Mark Malatesta
Author Coach | Former Literary Agent
Mark Malatesta is a former book agent turned author coach and consultant, helping authors of all genres become bestselling authors through (primarily) traditional publishing houses and sometimes self-publishing. Authors Mark has worked with during his publishing career have gotten 6-figure book deals and been on bestseller lists such as the New York Times. They’ve had their work optioned for TV, stage, and feature film with companies such as Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks. They’ve won countless awards. And they’ve had their work licensed in more than 40 countries, resulting in millions of books sold. Click the following link to see all Mark Malatesta’s Reviews.
Former literary agent Mark Malatesta is the former president and owner of New Brand Agency Group, a literary agency responsible for getting mostly unpublished authors book deals with major publishers such as Random House, Simon & Schuster, and Harcourt. Mark also spent several years as Marketing & Licensing Manager of Blue Mountain Arts, the book and gift publisher that invented e-greetings, and then sold their e-card division for close to $1 billion dollars. Today Mark is president and founder of The Bestselling Author and Literary Agent Undercover where he supports authors of all genres, at all stages of development, through various Websites for Authors and 1-on-1 Author Coaching.
Mark has appeared on C-Span’s Book TV and hosts a popular radio show for authors. He’s delivered keynote addresses at some of the most prominent writers conferences in the United States and abroad including SleuthFest, Pikes Peak Writers Conference, and the Santa Barbara Writers Conference. He’s participated at regional, national, and international book fairs and trade shows including BookExpo America (BEA), The London Book Fair, the Frankfurt Book Fair, and the Miami Book Fair. And he’s written feature articles for publications such as The Guide to Literary Agents and a column for Writers Digest.
Mark Malatesta’s Clients Have Gotten Deals with Prestigious Publishers Including…
Author Coaching with Mark Malatesta
For a limited time you can register for an introductory coaching call and send Mark any/all of the following for review: first 50 pages of your book, query letter, synopsis, book proposal, website and/or social media presence.
You will also get Mark’s detailed Author Questionnaire so he can learn even more about you, your book(s), and your goals. Then you’ll get on the phone (or Skype) with Mark for a full hour so he can tell you exactly what to do to reach your goals. He’ll answer your questions. And he’ll record the call for you if you’d like that (most people listen to their recording 2-3 times). That’s how helpful these calls can be. But you have to sign up now. This offer expires soon and these coaching sessions are first-come, first-served.
Mark Malatesta Works with…
Mark works with authors of all genres at all stages of development, from those who are just getting started… to those who’ve already had top literary agents, publishers, and book deals.
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Fiction
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Nonfiction
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Children's Books
Fiction Authors –
Mark Malatesta Testimonials
“Mark helped me to get a top literary agent and now my novel is out with Penguin Books / Michael Joseph. That publishing house is ‘principally interested in publishing Top Ten Bestsellers’ so it’s hard not to be excited. I have learned that hard work, struggle, disappointments and perseverance are all important, as is following the advice of industry experts like Mark.”
Click right here to see all reviews about former literary agent Mark Malatesta
“A special thank you to the ‘Remarkable Mark’, my friend and former literary agent who created a bidding war for my books, resulting in multiple offers, including a 6-figure offer. Mark is one of the rare and genuine good guys, but he also has incredible information (even his ideas have ideas). One of the most important keys to success as an author is good information and support.”
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“Thanks to your help with my book, query letter, and synopsis… I now have a publisher who described my book as ‘Powerful Magic’ and it’s now available in bookstores! So, budding writers – seek Mark’s advice and FOLLOW it. It’s worth its weight in gold, and it might be the final push you need to get published as well. Mark, you’re a miracle worker.”
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Social Media Followers
Email Subscribers
Countries
Nonfiction Authors –
Mark Malatesta Testimonials
“After Mark helped me land a top literary agent, I got publishing offers from THREE well-known publishers: Amacom, Palgrave Macmillan, and McGraw-Hill (they recently published my book in hardcover)! I was at Walt Disney World with my family, in the Haunted Mansion, when I got the call. I went outside and listened to the voicemail message from my agent. A huge smile came over my face. It was a fantastic feeling. For a moment I felt like life was perfect and the angels were singing.”
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“I’m psyched to have this be official. After getting five different offers for representation from top literary agents, I signed with Stephanie Tade who got me a 6-figure book deal with Penguin Books, which just published my book in hardcover! Getting multiple agents interested in my work was really important to me. I’ve dealt with agents before and gotten screwed on things contractually so I wanted to do it differently this time. I wanted choices. Having you help me create that, and navigate my options, was really helpful.”
