Time doesn't matter

by Jane

So, this week I talked with a number of editors in our business who are complaining about recent poor bookstore sales and it caused me to consider again how our industry is changing and how I wish publishers would begin to “rethink.”

Traditionally, books are launched and shipped in a certain season and then, in subsequent seasons, these books are considered “backlist” and hopefully continue to sell (with virtually no support from the publishers). So, if the book doesn’t “take off” in its first few weeks, the publisher literally abandons it and moves on to the next one.

The beauty of this new “electronic publishing age” is that books are always there and available. And they can easily continue to be publicized and promoted during the course of the year with very little additional cost and effort. Publishers, in the acquisitions process especially, are totally losing sight of this phenomenon and they certainly aren’t taking advantage of it.

If a novel, say, which contains a story line about breast cancer and also takes place in a highly trafficked summer vacation area is published in March, there is the initial publicity for the book. But then there can be a solid push in May or June because of the location of the story and then again in October for Breast Cancer Awareness month. And this can go on year after year. The novel doesn’t just have one season.

I am currently trying to sell a book with a graduation market; but it is also a great gift title. Publishers are passing because they say that there are too many books aimed at the high school or college graduate, but to my mind that is limited thinking. Why not take advantage of the enormous marketing ability of the internet and not only publish this for that graduation market but also for September when kids leave for school and for Christmas? And what about birthdays? Why just limit the publication to a single event?

Time simply doesn’t matter any more in our business. Backlist can become front list again at a moment’s notice. If only publishers would realize this. I think they simply don’t take the time to consider the inherent possibilities that electronic publishing affords and that, I’m afraid, does matter.

What do you think?

Books I couldn't sell

by Jim

For a conference I’m going to next year, I was asked to answer a series of questions about myself and agenting—what the most exciting part of the job is, how I landed in publishing, and what my first sale was. Those were easy. Then I hit the question about who the first client I ever signed on was. That was less easy. Not that I didn’t know the answer. It just required me to publicly admit that the first project I signed on never sold. You know what? Eight years later, it still stings.

I thought about lying, but that’s really not my style, so I answered instead that I had signed on a wonderfully fun novel in a Valley of the Dolls vein that I still think deserved to be published. It was really good! And then in a slightly defensive moment, I jotted down that I almost immediately thereafter signed on Victoria Laurie who has sold 24 books with me since then. Well, it’s TRUE.

The thing is, every time something doesn’t sell, it hurts a little. The happy fact of the matter is that the number of projects that don’t sell becomes smaller and smaller as you carry on as an agent—you learn what you’re better with, understand markets better, and come to know the perfect editors for certain projects. But sometimes things don’t work. And it suuuuucks. Especially when you’re head over heels for a project.

I was at a release party for Lee Houck’s Yield a few weeks back, and in his incredibly kind remarks, he mentioned the moment I called him to offer him representation. Apparently I told him something like, “I don’t know if I can sell this. But I can try.” Apparently I remembered to put on my honesty shoes that day! I didn’t remember that I had said it, but I remember that I had thought it! It was a literary novel about gay characters and themes that was at best going to be challenging to place. It was also amazingly heartfelt and beautifully written, so I gave it a shot knowing it would pain me if I didn’t place it. Happily, that one worked out.

The novel about a juvenile prostitute in Newark that was written in dialect? That one didn’t sell. It was just as brilliant as Lee’s novel but even more challenging. I still hate that it didn’t work. I also hate that an editor called me to ask if the author had been a hooker in Newark, adding that the novel would be more marketable if so. That led to the single most awkward phone calls of my entire career. “I was just wondering if maybe you ever happened to, ummm…”

In the end, no agent can guarantee a sale. The most they can ever promise you is their best efforts. But if it’s any consolation, they’ll still be kicking themselves years down the road if they aren’t able to usher you to success.

Blogs to books to film

by Stacey

One of my clients is mentioned in this recent LA Times article that I thought was worth sharing. It's interesting to see how the Internet continues to find new talent and how some of that talent translates to books, and other types of media, like film and television. The article notes that most bloggers become book authors before Hollywood takes interest. There are always going to be hits and misses: even bloggers with a big following don't always translate on the book side to big sales. Heather Armstrong of Dooce has lots of traffic, but her first book didn't make as big a splash as I'm guessing her publisher hoped. And Ree Drummond, aka The Pioneer Woman, had a huge hit with her first book, which her publisher didn't pay a huge advance for.

