- Agents
- Author News, Deals
- Awards
- Bad Poetry
- Blog News
- Books
- Career
- CBA
- Collaborating and Ghosting
- Conferences
- Current Affairs
- Deep Thoughts
- Favorite Books
- Featured
- Film
- Marketing and Platforms
- Proposals
- Publishing
- Questions from Beginners
- Quick Tips
- Religion
- Resources for Writing
- Self-Publishing
- Social Media Critique
- The Business of Writing
- The Writing Craft
- Thursdays with Amanda
- Trends
- Uncategorized
- Web/Tech
Category : The Business of Writing
-
Continue Reading "More on how an author negotiates a book contract…"More on how an author negotiates a book contract…
We're continuing our thoughts on what to have in mind when facing a book contract negotiation.
4. Be Clear when Talking. One thing that will hurt you in a negotiation is to wander around your point. For example, if you know you don't want to grant dramatic rights to your novel, be clear about it. Problems often arise in a negotiation because of the things that aren't said — an author wants a certain advance but won't admit it, or the writer wants to retain foreign rights and doesn't say so clearly. If you know what you want, be ready to say so clearly in a polite, organized, and clear manner. This is why it's important for you to have a plan and write it down before you begin talking, so when faced with a question, you can refer to your notes and remind yourself of what is important.
5. Learn to Listen. Kenneth Tynan once referred to the activities at the United Nations as "a dialogue for the deaf." One speaker gets up and harangues people with some information, then the next guy gets up, starts talking, and acts as though he heard nothing that was just said. You'll be amazed at how much better negotiations will go when you learn to be quiet and hear the other side occasionally. You'll discover you learn things about the publishing house when you listen. It will make you a better negotiator. And a bit of silence can help you focus in the midst of a discussion.
6. You Have Options. Keep in mind that you don't have to agree to a bad deal. You always have options — even if the only option is to say no thanks, get up, and walk away (whether permanently or temporarily). This is a basic truth that people in negotiations sometimes forget. The fact is, you may not be able to come to an agreement,
-
Continue Reading "How do you negotiate a book contract?"
How do you negotiate a book contract?
Kevin wrote to say, "I'm about to negotiate my own book contract! What is important for me to know?"
If you're at the stage of negotiating your own publishing contract, congratulations. It means you've created a strong proposal, shopped it to publishing houses, and found an editor interested in your work. Those are huge hurdles, so you've already done well. Now what's going to happen is that the publisher is going to approach you with some details and numbers. Let me offer a handful of thoughts for you…
1. Have a Plan. A contract negotiation isn't just a bunch of random conversations, helping two people move things forward. It's one piece of a larger discussion about your book — how both sides view its value, what it will pay, how it's going to be produced and marketed, etc. Therefore, do your homework before you go into the negotiation. You should have researched what the market is paying (so you get a fair deal, but you don't ask for the moon), you should know what rights you want to keep or give away, and you should have a familiarity with the issues that will be involved in a publishing contract. All of this takes time (and all of this is why authors get agents who, presumably, know this stuff).
2. Take a Positive Approach. Too many people seem to have learned all their negotiation strategies from watching television dramas — the two high-powered lawyers point fingers, pound the table, make demands, and generally act like jerks. That's not an approach that's going to work very often in publishing. From my point of view, you have to develop a relationship with the person you're going to negotiate with. That way there's a sense of trust on both sides. You really want to establish some rapport with the person you're negotiating with, so that you both keep in mind the big picture
-
Continue Reading "How do you negotiate a book contract?"
How do you negotiate a book contract?
Kevin wrote to say, "I'm about to negotiate my own book contract! What is important for me to know?"
If you're at the stage of negotiating your own publishing contract, congratulations. It means you've created a strong proposal, shopped it to publishing houses, and found an editor interested in your work. Those are huge hurdles, so you've already done well. Now what's going to happen is that the publisher is going to approach you with some details and numbers. Let me offer a handful of thoughts for you…
1. Have a Plan. A contract negotiation isn't just a bunch of random conversations, helping two people move things forward. It's one piece of a larger discussion about your book — how both sides view its value, what it will pay, how it's going to be produced and marketed, etc. Therefore, do your homework before you go into the negotiation. You should have researched what the market is paying (so you get a fair deal, but you don't ask for the moon), you should know what rights you want to keep or give away, and you should have a familiarity with the issues that will be involved in a publishing contract. All of this takes time (and all of this is why authors get agents who, presumably, know this stuff).
