Macmillan New Writing

citymouse said:

Don't know if anyone has seen this yet. I heard an interview last Sunday in BBC4 Open Book about Macmillian's New Writing program. I thought some here may find this useful.

Writers: send us your novels

Macmillan New Writing is an imprint within the Macmillan group, designed to give an opportunity for new authors to achieve publication. The books are published at the company's expense, no contribution costs will be sought from authors, and royalties on sales will be paid. The books are sold in the market by Macmillan and will be carried in the company's sales catalogues, but to keep costs to a minimum to allow the maximum number of new writers to get a chance at publication, all arrangements for publication and contracts with authors are standard.

If you have a novel you would like considered for this list, please:

- Send an email with a standard wordprocessor file of the novel attached to Macmillan New Writing
- Do not send ideas: we would like to see the complete book, together with a synopsis and a few details about the author.
- Do not send long explanations about the work
- Do not send non-fiction books
- Do not send children's or illustrated books; all other genres will be considered
- Do not send previously published work
- Do let us know if you have published other work


If we do not wish to proceed to publication, we will let you know within a reasonable time but will not be able to give specific reasons.

If we do wish to consider publication of your book, we will send you a copy of our guide for potential authors, which outlines the terms of the author agreement.

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This scheme has been around for a couple of years now - it's been greeted with some controversy.

Check the Bewares and Background forum for a lengthy discussion on this, and commentary by a writer accepted in the first wave of acceptances!


ATP

I talked to my editor about this a while ago and he gave it as his considered opinion that it was a very BAD thing. Don't do it. McMillan's New Venture contracts are terrible - at the end of the day what they are doing is buying your book (including all world and media rights) from you for NOTHING. They don't give you an advance; you're giving your manuscript away for the favour of seeing it in print, in a tiny print run which they don't commit to promote in any way. They just give you something like 20% of the cover price if it happens to sell (a tiny amount considering that they expect you to pay for YOUR OWN EDITING!).

If your book is ready to be published and likely to sell then you are entitled to an advance for it - if not the New Venture idea is a futile exercise. A publisher who cares about and believes in a book will be ready to invest money in the author; in editing the work, and promoting it, and yes, in giving the writer an advance so that they get at least some reward for the work they've done on the book if it doesn't earn much royalty-wise. It's a well kept secret in publishing that a company can do quite well out of a book even if the author doesn't 'earn' their advance back. That's why the advance was invented in the first place.

And if your book does happen to overcome all this and become a huge bestseller, they'll expect to publish your next book under the same terms too. None of this is negotiable. Hardly a fantastic deal. I say again: do not do it.

Zolah said:

they expect you to pay for YOUR OWN EDITING!

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As one of the first six MNW authors, I have to say that this point is simply not true. The books are professionally edited by highly experienced and senior editors. There was never any question of paying for this service. If there had been, I would not have gone with it. I have posted at length about my experiences as an MNW author on the Bewares and Background Check board.

I have spoken to editors and writers from other publishing companies (an editor at Faber and Faber, an author being published by Jonathon Cape, another being published by Hodder Headline) all of whom are supportive of Macmillan's initiative. My agent, Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson, looked over the contract and advised me to sign. It is not right for everyone, I accept. But I believe it was the right thing to do for my book Taking Comfort.

I'm very happy with the marketing support I have been given. As the person who started this thread noticed, two of the authors were recently interviewed on the BBC's Open Book programme. That's not bad coverage for a start. All the books have been reprinted three times now - two of the titles have been reprinted four times, because they have been selected for Waterstones 3 for 2 promotion. (In the UK this is a big deal, as far as sales are concerned.) The books are in Waterstones and Borders, as well as local independents. Yesterday lunchtime I wandered into Foyles and saw the special display unit that was promoting the titles in the front of the store, near a main entrance. They sent out hundreds of review copies and generated a lot of media interest.

Macmillan initiated and paid for a direct mail campaign aimed at targeted individuals likely to be interested in the book. They have also produced, at their cost, a flyer which will be distributed to selected commuters in London - the relevance being that the book opens at a tube station. Their approach to marketing has been imaginative and open. They are committed to making this work, and to proving the nay-sayers wrong.

You may, or may not, be interested in my blog which has more on my experiences as a Macmillan New Writing author.

