Because writing the book is just the first step.
Lots of us can empathize with the feeling of being in your twenties, feeling adrift and looking for love while also trying to make your way in the world. That’s the emotion that Lindsay MacMillan wanted to capture in her first book, a romance-driven coming-of-age tale called The Heart of the Deal. In it, an industrious banker sets her mind to finding a husband and approaches it much like a business transaction — though (of course) things don’t go exactly as she planned.
MacMillan is a 28-year-old first time author, and knew she’d have to help drum up interest in the book on her own. So, taking her experience from working at Goldman Sachs, she employed a data-driven, grassroots strategy while marketing her new novel. MacMillan’s now using her experiences on Wall Street and in the publishing world to help other aspiring authors. We talked to MacMillan about her new book, and why she thinks it’ll resonate with young professionals everywhere. (Did someone say “perfect graduation gift”?)
KATIE: For people who are unfamiliar with The Heart of the Deal, how would you describe the book?
LINDSAY: I’d describe it as a modern love story about a woman in her twenties, living in New York City, who’s figuring out what she wants in love and life. She’s really trying to scramble up the romantic and the corporate ladders. She has expectations for what her life will look like — she wants to be married by 30, and she has a certain timeline for career accomplishments. The book follows her journey to break out of these pressures and pave her own path.
There’s a romantic relationship in the book, but more broadly, the story explores love in all its forms – platonic love, self-love, and even how we can be in emotionally volatile relationships with our careers and the places we live, like New York.
It’s a bit autobiographical — you worked on Wall Street and decided to make a complete career change to writing. What was that transition like?
I kind of have two sides: Corporate Lindsay versus Creative Lindsay. They felt a little bit binary, but then I realized I could bring the two sides together. I always wanted to be an author, to leverage the power of stories and the creative escapism that comes with that.
There was also this side of me that really was interested in business. My parents were in business, and I grew up talking about that kind of thing at the dinner table. And I’m very much still interested in analytical financial modeling and crunching the numbers. I learned to blend those two skill sets and look at them not as contradictory, but an interesting mix of interests that can work together as a competitive advantage. I call my current situation “full-time authorpreneurship” as I bring my business background into the writing world and try to think outside the box.
In the book, the main character’s love interest struggles with depression. Why did you decide to bring mental health into the plot?
I wanted to raise the question, “How do you love someone who is struggling to love themselves?” I think we don’t see that question raised often, especially in fiction. As we know, relationships aren’t always rainbows and butterflies. I wanted my book to break the traditional romance novel formula and capture the messiness of real life – including the impact of mental health on relationships.
I conducted lots of interviews with people, mostly in their twenties, who had been in relationships where partners battled depression and mental health challenges. And then I actually dated people who battled serious depression, and I also lost a friend from college to suicide. She had also been working on Wall Street, and after she died, that was the moment I thought, “Okay, I need to be writing.” It opened the floodgates.
Some early readers have been surprised that a “cute pink book” like mine tackles deeper issues like mental health. But it was so important to me that the novel feels like real life, and the prevalence of mental health challenges is something we can’t – and shouldn’t – ignore. I’m hopeful we’ll start seeing more novels and contemporary romances tackle these important topics to help normalize the conversation around mental health.
You talk about treating your book launch almost like a product launch — what was your approach to make sure that people are exposed to your first novel?
I’m really approaching it in a grassroots, direct-to-consumer way. I got a traditional book deal, which was awesome and I think provides credibility, but I didn’t want to just rely solely on traditional marketing methods. I really felt like I was going to have to do a lot of that work myself, especially as a first timer trying to break into the industry. So what I’ve been thinking is, How do I reach my target audience? Where are they naturally gathering?
My core audience is women ages 20 to 45 in the professional world. I realized I could reach them in co-working spaces, yoga studios, college campuses — places where these women are congregating. I’ve gotten a bootcamp in brand partnerships as I’ve been working with companies, colleges, and influencers to share my story and get the book in the hands of thousands of women who are likely to connect with it.
That’s smart. What do you have planned so far?
I have a three-week book tour, starting in NYC. I’m doing talks and signings at some of my favorite indie bookstores, from Books Are Magic to Shakespeare and Co on the Upper West Side in Manhattan, which is the neighborhood where I lived in my 300-square-foot studio apartment when I was writing the book.
Then I have a big launch party that’s being sponsored by several women-owned brands who are aligned in terms of audiences and themes: Plum Diamonds, a lab-grown diamond company and Aura Finance, a mindful money management platform, among others. “Women supporting women” is a major theme of the book, and I’m so grateful to have this playing out when it comes to my launch events.
I’ll be continuing my book tour back in my big-hearted hometown of Kalamazoo, Michigan, and then wrapping it up on the west coast with picnics, coffee-shop hangouts, and beach book clubs with my readers. I also recently gave a TEDx talk titled “Love Is Not a Business Deal,” which will be publishing soon. These are all part of my efforts to build my brand as a businesswoman and modern love author, and to connect directly with my target audience in a grassroots way.
I see the central throughline as parlaying my experience with the book – and my business background — to create a suite of offerings, including coaching, to help people turn their dreams into reality. I’m already getting a lot of interest from people who want to understand how I published a book and quit the corporate world — so many of us want to find a career that’s creatively fulfilling.
The Heart of the Deal can be purchased on Amazon, Bookshop (to support independent bookstores), or wherever you get your favorite books. Check here for updates on Lindsay’s upcoming events.
