A Lady's Guide to Selling Out A Novel

With “elements of The Bold Type, Mad Men, and The Devil Wears Prada” (Entertainment Weekly), a young woman navigates a tricky twenty-first-century career—and the trickier question of who she wants to be—in this savagely wise debut novel.

At 28, Casey Pendergast is not where she thought she’d be. Sure, she’s killing it at her high-paying advertising job, but when she thinks about the idealistic English major she used to be, she can’t help the nagging feeling that perhaps her best friend Susan is right – Casey is a sellout who’s traded her dreams for a high-rise condominium, expense account, and designer handbags.

When her boss assigns her to a lucrative new campaign to lure acclaimed authors into becoming content creators for corporations, Casey doubts that her literary idols will buy into this particular brand of capitalism. But determined to give it her best shot, she begins her trek across America, only to find herself stunned by how easily these writers agree to compromise their work and integrity in exchange for some extra cash. As she grapples with her own conscience, and falls in love with one of the authors she’s courting, Casey begins to question just how much she’s willing to sacrifice to chase material success.

A witty and razor-sharp coming of age story perfect for our time, A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out is a winning debut novel about a young woman navigating career, love, and friendships, all while redefining success on her own terms and figuring out who she really wants to be.

Sally Franson is the author of A Lady’s Guide to Selling Out. Her work has appeared in The New York Times, The Guardian, The Best American Travel Writing, and on NPR, among other places. She grew up in Madison, Wisconsin, and was educated at Barnard College and the University of Minnesota. She lives in Minneapolis.