Esther Fedorkevich | The Literary Agent for Tim Tebow, Justin Bieber’s Mom and Pastor Steven Furtick Shares How to She Helps Turn Big Ideas Into Best-selling Books

Audio Transcription

Speaker 1:
On today’s show. We are interviewing Esther Fedor. Kevin who’s the founder of the fed literary agency. Over the years, the fed agency has represented such bestselling authors as pastor Jensen, Franklin, Mark Patterson, Tim Tebow, Jackie Velasquez, Justin Bieber’s, Bob pastor Steven Furtick, and countless best selling authors that you know, and on today’s show, Esther joins us to talk about the importance of fearless cold calling and how she helps her big time. Clients take their big ideas and turn them into best selling books. Some shows don’t need a celebrity, a writer to introduce the show, but they show dogs to man eight kids co-created by two different women, 13 Mo time million dollar businesses, ladies and gentlemen, welcome to the thrive time show [inaudible] yes, yes, yes. And yes, it’s ecstasy when Z is next to me, but, but Josh, you’re a good plan. B Whoa, no upstairs.

Speaker 1:
You’re you, you are a plan B like a parents. See Aaron’s has been my plan. Oh. If my marriage doesn’t work out, I turned to Josh. And if Josh says, we’ve talked about this, I turned to Aaron and I’ve got an open door. Oh, shut down. And on today’s show inside the studio. We happen to have one of the top literary agents on the planet. Esther. Welcome to the thrive time show. How are you doing great. Can you share with the listeners where you are from where, where do you call home? I’m from Austin, Texas. And what do you do for a living? How do you procure your, your,

Esther Fedorkevich:
I own a literary and entertainment agency. I represent authors on their books. So, um, how long have you been doing this? 17 years.

Speaker 1:
I’m going to pull up some books here. I’m going to show the cover of the book to the cameras. And you tell me if you had anything to do with this book here. Okay. So this book here, it’s a book by Tim Tebow called this is the day. Did you have anything to do?

Esther Fedorkevich:
Yes. It’s amazing.

Speaker 1:
What is your role in a book like this? When you, when a book we go to the bookstore, we buy it. What is your role in getting this book from the mind of Tim Teebo into the hands of the buyers.

Esther Fedorkevich:
So first Timmy and I, and a big team, we talk about a bunch of ideas and see what he wants to write about. And we pick out the best idea and then we shop it to publishers and get him the best deal possible. I feel like what we’re going to do for you, clay. Thank you so much. I’m excited about take it to a lot of publishers and then you see who’s, who wants you the most?

Speaker 1:
Is he, is he the as nice, my wife and I think he’s the nicest man ever. And we’ve met a few people that know of him or have been with me and they all say he’s nicer than you think. And we already think he’s super nice. How would you describe the character or the personality of mr. Timmy Tebeau as you call it

Esther Fedorkevich:
Real deal. I mean, he really lives, uh, and walks the walk. Um, he, um, loves Jesus, uh, is amazing athlete and just amazing person. I think, uh, there are so many moms that want to raise a son just like him. And, uh, he just has character and it’s hard to find that anymore. And for an athlete to have that kind of character, uh, it’s impressive.

Speaker 1:
So how do you work with an athlete like this? Do you, do you, do you cold call them? Do they call you? But now you, now you have so many big authors you represent, but when you were first getting started, how did you land your first big author?

Esther Fedorkevich:
Cold calling and reading a lot of articles and finding out ideas. And then we would say, that’s a good book idea. We study the New York times bestseller list. So we’re seeing what people are buying and why they’re buying it. And then we try to find people to fit that.

Speaker 1:
So you studied the New York times best sellers list. Um, and then you, you and your, you were sharing with the team this morning that I think Tim McGraw was one of your first big.

Esther Fedorkevich:
Yes, we did a book from a movie called Flicka. He had a song in it called my little girl and we did a children’s book series called my little girl

Speaker 1:
When you’re around some of these people. Initially I know now I know you’re kind of probably numb to it now, but the first time when you were around Tim McGraw or some of these big names, were you, were you nervous at all? No. Really never nervous. What are you missing your amygdala? What is wrong?

