Re: Sports Publishing LLC thread closed

FotF writes: "The idea is to be a first-time author who gets a six-figure advance."
Or, if one has already written books, one who gets a six-figure advance on the next book. Certainly, that's the way to go.
But there are other publishing avenues to pursue if a six-figure advance can't be gotten, agent or not. Technically, I'd prefer to have a lawyer to vet the contract before it's signed, more than an agent to wring more advance money -- presuming I believed the book would sell well and that money would come in as royalties later on. (In Exile, I hope you had the proper escalator royalty clauses in the contract, plus deals for subsidary rights, etc.)
On a hot topic book where an auction is involved, an agent is preferred. On others, perhaps not so much. Every deal is different. As Bill Veeck once said, "There are no absolutes."

 

Mr Typist,

No absolutes? Of course, it's circumstantial, I suppose. Possible exceptions: If you're hellbent on not pursuing the best deal. If you are going to donate your advance/earnings to charity. If you come from Old Money. If you are an agent yourself (my agent has published more than a dozen titles, originally a tech-book author it turns out). If you are a memeber of the publishing establishment (that is, a former publishing house executive or editor). These are all completely justifiable.

You want an absolute that applies? Don't try to do your own heart surgery. Don't represent yourself in court. Don't do your own electrical work.

Fact is, a good agent will help you prep your book proposal, which is a key element that's little discussed here. It's not something that you just knock off one day if you're going to do it right (as the pitch that will separate publishers from their money and as a working outline for the author). The benefits are twofold--your agent, a good one, is your editor, your sounding board, before you have an editor with a publishing house.

YD&OHS, etc

 

In regard to "no absolutes" I'll just add one caveat to go what I've contributed here earlier. Each of us has to make decisions based on our own situation. There are occasions, still, when I'll take and do a small book project and not involve my agent, because they are generally cut and dry work-for-hires with very little to negotiate anyway, work that I can fit in between other work - at this point, I can handle the contractual end of those myself, and frankly, my agent isn't interested in representing me on those such projects. They are not worth his time, but he has been willing to give me advice when asked. These projects haven't hurt my profile, my reputation or my ability to garner deals work with a major house, and at times have helped pay the bills. But I don't go to that well very often.

And a note about attorneys: I would not be comfortable having an attorney vet a publishing contract unless the attorney has experience with them, any more than I would feel comfortable having the attorney that did my house closing defend me in a criminal proceeding.

 

"Circumstances alter cases."

 

I'll offer this up as someone who worked as an editorial assistant at Dell Publishing Co. in NYC a long time ago:

The chance of an un-repped proposal getting anywhere close to a published book at a decent-sized house that will give you publicity and marketing support is about the same as the Detroit Lions winning a Super Bowl during our lifetimes. That's not to say it won't happen, but the odds aren't good.

When my boss (she did nonfiction trade paper) got unsolicited manuscripts, she gave them to me to toss in the slush pile, which is the publishing term for the stack of crap I kept on the bottom shelf by my desk. (The pile usually varied between 2 and 4 feet tall.) When I had a few moments (which wasn't often), I grabbed one of the manuscripts, tried to endure the first 10 or so pages and banged out a terse but polite rejection note for my boss to sign.

If you put your ear to the ground of the publishing world, you'll hear all sorts of apocryphal stories about manuscripts being rescued from the slush pile. None were during my year and change at Dell.

That said, having an agent is no guarantee of getting published. We got way more submissions than we could have ever published. Even good agents can't overcome publishing house schedules, editors' interests or the whims of management.

My only advice on finding an agent is to see if you can get your proposal in front of the agent of a friend or colleague. Book publishing, like sports journalism, is a pretty clubby world, and a lot of success is based on who you know.

 

I don't think anyone, in either thread, ever suggested writing an entire manuscript and sending it, unsolicited, to a major publisher.

Unless it's some sort of obsessive labor of love, that would be a pretty foolish gamble.

And, yes, in most businesses, it's better to have some sort of inside connection.

 

Best post of either thread on this topic. Especially the last line.

 

To those of you who are owed by Sports Pub, you're in good company:

http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6610773.html?nid=2286&source=title&rid=

Not that Phelps needs the money, but I'll bet his co-author isn't too happy. That's a big contract from a company with limited assets.

 

Is that like someone whose first date is with Marissa Miller?

 

of course his manager should be shot for not doing due diligence...

 

Who's marissa Miller?