Rookie Real Estate Agent: Behind the Book

Jay Papasan and KellerINK’s newest book has finally hit bookstore shelves, but the work behind Rookie Real Estate Agent started nearly ten years ago as a single question:

What do the most successful real estate agents do in their first year that others don’t?

So, we started asking more and more people. Their answers were the foundation we needed to create the ultimate guide for agents who are first starting in the business or want to improve their success rate.   

Screenshot of a folder of agent interviews, 2015-Present.

Agent interview, Family Reunion 2024

It’s amazing that when you ask hundreds of people the same question, and listen closely, you’ll start to hear the same answers. Those answers are the first hint of models and systems. With enough of those, you can build a book.

One of the first Rookie outlines to emerge in the writing room, circa 2022.

Once the outline was set, it was time to draft. And revise. And draft. And research. And revise again.

A screenshot of some of the revised manuscripts, 2023-2025

Once the book was mostly written, it was time to figure out what it would look like.

Some early cover treatments that didn’t make it, 2024

But even as we were closing in on the design of the book, we wanted to make sure that everything was the best it could be. Rookie Real Estate Agent had at least four rounds of copyediting and proofing, during which the writing and research team were still reaching out to agents to find actionable insights.

Revision #???? with Jay’s Notes

Tackling the top-grading, 2024.

At last, in early 2025, Jay and the team decided Rookie was ready. Then, it was time to send the book off to print.

Our first look at the printed book!

It’s been an incredible journey watching this book come together. Here’s to the next one!

Jay Papasan and the KellerINK team