Question re: Advances

[AKB]

If you were previously unpublished and have just sold your first YA manuscript, how much should you expect to receive as an advance? Are there guidelines?
Thanks!

[Chanelley]

Ohh this is a often asked question and there's no actual answer. Bascially, anything from $1000 to $750,000. More likely in the $1000-$20000 range.

[AKB]

Thanks, Chanelley.

It's seems the more I read/learn about publishing, the more I realize how crazy it all is....like those damn queries!!

[ChaosTitan]

Chanelly's right, there is no way to know what you'll get. The average for a large house is $5-10,000. It's always a per-book figure, so it'll change based on how many books your contract is for (one, two, three, etc...), and the payments are broken up anywhere from two to four installments.

Say your contract is for two books, at $10k each. You'll get a total of $20k out of this contract up front. But if the house has you on a 3-payment schedule (signing, delivery, publication), you get a third of both books ($20k) on signing. Then you get a third of book one on delivery of the final manuscript, and the last third upon publication. Same with book two--you get the last two-thirds of the money at those times.

It's rarely a lot of money, and it's often very spread out. And it varies by house.

Crazy, yep. :)

[Shady Lane]

If you were previously unpublished and have just sold your first YA manuscript, how much should you expect to receive as an advance? Are there guidelines?
Thanks!

Since this was my situation exactly, I'll go ahead and say--I got $10,000 for my first novel.

[Danthia]

There was a long thread on this not too long ago. I did a quick search to try and find it, but came up empty. If you're interested, you could spend a little longer and find it I'm sure. :)

[AKB]

Thanks, Chaos.

So, since it could take a year or more for the book(s) to be published, you could be talking quite a while to receive the entire contracted advance. That's good to know. Thanks again.

[AKB]

Shady - how long ago was it that you sold your first novel?

Danthia - I'll do the search now. Thanks.

You guys at AW are really great.

[Shady Lane]

This July. I recieved my advance check (all at once--they were supposed to send it in two parts, but the first part took so long that they ended up just sending it all together) about a month or a month and a half ago. My book's coming out in August.

[AKB]

Shady - congratulations! Being a total newbie I have a question - what does "sub" mean next to your ms titles? - - 'submission'?

[Chanelley]

Query writing gets easier. I struggled at first, but I think I know the ins and outs of it now. Also, in terms of advances, Stephenie Meyer got $750,000 for a 3 book deal on Twilight. And an extra $400,000 for Breaking Dawn (I think). JK Rowling only got £1000 and then a little bit on top from organisations.

[Shady Lane]

Shady - congratulations! Being a total newbie I have a question - what does "sub" mean next to your ms titles? - - 'submission'?

Thanks!

Yep, sub means my agent's currently shopping that manuscript around to publishers. It's with seven right now, no rejects yet. I'll cross out the numbers as the rejections start coming in.

[ChaosTitan]

AKB - Don't forget, an advance is just an advance on future royalties. Once you earn out that money in sales, there is the potential to earn more than the initial sum.

[AKB]

Thanks everyone for the helpful info. AND HERE'S TO WISHING US ALL SUCCESS!!

[brainstrains]

I know a LOT of YA authors and we sometimes "trade" numbers here and there and I can tell you, a GREAT majority of my friends got more than $10,000 (and quite a few MUCH more) for their first book. I know I did.

I haven't seen anything to prove this, but since the average first novel sells for between $5-$10k, I really think that on average, advances for a first YA novel are typically higher than for first adult novels. Since they're shorter, that makes us YA writers a lot smarter than the average writer. Less work, bigger payout. Well, at least this is what I tell people when they ask me "When are you going to write a REAL novel?" :)

[Esopha]

I don't think a bigger advance is necessarily better. There's a lot of hype about getting six-figure deals, omg they are so shiny!, but in reality, you have to worry about if you're going to sell the equivalent amount of books. Hopefully you earn out your advance, and hopefully you sell even more books so you're seen as an asset to the publisher. But if you don't...

Getting bigger advances makes that harder.

[Red.Ink.Rain]

Out of curiosity, is that figure ($10k or higher) with/without tax deductions or prices for printing, etc.? Is that whole paycheck yours to keep, or do you have to pay expenses?

[Esopha]

Without tax deductions, and without the 15% agent's cut taken out.

However -- YOU don't have to pay for printing or book production costs. That's the publisher's job.