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comments and reviews
“Mark, finding you has been both a treat and a treasure—I just signed a contract with my new literary agent! As you know, my career has spanned publishing, TV, and feature film. I’ve served as Creative Director for the Magazine Group, TIME Incorporated; Director of Time World News Service, a Founding Director of TIME-Life Films; Executive Producer for both the CBS and NBC Television Networks; Producer/ Director: Movies of the Week: CBS Cinema Center Films and Universal MCA. You just can’t do it alone today as an author.”
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reviews about Mark Malatesta
Mark Malatesta Industry Events,
Speaking & Appearances
Mark has participated at regional, national, and international book fairs and trade shows including BookExpo America (BEA), The London Book Fair, the Frankfurt Book Fair, and the Miami Book Fair. He has made sales presentations to publishers from all around the world and licensed countless books for international translation and publication. And he has made presentations and sold books to key executives at major companies in the United States such as Costco. Mark has also been interviewed by the media and he’s given more than one hundred keynote addresses, seminars, and workshops at venues including:
Various Universities, Colleges & Libraries * C-Span TV * SleuthFest * The International Symposium on Religion & Art * The Pike’s Peak Writers Conference * The Santa Barbara Writers Conference * The Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers Conference * The Houston Writers Conference * The Surrey Writers Conference *The Columbus Writers Conference * Willamette Writers Conference * The Marjorie Kinnans Rawlings Workshop * The Wild Acres Writers Conference and Retreat * Wrangling With Writing * The Panama City Storytellers * The Missouri Writers Conference * The Detroit Writers Guild Annual Conference * The Georgia Writers Conference * The Space Coast Writers Conference * The Minneapolis Writers Workshop *The Utah Writers Conference * The National Writers Association South Florida Writers Conference * Mile Hi Radio * LA Talk Radio
Memoir/Narrative Nonfiction Authors –
Mark Malatesta Testimonials
“Within 4 minutes of sending out my query, a top literary called me. Less than 30 days later I had three major publishers making offers. A few days after that, I signed a deal with Random House. Mark, your query letter did that. Thanks to your tips and tricks, I got the #1 agent on my wish list. Authors are like seeds in the ground and you help them turn into flowering trees. I’m really happy to say that I am one of them.“
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“I got a book deal! After I started sending out my new query letter I had 6 literary agents request my manuscript in a short amount of time, which is awesome. Then, within two weeks of my agent starting to pitch my story to publishers, we had an offer. I signed a book contract yesterday. A little while later my agent told me that a TV co-producer asked for more info about my book.”
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comments and reviews
“After sending out the query Mark revised for me, I had the opportunity to speak with literary agents from top agencies such as Janklow & Nesbit, Trident Media, Anderson Lit, and Folio. I signed with Don Fehr at Trident and, a short time later I had a publishing contract with Berkley Books, which recently published my book in hardcover.”
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Mark Malatesta reviews
Mark Has Helped His Coaching Clients Get Prominent Literary Agents Such As…
Children’s Book Authors –
Mark Malatesta Testimonials
“AHHH! OMG, it happened! I’m really excited to tell you that my literary agent got offers from multiple publishers and my book deal was announced this week on Publishers Weekly! I can hardly believe it. I signed with Kane Miller, a division of EDC publishing. Their sales reps sell to all major retail outlets, including bookstores, gift stores, museums, etc. They also have a direct sales division made up of nearly 18,000 independent sales consultants. Yay!”
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of Mark Malatesta
“When I got my deal with Harcourt… I was speechless. Every day I would start crying all over again. I’ve never been that happy in my life. On my wedding day I wasn’t that happy. Getting married and having children are wonderful experiences, especially in times where people feel they must say, ‘My children are the greatest thing that ever happened to me’ but I didn’t work to get my children. Even cows can get laid.”
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“Adams Media / F+W / Merit Press is publishing my book this year in hardcover! Before I started working with Mark, I sent out my own horribly written query letters (about three dozen), and I got only rejections. When I sent out my revised query, I was only able to send it to five agents before I started getting multiple requests (one of them in just a few hours) to send sample chapters or the complete manuscript.”
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Mark Malatesta’s Websites for Authors
Christian Book Authors –
Mark Malatesta Testimonials
“Boom!!! I just signed a contract with Thomas Nelson/Harper Collins for a very large advance for a first-time author. Before working with Mark I submitted my book to agents but didn’t get any interest. This time around I got a top NY literary agency (Fine Print Lit). They got publishers bidding against each other. What cloud is higher than 9?”
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Mark Malatesta reviews
“ABSOLUTELY DROP-DEAD AWESOME! I still can’t believe it!! I got more than a dozen requests for more material and SEVERAL OFFERS FOR REPRESENTATION. That blew me away. I wasn’t expecting things to happen so fast, and I certainly wasn’t expecting the chance to choose my favorite agent!!”
