Tough Times for Book Publishing

[swenk]

This was mentioned on the Author's Thread, but thought it was worth carrying over here.

Last week, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt--one of the big guys--announced it would no longer be acquiring new titles. Others are quietly doing the same, just not announcing it publicly in case something great comes along.

Today, two icons of publishing--Steve Rubin and Irwyn Applebaum--were ousted in the complete restructuring of the Random House group. The RH group includes Random, Crown, Doubleday, Bantam, Broadway, Dell, Knopf, and a zillion imprints of each of those, all of which claim to bid aggressively against each other for titles, but hahahaha to that. Pockets of the same suit.

Why does any of this matter here? Maybe it doesn't, but in these tough newspaper times, we're seeing a lot of writers looking toward books as a possible source of income.

If you're one of those exploring the possibility of a book deal, please, please, don't take shortcuts when you're working on your proposal, and listen to your agent and/or editor when they tell you what you need to do. It's not a great time to be shopping book proposals; editors are clinging to their jobs, and no one is overpaying for anything right now. Now more than ever, publishers want well-written books with substantial and clearly-defined audiences; they really need to justify the investment we're asking them to make.

Good luck to everyone with a book proposal out there now, and anyone considering it.

 

[swenk]

And while I was typing that, Simon & Schuster eliminated 35 jobs.

 

[BYH]

So how, pray tell, are these guys going to make money without any new product to push?

That's stupid on a scale even newspapers haven't tried yet.

 

[Joe Williams]

So how, pray tell, are these guys going to make money without any new product to push?

That's stupid on a scale even newspapers haven't tried yet.

Not defending the ostrich-like maneuver in any way. But I suppose they can just keep filling the pipeline with Hemingway and Steinbeck and Grisham and King and Sedaris and those folks, counting on the people who haven't yet read them to keep the money coming in.

Newspapers can't exactly sell stuff it published a while back. Except for the occasional reprints of editions from the first Wednesdays in November.

 

[swenk]

So how, pray tell, are these guys going to make money without any new product to push?

I think you answered the question with the third word of your post.

Book publishing is Vegas with better grammar. Even in good times, publishers acknowledge that the majority of books will lose money, but the few big winners will cover the losses and make the profit for the company. Strange business model, but that's how it works; no one ever really knows what's going to sell, or what size advance will earn out.

So in hard times, they reason, why not just publish the sure thing? Brand name authors, built-in publicity vehicles, books that need no explanation. Why throw money at risky projects that could dunk you further into the red? Cut back for a season or two, sell what you've already acquired, sell the backlist. Pay lower advances for the books you DO acquire.

Like fielding a team with only starters, no bench. Of course, if one of those starters fails, you're in big trouble.

But the true scandal in publishing now is the crisis over the numerous houses that have ordered their editors to cut back on the daily agent lunches. A good agent can eat lunch in the best NY restaurants three times a day, five days a week, and never once pick up a check. Honestly, I don't want more lunch, I want more money for my clients. What a waste of already-limited resources

I didn't bring this up to scare anyone away; there will still be books. But for now there may be fewer books, and if you want yours to be one of them, you really have to show why it's worth the risk.

 

[JR]

"Vegas with better grammar". Fabulous.

I always compare publishing to baseball. If you bat .300, you're successful.

And I'll echo Swenk's comments about your proposal. As our successfully published F0F will tell you, it's the single most important thing you'll write if you want to get published. Some authors will tell you, the most difficult.

You have to an EXACT idea of what your book is about because 99 times out of a 100, you have one kick at the can.

If there's a hole in your proposal, publishers will find it.

It's like auditioning for theatre. If you're ill prepared, you're doomed.

 

[BYH]

"Vegas with better grammar". Fabulous.

I always compare publishing to baseball. If you bat .300, you're successful.

And I'll echo Swenk's comments about your proposal. As our successfully published F0F will tell you, it's the single most important thing you'll write if you want to get published. Some authors will tell you, the most difficult.

You have to an EXACT idea of what your book is about because 99 times out of a 100, you have one kick at the can.

If there's a hole in your proposal, publishers will find it.

It's like auditioning for theatre. If you're ill prepared, you're doomed.

Oh, what the hell do you know about publishing and/or auditioning? It's not like you've ever dated anyone who has performed on stage. Jesus. :D

(just trying to lighten the mood)

 

[clutchcargo]

Thomas Nelson eliminated 55 more jobs yesterday, six months after knocking out about 60, including a friend. They publish more than Christian titles, also some sports, as I have edited several for them.

For what it's worth about proposals, I"ve had about 15 books published with likes of Triumph and am now shopping another proposal with a different twist on Notre Dame football. I've also been an acquisitions editor at a mid-major publisher and can tell you, I"ve spent every night the last two months polishing and tweaking my proposal to get it just right. But I still know the odds are against me.

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

So I guess this means fewer six-figure advances for unknown authors?

 

[BYH]

Thomas Nelson eliminated 55 more jobs yesterday, six months after knocking out about 60, including a friend. They publish more than Christian titles, also some sports, as I have edited several for them.

After that, do they even have people to cut anymore?