Enjoy the piece, and if there are any blogs you're reading that you love and haven't yet found a home as a book or film or tv show, let us know!

Memoirs don't sell?

by Jane

So I just saw this story about Justin Bieber’s memoir at age 16 (which really isn’t a memoir because that would be ridiculous, right?), and it made me think of a recent experience I had with a project in this category.

We had discovered an author who had previously published a couple of true crime books but who now sent us material for a possible memoir. Her voice was simply superb and I was thrilled as, after all, this is why we do what we do—to find those voices that stand out. The discovery of wonderful writing is what our business is all about.

We helped this writer develop her proposal and I thought we would put it into the newsletter we distributed last May and sell it shortly thereafter. First, though, I thought I would send it to three publishers just to test the waters. I picked three very good publishers and three very good editors. And despite the fact that the material was superb and the publishers and editors were very strong, they all turned down this excellent proposal. Why? Because their marketing and sales people said that “memoirs don’t sell.” At one of the houses I submitted to, the editor didn’t even take the time to read the material.

I found this absolutely shocking, but I wasn’t giving up. I couldn’t believe that in the business of reading people weren’t reading.

And so some weeks later, after the newsletter had gone out and a number of editors had expressed interest in my client and her work, I sent the proposal out to several other houses. We had seven bids at auction and in the end the material ultimately went to Knopf, a terrific publisher. We sold it well. Fortunately there are those in our business who still do read and who aren’t daunted by purely commercial considerations, and all I can think is thank goodness for that!

Do you all read a lot of memoirs?

Two for the price of one!

by Michael

I’ll admit, I was having a tough time coming up with something for the blog this week. After a busy Comic Con (wrap up here) and a hectic SCBWI National Conference (great conference blog led by my good friend Alice Pope here), my brain had shifted into neutral. I think this was a precaution to keep it from overheating. Coincidentally, I also made a return to Twitter, where one’s brain need never be engaged—just kidding! Seriously, I’d taken a break during a very busy time, and I just hadn’t gotten back into the habit. But I recommitted myself to tweet last night, so I turned to my friends to see what they’d like to find out. And, since I got two good suggestions, I’m taking them both!

First, my wonderful author Nova Ren Suma pointed me to this blog post by up-and-coming novelist Scott Tracey. It addresses the idea of “overpromotion.” In this day and age, when agents, editors and publishers all harp on authors that they need to be out promoting themselves, things can get out of hand. Scott gives an example of authors who focus on acquiring friends and followers on Facebook and Twitter. The purpose? To bombard these folks with reminders about of an upcoming book—a book, Scott humorously points out, that may be a year away from publication! More than overpromotion, this is a case of improperly using social networking. Networking, both in real life and online, is about building relationships and creating a give-and-take. You wouldn’t show up to a party and start screaming that you have a book coming out in a year (at least, I hope no one does that), so you shouldn’t be doing that on social networks, either. It’s about building relationships with other authors, industry professionals, and your audience. You want to mix direct marketing with actual interaction. You want to help promote other authors and the business generally. And if you can do it all with a sense of humor, well then, everyone will appreciate it all the more. So before you go sending out tweets about your DEBUT NOVEL!!! COMES OUT MAY 2102!!! WILL SEND TWEET REMINDER EVERY DAY UNTIL THEN!!!, remember that networking is a two-way street.