2. Take a Positive Approach. Too many people seem to have learned all their negotiation strategies from watching television dramas — the two high-powered lawyers point fingers, pound the table, make demands, and generally act like jerks. That's not an approach that's going to work very often in publishing. From my point of view, you have to develop a relationship with the person you're going to negotiate with. That way there's a sense of trust on both sides. You really want to establish some rapport with the person you're negotiating with, so that you both keep in mind the big picture
-
Continue Reading "What does an author need to ask about book contracts? (Part 3)"
What does an author need to ask about book contracts? (Part 3)
We've been exploring what you need to know when you approach a book contract. Here are five more questions to ask…
11. Are there restrictions on the sale of the contract? Check to see if your publisher has the right to sell the entire deal to another house. This doesn't happen often, but it can happen, especially with smaller houses, and you need to be aware of the possibility. It would mean you go through the entire process of negotiating a deal with one house, then suddenly you find yourself working with another house. I once had a sleaze-ball publisher sign a well-known personality to a book, then immediately start shopping the contract… In other words, he never had any intention of publishing the book; he just wanted to sign a lowball deal and flip it to a bigger house. (This is something he admitted to me, but denied to the author. Mr. Sleazeball is now an agent, by the way.)
12. If it all goes south, who pays for the lawyers? Remember that a contract is put in place to clarify two things: what will happen if everything goes well, and what will happen if everything goes to hell. A good contract covers both scenarios. In case of the latter, check to see who covers the cost of the lawyers. True story: A short while back I was sent a contract that called for the publisher to pick the lawyer, but the author to pay for it. Um… we suggested a minor wording change to keep the author from getting hosed.
13. Does your contract clarify what constitutes "out of print"? It should be simple: When the publisher is no longer selling your book, it's out of print. Don't get caught up in windy explanations of why publishing-on-demand titles constitute a book for sale. (Years ago, I worked on a deal where a publisher claimed
-
Continue Reading "What does an author need to ask about book contracts? (Part 2)"
What does an author need to ask about book contracts? (Part 2)
Okay, so you've got a book contract, and you're wondering what you don't know. Here are a few more questions to ask…
6. When will the book be published? In most book contracts there is a window that explains your book will be made available for sale within two years. I recently saw a contract that had a five-year window on it, and another contract that didn't limit the publishing time at all. The danger (and it's happened to others) is that you'll turn in a book the publisher keeps forever but never actually publishes. Generally you want wording where the publisher makes a legal promise to produce your print book in an 18-to-24 month window, your ebook faster.
7. When are advances paid? Make sure you know when you're getting paid. Traditionally an author received half the advance on signing and the other half on completion. Many of the New York houses now pay one-third on signing, one-third on delivery, and one-third on publication. Random House has this author-unfriendly clause that calls for one quarter of the advance to be paid a year after the book releases (so it's not really an "advance," it's more like a "delay"). And HarperCollins pays a portion of the advance after the author has filled out a marketing questionnaire — their way of making sure they get their information. I recently saw a contract that called for the advance to be broken into eighths (signing, completion of a questionnaire, after an interview with marketing, completion of the manuscript, completion of typesetting… um…the next full moon, etc.)
8. When are royalties paid? Many publishing houses pay twice per year. Some of the larger houses pay quarterly. I still see some contracts that call for royalty payments to authors once per year… and no, that publisher won't be offering to pay you interest on that money they've been holding for you. And
-
Continue Reading "What does an author need to ask about book contracts? (Part 1)"
What does an author need to ask about book contracts? (Part 1)
Every once in a while, I'll set a contract in front of an author, and he or she will say, "Just tell me where to sign." I have to explain that they need to know what they're signing. The fact is, every clause in a contract can be deemed important, if you consider it's a legal document that will govern everything about your book for as long as it's in print. So let me offer several questions an author ought to think about…
1. What's the grant of rights? Your contract should ask you to grant specific rights to the publisher. Not "everything, always, in all circumstances." And rights not specifically granted to the publisher are to be retained by the author. Keep in mind that you (as the author) own the work — you're granting a license to a publisher for them to produce and sell copies of your work. So understand what you're granting them.
2. Is the wording clear? Know what you're signing. Understand the due date, the word count, the rights being granted. Some publishers have exceptionally easy-to-read contracts (Baker, Harlequin, and Harvest House are three that come to mind). Others can have contracts that read as though they were invented by lawyers for whom English is not their first language. If you don't understand what you're signing, ask questions. And let me offer a word of advice: If you have an agent, he or she ought to be able to explain what you're signing. If you don't have an agent, you can get help from a contract evaluation service, which will charge you a couple hundred bucks to review your contract and suggest changes. [You can also have a contracts or intellectual property rights attorney review the contract, but DON'T have him or her negotiate it for you. The moment they pick up that phone, the clock is ticking…and the longer they can keep
-
Continue Reading ""I'm trying to figure out how to work with an agent…""
"I'm trying to figure out how to work with an agent…"
Rita wrote to say, "I've been offered a contract on my novel. Since I don't have an agent, should I seek one at this point? And if the agent accepts, should he or she still receive 15% of the deal, even if they didn't market my book or secure the deal for me? Would it be better to have the agent simply review the contract for a fee?"
