MyLinh Shattan on How West Point Shaped Two Generations
✨ Episode Summary
MyLinh Shattan is a West Point graduate from the 12th class of women, a former Army officer, and the author of Raising Athena, a memoir about watching her oldest daughter follow her into the military, written over eight to ten years across five full rewrites. Six literary agents (including a #1 nonfiction agent who loved it) couldn’t place the manuscript with traditional publishers ("if I’m not on your list, like what the frick is on your list?"), so Scribe published it instead, with the Scribe editor pushing the final rewrites that brought her daughter Kara to life on the page. The book launched at West Point on the 50th anniversary of women at the academy with 500 returning alumni in a signing line MyLinh couldn’t keep up with, and the audiobook releases July 7th, deliberately timed to the 50th anniversary of women at federal service academies and the 250th anniversary of the United States.
⭐ Top Moments
- 500-Person Signing Line at West Point Launch. "I launched it at West Point when the 50th year anniversary, the women, there were 500 people that came back for that… people just walked away because I couldn’t sign them, you know, and I couldn’t get them done. And I didn’t even know how to charge." What it looks like when a book lands at exactly the right audience at exactly the right moment.
- Trad Pub Said No, Scribe Said Yes. "I had six, I had agents, number one agent, nonfiction. And the interesting thing is, loved it. But the publishers, the traditional publishers, oh, it’s not on their list. I’m like, if I’m not on your list, like what the frick is on your list?" Followed by: "There’s a real silo in publishing for voices that aren’t heard that Scribe is allowing to be heard."
- Audiobook Timed to Historic National Anniversary. "50 year anniversary of women stepping into a federal service academy this July 7th. So my audio book is released from Scribe on that day, 250th year anniversary of the country. These are the people that made our country." A book release timed to two American anniversaries 250 years apart.
MyLinh Shattan
★ Scribe Case Study
MyLinh Shattan's Raising Athena Launched at West Point With 500 Returning Alumni and an Audiobook Timed to the 250th
MyLinh Shattan's memoir Raising Athena, rejected by traditional publishers and published by Scribe, launched at West Point's 50th anniversary of women with 500 returning …
📚 Books by MyLinh Shattan
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