Author: ireneg

Let’s not overdo it.

When a book is done, it’s done. Sure, you can always tinker with it, but if you do that forever, you will never have a book. There comes a time when you have to stop.

That’s true of agents, too. When I’m doing a negotiation, I fight hard for everything I can. I have been known to keep going even when it’s time to stop. An editor once told me I had done a great job, but it was time to stop. I took a deep breath and realized she was right. This thing could have gone on forever, and who wants forever. The goal was to sell the book and to see it published successfully.

A good negotiation is a win-win. That means you get most of what you want, but rarely all. There has to be a give and take. I refer you to my blog post on the psychology of a negotiation. It’s a carefully designed dance.

We’ve all heard stories about a book that sold only after 32 submissions. That can happen, but if you put all your energy into that, you will be drained. What should you be doing once a book is sent out to publishers? Hoping, praying, wishing? No, that will only deepen your anxiety.

The best thing to do while you’re waiting is to start another book. First take some time off, because you deserve it. Then get your head together and get started. It doesn’t matter how. Whether it’s research, or creating an outline or diving into the first page, the point is that you are now focused elsewhere. And if the book out there doesn’t sell, you will already have something new. And maybe–just maybe–32 times is enough. Maybe it’s time to stop. I would never say never, but you can at least read the handwriting on the wall.

 

One of the best qualities an author can have is a good sense of humor.

It’s hard to be an author. It’s a lot of work, it’s isolating, it’s frustrating, and it can be disappointing. The best way to counter all of that is to be hilarious. If you are feeling down, call your agent. Call, as opposed to texting or emailing. Get into a real conversation. That’s one of the reasons authors have agents. They need someone to listen. But it doesn’t have to be all about what’s bothering you, and it shouldn’t. The best author relationships I have had included a lot of laughter. I don’t mean that you need to be a standup comic. But you can be ready to laugh at anything and to develop an upbeat attitude. Even when it seems like all is lost–and that is never really true–there is always a way to laugh about it. It really helps.

It’s good to learn terminology and what it means. Let’s talk about pre-empts and best bids. Here’s a story.

I was involved in a very competitive auction. Toward the end, I had three bids that were very close to each other. So I decided to go to best bids. That means that each publisher should make the very best offer they can. It should be the absolute most they want to spend.

One of the three bids was higher than the other two. I favored that one (although not because of the amount. It was because I felt they were the most dedicated.) The author agreed. So we accepted the offer. Then one of other publishers wanted to know for how much it sold. I told her. She said, “Oh, we could have paid that.” I wanted to say well, then why didn’t you offer it, but refrained.

To me, a best bid is exactly that. The whole purposes of best bids is to flush out the highest offer. There is no obligation for us to accept the highest offer, but it helps to see where they’re at. If you keep accepting more bids after declaring best bids, it defeats the purpose. I’ve heard that some agents keep right on going after bests bids, and I don’t agree with that. It renders the term meaningless, which means there is no point in doing it.

Then there are pre-empts. That happens when one publisher is so enthusiastic they they are willing to offer a daunting amount that will shut the whole thing down. Here’s what I do if I am offered a pre-empt. First, I examine all sides of it. If we want to take it, that doesn’t mean I’m accepting it exactly as it’s presented. I may want to retain certain subsidiary rights, I may want to tinker with royalties or cover consultation or a host of other things. So  I work with the publisher to make it the best it can be.

If I don’t feel it’s enough, I can turn it down and keep going. I will tell the other publishers that I turned down a pre-empt, and for how much. That shows them that the ball park wasn’t enough. But I don’t use the offer as a launching point.  I don’t shop it to see if anyone else will top it. The whole point of the pre-empt is to end it. There is no point in a publisher making a pre-empt if they know it won’t then be over. The idea is for the offer to be so dazzling that we are content enough to accept it. Any publisher can make such an offer at any time–including and especially before an auction officially begins–so they all have equal opportunity. Sometimes they are disappointed that they lost out on a book because it was pre-empted and they never had a chance to bid. Except that they did have a chance. They could have pre-empted too.

All this has to do with aggression and ethics. How far are you willing to go? That varies from agent to agent and from situation to situation. Things can always go wrong during an auction, and often do. So we have to be ready for anything.

People often think that authors choose or create or manage their own covers. That is not the case. The cover is generated by the Art Dept. at the publisher, and while the author usually has input, it’s really the publisher’s call.