There's quite a debate about this issue. I suppose many agents would say, "Sure — call me!" They'd be happy to get 15% for a deal they've done no work on. But my advice would be to think long term. Is there an agent you like and trust — someone you want to work with in the long term? If so, call him or her. Talk about the situation. They may be willing to take less in order to work with you. They may review the contract for a fee. If, for example, you've got a $10,000 advance coming, make sure it's worth the $1500 to have the agent assist with this contract. (It may be worth it — a complex situation, or a novel that is going to be made into a movie, or a potential bestseller probably call for a good agent to get involved). That said, it doesn't really seem fair to me to take the full comission for a book I didn't sell, though not everyone in the industry agrees with me. You can always talk with a contract-review specialist, who will review your contract for a flat fee (usually somewhere in the $300 range). You can also talk with an intellectual property rights attorney, but be careful — they're generally paid by the increment (anywhere from a six-minute to a 15-minute increment), and their goal is to keep the clock moving. The longer it takes them, the more they are paid. I know of at least one
-
Continue Reading "How do I get an agent?"
How do I get an agent?
Elizabeth wrote to ask, "Can you tell me the basics of how to get an agent, when to get an agent, and how the agent relationship works?"
I have responded to this basic question in the past, so let me repeat some of my old ideas…
First, remember I’m a literary agent, so I'm either "experienced" or "biased," depending on your position. I’ve been in the publishing business for more than 20 years, full time as an agent for the last 14 or so. I made my living as an author and, later, as an editor before I fell away from the Lord and became an agent. I was with one of the top literary agencies in the business for many years, and now I’m out on my own – so I admittedly have my own perspective. Second, I’m pretty successful at what I do, in a business where some people call themselves “agents” but don’t seem to know what they’re doing (and, consequently, don’t last very long), I’m fairly well known in the industry and, by and large, have developed a pretty good reputation (more evidence for the existence of God). Feel free to ask around and see what others say. Third, most people who know me will tell you that I’m not an agent evangelist. I happen to know there are some very good things a literary agent can do for you (no matter what Jon Konrath says), but I’ll be the first one to tell you that not everybody needs an agent. And I’m fairly safe in talking about this because I’ve been saying the same stuff for years. So I’m going to give you my opinion…
When NOT to get an agent:
-When you're not a proven writer. Generally, publishers are looking for great ideas, expressed through great writing, and offered by a person with a great platform. Sometimes they get all three, usually they settle
-
Continue Reading "Are writing contests a good idea? (and other interesting stuff)"
Are writing contests a good idea? (and other interesting stuff)
Tiffany wrote to ask, "What do you think of writing contests? Are they a good idea for beginning novelists?"
Sure. Contests are a good way for beginning writers to get into the swing of writing. It means you have to write and polish, you've got to meet a deadline, and you are going to allow somebody else to evaluate your work. All of those are good steps. And there are a ton of contests that are good — the Genesis contest, the Writer's Digest Writing Competition, the James Jones First Novel contest. Many universities, magazines, and conferences have their own contests as well — check the most recent edition of Writer's Market or one of the various Writer's Market Guides for up-to-date information. Contests are a great way to gain some needed experience.
Keep in mind that a contest isn't generally a judge of actual talent — it's a competition between the writers who have chosen to participate. So if a bunch of weak writers all send in their manuscripts, then the winner might not be all that spectacular. But it doesn't hurt to tell a prospective agent or editor that you won a "New Writers Award" or the "Short Prose Competition." Publishers love seeing their authors win awards.
Holly wrote to say, "I have a non-fiction book contract and an agent who only represents non-fiction. Since I also want to write fiction, do I need another agent? Is there a way to leverage my current situation to increase my odds of getting a good publisher for my novel?"
Some agents only represent non-fiction projects (and some only fiction projects, or children's projects, or whatever). So yes, the possibility exists that you may need a different agent for your novel. If you're happy with your NF agent and getting good service from him or her, then I'd simply approach the agent and say, "I'm planning to write a
-
Continue Reading "How do I approach a literary agent?"
How do I approach a literary agent?
Diane wrote to ask, "When is the best time to approach an agent? What do I need to have ready in order to talk with him or her?"
The best time is probably 11 in the morning. The hangover is gone, but the agent has yet to move toward that three-martini lunch. And what to have ready? Well, you ought to have a book proposal that is completely ready. That means you've got a good description of your book: an overview, the features, the details about word count and genre, and your overall focus. You also need to include information about the market: the audience, the need, and comparable titles. And you'll need to have a complete bio, not just something you dashed off in five minutes. You want to reveal who you are and what you bring to the table — your past publishing credits, sales history, media exposure, online traffic, and speaking schedule (where, to whom, on what topics, when, and how often). Hopefully your proposal will tell me something about marketing: what you plan to do in order to support the work, who is endorsing it, what you've done in the past that has worked. There will be a Table of Contents that explains to me the scope and sequence of your book (what you cover, and in what order), and above all there will be some sample chapters that are DONE — written, edited, and polished. If you're authoring a novel, you'll send me a great synopsis that reads like a well-done short story, and you'll tell me that your novel is complete, so I can read the whole thing, should I desire to do so. If you've got a great book package to present, you're probably ready to talk with an agent.
Be aware that most people I talk to at writing conferences aren't there yet. They might have a good book idea, but it's