, if not more.

Bonus tip: Send a hand-written note to their address while they’re considering/reviewing your manuscript or follow-up with a personalized marketing plan, if you didn’t include it already.

Step 9: Repeat 1 - 8 as necessary

Here’s the hardest truth of all: this entire process is difficult. You might have to go through it again and again (and again and again). It will test your mettle. You might get through the whole process and decide, by the end, that you could’ve self-published by now, and that’s generally always going to be true.

But by using ABM techniques, you may have better success and at a faster rate. That’s the idea, anyway. Put your energy and time into the accounts you have a real shot with. Be as truthful with yourself as possible. Become analytical. Get comfortable with sales. Think outside the box. And, hopefully, become a published author.

Hell, you never know?