[Shady Lane]

Yep, I got a check for 8,500 'cause of my agent's cut. and taxes took a bit.

[Red.Ink.Rain]

Gotcha. Thanks. I was just curious.

[TrixieLox]

I keep hearing the $10k mark (around £6-7k in the UK).

By the way, in my personal view, big advances = big investment from publishers so they are certainly preferable. When I say 'big', I mean of the 100k or so variety. By 'investment', I mean in terms of marketing and time. So don't ever think 'O crikey, I'd rather not get a fab advance' cos a fab advance means the publisher has uber confidence in you.

Of course, this can 'backfire' in that some uber advances don't earn themselves out and this in turn can give you some troubles (eg. 'doh, s/he didn't get enough royalities to cover the advance, should we really invest in his/her next book'?) but hey, what's life without taking a risk or 2? And anyway, you don't need to pay it back in monetary terms, just rep. But tbh, publishers know what they're doing so if they give a fab advance (eg. Meyer, Marr proportions etc), it's a damn good sign the book is gonna be a success. And it usually is. :-)

[AKB]

With the numbers being discussed, are there certain types of YA books for first timers that get the higher advance or is it strictly based on the story, writing, voice, etc? Or combo?

[Shady Lane]

fantasy probably generally gets a higher advance? but that's just speculation on my part. I'm guessing because they're generally big books and more likely to be in a series (so you're more likely to get a multi-book deal.)

Mine was a slim little realistic thing, so there you go.

[Sage]

I've always heard that the average advance was $5000.

FWIW, I don't think that shorter books make for easier writing. Some authors have trouble writing a tight enough novel or keeping it under an agent/publisher's preferred word count. So a shorter book with a certain advance does not mean an easier job than a longer one with the same advance.

[scope]

For the unpublished author I think the concentration should be getting published, whatever the advance, if any at all. Let your agent deal with the size of any possible advance, bearing in mind that s/he wants the most possible since s/he gets 15% off the bat. In general, I would say $1,000 to $10,000 is logical.

[bethany]

Nope, shorter books are often much tighter. Not mine necessarily, but you know, some people are amazing writers.

Might I say that I think it was very brave and helpful for Shady to come out and tell her #'s. I have a ton of respect for her sharing so candidly, and may I also say that Shady is going to outsell all of us, either in advances or royalties or whatever.

I am amazed that a 16 year old (she's 17 now) can write so well. I dunno, I felt a little disrespect, like she was brave and then it was all, MOST people make more, and we all need to be aware that Shady is amazing. That is all.

[Red.Ink.Rain]

Agreed. Shady, you are amazing - seriously.

[Shady Lane]

:D

[eyeblink]

We are, after all, not worthy.

I'll go and tend to the shrine now...

[roskoebaby]

My two cents.

I have a few books coming out, and I am in several author groups. Advances range. And even though big advances are sought after, it doesn't mean you earn more. When it's all said and done, you have to earn out the advance with sales. It'll come down to the quality of the book, the buzz, whatever. And authors can push their own sales so they don't have to completely rely on the publisher.

In this market, 10k is Great. Sure, some historicals are getting paid six figures for several books, but that's because they are in the "school" market. Not everyone writes that way. Right now, the trick is to sell a book. Then market it with all your heart and earn your money.

:-)

Oh, and Shady is dope.

[TrixieLox]

I agree, 10k is AWESOMENESS for a 16-year-old, WTF? Amazing.

Onto the whole 'u should focus on getting published, stop thinking about the advance'. Sure, that's fine. But I worry sometimes us writers are so HUMBLE and so GRATEFUL. I have always been ambitious and aimed for the best I can in life, and that means I have high ambitions for my book too (while also being uber-realistic - I'm a mag editor so I am very aware of the bitter disappointments that may come and the highly likely chance I won't get published book-wise). But I don't see what's wrong with aiming big (I don't see what's wrong with other approaches too). I want as many people as possible to read my book and therefore, I aim big. If I get a biggish advance, my publisher will go all out to promote it. It'll get more presence in bookstores straight away. Etc. My agent likes this attitude. I just think we all have our own little ways of dealing with this but I don't think we should feel ashamed for aiming big (as long as it doesn't become arrogant and unrealistic).

[AKB]

Shady - you're 16 - seriously? With all your great suggestions I've read on queries, etc. I'm totally blown away. I join all the others in applauding you!

