Getting Published

AryaT92 · Dec 13, 2009

I am in the stage where my agent proposed something to multiple publishers, one of which I have spoken to before the agent and they have shown interest asking for more after reading 50 pages, more after 100, and then writing me saying they look forward to the agents proposal..

The novel is also a time sensitive one as it is a NF memoir revolving around High School and I graduate / turn 18 later this year.. I assume I am most marketable being 17?

Without disclosing too much information because I heard it's frowned upon, the publishers are major ones if it makes any difference, my questions to you are as follows:

Is there a certain process it goes through, I've read that it has to go through an editorial meeting? What is that like?

How long did it take you to receive feedback from publishers after having an agent send a proposal?

Does it just depend on a case by case? Does it being December make everything take longer?

Should I even bother checking for responses during Winter Break if it gets to that point?

If they do react positively what steps are taken from there? Do they simply make an offer over the phone, is there a meeting first?

After they make an offer if the agent decides to send it around hoping to get a bidding war is it possible for past offers to be revoked?

Libbie · Dec 13, 2009

That's great that you're getting so far! Go you!!

The only one I can answer is whether you should bother checking during winter break. Yes, you should.

Good luck!

AryaT92 · Dec 13, 2009

Thank you, any information is helpful even if you can only answer one please do so.. I rarely sleep as it is, the waiting is truly driving me insane and I feel if I was better informed it would make the process a bit easier.

blacbird · Dec 13, 2009

AryaT92 said:
I am in the stage where my agent proposed something to multiple publishers, one of which I have spoken to before the agent and they have shown interest asking for more after reading 50 pages, more after 100, and then writing me saying they look forward to the agents proposal..

The novel is also a time sensitive one as it is a NF memoir revolving around High School and I graduate / turn 18 later this year. I assume I am most marketable being 17?

The bolded parts are the most relevant. "Most marketable being 17"???????? And, turning 18 "later this year" (which, technically, would mean in the next three weeks, right)?

The "my agent" part puts you ahead of most people here. Everything else is gravy.

caw

Cyia · Dec 13, 2009

Your age at the time you're published isn't as important as the age you were when the book was written. It's possible to have a book picked up in a matter of weeks, if an editor thinks it's awesome and wants to snag it quickly, but it can also take months (and months... and months...). Editors are busy people and they have multiple projects all coming across their desks at the same time.

Now, since you've already spoken to one of the editors, that might give you a leg up (and a chance to cut in line), but memoir is a (really) hard sell unless you're famous, so prepare yourself for a wait.

AryaT92 · Dec 13, 2009

April 27th is my official birthday but I know it's a lengthy process from the time they make an offer to the time you are on the shelves.

Birol · Dec 13, 2009

I don't know if you're most marketable being 17 and not having yet graduated. At the speed publishing works, even if your birthday wasn't three weeks away, you'd mostly likely be 18 and graduated before your book is, well, a book.

Yes, December often makes things run longer. So do other things. Yes, you should continue to check during your winter break.

Your agent should guide you through most of the rest of the process, will let you know what's expected of you and when it's expected. Just take a deep breath, practice patience, and don't sprain anything hitting refresh too often.

AryaT92 · Dec 13, 2009

Cyia said:
Your age at the time you're published isn't as important as the age you were when the book was written.

Oh, that's a relief.

Cyia said:
but memoir is a (really) hard sell unless you're famous, so prepare yourself for a wait.

...*gulp*

Thanks for the information.

escritora · Dec 13, 2009

Mileage varies, but below are my stats.

How long did it take you to receive feedback from publishers after having an agent send a proposal?

The first book within two months.
The second book within two weeks.
The third book I've received rejections only so far. The first rejection came within three weeks and they've sprinkled in throughout the last several months. The proposal was submitted in July.

Does it just depend on a case by case? Does it being December make everything take longer?

From my stats you can see it is case by case.

blacbird · Dec 13, 2009

Phrased another way:

"Patience, Grasshopper."

caw

Wordwrestler · Dec 13, 2009

You'll be 18 or older by the time your book is in print, so don't stress about that. You're still a "teen" until you're 20. And do you really want a memoir about high school coming out while you still attend said school? I sure wouldn't.

