Hi there, how’s your week been?
I’ve had video conversations all day today and when I sat down to write, I realised I just couldn’t access that side of my brain..!
So, instead, I’ve recorded a 13min video for you (above), in one take, sharing how I counterintuitively scored my Work Fame book publishing deal.
If you prefer text, you can read the video transcript below.
Please note: The transcript has been cleaned up using Manus AI.
Have a watch/read, and I’m happy to reply to any follow-up questions, just pop them in the comments.
(oh, and if you found any of this video/article interesting, click the heart!).
Let’s begin…
I’ve always been curious about how people get their books out into the world: whether they choose to self-publish or go down the traditional publishing route. So I thought I’d share how this one happened.
This book deal definitely happened in reverse.
I broke all the book-publishing rules
Everything I’d heard about book publishing and landing a deal with a commercial publisher, I basically discarded.
I didn’t have a book proposal. I didn’t have a manuscript. I didn’t really have anything.
I had a phrase that I liked - the title came first.
Where did “Work Fame” come from?
If you’ve listened to my stuff, you’ll know that people will say things in conversation and I’ll often think, Oh, that’s such a cool phrase. Then I write it down.
Honestly, I don’t remember where I was or who I was talking to when Work Fame came to me. But I was trying to describe someone I knew who worked within an organisation - they weren’t celebrity famous. You wouldn’t recognise them on the street. They weren’t an influencer either.
But they were work famous.
Everyone in their organisation knew them. They travelled around the world. They had a really strong reputation.
And I thought: Yeah, they’re work famous.
The second I said it, the person I was talking to got it. They instantly understood what I meant.
I think anytime you use a phrase and people immediately understand what you’re talking about - or it unlocks some sort of emotion or recognition - it’s worth pursuing in some way.
At the time, it was almost a joke. I’d created a new phrase to describe this type of person.
I tested the phrase before I tested the book
The next step was testing the phrase.
When I like a phrase, I start trying it out with existing clients - not new clients, but people already in my network who already trust me. I think it’s easier to launch new offerings that way.
It’s an Alan Weiss approach: new offerings to existing clients.
I had a client who ran quarterly webinars on different topics, and I pitched a few ideas. One of them was Work Fame.
They picked it.
And I thought: Ah. That’s interesting.
If clients are choosing this idea from a category of different options, maybe there’s something here…
That was really how I tested the viability of the phrase. They got it. They knew what Work Fame was, and they wanted it.
Why Work Fame? Why now?
The publisher questionnaire asked me to explain why I’d like to write Work Fame and why now.
A lot of it came from looking at the modern work environment.
The book is written for someone working in an organisation—particularly a big organisation—who is feeling invisible. It can absolutely apply to consultants as well, but the core audience is someone working in a remote or hybrid team, or a big organisation, who feels like they’re getting lost.
As I’ve worked through the book, I’ve landed on this definition:
Work Fame helps you become known for the right work by the right people before the right opportunities appear.
A lot of the work I’m doing now is coming from companies asking for workshops and keynotes around this core idea.
And the “right work” part is really important. We can become famous for things we don’t actually want to do.
People often ask me to talk about technology. And I do love technology. But I’m not the most patient person, so I’d be terrible at IT support.
I love sharing new tools and technology, but you’ll rarely find me behind the scenes showing you exactly what I’m building and how I’m doing it. I don’t want to get typecast in that role.
So the first part of Work Fame is really about asking: What do you want to be famous for?
There’s work involved in figuring out what drains you, what gives you energy, and what you actually want to do more of.
The Saturday morning that started the book deal
Let’s go back to how I actually got the book deal.
It was a Saturday morning. I was in bed with my laptop and a coffee, and I thought: Wouldn’t it be amazing if I got a book deal about Work Fame?
So I got out my laptop, searched for the Australian publishers we all know, found people who worked at those companies, and started sending cold outreach messages on LinkedIn.
That was it.
There was some social proof in the message. I’d already published my first book, and I’d written a Substack article about it that generated more than $60,000 in royalties. So I had some evidence that I knew how to sell books.
The book I wrote in 52 days that made me $60K
I paid myself $60,000 in royalties from a book I wrote without a publisher, or big platform.
That was obviously designed to get someone’s attention. But I didn’t get a 100% response rate.
That’s what I mean when I say this was a backwards way of getting a book deal - I basically sent a DM on LinkedIn.
Then the publisher asked: what does Work Fame actually mean?
Once I had the idea of Work Fame, I had to figure out what it actually meant in the context of a book.
