Welcome to How Leaders Lead, where every week you get to listen in while I interview some of the very best leaders in the world.

I break down the key learning so that by the end of the episode, you'll have something simple you can apply as you develop into a better leader.

That's what this podcast is all about. Today's guest is Jim Levine, who is the

founder and principal at his literary agency, LGR. He represents authors like Tom Brady, Ray Dalio,

Patrick Lincione, and even some guy named David Novak. As a literary agent, Jim's mentality is all about helping others win he wants to land good deals for

his authors help publishers find the right books and coach everyone on his team to succeed let me tell you

there's a level of satisfaction you just can't get until you learn to help others win. It's a mentality every leader needs to develop,

and Jim is the perfect person to show you how it's done.

Plus, if you've ever thought about writing a book,

you're about to get a rare inside look into the world of publishing.

So let's get into it.

Here's my conversation with my good friend and soon to be yours,

Jim Levine.

Jim, a lot of people are unfamiliar with how literary agencies really work. Give us an overview of the

business you're in and how the business model

itself works. Publishing and being a literary agent is like playing in a casino. There is no logic to it.

The longer I am in this business, the more I realize there is no rhyme or reason. We'll send out projects to publishers. Say we send out

the same proposal. We can have an auction and bids come in 25,000, 50,000, 75,000, 350,000.

How could people in a business who are supposed to know what they're doing be valuing the

same property at such a broad range? And this is my life every day. It's not even that. Sometimes it's

you'll get no bidders except one who's willing to pay a million dollars.

My job is to find the best match between my client's goals and the publisher who helped them meet that goal.

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