Alyssa Matesic spent years working in traditional publishing before she noticed something surprising: aspiring authors had endless questions about book deals, advances, agents, and the business of publishing - but very few people were giving straight answers.

What started as sharing publishing insights online grew into a thriving YouTube community of nearly 170,000 followers. Today, she's one of the internet's most trusted voices on the realities of modern authorship.

On today's episode, she shares:

• What authors actually earn, and the truth about advances, royalties, and book deal economics

• Whether you really need a large platform or social media following to land a publishing deal

• How literary agents decide which projects to represent

• What surprised her most about growing a YouTube audience from scratch and building a business around helping writers

Follow Two Cents / STS on all socials @SalaryTransparentStreet and @twocents.sts. Follow Hannah on IG @hannahwilliamsllc, TikTok @hannahwill3ams. Follow James on IG @sts.bts.