The other great question I got was from the talented Joanne Levy. She said, “I keep hearing that editors would rather publish a debut than an already pubbed author—can you elaborate?” I’ve actually been asked about this a few times, and it’s confusing to people as it seems counterintuitive. If you’ve already sold a book, aren’t you immediately more valuable to a publisher? Haven’t you proven yourself to be reliable (well, we hope that’s what you’ve done) and talented? But, that’s not necessarily the case. Yes, you’ve show you can deliver and write, but the question is, can you sell? If your first book doesn’t sell well, it’s tougher for a publisher to take on your second book. Why’s that? Because B&N, Borders and Amazon are not likely to line up to buy copies of a book by an author with a bad track record. And if the publisher can’t get those guys to take books, they have no effective way of selling them in large numbers. And if they can’t sell a book in large numbers, they won’t acquire it. This is a simplification, of course, and many other factors come into play. A well-written, high-concept book will often overcome the challenge of a bad track record. Also, the children’s side of the market (and the author who asked writes children’s books) is a little more forgiving than the adult side. Though as with everything in children’s publishing, that’s switching to more of an adult model, too, for better or worse.

So despite being stumped earlier, I hope I’ve been helpful. Let me know in the comments if you need clarification.

Creative marketing

by Stacey

I found this little piece in the Metropolitan section of the Sunday NY Times and thought it was worth sharing. I've noted before when I've found authors employing unique marketing tactics because I think it's really interesting to see what people come up with in such a competitive marketplace. This one definitely falls into that category. The author Jennifer Belle hired several dozen actresses to read from her new book, THE SEVEN YEAR BITCH, at various points around the city. 600 actresses responded to the casting call! Now we'll have to see if the clever idea translates to book sales. Since she's a previous bestseller, there's a good chance she'll hit the list again, and while it's pretty difficult to determine cause and effect between publicity and sales (minus an Oprah appearance), the fact that the Times picked it up suggests it's having its desired effect. I'd love to hear about any other unusual, high concept, creative author marketing ideas you've come across in your travels. I will personally be attending the Junie B. Jones Stupid Smelly Bus event complete with an actual bus at a very cool local bookstore, Books & Greetings, this weekend with my older girls. We're looking forward to seeing some creative marketing in action!

Men don't buy books?

by Stacey

I found this recent blog post by thriller writer and former book editor Jason Pinter thought provoking. He brings up a lot of points we hear often in the book biz about men not reading books, and not being the target market publishers are looking to reach. And it is in many ways out of date and completely short sighted, not to mention the fact that it's just not true. Look at the bestseller lists for fiction and nonfiction, and there will always be a fine collection of books squarely aimed at male (and female) readers. Books about politics or history or science or technology on the nonfiction side, or what about big runaway bestsellers like Freakonomics? I don't think the target audience there was women. On the fiction side there are the big thriller writers like Michael Connelly and David Baldacci, currently number 1 on the New York Times list, and what about Stephen King? These are just a few examples of big time authors whose audience is made up of a large percentage of men. The story Pinter uses to illustrate his pitch for the Chris Jericho book is pretty funny, but also a little ridiculous. It's the kind of thing that can drive forward-thinking agents and editors a little crazy when there's a good idea or project outside the box--it takes a serious load of convincing and ultimately a leap of faith to get it through. And then when one of these "risky" projects does work, a whole slew follow until the market is saturated and you're back at square one. I don't think there's an obvious answer here, but it does beg a further discussion and perhaps a shift in our collective perception about readers and how we find them.

I understand publishers have limited resources, but the goal, especially in this day and age when there are so many opportunities to draw in new readers, needs to be to stop using old excuses and start implementing new tactics to find the audience, whichever gender they might be.

What does negotiating look like?

by Jane

During Slush Week this question came up and I wanted to provide a brief description of how a publishing negotiation generally works. Undoubtedly, this will raise other questions which I would be happy to address.

When a publisher makes an offer, he or she does it either on the phone or by e-mail. I prefer the latter initially so that I can see all of the terms of the offer spelled out: advance, payout, royalties (including electronic royalties now), territory covered, rights splits and any special terms.

Once I have all offers in from publishers (hopefully there will be more than one), I take them to my client, explain what they are and which I think is best and why. We come to a decision on which publisher(s) to continue to negotiate with and I then go back to the publisher(s) by phone or by e-mail and ask for changes or additional terms. Often I will ask for a different, higher advance, a more favorable payout, different royalty splits, things like that. Sometimes I suggest that different rights be in play.

Most often, we come to an agreement in a very short time--usually a matter of a day, but sometimes, depending on what the project is, these do go on over a longer period.