Congrats on getting agented. That's a big step!

I have my novel being subbed by my agent right now, but I think the process may be a bit different for a memoir, and it may also differ for someone who already had a publisher interested, so I'll let someone else answer your other questions.

Have you checked your agent out to make sure he/she is legit? If you've got a legitimate agent, don't be afraid to email a few questions. As long as you don't nag or pester and keep the tone professional, you should be OK.

AryaT92 · Dec 13, 2009

escritora said:
The second book within two weeks.

This is comforting. Is it ordinary for them to want to meet before they make an offer? Also, did they respond with an offer after those two weeks or just simply saying they were interested in pursuing it?

Wordwrestler said:
Have you checked your agent out to make sure he/she is legit? If you've got a legitimate agent, don't be afraid to email a few questions. As long as you don't nag or pester and keep the tone professional, you should be OK.

He has a good amount of sales under his belt, was recommended on several sites and is pretty reputable from what I've researched.. Unfortunately we had a bit of a dilemma where I received contracts from other agencies and he wasn't too thrilled to hear I was talking to other agents without notifying him [rookie mistake].. This leads me to not want to pester him until I've earned him some money

escritora · Dec 13, 2009

Is it ordinary for them to want to meet before they make an offer?

No. Chances you won't meet the editor in person.

Also, did they respond with an offer after those two weeks or just simply saying they were interested in pursuing it?

They responded within two weeks with an offer.

Wordwrestler · Dec 13, 2009

AryaT92 said:
He has a good amount of sales under his belt, was recommended on several sites and is pretty reputable from what I've researched.. Unfortunately we had a bit of a dilemma where I received contracts from other agencies and he wasn't too thrilled to hear I was talking to other agents without notifying him [rookie mistake].. This leads me to not want to pester him until I've earned him some money

Sounds like you're in good hands. I can see how you'd want to try to get as many answers as you can elsewhere in order not to annoy your agent. Hopefully you'll have a sale soon (my guess would be that this won't happen till January. Even if there's immediate interest, your agent may want to get multiple parties bidding, which could take time, and might be best done after Christmas) but if you've heard nothing several weeks into the new year, go ahead and send an e-mail checking on the status.

For novels, many agents send clients a list of who they're subbing to, and then either forward their responses or give the author periodic updates.

AryaT92 · Dec 14, 2009

Wordwrestler said:
Even if there's immediate interest, your agent may want to get multiple parties bidding

That was his original plan, as long as I have a first offer or interest shown after they read the full I'll be satisfied. This to me is the turning point in the publishing process.

Wordwrestler said:
For novels, many agents send clients a list of who they're subbing to, and then either forward their responses or give the author periodic updates.

Yeah, he forwarded me the emails he sent to both publishers as well as their responses.

One simply said, "Thx", the other is a friend of his and a higher up at a major publishing company who said

"Thanks—we will be happy to consider this.

Cheers"

He did mention that his friend from the major pub tends to react quickly but in this case he thought it would be sent to an editor first [the one who had shown interest earlier] so he couldn't estimate how long it would take her to read it. They gave their responses on the 8th, my major concern is colleges as my application deadlines are Jan. 25th and being a published author could really open up new doors. However, to be quite frank my concern also lies with my health as it would be very stress relieving to just have an answer, I honestly don't know how you guys handle it.

I literally rush home in between classes or at lunch on schooldays just to check my email.. when I sit at home I am constantly clicking refresh every several minutes and often times I'll ask friends to use their phones to check my email at social events. From what I've read mine went through incredibly quickly and that's been nice but when you I'm tip-toeing on the borders of being published it's hard to focus on anything else. [Started writing SDHS Oct.27 09, Queried once I hit 18 rough pages, Talking to Publishers / Agents since I sent out 18 pages of rough material, contracts from several agents around 90-110].