 

[JR]

So I guess this means fewer six-figure advances for unknown authors?

Probably fewer six-figure advances for known authors.

 

[WaylonJennings]

As someone who just landed a book deal, here's some advice:

1. Get an agent. The best way to do this is to name-drop somebody you know already working for that agent, or have them name-drop you.

2. Have a definite idea with a definite audience that will definitely sell. This is no time to be selling the book idea about the spunky high school girls basketball team you covered that you know would make a great book (and it probably would) if someone would just give it a chance. No one gives a ****. How are you going to sell it?

3. Be prepared to put more work into your proposal than you have into anything you've ever written for any newspaper or magazine. Mine was 20,000 words long and went through several rewrites for several months until it ever touched a publisher's desk. You will be doing this, by the way, with no guarantee you will ever be paid a dime for your efforts.

4. Listen to your agent. Listen to an editor if he has suggestions that might be deal breakers. This is no time to play the indignant, stubborn artist.

PM me if you have any other questions.

 

[swenk]

As someone who just landed a book deal, here's some advice:

1. Get an agent. The best way to do this is to name-drop somebody you know already working for that agent, or have them name-drop you.

2. Have a definite idea with a definite audience that will definitely sell. This is no time to be selling the book idea about the spunky high school girls basketball team you covered that you know would make a great book (and it probably would) if someone would just give it a chance. No one gives a ****. How are you going to sell it?

3. Be prepared to put more work into your proposal than you have into anything you've ever written for any newspaper or magazine. Mine was 20,000 words long and went through several rewrites for several months until it ever touched a publisher's desk.

4. Listen to your agent. Listen to an editor if he has suggestions that might be deal breakers. This is no time to play the indignant, stubborn artist.

PM me if you have any other questions.

To anyone thinking about books right now, please print and tape 2 and 3 to your computer screen.

A publisher is only going to buy/sell/promote so many books. Why should yours be one of them? Why is your book worth the blind investment of an advance, the manpower behind the editing and production process, the cost of manufacturing, the sales and marketing effort?

In the end, publishers make those decisions based on a mess of intangibles, but the one thing an author can do is offer up a solid idea and professional proposal. It absolutely crushes me when a great writer with a great idea just can't or won't do the work to get it on paper. If your agent tells you he/she needs more, do more. Those editors are seeing dozens of proposals every day. Help us get yours to the top of the pile.

Last night, I got a couple of notes from clients who read and post here, thanking me for depressing the hell out of them. :) Not my intention. It's just a good time to remember that publishing is a business, and it's up to you to show why your book will be good for business.

 

[WaylonJennings]

Also, make sure you convince them that you understand storytelling. Not writing. Storytelling. They will be skeptical of a newspaper writer, and they should be. I told them about narrative arcs and dramatic needs and everything else you would read about in a screenwriting how-to book, because a book needs those elements. You are telling a story, not just relating facts.

 

[mitch cumstein]

As someone who has recently been booted out of the newspaper biz and is attempting to scribe his first fiction novel, I appreciate the info on this thread. I'm trying to cling onto the idea of writing for a living, because it's the only thing I can really imagine doing. I have an "in" of sorts...my uncle is very close friends with a married couple who both happen to be best-selling authors and pretty big names in fiction. For those who have already traveled the book route, it would be great to get some more advice on what I have ahead of me.

What is the best manuscript form (font, spacing, etc.)? And do you keep it digital or go hard copy when presenting it to an editor/agent?

 

[jgmacg]

Mitch -

Read this:

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/36781/

 

[mitch cumstein]

thanks :)

 

[In Exile]

You have to make use of times like these to work on your craft, regardless of everything else. During the early 80s recession I read more than at any time in my life, late 80's I taught myself how to write a book proposal, so when the cloud lifted, I was prepared. The only silver lining during times like these is that it weeds out both writers and editors who are either not quite up to speed or not quite committed to what they do. Then, when things start gearing up again, there is generally more opportunity than before.

One thing for sure is that you will discover if you really want to do this. If you don't, you'll stop and never start again. If you do you'll write your way through it, whether you sell anything or not.

 

[clutchcargo]

Settling on a great book idea you are erally passionate about, researching and writing a spiffy proposal that shows depth and an understanding of marketing, getting a contract with a publisher, writing the book, going thtrough the extensive editing process and then doing all the publicity after the book coems out is hard, hard work from start to finish. It is a total paradigm shift from the newspaper world and it means turning your ego into a punching bag. All that for a 5-figure advance, if you're lucky.

If you are ready for that, go for it. One more thing---having an uncle who is good friends with a married couple of successful authors is next to meaningless.

 

[WaylonJennings]

If you are ready for that, go for it. One more thing---having an uncle who is good friends with a married couple of successful authors is next to meaningless.

People think this is a lottery. It's not. You write a great book, you show how you can sell it, and it'll eventually sell. Even tremendously successful authors have finished books they'll never let see the light of day. Nicholas Sparks got a million-dollar advance off of "The Notebook," but still has a completed novel he tried to sell that he'll never publish because he doesn't think it's good enough. I think Tom Perrotta has one like that, too, stashed somewhere. They say no one ever sells his first novel.