If we arrive at a stalemate--that is, a point that we and our client will not accept and the publisher won’t budge on--we make that very clear. We call this a “deal breaker” and if we say something is a deal breaker we have to mean it. (Between you and me, most of the time these things can be worked out before we get to that point.)

Once this basic negotiation is completed, a deal memo is done--we send one to the publisher and often they send one back just to make sure we are all on the same page in terms of the basic terms of the deal.

We then go on to the contract where additional negotiation is done on boilerplate terms.

Negotiating a deal is one of my favorite parts of agenting; the process encourages creativity on all sides and often breaks new ground.

Don't quit your day job

by Chasya

The Millions has a good article that delves into the myth of the rags-to-riches career novelist. It’s a well-known, albeit depressing, reality in the publishing industry that most authors don’t have the luxury of writing full-time and supporting themselves through their work. But authors--don’t worry, you’re not alone! As the article points out, and as we can’t stress enough, as much as we’re obsessed with the J.K. Rowling-esque stories of writers who came from nothing and succeeded to become the most famous (and wealthy) authors of our day, this is the exception--not the rule. And, as it turns out, keeping your day job can benefit most of us. Among the perks? Well, being in the everyday world and gleaning from your everyday experiences. And, er, eating. Yes, that’s important! Because as much as we all have that curmudgeonly chain-smoking, black coffee drinking stereotype of an author in our minds, it’s important for even the most obsessive writer to keep up their strength.

Questions to ask yourself

by Lauren

Just came across this really handy item that SCBWI's Kathy Temean posted on her blog: Top Ten Questions Dutton Editors Ask Themselves When Looking At A Manuscript.  Very useful for all writers, especially novelists, whichever market they write for and whether or not Dutton would be interested.  I recommend you consider these points about your own manuscript before you share it, because most of these are questions that'll be asked down the line throughout the publishing process, in many cases all the way up to readers buying your book.

(via Janet Reid)

Big books

by Jane

I don’t know why I still find it astonishing when publishers tell me they are "only looking for big books," that mid-list titles aren’t on their radar. How do they know what’s going to be a big book?

This last week, when I called an editor to follow up on a proposal I sent him--by a Pulitzer Prize winning writer no less--he told me how much he had enjoyed reading it. He then said that the new president of his company had told all of the editors there that, for the time being at least, all they should be looking for was "big, front list" titles. But how do they know what "big front list" is?

Think about it, there are literally hundreds of books that were seriously underestimated by publishers but that turned into huge bestsellers. Here is a brief list that I hope that editor and his new boss will note:

TUESDAYS WITH MORRIE by Mitch Albom
THE RED TENT by Anita Diamant
SAY YOU’RE ONE OF THEM by Uwem Akpan
COD: A BIOGRAPHY OF THE FISH THAT SAVED THE WORLD by Mark Kurlansky
THE KITE RUNNER by Khaled Hosseini
SIMPLE ABUNDANCE by Sarah Ban Breathnach
EAT, PRAY, LOVE by Elizabeth Gilbert
THE MEMORY KEEPER’S DAUGHTER by Kim Edwards
THE SHACK by William P. Young
CHICKEN SOUP FOR THE SOUL by Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen
THE PROFESSOR AND THE MADMAN by Simon Winchester
LONGITUDE by Dava Sobel
THE NANNY DIARIES by Emma McLaughlin and Nicola Kraus
THE WORLD WITHOUT US by Alan Weisman
SEABISCUIT by Laura Hillenbrand


Can you think of more?

Attention, Authors: John Irving sympathizes

A word--via Big Think--from one of my favorite authors, John Irving, on the challenges of getting published today. Tempted to shoot yourself, John? Hyperbole much? In any case, writers, he feels your pain.


-Chasya

In Response to "In Response to "In Response to [My Previous Post]""

First, my thanks to Cheryl for starting an interesting conversation that seems to be resonating with editors, agents and authors. I'm enjoying the discussion!

Last night, Cheryl responded to my response here.

