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Welcome to Season 7 of The Book Marketing Action Podcast with Becky Robinson, where we give you information you can immediately implement to increase your influence and market your books more successfully.
In this final episode of Season 7, Becky sits down with Lara Love Hardin—president and founder of True Literary and bestselling author—to explore the powerful story behind her memoir The Many Lives of Mama Love. Lara shares her journey from addiction and incarceration to rebuilding her life as a ghostwriter, literary agent, and bestselling author. Together, Becky and Lara discuss the courage it takes to tell the truth through writing, the realities of publishing a memoir, and the transformative power of sharing your story. Lara also offers insights into what makes a memoir stand out and what it really takes to bring a book into the world.
Key Points From This Episode:
[02:16] Lara shares her life journey as she wrote about it in her memoir, The Many Lives of Mama Love.
[04:40] Lara goes deeper into one of the stories from her memoir, recalling the time her employer found out about her past.
[12:42] Lara explains the experience of stepping out of the shadows and finding the courage to share her story with the world.
[18:01] From the perspective of having contributed to multiple bestselling memoirs—in addition to writing her own—Lara reveals what it takes to write the kind of memoir that acquires representation and a publisher.
[24:14] (AD) Learn about Weaving Influence Press—Weaving Influence’s marketing-first approach to hybrid publishing.
[25:12] Lara talks about the biggest factors that contribute to selling non-celebrity memoirs.
[26:31] Lara reflects on her decision to form her own literary agency and the vision she has for being a different kind of literary agent.
[28:40] Discover the types of authors and stories Lara is most drawn to representing.
[33:23] Lara reveals when an author should decide which publishing path to go down.
[36:00] Lara shares the original title of her memoir and who she would pick to play her in the TV adaptation.
[38:00] Lara reflects on which parts of her journey have felt the most surreal.
Action Steps:
- Find a collaborative group of writers and take classes to improve your craft. It’s important as a writer to seek out others who can help you edit and improve your work.
- What’s something you hoped was possible for your book that you haven’t been able to achieve yet? Own that goal and think about what you can do right now to move toward it—don’t give up on your dream.
Resources:
- Follow Lara on Instagram.
- Get a copy of Lara’s memoir, The Many Lives of Mama Love.
- Learn more about Lara’s literary agency, True Literary (currently closed for submissions).
Key Quotes:
People always rise to the level that you believe in them. —Lara Love Hardin
I realized I could do some good with my story, and I wanted more of that feeling. —Lara Love Hardin
I think ordinary people have extraordinary stories, and everybody’s extraordinary story is a guide for someone else who is going through something. —Lara Love Hardin
Genius is always a collaborative effort. —Lara Love Hardin
The hardest thing in the world to sell as an agent is a non-celebrity memoir. —Lara Love Hardin
I’m a big fan of the underdog. I’m a big fan of people who have been underestimated or dismissed or shoved to the margins of the world. —Lara Love Hardin
People think they just need an agent, but they don’t—they need the right agent. —Lara Love Hardin
I have so much empathy because everything my authors have done, I had to do. —Lara Love Hardin
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