Roger, thanks for bringing in the other side of this equation. Yes, it makes sense that at least MacMillan would put forth some type of editing, if not actually do a pretty good job. Afterall, we're dealing with a major imprint/house here, so that part of it seems logical. The no advance thing sounds typical for a startup venture, full of unknowns, which this certainly qualifies as. the royalty rate seems a tad low, but sufferable, I presume. I have a problem with the rest of the rights grab, and the second book aquisition that is part of the non-negotiable contract. I'm surprised an agent did recommend this way of publication, but on the other hand I can see it as a move to get some authors in print.

Hopefully they are doing press runs on these books. That is another plus.

Now I have no idea what my agent would say about this. I might email him and ask him if he is familiar with this new system. I won't request it, not until we've used up our first, and second tier publishers.

I will say I'm truly boggled about this. I see it as a great thing for new writers, and I'll lay you odds that this thing takes off like a rocket, because the acceptance rate is probably a little more relaxed. I can also say that they might throw heavier promotion and advertizing into books that "breakout" well. I feel it is a much better alternative to PA and other outlets, and even some of these PODs that are self-pub ventures masquerading as small presses.

It's not right for me right now. But this could possibly take off and do some good.

I've seen this on the other thread. Maybe someone will chime in here and give us their opinion.

But it was nice of an author to explain his experiences as one of the first authors involved in this. I read your blog too--very encouraging. You're in the stores and that does certainly count for something.

Tri, (who's niether here nor there on this issue yet)

I just hope I don't end up with egg on my face for cancelling out of PA right at the same time this thing is coming out

Macmillian

In simple fact, this is great for Macmillian, and horrible for writers everywhere. I think you could safe call Macmillian the Publish America of mainstream publishers, at least in this instance.

There's a dangerous precedent being set here, and I dearly hope most writers avoid this deal. It is not good for them, and it is not good for other writers anywhere. This is a horrible idea, a horrible tactic, and while I'm sure there are those who support it, tehre are also many who support Publish America.

A general point about the comparison between MNW and PA. Macmillan have received over 4,000 manuscript submissions in year one. Out of that they have chosen to publish 14 novels. That's an accpetance rate of less than half a percent. I don't think the same ratio applies in the case of Publish America.

I don't think a royalty of 20% is that bad. Admittedly it's gross, so if the book is discounted, the royalty goes down. However, if it's sold at the cover price of £12.99 (hardback) I get £2.60 a copy. If it's sold at half price, I get £1.30. If Macmillan had offered 10% of net (which I believe is a typical and acceptable hardback royalty) I would get £1.30 for each book sold. I'm happy to go with the 20% gross.

As for the foreign rights grab, it's impossible for an individual unpublished writer to sell the rights to his or her book. 50:50 is not unheard of when a publisher is selling rights for you.

On the subject of PA America books, do they get reviewed in The Guardian, The Spectator, The Times Literary Supplement, The Independent... not to mention The Glasgow Herald?

I'm not here to persuade anyone else to go the MNW route. I certainly wouldn't recommend it to anyone who thinks the acceptance rate or procedure is going to be 'relaxed'. I was not surprised by the attacks on Macmillan by the UK literary establishment. But I am surprised by the attacks by fellow writers, who refuse to countenance the possible benefits of a scheme designed to get talented new writers into print with a major and prestigious publisher. Actually, I'm not that surprised.

Hopefully they are doing press runs on these books. That is another plus.

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Maybe I am missing something, but I don't understand what you're getting at here.

roger said:

I don't think a royalty of 20% is that bad. Admittedly it's gross, so if the book is discounted, the royalty goes down.

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I think it's net, actually. From reading this thread and the one in Bewares.

As for the foreign rights grab, it's impossible for an individual unpublished writer to sell the rights to his or her book.

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Say what? First, how do you know, and Second, even if true, why does the inability to sell those rights make in a remotely good idea for said individual unpublished writer to give those rights away-- and in a 20%-on-net no-advance contract, at that?

I'm sorry to react so strongly, but that para totally failed to parse.

Hopefully they are doing press runs on these books. That is another plus.

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roger said:

Maybe I am missing something, but I don't understand what you're getting at here.

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I think tri is saying they do a press run for these books as they would for a conventionally published book, and not POD.

