Q&A With Allyson E. Machate

Today’s Q&A is with book editing, book publishing & book marketing expert Allyson E. Machate. Allyson is also the founder and CEO of The Writers Ally. 

Q: Allyson, would you like to tell the readers of the blog and me a little bit about you and why you chose a career in the publishing industry?

A: I’m the original word nerd! I’ve always loved to read and write. One of my mother’s favorite stories to tell people about me is that I learned to read at age 3 and started making “books” out of crayon and construction paper to “publish” and give to people. My love affair with the written word lasted all through my academic years—I published a play and some poetry, served as the editor of our high school paper, majored in English and Creative Writing—and so it was no surprise to anyone when I got my first job out of college as an editorial assistant at Simon & Schuster.

Though we can argue about print vs. digital formats, at the end of the day, long form content i.e. books are a critical piece of our culture. They can entertain us, transport us to new places, foster empathy for different perspectives and lifestyles, teach us new things, inspire us to make change in ourselves and in the world…I just think books are magical. They’ve been a huge part of my life, and so it’s always been my honor to participate in bringing more great books into the world. It’s why I do what I do.

Q: You’ve edited, published and marketed many books! Can you give a list of some of the authors you’ve helped edit their works and marketed and published?

A: We’ve worked with hundreds of authors on various aspects of their book projects, across multiple genres. Basically, if it’s intended for a commercial audience, we can likely work with you to achieve your publishing goals. But just a few projects we’ve worked on in recent years include the Mike Stanton Thrillers (With Intent to Deceive, The Syndicate’s Deception) by Michael Smigocki, The Effortless Perfection Myth by Cara Peterson, Mark of a Crescent Moon by Clara Fay, The Confident Coach by Melinda Cohan, Transparent Investing by Patrick Geddes, and Larissa N. N. Davila’s Sky Seekers series (Shorn, Avelune, Cael’s Shadow).

Q: Can you tell me a little bit about The Writers Ally & how long you’ve been the founder and CEO for?

A: I left my job at Simon & Schuster to pursue freelance work while I finished up my Masters in English & Creative Writing. After several years doing a variety of work including ghostwriting, book doctoring, and editing, I decided to start building a network of subcontractors I could partner with that quickly evolved into a team-based business. In 2014 I officially relaunched my business as The Writer’s Ally to provide authors with more of a one-stop shop for their editing and publishing needs, whether they planned to submit in hopes of a book contract with a publisher or if they intended to self-publish. It’s been a great joy to watch the business grow and watch my team serve so many authors at different points in their career and with different types of books. As a team, we can help so many more high-quality books get out into the world: I like to say that we help people to help even more people through their books, which is very fulfilling for all of us.

Q: What is your advice for any authors wanting you to be their editor and have you market their books?

A: A: I no longer edit books, personally, but if you want to work with me and my team, the best thing you can do is invest some time and energy learning how to write the strongest book you can. Many new authors get caught up in how they’re going to publish and market the book before they’ve even written it, and while it is important to start thinking about these things early, they can’t take precedence—great marketing won’t make up for a lackluster product. And when you feel you’ve taken the draft as far as you can on your own, then get in touch via our website for a free Book Strategy Call to talk about your best next steps.

Q: What is your advice for anyone wanting to have a career in editing and marketing books?

A: I think it’s important not to confuse the craft and art of book writing and publishing with business. It can sometimes be challenging to help people understand how their creative choices impact their success both positively and negatively, but that’s an important part of the job. It’s nice to think that all it takes is to create a good book with a nice-looking cover on it, but you do your clients a disservice if you don’t learn what it takes to create a marketable book in any given category and use that knowledge to guide them. Sometimes that knowledge isn’t going to be received gracefully, and that’s part of the job, too. 

Q: If you became an author, what genre would you write in and what would your book be about?

A: In addition to my work as an editor and book doctor, back in the day I was also a bestselling ghostwriter and collaborator, with cover credit on a national bestseller in the business and leadership space. So, I am already an author. But I have been changing things behind the scenes of my business to allow me more time to write my own books, the first of which will be nonfiction and about how to better leverage books as powerful assets in your business.