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comments and reviews
“Thank you Mark! After you helped me get a well-known agent with Hartline Literary Agency (for my previously self-published murder mystery), he got me a deal with an American Christian Fiction Writers (ACFW) approved publisher. I’m hard-pressed to find anything that I had an expectation for that you didn’t deliver on. Now I’m sending you clients!!!”
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Mark Malatesta reviews
Recent Blog Posts by Mark Malatesta
Mark Malatesta Review by Dr. Bill Creasy | Mark Malatesta Reviews
Dr. Bill Creasy, author of Reading the Bible: A Literary Guide to Scripture, published by Zondervan/Harper Collins, provided this review of former literary agent Mark Malatesta. Bill is also the creator/host of the Scripture Uncovered podcast, which has had 1.3...
Mark Malatesta Review by Marni Battista | Mark Malatesta Reviews
Marni Battista, author of the self-help book Your Radical Living Challenge: 7 Questions for Leading a Meaningful Life (Hay House) provided this review of former literary agent Mark Malatesta. Marni worked with Mark to improve her query letter, platform, book proposal,...
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Hi, my name is Mark Malatesta…
I’m a former literary agent turned author coach/consultant, and I have a confession to make. The #1 reason I became a literary agent was to find out how to get my own books published. In other words, I know what you’re going through as an author, and I know exactly what you need to do to become a bestselling author.
My authors have gotten 6-figure book deals with major publishers like Random House, Penguin Books, Simon & Schuster, Scholastic, and Thomas Nelson. They’ve been on bestseller lists such as the NY Times and USA Today; had their work picked up for TV, stage, and feature film (with companies like Paramount Pictures and DreamWorks); won countless awards; and had their work licensed in more than 40 countries… resulting in millions of books sold.
Who knows… you might be next!
Simply enter your first name and email address above and we’ll send you a few things so you can get started. We make it easy to find what’s important to you. We’ll never share your email address with anyone, and we’ll only send you information relevant to what you signed up for. If you don’t know much about us yet, click here to see Comments and Testimonials by Authors Who Are Already Members (that way you’ll know what to expect). If you do decide to leave us one day, we make that easy, too. All you have to do is click on the link at the very bottom of any email you get from us and you’ll be able to unsubscribe instantly.
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What People Are Saying
“I like that you actually provide real content! I’m sick of Internet Marketers who recycle information from other marketers, providing nothing of substance. With you, I usually get one or two tips that, if nothing else, remind me of what I should be doing. I’ve been in the writing business in one form or another for 50 years now, and my son works in the publishing industry, so I get all sorts of direct information from behind closed doors. Based on that, and based on what you say in your emails, you are spot on.”
“Your audio library with your signature presentation about how to get a top literary agent was the best gift I’ve encountered in a long time. It woke me up to the notion that getting a literary agent and getting published by a traditional publisher such as Random House isn’t luck—it’s a decision. Within seconds of hearing that, I decided to start sending out queries for my book. Now I already have 5 top literary agents who’ve requested my complete manuscript or sample chapters!
Before I listened to your MP3 I wondered, ‘What could I possibly get from a former literary agent speaking for an hour when I don’t even have a query letter written yet?’ I’m not ready to get a literary agent. But if I hadn’t listened, I wouldn’t have been able to write the query letter. You shared a lot of explicit information about how agents think. While my original pitch wasn’t entirely written on a lobster bib, napkin, or the palm of my hand, it lacked substance… and it didn’t have the best structure.
It’s never too early for an author to open the front door to your online audio library and listen. Smart authors will pay attention and feel lucky to have a dream team partner like you who is knowledgeable but also warm and caring. Although you don’t know most of us personally, you keep encouraging us and sharing your valuable information and insight. We all need that. So often in life we say, ‘I can’t take it anymore. I can’t handle this. It’s too much.’ But as soon as you say you can’t get a literary agent, then you can’t.
As soon as you make a decision that you can get a literary agent, you can. Everything is a decision for me now. Yes or no, but I decide. I don’t just wait, I decide. I don’t just wish, I decide. Your MP3 catapulted me into a different stratosphere of how I approach my publishing goals, and everything else in my life—finances, romance, and daily living—because everything is a decision. You woke me up, reinvigorated me, and changed me. And things are actually happening. Thank you!!!”
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Well, what are you waiting for? Tens of thousands of authors are already part of our community. Scroll above now and enter your first name and email address to join us and find out what you’ve been missing.
I’m looking forward to helping YOU
become a bestselling author!
– Mark
Mark Malatesta
The Bestselling Author, LLC
Ask Mark Malatesta a Question
Post your question for Mark Malatesta below. You can ask anything about writing, publishing, and/or marketing your book(s). It doesn’t matter whether you write fiction, nonfiction, or children’s books. It doesn’t matter how far along you are in your process. And it doesn’t matter whether you’re an unpublished author who is just getting started, or a well-established author who wants to get more exposure and sell more books.