Esther Fedorkevich:
No, I just look at them like they’re regular people just like me. Really? Yeah. Didn’t bother you at all.

Speaker 1:
Nope. That is amazing. So you, you and how does someone like yourself make money doing this and in what all do you do? I mean, what, what are you, do you help edit the books? Do you help lay the books out?

Esther Fedorkevich:
So I am the sales person in marketing branding, but I have a great team that are amazing editors that will work with the authors on actually, uh, their grammar and copy editing and making sure they’re a T’s are crossed and their I’s are dotted and they sound great. Uh, we also have a team of ghostwriters that write, uh, books with our authors. And I mean, it’s a, it’s takes a, it takes a lot of people to put a book together.

Speaker 1:
Love about being a book, agent, a literary. Yeah.

Esther Fedorkevich:
Um, always been my favorite thing is seeing that book from the beginning process when we’re talking and finally seeing in know the airport or in a bookstore, um, it’s, it’s super exciting. I love, I was just on a plane coming here and somebody was reading one of my author’s books of Mark Batterson circle maker book. And I just started a conversation. I’m like, Hey, what do you like about the book? What’s what chapter are you on? I’ve read that book. And it’s just a pretty amazing when you see, uh, when you see your book in hands of people

Speaker 1:
And this book here, the circle maker by Mark Batterson, this is the book you’re referencing here. And someone was reading this on the plane. Yeah. Did that make you nervous? No. Does flying make you nervous? No. Do you know? What do you feel or know what the word nervous means overall?

Esther Fedorkevich:
Yeah. I’m not a very nervous person.

Speaker 1:
No, I understand that you are an absolute Viking woman when it comes to cold calling the you’ll just pick up the phone and call anybody. There’s something to learn out there for the listeners. What would you say to a listener out there? Who’s they know they need to make calls and they’re a little bit afraid of it because Aaron aunties is going to ask you questions about being an agent. And Josh is too. These are Christian guys. They probably own the books that you’re putting out there. What would you say to someone who’s afraid of making cold calls?

Esther Fedorkevich:
Uh, what’s the worst they could do say no, I, uh, I honestly like, so what right? They say, no, you just pick up the phone again and you call, I believe that I can get to any single person. I don’t think that, no. I mean, you could tell me any name and give me, uh, give me a couple of weeks and I bet I could get a call today.

Speaker 1:
I just love that attitude. Aaron, antice you run Oklahoma’s largest home building company. You and I have worked together and it’s so fun to see the company grown out of $81 million of annual revenue from 24. We’re on pace to do 120 ish this year. Maybe more than that, even more than that one question is we do rapid fire final 90 seconds. What question would you have here for one of America’s top literary agents? So if I was going to write a book today, what would be the best path for me to take if I just wanted to get it out there? And I had an awesome message that I wanted to share with people, what would be the path I would take? Because I do believe I have a story I’d love to tell, but I don’t know if people want to hear it. So what’s that path look like?

Esther Fedorkevich:
Well, great question. I believe everyone has a story now. Uh, everyone has a story to tell. I wish that I got my grandfather’s story before he died of how he came to this country. We’re first generation born here. My grandfather was from Russia and I’m like, why didn’t I get that story down? And I’m a literary agent. I mean, just for the sake of my kids and grandkids to, to know that story. So first thing to do is go to the fed agency.com and you can go into submissions and say, you know, or you know me now, so you could just talk to me, but I there’s. We have a whole publishing program that is called agent managed publishing, and we help people get their books out and it’s out in six months. Oh wow. And so I think of a book as like a $5 business card. We just did a book for a big builder out of Phoenix, Arizona. And it was amazing. He uses that as just to get more big, you know, clients in homes,

Speaker 1:
Which is what I think you should do for real giving people your story.

Esther Fedorkevich:
I think you should do that. And if it takes off, then we’re able to then go sell it to a publisher.

Speaker 1:
Well, I’ve been telling my wife, I’m a really big deal for a lot of years. So this way I could, I could really confirm. That would be my main reason is just to stay married for, we have 60 seconds left for our final questions here. This book here, acres of diamonds. This is another book that, uh, our, our guests here today has also represented. And people want to know they’re looking up right now. How do you pronounce your last name? What’s the, what’s the proper pronunciation of your last name? Cause you go by the fed agency making it easy for us, but what’s the real pronunciation of your last federal? Kevin Fetter. Kevin Ester. Okay. So what is your final question here, Josh, with living water irrigations for Esther, federal catfish. So I know you say you don’t get nervous.