Anyways, thanks for all the help it's really eased my mind, this being said it's 5a.m and I still couldn't sleep

BY THE WAY: I just realized a bit of advice I could give even if my experience was a 'unique' one.. I've noticed the agents that reacted positively to my MS became much more interested / active pursuing me when I mentioned them I had received positive responses from publishers. It would probably be a good idea to query publishers as well as agents in case you get a spark out of them. They probably love that you basically their work for them. My best guess is go to Publisher's Market and find the agents from companies that publish things similar to your book with recent sales [active editors / pubs] and query them.

Linda Adams · Dec 14, 2009

AryaT92 said:
The novel is also a time sensitive one as it is a NF memoir revolving around High School and I graduate / turn 18 later this year.. I assume I am most marketable being 17?

Actually, I don't think it's that time sensitive unless you have a major current event that you were a significant part of that makes you newsworthy (i.e., the women who have been with Tiger Woods are probably getting offers for books to tell their story now). Those kinds of books get written fast by a freelancer and rushed to press to catch the wave of the event in the news.

On the other hand, memoirs can be written 10, 20, 30 years or even more after the events. People aren't going to look at the book and say, "I won't read it because he's 20 now, and these events happened when he was 17." They're going to read a memoir because they want to read the story. Problem is that they are extremely hard to sell. I attend a writer's conference every year, and every year, someone brings a memoir. The agents always tell them the memoirs are very hard to sell.

LuckyH · Dec 14, 2009

Someone has already stressed patience and I would agree. If your agent signs you up and manages to place your manuscript with a publisher, especially a major one, there will be quite a long wait, and the next step, after the contract, is that the publisher will allocate you an editor.

Editors vary a great deal and there will be much contact between you, the impatient one, and probably an old hand who has seen it all before. It seems unlikely you will get through the process unscathed, especially if major changes need to be made to your raw manuscript, and this is not a time for impatience.

Do something else in the meantime and go with the flow.

Well done.

AryaT92 · Dec 14, 2009

Thanks for the information everyone.

Cyia · Dec 14, 2009

AryaT92 said:
BY THE WAY: I just realized a bit of advice I could give even if my experience was a 'unique' one.. I've noticed the agents that reacted positively to my MS became much more interested / active pursuing me when I mentioned them I had received positive responses from publishers. It would probably be a good idea to query publishers as well as agents in case you get a spark out of them. They probably love that you basically their work for them. My best guess is go to Publisher's Market and find the agents from companies that publish things similar to your book with recent sales [active editors / pubs] and query them.

Again, PLEASE be careful with the advice you hand out. This might work for Non-fiction, but it is a BAD idea for fiction to query agents and publishers at the same time. This is NOT doing an agents work for them and they do NOT love it. This is cutting the legs out from under them.

If a novel has made the rounds to publishers, and not garnered an offer, it's basically dead in the water. The agent will have to know every editor who has had eyes on the MS because that's one more place he/she can't submit to. Even positive feedback is damaging if it's not an offer because a "no" is a "no.

Claudia Gray · Dec 14, 2009

Your agent and the editors he's subbing to know how old you are and when you'll graduate. If they don't think it's a barrier to publication, you shouldn't worry about it.

James D. Macdonald · Dec 14, 2009

The way auctions work:

The agent puts the book out at multiple houses and announces an auction. These have time limits.

The first house to offer gets the floor.

After this, other houses can offer.

When the time limit expires, the house that has the last, best offer (Note: "Best" may not necessarily mean "highest advance") wins the auction BUT the house with the floor gets a chance to top that offer. If they do, they win the auction. If they don't, the last bidder gets it.

What you should be doing right now is writing your next book.

Getting Published

AryaT92

Libbie

Worst song played on ugliest guitar

AryaT92

blacbird

Cyia

Rewriting My Destiny

AryaT92

Birol

Around and About

AryaT92

escritora

.

blacbird

Wordwrestler

AryaT92

escritora

.

Wordwrestler

AryaT92

Linda Adams

Soldier, Storyteller

LuckyH

Oh, really?

AryaT92

Cyia

Rewriting My Destiny

Claudia Gray

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle