Webinar: How to Publish a Trade or Crossover Book
Join Laura Portwood-Stacer for a live conversation with special guest, literary agent and author Kate McKean on May 7, 2025 at 12pm PT (3pm ET, 7pm UTC)
Who this webinar is for & what you'll get out of it
Many scholars dream of writing books for readers outside of academia, but few know what's involved or where to start.
In this live conversation, publishing consultant Laura Portwood-Stacer and literary agent Kate McKean will demystify the process of publishing a trade or crossover book for authors with a scholarly background.
This webinar will teach you:
- What it means for a book to be considered "trade" or "crossover" versus a traditional academic monograph
- What a literary agent is and why you might want or need one
- What is "author platform" and why does it matter? What does the expected platform look like for a scholar who wants to write a trade book?
- Common misconceptions about trade publishing that can hold authors back
Laura and Kate will also discuss Kate's new book, Write Through It: An Insider's Guide to Publishing and the Creative Life.
The structured discussion will last 45–60 minutes. There will be 30 minutes allotted for audience questions following the main discussion. Live attendance is highly encouraged but a recording will be provided to all who register.
Register to attend the webinar and access recordings + supporting materials
Live webinar: Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at 12:00–1:00pm Pacific with question and answer period to follow.
Live attendance is encouraged; all registrants get access to the recordings and supporting materials regardless of live attendance.
By signing up for this workshop you agree to be added to the Manuscript Works email newsletter list.
You can unsubscribe from this list at any time without affecting your registration.
About Laura Portwood-Stacer
Laura Portwood-Stacer, PhD, is a publishing consultant, developmental editor, and the author of The Book Proposal Book: A Guide for Scholarly Authors (Princeton University Press, 2021). Laura's online courses and workshops have helped thousands of academic writers craft outstanding book proposals and connect successfully with editors at university presses and other scholarly publishers. Laura's next book, Make Your Manuscript Work: A Guide to Developmental Editing for Scholarly Writers, will be released by Princeton University Press in August, 2025. Find out more about Laura and what she does at ManuscriptWorks.com.
About Kate McKean
Kate McKean is a literary agent at the Howard Morhaim Literary Agency in Brooklyn, New York. She earned her MA in fiction writing at the University of Southern Mississippi. Her work has appeared in Poets & Writers, Electric Literature, Catapult, and her first book, Write Through It: An Insider’s Guide to Publishing and the Creative Life will be published by Simon Element in June, 2025, followed by a picture book to be published by Sourcebooks in 2026. She writes the Agents & Books newsletter at agentsandbooks.com. You can find her at all the places online as well as katemckean.com.