Is this normal?

happywritermom · Dec 27, 2008

An agent who is considering representing me (a very good one!) wants me to get confirmatin from journalists that they will review the book upon publication as part of the proposal. I don't mind doing that (though most journalists can not and will not make an absolute commitment. It's kind of a violation of journalistic work ethics.), but I'm just wondering whether others have been asked by agents to do this.

MarkEsq · Dec 27, 2008

happywritermom said:
An agent who is considering representing me (a very good one!) wants me to get confirmatin from journalists that they will review the book upon publication as part of the proposal. I don't mind doing that (though most journalists can not and will not make an absolute commitment. It's kind of a violation of journalistic work ethics.), but I'm just wondering whether others have been asked by agents to do this.

I've never heard of it, but then what do I know. The agent I just hooked up with hasn't said anything like that. As you say, it seems unlikely a journalist could promise that at this early stage.

Lauri B · Dec 27, 2008

That's ridiculous. You can't guarantee journalists will review a book, and it's not your responsibility to have that happen, anyway. It's the publisher's. What you can suggest to your agent is that you'll research potential endorsers for your book who are relevant to the topic you're writing about, and who are respected in their fields. That's not very hard to do, and most experts are pretty nice about reading a manuscript for a potential endorsement. Remember that there's obviously no guarantee they'll read it or endorse it, but that's as good as you're going to get before publication. One of the things I always do for my publishers is to provide a list of experts (usually whose works I've used in my research) and their contact information for the marketing department to contact about reading for endorsement. I'm concerned that your agent doesn't know what he or she is talking about.

IceCreamEmpress · Dec 27, 2008

I've never heard of such a thing. As everyone has said, journalists can't make that commitment: review topics are assigned by editors. Like Lauri, it doesn't sound like your agent knows the first thing about how book reviewing works, which calls his or her credentials into question.

jerrywaxler · Dec 27, 2008

part of your marketing plan

I think it's obvious you won't be able to guarantee a review, but at least if you provide a list of people who have expressed interest, it would make you look knowledgeable and well connected.

Jerry

GirlWithPoisonPen · Dec 27, 2008

I would have serious reservations about an agent who asks me to do that. It means that they don't understand anything about how non-book publishing works. Editors decide what gets reviewed, not journalists. Most book reviewers aren't journalists, but people with subject-area expertise. Soliciting review would also usually fall the publicity team at your publishing house.

susangpyp · Dec 27, 2008

It does not sound normal to me. How would you even go about doing this? Usually a publisher has their channels for reviews and the writer has nothing to do with it. This doesn't sound right or reasonable.

happywritermom · Dec 28, 2008

Thanks for all the input. This did seem strange to me, but it's a very highly respected agency, so I'm surprised. She did make some other excellent suggestions that I will include (e.g. a celebrity or well-known author to write the forward. I'm working on that one and I might have someone.) and I did get a committment from a friend at a medium metro daily to review it, but I think I will simply make contact with a few others. If it's not good enough for her, then it will at least make the proposal stronger for another editor.

susangpyp · Dec 29, 2008

My experience in obtaining an agent is that sometimes interested agents bounce things off you to see if there is a possibility of shoring up a proposal from an unknown author.

I think a couple of agents asked me about the possibility of a celebrity foreword or endorsement. I had nothing. (If I did I think I would have mentioned it.)

I didn't interpret these questions as I had to have it for them to sign me but it seemed like they were thinking out loud as to how to beef up the proposal in order to make it attractive to publishers. Perhaps she's doing that? In the beginning I thought that these kinds of questions meant I absolutely needed to be doing that (getting endorsements) but later on it became moot when the book sold quickly.

June Casagrande · Dec 29, 2008

When I was a journalist, I would have been outraged by such a request.

And, no, my agent never asked me to do anything like this. If you weren't so emphatic that the agent was a good one, I'd say run. Now I'm wondering if maybe there was some kind of miscommunication. For example, in my proposals I promised I'd PITCH stories to my friends in the media and REQUEST reviews. Is it possible she/he was saying that you should COMMIT in your proposal to taking steps that are within your power -- such as pitching and calling and networking and sending out press releases?

Not only is it absurd and insulting to suggest you can extract promises like this from journalists, but no editor reading the proposal would even believe it: "I can guaranteed that J. Doe at the Polukaville Post will review the book upon publication."

I sincerely doubt an acquisitions editor would buy that for one second.

Something's weird here -- hopefully just some crossed wires.

DerekJager · Jan 7, 2009

I'm currently contacting several well-known authors to write the afterword to my book--I already had a "celebrity" write the introduction.

BTW, the agent of one celebrity wanted me to PAY to have his client write the afterword--be warned this is NOT the norm.

When someone writes an afterword/foreword/introduction it's at no charge to you. I "knew" this, my agent confirmed it, as did the CEO of the largest publishing house -- he's a friend.