As for focusing on advances, I'm looking at it from a practical standpoint. While my main thrust will be to write both what I love and what I'm good at, if I'm unable to sell then I will be unable to spend as much time writing as I currently do...it'll be off to the salt mines for me.

I love literary and recently finished a literary YA novel but have been told by a number of agents that while they think the story/writing is strong, it is very difficult to break out in that genre. I also just heard back from a Canadian publisher I sent it to (among the few I found that accepted unsolicited queries) and after requesting and reading my full ms they recommended to publish; unfortunately for me they just recently changed their policy - at least for the near future - to only publish Canadian authors. I know this is totally off subject...I guess I'm just frustrated/happy (someone on the outside read the whole thing and really liked it)/I don't know.

[brainstrains]

FWIW, I don't think that shorter books make for easier writing. Some authors have trouble writing a tight enough novel or keeping it under an agent/publisher's preferred word count. So a shorter book with a certain advance does not mean an easier job than a longer one with the same advance.

No, of course not, I would never imply that writing YA is easier, though much of the adult publishing world seems to think so (sigh; which is why many of them are trying to break into it). It's easier for ME, and my chosen genre, because my drafts are usually very tight and I have trouble getting up to that word count. I made the comment I made because I was signing up for a professional organization and it asked me how much I got paid "by the word" (odd question, I know) and I realized that the value of my word is much higher than had I written an adult novel with a higher word count.

Bigger publishers obviously can offer more in the way of advances. Keep in mind that while people are saying, "Oh, it's not so great to get a high advance because you need to earn out...", higher advances usually mean the publisher is going to put a lot more into publicity for you. In most cases, they will do everything possible to make it succeed and earn back the money they put into it. Of course, if despite all their efforts the book doesn't do well (which does happen), they have a longer way to fall, so it is a bigger risk in that respect.

[Shady Lane]

brainstains--I'm with Simon and Schuster. It's a major publisher.

AKB--I'll actually be 18 in 10 days (yaaaay!) but I wrote Break and got my agent when I was 16. I got my book deal when I was 17, and I'll be 18 when the book comes out. I love things that work out like that.

[AKB]

Shady - an early Happy Birthday! to you. With all you've done so far I'm sure you've got nothing but good things coming your way! Enjoy.

[Shady Lane]

<3 thank you!

[brainstrains]

brainstains--I'm with Simon and Schuster. It's a major publisher.


Got that from your sig.:) Didn't say major publishers ALWAYS offer bigger advances, but the fact is that you DO have a better chance of getting a bigger advance than average from a major publisher. Obviously.

[TheRightEyedDeer]

Shady, you're an inspiration! Best of everything to ya. :)

[Lauri B]

Keep in mind that these advances are for fiction, and for mainstream publishers. If you're writing nonfiction or for the ed market, advances are a lot lower. The upside is that the sales are consistent for a long time--usually several to many years down the line.

[roskoebaby]

Oh, another thing to keep in mind is that not all of it is in the publisher's control. If Borders or B&N doesn't want to take on a debut novel (which seems to be happening more) it won't matter the size of the advance. Believe me, I like my advances, but there are other things to consider when negotiating. Like what the publisher can do for you, the revisons, your future with them. The reason I went with my publisher over the others was because they wanted more than one book.

[brainstrains]

Oh, another thing to keep in mind is that not all of it is in the publisher's control. If Borders or B&N doesn't want to take on a debut novel (which seems to be happening more) it won't matter the size of the advance.

Yeah, I've been hearing about this more and more, and it's scary. If it's early enough in the process, they will try as much as possible to take into consideration feedback from the bookstore reps, to ensure they recoup whatever investment. I know in my case, they changed the title. And I've heard of covers being scrapped numerous times due to feedback from bookstore reps.

Believe me, I like my advances, but there are other things to consider when negotiating. Like what the publisher can do for you, the revisons, your future with them. The reason I went with my publisher over the others was because they wanted more than one book.

Very true. Most of us do want a career out of this! If you have a choice, it is great to go with a publisher who sees you as having multiple books with them, who doesn't just want you for the one book they have in their hands.

[TheWritingRunner]

I keep hearing the $10k mark (around £6-7k in the UK).

By the way, in my personal view, big advances = big investment from publishers so they are certainly preferable. When I say 'big', I mean of the 100k or so variety. By 'investment', I mean in terms of marketing and time. So don't ever think 'O crikey, I'd rather not get a fab advance' cos a fab advance means the publisher has uber confidence in you.