I think my issue with the proposal remains the same, though Cheryl is quite right that this enterprising editor making an offer after a few days wasn't following the terms. Without every agent and every editor following these guidelines, I think we run into some major issues. Say I do give everyone four weeks before accepting offers. If another agent comes along with another great project without that limit, my client's material will fall to the bottom of the pile to accommodate the no-time-limit project. And again, unless everyone is participating in the proposal, procrastination will reign and the material won't get read until the end of week four. The fact that someone else might scoop something up is often what makes an editor pick up a manuscript in the first place. While I truly believe that Cheryl would give priority to such manuscripts (she wouldn't have proposed it, otherwise), I can't say that I think other editors would react in the same way.

Also, and I'd love to hear from other agents on this, sometimes we DO wait for editors. Sometimes the offer on the table isn't quite what we were looking for, or another editor pleads for more time. My experience suggests that the editor who needs more time usually doesn't wind up coming to the table. Their lack of speed in getting to the project often indicates an ambivalence or disinterest. Also in my experience -- only once has an editor told me they couldn't make it to an auction I held because they didn't have enough time. She explained that she'd really need to get someone from paperbacks to read, because the book was rather literary for them. And you know what? It was too literary for them, and they wouldn't (and shouldn't) have acquired it, anyway.

(It's important now to point out to the authors reading: most books don't sell at auction, and this isn't an every day issue. Most offers aren't made in 48 or 72 or even 168 hours! This is a rare, exciting, you-can-only-dream-of scenario.)

All of this said, I really do want all interested parties to have enough time to come to the table if they'd like to. I want an author to be able to see all of the options, to speak with the offering editors, and to make an informed decision about who would best publish their book. I do not want to generate a feeding frenzy based on hype, as I think most of us can agree that it's bad for both author and publisher. Though I'm going to continue to submit as always, I do hope I can hold out long enough to have a project land with Cheryl soon. As you've probably figured out, she's brilliant and thoughtful, and she cares deeply for the books she works on. (Speaking of which, please read Marcello in the Real World by Francisco Stork, which she gave me the ARC for some time back when we had lunch -- you won't regret it!) Thanks again, Cheryl!

- Michael

In response to "A Modest Proposal Regarding Submissions"

In scanning tweets this morning, I came across a link to this, from editor extraordinaire Cheryl Klein at Arthur A. Levine Books. I was curious, when I saw her tweet, what her modest proposal might be. Instead of summarizing her points, I'll ask that you read it, as I don't want to be seen as putting words in her mouth. Finished?

And, as much as I'd like to help Cheryl and her fellow editors out here, this comes down to just one question for me: what do I tell the editor who manages to read the manuscript and get the in-house support to make a good offer on a book in 48 hours? Clearly, in that situation, the editor and the house are enthusiastic enough to get their ducks in a row very quickly. They want the book, and they want it badly enough to beat other people to the punch. Editors, would you be willing to let a preempt sit for weeks while I tested the waters with slower editors? I think not.

For me, finding the best fit means finding an editor with the energy and enthusiasm to make a book happen. Doing all of the work necessary to make an offer in a short period of time is one (though certainly not the only) measure of that. While I understand that sometimes outside factors (vacations, illnesses, sales conferences and other meetings) may negatively impact an interested editor, it's just an unfortunate reality that we all miss out on things because of timing. In an industry as challenging as ours, a bird in the hand is always worth more than vague interest.

Not that any agent worth their 15% would go around selling books to the highest bidder even when the highest bidder isn't a good match for the project. We carefully select the editors we approach for each project; I know there are times that I agonize over which editor at a house full of amazing talent I'll submit a particular project to. If you're in an auction for one of my books, you are someone I want to buy it. You wouldn't be reading it otherwise.

Now, this isn't to say that I entirely disagree. I know that editors are rightfully frustrated when agents call auctions for projects too early -- before they have the offers to truly justify it. I know that moving quickly can lead to a lemming mentality that then leads to unjustifiably high advances offered in the heat of the moment, and that helps no one. But I don't think putting artificial time lines on projects helps, either. In fact, for most editors, I think that will mean putting something to the bottom of the pile.

In the end, my interests are those of the client, not of the editor, and I don't think timelines benefit authors. So, I'll continue to operate without them.

- Michael