Speaker 3:
Did you get nervous when you met clay? Nope. She just darn, she booed me. She was underwhelmed

Esther Fedorkevich:
Fun though. And his whole office is like so energetic and they’re like, boom, this and boom. That, I mean, how can you not like them

Speaker 3:
So real quick. So we were talking off the air. You were saying, whenever you got started, you know, you were doing the 80 to a hundred hours a week. So can you encourage maybe that young mother out there that’s listening or one of those listeners out there that’s like, that’s not ethical. Can you, can you talk about what it took to get to where you’re at and where you’re at now?

Esther Fedorkevich:
It takes a lot of hustle. I mean, I think if you really want something and you really believe in yourself, you have to hustle. Uh, I feel like so many people quit before their miracle. I mean, I can tell you just, they quit, they quit, they quit or they, they want to do something, but they don’t follow through. I mean, if you really want something, I was up early in the morning, got waited while my kids were still sleeping. And then, uh, when they were at school, I called myself an empty nester. Cause I could work from 7:00 AM to three while they were in school all day. And uh, I would, while they were napping, I would be doing phone calls while they went to bed at seven or eight at night, I was working until one in the morning. I mean, I was living off of little sleep, but I believed in what I was doing. And I think so many people just, they think there’s this easy road that they’re going to get rich quick and somehow do it in a four hour workweek. Come on. It’s like, it’s not gonna happen. Um, every business, everybody that I know that’s been really successful has put in the effort.

Speaker 3:
I, I appreciate you so much for being here that I don’t want you to miss your planes. We’re going to head off now. But again, thank you so much in the show with the boom. So here we go. Three, two, one. You’re the one like you’re big attack. Whenever the enemy knows that the water is coming, he always says trucks to stop them from succeeding because they’re the ones to have a whole book talking about it because Abraham is the one that Abraham move up from his custody and away from his temper [inaudible]. So he had to live in isolation. [inaudible]

Speaker 3:
never make it, sell it as a loyalty. It’s all I ever know doing what you’ve always done. They told me you can never grow conversations. I ask him what I told me. I got to wait for friends. I got to let them go, please. Don’t Meg. I know that they face death. The patient I tell what’s my moment. No stopping this thing is that most of what you’re going to do, when you get back against the wall, you will stand up like a jet, but you won’t curl up in the ball. [inaudible] keep your faith. That Abraham had to move out from his country and away from his temper because he was the one. So I think it’s his faith with his pimples to come see was the one. They are always on the hit list because I would have talked to some people that tried to help a whole book.

Speaker 3:
The devil fin attack at night. Cause he, every time that happened, there’s a blessing coming obsession problems that you can’t change. I had to go with crazy. Learn your lesson from me. Remember when they cut my water off homie man, reflecting how they cut my lights off. I had to move back in with my mama had me putting in like the failure. That’s what life would do. Gotta get up on the ground. I had to make the right move. Raymond noodles. Every night I had some beans and rice to execute the keynote. Tell me what you might do pay for from the man above no mother, God liked you. You cannot be down. But I promise, I ain’t saying they’re spending like I am the one we just begun this ticket clear me and clay clicking up. Y’all need to get it bro. Colossal taken over.

Speaker 3:
When we flip it up and Abraham, I have to move out from his country and away from his tidbit because he was the one with his pitfalls folks that come to me. They are always on my hit list because I want to talk to some people bottom down on here, hoping that success separate 23 years in. And she got another kid, never have a, I never stopped writing when the teacher is not [inaudible] by the thoughts that we feel begging for people to come into agreement with you. So you’ll stop doing polls and fences and trying to get everybody to come and pick up with your Bishop so that you won’t be the same man. Cause you already know that you gotta have him said, Hey man,

Speaker 1:
Listened to the entire TD Jakes sermon grasping the moment by visiting TD Jakes, YouTube channel, simply named TD Jakes.