This is very much true. You do not see $100,000 marketing campaigns for books that received a $5,000 advance in 99% of cases -- something extraordinary has to happen for that to be the case. General rule of thumb is, the marketing campaign will be about the same as the advance. That's my experience from working in the business for a publisher for several years.

Of course, a lot can happen in the 12 to 18 months between the purchase and publication. Your publisher can re-organize, your editor could leave the house, your publicist could be fired, the market for your type of book might become oversaturated, etc. The chances of "earning out" a bigger advance are much lower, but you know what? Many books never earn out their advance anyway so I'd rather have $50,000 now instead of $5,000 now and hope the book is a big hit and I earn royalties down the road.

And yes, before anyone says it, it's very important to sell a good percentage of your print run. If the publisher prints 10,000 copies, you'd better hope and pray you sell 80% of them because then there's a better chance the publisher will buy your next book then. 50% of them get returned? You're probably looking for a new home.

But also keep this in mind: if you DO sell 8,000 copies, if your agent goes to shop your next book around, no publisher is going to say, "Wow, he sold 80%!" They're going to see you "only" sold 8,000 copies and say, "Wow, not much excitement here."

(My agent always says it's easier to sell an exciting first novel with a great hook than a mid-list second novel.)

Just another side of the business to keep in mind! Ultimately, it's best if you write what YOU want to write and let the business sort itself out. It's more fun that way. ;)

TWR

[Melissa_Marr]

ADVANCES
As to numbers, Publishers Marketplace has deal categories ranging from nice ($1-49k), very nice ($50-99k), good ($100-249k), significant ($250-499k), major ($500k+). When books are listed they are listed in terms of the whole deal (i.e. x # of books for ___ deal).

In most cases, multiple first book deals are still falling in the "nice" category. So, if it's 2 or 3 books for a nice deal, that means you're looking at a maximum of $25k per book (in 2 book deals) or $16k or so.

NOTE: Some deals don't list amount categories, but often, this means they are "nice."

CATEGORIES=BUZZ
Why? Listing in some categories is a potential buzz. If a deal falls into a bigger category, the agent listing it in getting free publicity--and film and foreign rights people are more prone to "hey, this is getting backing, what is it?"

(NOTE: Agents or houses will shop your texts anyhow, but having the interested folks come knocking is easier. It can go both ways.)

Be aware though that when people refer to a book have a "____ deal" that is not always for one book. Ask "for how many book?" and "World or NA?"

WORLD v NA
The other key--aside from doing the division on how many books for that amount--is for what rights. A World Rights deal should be higher than NA. If I sell only North American, frex, that means I am expecting that my agent can sell the foreign rights. If I sell World (as I did for the first deal), my publisher sells the rights to foreign houses. The publisher gets a percentage. My percentage goes to earning out my advance (ergo the advance they pay me up front is higher). HarperCollins is really good abt selling overseas ("subrights" when they do it or "foreign rights" when an agent does it). I earned out a fair portion of my initial advance before my first book even went to print bc subrights sales were very strong.

The downside to World Rights is the percentage thing. Agents get their 15% of my royalty & advance from the US house, but the US house gets their percentage too. If I only sell NA Rights, and then my agent sells Foreign Rights, she gets 20% of foreign sales (split 10/10 with the co-agent in each nation), but I get 80% of the deal. . . as opposed to a lower percentage bc I have a publisher taking a chunk too.

The upside? More more on the front end. World Rights is a bigger advance. So, the "how much advance" has a lot of variables.

BONUS
Some publishers do "bonus" markers. Whether or not the agent includes these in the deal math varies by agent. My 3rd deal has bonus payments that make my deal significantly different, but my new agent doesn't count the unhatched chickens when she talks abt the deal.

Bonus extras can be either for certain sales markers (X # of copies by y time) or awards. These are a way for your publisher to sweeten the deal without giving you all the bank up front.

Based on my sales of existing books, they believe (& I do) that some of these are inevitable. If I don't get the first couple of tiers, I should be considering takig up a new field, but it enables them to hold the money until such time as I do. There are benefits to me for this as well. It shows their faith in the books (and breaks my pay out over another window which I like).

PAYOUTS
The payout can be sign & delivery (2 checks), 3 checks (as cited in the thread), or 4 checks (sign, D&A, hardcover print, softcover print). I've had all three of these. There are benefits to each. A lot of ppl I know have the 2 checks set up in their deals.

The percentages in the printout can vary too. 50% on signing, 25% on D&A, & 25% on print or 25/50/25 or . . . it varies. Everything varies in this business.

PRINT RUNS

Print runs . . . Those big numbers sound so impressive, but here's the thing: they aren't always actually, umm, true. They are a throwback phraseology to an earlier time in the industry. The time btw ordering books and them printing is actually much much faster; warehouse space is expensive; and it's not sound to tie your capital up in inventory.

COPIES "in print"
This is even less . . . even more . . . umm, it's sometimes sort of a scam phrase. _____copies in print (which you'll see in some articles or promotional bits). It's abt buzz (again). In print does not mean sold. It means they've printed or intend to print that many. It doesn't even mean shipped to stores. It's a way to throw around an inflated number.

note: Some publishers (incl mine) don't typically do the "copies in print" thing. in truth, it's almost a fun game to suggest it to some ppl at conferences (names omitted) to watch them go all ranty. *innocent look*

PR BUDGET & ADVANCE
I'm going to object to the advance v budget equation. I actually know both my advance & a pretty close approximation of my PR budget. They are NOT near a one-to-one ratio at all.

Ok, hope that helps (all makes sense). This stuff is all so damn confusing at the beginning, but I swear it does get clearer as time goes on. . . or maybe the confusing stuff is different.

[Esopha]

Wow, Melissa. That post was a great source of info. Thanks so much!

I might quote that and stick it in one of the stickies. (Did you see what I did there?) If you don't mind, of course.

[Melissa_Marr]

Wow, Melissa. That post was a great source of info. Thanks so much!

I might quote that and stick it in one of the stickies. (Did you see what I did there?) If you don't mind, of course.

*whispers* I don't understand "quote . . . and stick in stickies" but pls do w it what you will if it's clear enough to be useful :)

[Esopha]

*whispers* I don't understand "quote . . . and stick in stickies" but pls do w it what you will if it's clear enough to be useful :)

*whispers too* Thanks!

[AKB]

Melissa - I hope you're right about this all getting clearer because my head is spinning.

Question - when folks say "multiple book deal" does that pertain to series books or could that relate to unrelated books written by the same author and sold to the same publisher?

Question - do writers usually publish all their books through the same publisher? And, if you've been able to sell a ms to a publisher on your own, will agents who may otherwise be interested in you for other ms' be less willing to represent you - i.e. does it matter that you're already working with a publisher they may not have connections with?

Obviously I am very new to this and I appreciate everyone's feedback!

[Shady Lane]

Melissa - I hope you're right about this all getting clearer because my head is spinning.

Question - when folks say "multiple book deal" does that pertain to series books or could that relate to unrelated books written by the same author and sold to the same publisher?

Question - do writers usually publish all their books through the same publisher? And, if you've been able to sell a ms to a publisher on your own, will agents who may otherwise be interested in you for other ms' be less willing to represent you - i.e. does it matter that you're already working with a publisher they may not have connections with?

Obviously I am very new to this and I appreciate everyone's feedback!

1. It can mean either one. I get the feeling multiple book deals for fantasy are usually for series, for contemporaries not so much (since fewer of those are series books). Generally, you can assume that in a multiple book deal, the publisher wants more books with a similar "feel" as the first book--whether they mean that tightly or loosely varies.

2. Most publishers have a clause in their contract called "first refusal" rights--it means you have to show them your next manuscript before you can submit it to anyone else, and they get first dibs. For me, for instance, we subbed my second manuscript to Simon Pulse, they passed, now we're subbing to other publishers.

I'm not sure I understand the second part of your second question.

[AKB]

The first ms I finished a few months ago and the ms I'm currently working on now are very different; one is literary with a female MC; the other is edgy with a male MC.

At this point I'm really getting ahead of myself as I haven't even gotten an agent, though I'm still in the process of sending the first one out. BUT, since I am also sending my first ms out to publishers (i.e. the few I've been able to find that take unsolicited/unagented queries) I'm curious whether I would have issues down the road if I'm fortunate enough to actually sell it. For my second ms I'd much rather get an agent and have them do the publisher hunting. And, if the contract does have the right of first refusal clause I suppose that would just mean the agent would send the ms to that publisher first.

I know I'm babbling so I apologize if my questions are confusing.
Thanks for your help.