This was where things got interesting.
The publisher sent me a questionnaire, and I spent a lot of time on it. I had to really think about: What does this actually mean? Who is this book for? What can I deliver?
What I realised was that I was writing the book for the 2016 version of Leanne.
I could really empathise with her.
I’d left remote Western Australia, moved to Brisbane, and started working in a big organisation. I know what that Sunday-night feeling is like, when your stomach is in knots. You’re looking for other opportunities. You’re wondering whether there’s something better out there.
And then I started asking myself a different question:
Rather than scoring my dream job, how do I make this job a dream?
Personal agency is at the heart of it
Work Fame is about personal agency.
Yes, there are organisational systems and structures that can make your life harder. But everything in Work Fame is about what you can actually do.
You don’t need to get more delegations of authority. You don’t need to wait for the organisation to change.
It’s written for a high-agency person who wants more from work and, ultimately, more from life.
Because I write about what I did, as well as interviewing people around the world who have tried different things, it’s incredibly practical.
It’s not just: Here’s a theory about being more visible.
It’s: Here’s how to host a lunch and learn. Here’s how to reach out to people. Here’s how to do these things with confidence.
And now, after writing the book, I feel like I really own the phrase Work Fame. I’ve put my own spin on it. I’ve given it a very specific meaning.
Importantly, I believe Work Fame is within your reach.
Why I was annoyed by “quiet quitting”
I was also, frankly, a little annoyed by the quiet-quitting rhetoric.
I’d go on TikTok and see people talking about doing the bare minimum and not giving 100%, and I’d think: Why would you do that?
You spend a significant amount of your life at work. Why not try to make it a great thing?
Because it does matter. There’s a lot of Gallup research showing the impact work has on your overall life. So why wouldn’t you try to make the experience better?
Why this book is different
When you write a book, you spend a lot of time thinking about positioning.
A lot of books about personal branding are about building an external audience. They’re often written for solopreneurs, creators, or people building a business and an audience online.
Work Fame is different.
It’s about becoming known within your organisation. It’s about being famous at work.
Something else changed while I was writing it, too.
My first book, The Two-Hour Workshop Blueprint, was very much: I know the answer. I’m going to write it down.
Work Fame was different. It was exploration through writing.
I was reflecting on my own experiences, talking to other people, looking at research, and bringing all of that together. I didn’t have all the answers at the beginning. I figured some of them out while writing.
And that’s one of the things I find exciting about writing.
You don’t always have to have the answer before you start. Sometimes the writing is how you discover the answer.
Who is Work Fame for?
The audience has been interesting.
Graduates have loved the concept. Senior leaders have loved it because they want their people to become more work famous. Business owners and founders have loved it for the same reason.
But if I had to pick one core audience, I’d say it’s the mid-career professional: someone who’s delivering results but feels overlooked; someone who’s overwhelmed; someone working in hybrid meetings where it’s easy to disappear; someone watching less-qualified colleagues get promoted; or someone who worries about being pushy or self-promotional.
This is not a book about self-promotion
In fact, it’s almost the opposite.
It’s about being of service, but allowing that service to actually cut through.
There’s a real distinction between self-promotion and Work Fame. Self-promotion can be about getting likes and attention. Work Fame asks different questions:
How can I be useful?
What problems can I solve?
How can I contribute my unique skills?
And I wanted to make that distinction really clear from the beginning.
So if you don’t like self-promotion, this might actually be the book for you.
(Maybe that should be the tagline!)
A final thank you
If you have questions, let me know either in the Substack comments.
And if you like the sound of Work Fame, you can pre-order a copy at getworkfame.com.
Pre-orders are really important because they signal to book publishers that there’s demand for the book and that they should stock it.
That’s why I’ve created this beautiful Wall of Work Fame (as of today, 440/1001 stars, with 48 days left!).
Thank you so much for your support.
A few companies have already supported the book: Matt Stewart from The Custodian Way, GSK Australia, and the Australian Podiatry Association.
Thank you so much.
Every book helps us get closer to 1001 pre-orders before 30 September.
I hope this was helpful if you’re thinking about writing a book. Know anyone publishing a book? Share this article and video with them, too!
🌴
I’ll see you next week.
Leanne “Not celebrity famous” Hughes
p.s. Join Alan Weiss and me for our next Talk the Walk on today. We'll explore what comes after success, how to avoid getting too comfortable, and keep challenging yourself when you've already "made it". Join us live and be part of the conversation!
