One of, if not the most popular, books this year is caro claire burke’s Yesteryear, a debut novel about a tradwife influencer who wakes up in the 19th century.
Earlier this summer, I went to a talk in London where her British literary agents from C&W Agency were interviewed about what makes something publishable, using Burke and Yesteryear as one example.
Would you be surprised to learn that one of the big reasons why her book became such a bestseller is because she had a podcast?
It’s true! Burke had been a cohost of The Diabolical Lies Podcast, which started in July 2024. She and Katie Gatti Tassin discuss various things about culture, politics, and society. It’s also supported only by subscribers through Substack, but this isn’t really about that. Still, it is a neat fact.
The point is that having had a podcast a good 18+ months before the release of her novel already meant she had an established audience and fandom behind her.
They also pointed out that Burke had been writing as a journalist has grown as a public speaker, all of which helped her when she went to pitch and sell her book.
Now for the writers, here are other things that helped get this book published and sold:
It had a great hook; it was easy to share the premise of the book.
And while it was about tradwife/influencer culture, the main points are still universal: being a mother, wife, can a woman have it all, etc.
All in all, keep this in mind: A podcast isn’t just content.
It can become:
an audience builder
proof of expertise
credibility for publishers
a marketing engine before the book launches
This is what happened to Burke and exactly why many authors launch podcasts before books.
Have you read the book or listened to her podcast?
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