[Shady Lane]

Really, you should get an agent now. It is the only at-all-reasonably reliable way to sell a manuscript. An agent will not mind if you come to her with a deal in hand--she WILL mind if you come to her with a list of publishers who have already rejected the manuscript. That is the danger of shopping manuscripts yourself, and it's very real--much more real than your chances of getting noticed out of an editor's unagented slushpile.

Query agents instead.

[Esopha]

AKB, I would not be submitting to publishers at the same time as agents. If you're looking to publish in one of the major houses, an agent should come first. Then they'll be in charge of submitting to their chosen editors, etc. If you've queried all the agents you can and you still want your book to be published, you can submit it to publishers by yourself.

What do you mean by "sell" it? You don't sell your manuscript to agents. You acquire representation.

However, if you do get a publisher interested, it won't count against you. Generally, though, people look into getting agents interested, then move on to publishers.

ETA: I should also add that all the previous rejections on your first book go out the window if you write a new, better book and conduct yourself in a professional manner.

[AKB]

I initially sent queries to agents and aside from some form rejections, I did get a number of "story sounds interesting; writing is strong; but not consistent with my list and I wouldn't be able to market effectively." Since then I sent out to about five publishers, one of which is in Canada. The Canadian publisher asked for the full (they're the only one I've heard back from yet) and a week and half later the Editorial Publisher sent me a letter stating she loved the ms and recommended that it be published however they've recently changed their policy - at least for the near future - to only publish Canadian authors. Given her feedback and what other agents had written in their "sorry, but" responses I thought it made sense to try to get it published myself. But, based on what's been posted maybe that's not such a good idea...???

[Esopha]

How many agents have you queried? If you've broken 100 we'll talk small presses. Until then, stick to agents. :)

[AKB]

I've queried about 80. I sent my last query in mid-January and I haven't heard back from about 10. I should add that about 30 of the responses I got were "not taking new clients". Unfortunately, their websites didn't indicate that.

Also, I had an opportunity to have my first 30 pages critiqued by an editor at Little Brown. And she also said the writing was very strong, etc., but since it's literary I probably wouldn't be able to break out with it, that there are too many established authors in that space. She suggested that I try something more commercial and try to break out with that first. As it turned out, I already had another story in mind (more commercial) and was half-way through. Now, I'm just about finished.

[Esopha]

Ooh I see. No, in your situation I'd say subbing to publishers is fine. Have you checked out the list of small pubs in the Bewares and Background Check forum? I compiled a list of small presses myself. Usually they cater to niche markets (even/especially literary fiction), and you might be able to find a home for your novel.

[Shady Lane]

Sophie's advice is good--alternatively, you could let the literary novel wait its turn, finish the commercial one, and sub that to agents. Then your agent could take care of the literary one afterwards.

[AKB]

I haven't checked that out. I'm pretty new to AW and haven't explored everything yet. Thanks for the tip!

[Melissa_Marr]

Sophie's advice is good--alternatively, you could let the literary novel wait its turn, finish the commercial one, and sub that to agents. Then your agent could take care of the literary one afterwards.

That would be how I would approach it. If a text doesn't sell right now, it doesn't mean it won't later. Move fwd. When you accept representation, discuss the earlier text as well.

JMHO, of course . . .

[Achromasia]

Something interesting I found on advances: http://www.tobiasbuckell.com/2005/10/05/author-advance-survey-version-20/

It's mostly regarding those who work in the Fantasy and Science Fiction realms of writing, but hey, it seems to agree with what everyone had said here.


(On a side note, I pretty much died when I saw Melissa Marr had posted here. I feel very unworthy. I bought Wicked Lovely after Christmas and couldn't put it down.)

[Shady Lane]

That would be how I would approach it. If a text doesn't sell right now, it doesn't mean it won't later. Move fwd. When you accept representation, discuss the earlier text as well.

JMHO, of course . . .


And my book that got me representation (my literary one) isn't the one that my agent and I decided to sub, and isn't the one coming out this summer. Soooo things work out lots of different ways.

[Esopha]

And my book that got me representation (my literary one) isn't the one that my agent and I decided to sub, and isn't the one coming out this summer. Soooo things work out lots of different ways.

Basically, it's all a crapshoot.

I hope you weren't expecting publishing to make sense.

[AKB]

Publishing making sense....After working as a senior compliance officer in a large broker dealer for many years where all the "i's" are dotted and "t's" are crossed, the world of publishing has definitely been a culture shock. However, I love to write so everything else is secondary. Well, until I run out of money, that is.