And it is GREAT you are seeking someone well-known to write for you--it REALLY helps get some added news for your booK!

platinumscript · Jan 15, 2009

I think some folks do get paid for writing a forward. i think some don't request/demand payment also. nothing etched in stone on this. I'm sure I read this in respected Larsen proposal book...

benbradley · Jan 15, 2009

platinumscript said:
I think some folks do get paid for writing a forward. i think some don't request/demand payment also. nothing etched in stone on this. I'm sure I read this in respected Larsen proposal book...

I had a friend way back when who wrote and self-published a book (successfully, it was the first of three such books) on music synthesizers. He had looked into having Bob Moog (then still alive) write the forward but Moog wanted way too much money (well, he WAS the first and one of the biggest names in synthesizers). He did get Larry Fast (of Synergy fame and with lots of credits on others' recordings) to write the foreword, at apparently a much more reasonable rate, or perhaps even for free. But if it had been published with a "major publisher" surely the chances would have been a lot better that he would have hired Bob Moog to write it, whether it would have been paid out of his advance, or perhaps the publisher would have (helped) pay for it. On the other hand, that book is for a niche market and wouldn't get the attention of big publishers.

happywritermom · Jan 19, 2009

Well, I did get two good friends who are journalists to commit to at least mentioning the book (I told the agent that journalistic ethics prevent me from pursuing commitments from others) and I was quite surprised to discover how many other avenues I have for publicity. For instance, I emailed the alumni offices of the the two universities I have degrees from just to find out how I would sumbit something upon publication. Both editors offered short articles both online and in print along with display in the university library.
By the time I was done, I had a much, much more solid proposal.
I resubmitted to the agent on Friday.
Even if she rejects me, I now feel like my chances of landing another agent have increased dramatically.
Thanks so much for all the input and advice.
I'll post when I hear from her.

Prevostprincess · Jan 19, 2009

As a shrink, I couldn't resist a post with the title, "Is this normal?"

I agree with what the others have said, ie it's abnormal. It's OK to be asked at this stage who you have connections to you could ask for a blurb, but no committments for those, either.

Honestly, if this really is a "very good" agent at a reputable firm, and there was no miscommunication, it makes me wonder if, given all the cutbacks in publishing, this is some emerging trend to "vet" unknown/first time authors. Publishers are paying less advance money and some are even freezing acquisitions. It seems they are less willing to take a chance on a new voice. Is this a way for agents to feel more secure about getting a deal? I have no idea, but it does make you wonder. (So, please tell us it was a miscommunication... )

happywritermom · Jan 19, 2009

I think, in my case, the particular market has more to do with the reasoning behind her suggestions. The book focuses on stay-at-home moms and, even though nothing like it exists on the market, there are soooo many books that deal with that general topic that it could easily get lost on the shelves. The agent likes the book and the idea, but she wants to be able to assure publishing houses that I can help make this book stand out. In re-reading her e-mail, I think she might have been a little careless with her wording. I e-mailed her with a question later and, in her reply, she focused more on providing circulation numbers for newpapers where I have contacts than on the actual commitment to review it. That make more sense than asking reporters to promise reviews.

scope · Jan 19, 2009

That's absolutely ridiculous. I never heard of an agent making such an outrageous demand. I hate to say this, but you should really give thought as to whether you want this agent to continue representing you, that's how ludicrous the demand or suggestion is.

Hillgate · Jan 20, 2009

happywritermom said:
An agent who is considering representing me (a very good one!) wants me to get confirmatin from journalists that they will review the book upon publication as part of the proposal. I don't mind doing that (though most journalists can not and will not make an absolute commitment. It's kind of a violation of journalistic work ethics.), but I'm just wondering whether others have been asked by agents to do this.

Your agent is barking mad: how in practice will any conversation go? No-one will say an outright 'no' but neither will they say 'yes'. If I asked a journo friend he'd probably say yes, but then a freelance saying yes is different to a publication saying yes. It's all very odd. Frankly your agent or prospective publisher should be the ones with the journo contacts and marketing push, otherwise what are you paying them for????

happywritermom · Jan 21, 2009

Well, she ultimately rejected me for reasons of her own, but she made other minor suggestions for the proposal, gave me the personal e-mail address of a friend at another agency and gave me a quote from her to put in the query letter.

Though I disagree with the review issue, I have to say that my proposal is much, much stronger because of her.

abctriplets · Jan 22, 2009

Glad things worked out, sort of, in the end.

MarkEsq · Jan 22, 2009

happywritermom said:
Though I disagree with the review issue, I have to say that my proposal is much, much stronger because of her.

Glad to hear this bit, anyway, Lori.

Is this normal?

happywritermom

MarkEsq

Clever title pending.

Lauri B

I Heart Mac

IceCreamEmpress

Hapless Virago

jerrywaxler

GirlWithPoisonPen

Mata Hari

susangpyp

happywritermom

susangpyp

June Casagrande

DerekJager

platinumscript

benbradley

It's a doggy dog world

happywritermom

Prevostprincess

happywritermom

scope

Commonsensical Maverick

Hillgate

On location

happywritermom

abctriplets

MarkEsq

Clever title pending.