It starts when a cover design–or a few designs–are sent to the agent and the author, who can then add their two cents. This can have both good and risky effects. If the author loves the cover, fine and well. If not, it could turn into a battle. That is why I always insist that every contract include cover consultation for the author. But consultation is not final approval. That goes to the publisher. Why?

Well, because the author might have crazy ideas about what the cover should look like. And typically, the author has little to no experience in knowing what kind of cover will sell the book. This is not about what the author likes. It’s not about what the editor likes. It’s about what will sell the book. Publishers and sales departments have a lot of experience with that. But if they try to impose a cover on the author that the author really hates, they will work and try to accommodate the author’s wishes.

No one wants the author to be unhappy, but if the author is gamely shooting herself in the foot, they will try to shut it down. Ideas from the author are always welcome. And they are a good starting point. No one knows the book as well as the author, and sometimes covers can be little works of art.

To complicate matters, cover types go in and out of style. A mystery cover today will not look much like a mystery published 15 years ago. When you have a chance to look at vintage covers from the 30’s or 40’s, it’s a real trip into the past. Sometimes they are so ridiculously dated that they are hilarious. So in planning a new cover, the Art Dept. will look and see what’s out there. What is selling the best? What new trends are coming in? What is fading?

Booksellers are not shy about adding their opinions as well. There have been many cases when the head buyer of a major chain will state that they will order more books–if the cover is changed to their liking.

So if you see a book and you don’t like the cover, don’t blame the author. The author did not art direct that cover. Someone else did. And as always, the real test is the bottom line.

 

There is no license. There is no exam you have to take. There is no certificate of validation or achievement. So what qualifies me to do this work?

It began in childhood, when I could be quite content to play by myself. Not all the time, but people would remark on how self-sufficient I could be. That’s Clue #1. You have to like working on your own.

I read all the time because I loved reading. That’s Clue #2.

At home, I was taught to stand up for what I thought was right, even if no one else agreed. Clue #3.

I always loved negotiating, to see if I could get, either by the powers of persuasion or logic or a tradeoff or pure passion, one more little thing. Or even a big thing. Clue #4.

Attention to detail became important to me as I got older. One comma out of place can drive me crazy. When you’re doing a contract, you don’t want to miss anything because those things can turn around and bite you a year later–or 20 years later. Clue #5.

So it wasn’t any one thing. It was a lot of things. I just had the personality for it. And a deep, fierce desire to succeed. When I first started, failure simply wasn’t an option. I never even considered it. There was no Plan B.

Of course I learned a lot along the way. And there were mistakes, but mistakes can usually be fixed. But I haven’t changed much. I still like to play alone. I love to negotiate things. I can still be the one oddball in the room who refuses to back down. And a misplaced comma still drives me crazy.

 

 

First They Came by Pastor Martin Niemöller

First they came for the Communists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Communist
Then they came for the Socialists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Socialist
Then they came for the trade unionists
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a trade unionist
Then they came for the Jews
And I did not speak out
Because I was not a Jew
Then they came for me
And there was no one left
To speak out for me

When you do this work for as long as I’ve been doing it, you learn a lot about what makes a book salable. It’s all about telling a good story.

Because of everything I learned, I started auctioning critiques of partial manuscripts for charity once a month. I found this surprisingly rewarding to do.

The craft of writing is not easy, but every single story needs the same elements:

1. What is the plot? This is the number one mistake that people make. They don’t understand what a plot is. It’s harder than you think, but once you get the hang of it, it gets easier.

2. Are the characters both vulnerable and resourceful? If they are not, they will be dull.

3. Where are we? A story with a strong setting is so much better than a story that takes place in a vacuum.

4. Pacing is everything. You can write about watching paint dry if you have good pacing. This comes naturally to some people, but it can also be learned. The trick is to never be boring.

 

That’s about it. I review manuscripts with these things in mind. Some people have great writing, but no real story. Others have a great story, but the writing is faulty. Sometimes there are wonderful characters who jump off the page. Other times the characters are forgettable.

You can’t get away with having some but not all of these elements. We need the whole package.

The auctions are fun to watch, especially on the last day or even the last few minutes. If you’ve ever participated in an auction on eBay, you know what it’s like. People often wait until the last few seconds so as not to be outbid. It can get quite exciting to see something jump from $1500 to $4000 in the space of 15 seconds.  Sometimes they go for a relatively small amount. Other times they run into five figures. But the important thing is to show up. You can’t know until you put your toe in the water.

What happens when an author has to choose between two equal offers and can’t decide?

