Episode 519: Stop Pitching Ideas Nobody Is Searching For: The Discoverability Fix for 2026, with Barb Roose

Conference season is here, and plenty of writers are walking into pitch appointments with a playbook that expired three years ago. In this episode of Writing at the Red House, Kathi Lipp sits down with literary agent and author Barb Roose to talk about what has actually changed about pitching a book in 2026 — and what hasn't changed at all.

Kathi admits right up front that she hasn't pitched a book since 2023 and has a new one coming, so this conversation is part podcast, part free coaching session that listeners get to eavesdrop on. Barb names two big shifts every writer needs to understand: the influence of AI on the creative process, and the way readers now discover books.

The AI Conversation Writers Aren't Having

Neither Kathi nor Barb is anti-AI — both use it regularly in their businesses. But Barb flips the question most writers are asking. Instead of "What can AI do for me?" she challenges writers to ask, "How do I make sure AI doesn't undermine my book?" When an agent suspects a query was AI-generated, it raises a quiet question about whether the writer has the chops to carry a 55,000-word manuscript — and in the faith-based market especially, trust still matters.

Why "Discoverability" Is the Word of the Year

Most readers aren't browsing bookstore shelves anymore. With millions of books available and the vast majority of sales happening online, people now find books by searching for the specific problem they're trying to solve — not the broad category. Barb walks listeners through exactly how to research their own category on Amazon, what to look for in the top ten bestselling descriptions, and how to spot the repeated keywords that reveal what readers are truly hungry for.

The Rule of Three

Barb shares a simple, free piece of market research anyone can do this week: find three authors a few steps ahead of you in your lane, go to their social media, and read the comments. Not the posts — the comments. That's where writers find objective insight into what readers are connecting with and why they're buying.

In This Episode, Listeners Will Learn:

• What's actually different about pitching a book in 2026 versus three years ago
• How to use AI in your writing business without handing over your voice (or your agency)
• Why a "niche felt need" beats a clever title every single time
• A step-by-step way to research your category on Amazon before you pitch
• The "rule of three" method for learning from authors ahead of you — without copying them
• The number one reason most pitches don't stand out to a literary agent
• A real-life example of how narrowing a book idea got it sold quickly

The biggest encouragement of the episode? You don't have to be afraid that someone else has already written "your" book. As Barb reminds listeners, your story, your experience, and your language will always bring something no one else can. But you do have to do the research.

If a pitch appointment, a proposal, or a half-finished idea is sitting on your desk right now, this is the conversation to listen to before you send it anywhere.