We’re excited to introduce you to the always interesting and insightful Rea Frey. We hope you’ll enjoy our conversation with Rea below.

Hi Rea, thanks for joining us today. Innovation comes in all shapes, sizes and across all industries, so we’d love to hear about something you’ve done that you feel was particularly innovative.

The most innovative thing I’ve done in my career is leverage what I’ve learned as an author and turned it into a multi six-figure business during a pandemic.

As authors (or aspiring authors), so many of us are left in the dark. We want to write books, but we don’t know where to start. We want to get published, but we don’t know what path to take. We want to make money, but we just don’t know how.

By giving first-time authors the tools to create their own goals, pick their own publication path, and understand the process, we have helped almost 100 first-time authors land agents and book deals.

Straddling the line between being an author and a business owner requires constant innovation, and it is a privilege to help people along the way.

As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?

I have been in the publishing industry for 20 years, first as a naive first-time author, then as a literary agent intent, a ghostwriter, an editor, a book proposal writer, and now, as a bestselling author and business owner.

After going to Columbia for fiction writing and landing a book deal at 22, I swiftly realized I didn’t know ANYTHING about the industry (despite majoring in creative writing). I became hungry to learn about the business of publishing. How did it work? How did writers get paid? How did you build a strong author platform? How did anyone sell books????

I continued getting books traditionally published, but I still wasn’t making a living as a writer. It wasn’t until I landed a four-book deal and a movie deal that I decided to invest in myself as if I were starting a business. And then, organically, I did start my own business, after I grew a side hustle helping other authors get published.

Now, as the CEO and founder of Writeway, I have helped over 100 first-time authors land agents and book deals. We help identify author goals, pick publication paths, and then create the process to get ideas off the page and out into the world.

Any advice for growing your clientele? What’s been most effective for you?

Though this is not a popular answer with all of the ways to grow your business and market, my business is strict word-of-mouth or referral only.

I was very intentional from the start that I didn’t want to grow my business on social media. I didn’t want to pay to market or advertise. I wanted a business that grew organically, with people who trusted me.

I have been blown away to see the business grow year over year, with zero dollars spent on social media or marketing.

How’d you build such a strong reputation within your market?

Time and experience. I don’t claim to know everything, but I DO talk about all the aspects of the publishing industry no one else will. I ask the hard questions. I talk about money. I advocate for authors and show them how to advocate for themselves. My clients trust me because I am honest about the ups, the downs, and the realities of being a published author.

Contact Info:

• Website: writewayco.com
• Instagram: instagram.com/reafreyauthor
• Other: reafrey.com

Image Credits
Vibe Tribe Creative