Usually there is a call or Zoom between her and her two suitors, but one time something else happened.

One publisher offered to fly her to New York, put her up in a hotel, and fly her back the next day. While she was in town, we were invited to the publisher’s office for afternoon tea. The editor was there. So were the editorial director and someone from sales.

You can believe what a difference that made. She was charmed by the attention and ended up going with them.

But when the other publisher found out about it–I don’t know who told them, but it’s a very small business–they were livid. The editor called me and remarked in biting tones that I had been “busy”. Yes, that was true. I had indeed been busy. They thought that as long as the author was going to be in town, it was only fair that she see them as well.

I did not agree. They weren’t the ones who flew her in and they came up with no strategy–not even money–to change her mind.

I’m not sure what the moral is here, but it does conform to one of THE GODFATHER’s business rules: Always use a personal touch.

Louisa May Alcott, the beloved author of the great classic, LITTLE WOMEN, was born on November 29.

So was I.

She was the second of four sisters.

I am the third of four sisters.

Every girl who reads LITTLE WOMEN identifies with Jo, its heroine. I am no exception. And I am not alone. Many notable women, including Hillary Clinton, Nora and Delia Ephron, Joyce Carol Oates, Susan Cheever, and rocker Patti Smith, have cited Jo as their favorite literary character.

What is it about Jo that is so endlessly appealing? Her appeal has crossed centuries, and is available in just about every language. Why does every girl around the world want to be Jo?

She is certainly not perfect. She has many flaws. But she’s real. Her flaws are part of who she is, and they make her all the more real.

She is smart, determined, she has a great sense of humor, and a very strong sense of family. But I think what resonates most about her is her great need for independence. Many girls want to find a loving husband and start a family. Jo isn’t against those things, but they are not her top priority. She does eventually marry and has two boys, but that’s not what she’s really about. She is a writer and she wants to sell her stories and make money for her family more than she wants anything else.

Let’s take a look at the real Alcotts. LITTLE WOMEN glosses over their poverty, which was truly miserable.  Louisa abhorred the poverty in which she was forced to live, mostly because her father, the transcendentalist Bronson Alcott, thought he was too noble to work. She was angry all her life and resolved to do something about it.

She did. She wrote unfailingly, insistently, until someone paid attention. At first she wrote the potboilers that were popular in her day, but when she started to write LITTLE WOMEN, something happened. She forgot all about the niceties for girls that she was expected to include, and instead wrote from her heart. She wrote about her family, wisely leaving her father out of the picture. She said if she had included him, he would have taken over the book, just as he took over everything in life. She didn’t want him interfering, so she sent him off to war in her most famous novel and kept him out of the way.

This is a 19th century woman with only a talent and a desire to sell. As an agent, I have to love her attitude. It was elbows out, don’t get in my way, I’m going to do this whether you like it or not. Think of the obstacles she must have faced. But she didn’t think about the obstacles. She kept her eyes on the prize. She became the top selling author of her day, eclipsing even Mark Twain. Not too shabby.

When you sell a book to a publisher, they give you an advance against future royalties. Where does that money come from?

A publisher has a long history and a long list of titles that continue to sell many years after they were originally published. So when you get a huge advance from Random House, where do you think they get that money? They get it from Louis L’Amour and authors from the past. L’Amour was such a huge moneymaker for them that one of their conferences rooms is named for him.

That is the magic of the backlist. While L’Amour may no longer top bestseller lists, he has been a steady presence for a long, long time and he continues to sell.

If I were an author and I had a choice between a flash in the pan bestseller or a solid backlist title, I would go for the solid backlist title. It means you continue to get income for years, and that income adds up. If you wrote a classic, it may even support you for the rest of your life.

Okay, most book don’t fall into that category, but instead of focusing only on current trends, try to think ahead. What might resonate 10 or 20 or 50 years from now? Think about the recent 50th anniversary of Saturday Night Live. Sabrina Carpenter was on. She remarked that SNL began before she was born, and before her parents were born. And yet they all can still enjoy Steve Martin’s King Tut, Belushi’s samurai, and Dan Ackroyd’s Jimmy Carter. Those are a part of their backlist.

Most books are on the shelves for a few months, and then they are gone. Unless they continue to sell. Before GPS, one title that always made the lists was the Rand McNally Road Atlas. Maybe not glamorous, but steady.

Slow and steady wins the race. Sure, you’d prefer to have both–the major bestseller that lasts for decades. Who wouldn’t? But just think about the other side of it. The book that refuses to leave is a hidden gem.