One question for Roger: The last time I looked, the books weren't available on Amazon. This was a fairly new at the time. Is that still true, or are the books available on Amazon now?

ac

alleycat said:

I think tri is saying they do a press run for these books as they would for a conventionally published book, and not POD.

One question for Roger: The last time I looked, the books weren't available on Amazon. This was a fairly new at the time. Is that still true, or are the books available on Amazon now?

ac

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The books are conventionally printed, not print on demand. That's why I didn't understand the point. The books are published in the UK. They are available on amazon.co.uk - here's the link to mine

Amazon.co.uk are also promoting the list in a special section of their website dedicated to 'new and emerging writers' - here.
They are not available on amazon.com as the books have not been published in the US yet. Macmillan are not putting them on .com to keep the way clear for US publication.

As for the question of foreign rights, I admit I should have said it is 'virtually impossible for an individual writer to sell their overseas rights without being published, or at least under contract to publish in their domestic market'. That's what I meant, that's how it usually goes, I think. You get a book deal in your own market then your agent or your publisher act on your behalf selling your subsidiary rights. If you don't have an agent or a publisher, it's impossible - that was the force of my 'individual' - I meant a writer acting on his/her own. For example, it would be very unusual for an English writer who has written a manuscript in English to get a German publisher before any other, negotiating direct.

As for the royalties, maybe I'm being thick, but isn't 20% better than 10%?

roger said:

I don't think a royalty of 20% is that bad. Admittedly it's gross, so if the book is discounted, the royalty goes down. However, if it's sold at the cover price of £12.99 (hardback) I get £2.60 a copy. If it's sold at half price, I get £1.30. If Macmillan had offered 10% of net (which I believe is a typical and acceptable hardback royalty) I would get £1.30 for each book sold. I'm happy to go with the 20% gross.

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And if it's sold for less, you get less, of course. I don't know how this is done in the UK, but in the US, it's not unusual for books sold to "deep discount" markets to be sold for less than 50% of cover price.

And if the percentage is on net, not gross, it's even worse. Anyone wondering how and why can search for the various threads on gross vs. net for more information on why payment on net is bad for authors.

I have a feeling that we are arguing a mute point and that this type of publishing will continue and even expand, whether or not it is good for writers. We are going to have to find a way to adapt to it, or avoid it. I'm not sure if I think it's a good idea or not. If there is quality control it should be okay. MacMillan is well respected in the publishing industry and it isn't POD.

I admit I may be getting my net and my gross mixed up. It is a larger percentage of a variable price, as opposed to a smaller percentage of a fixed price. The writer takes a hit on discounts, along with the publisher. But discounts are done for a purpose - to generate volume sales. Conventional hardback royalties can be lower than 10% - let's say 7%. So supposing an rrp of £10 - at 7% you get 70p for every book sold. At 20%, you'd get £2 for every book sold at cost price, £1.34 for every book sold at a third off, £1 for every book sold at half price, 80p per book for every one sold at a fairly deep discount of 60% off. And still you haven't reached the 70p per book figure. Admittedly if you get very deeply discounted you will go below this. But it's going to be hard to calculate which route would leave you better off at the end of the day.

The biggy here in the UK is to get on the 3 for 2 discounts at Waterstones - by far our leading chain of bookstores. That's effectively a third off, I think. So if, as two MNW authors have managed to do, you get on the 3 for 2 tables, you'd be receiving £1.34 for every book sold, compared to your conventional royalties receiving table-mate who would be getting 70p.

Anyhow, I've just come back from a trip to my local bookshop, Prospero's Books in Crouch End. I was actually shopping for a book, but the manager came up to me and said, 'Your book's doing very well, you know. We've sold out twice and are expecting the third order in this morning. That's ten copies, which is very good for a hardback.' (Over a time scale of two weeks since publication.) She's selling it at full price. She didn't take the book as a favour to me - she had ordered copies before I had ever introduced myself, and put it in the window. There's now a gap in the window because she sold that copy this morning.

roger said:

Anyhow, I've just come back from a trip to my local bookshop, Prospero's Books in Crouch End. I was actually shopping for a book, but the manager came up to me and said, 'Your book's doing very well, you know. We've sold out twice and are expecting the third order in this morning. That's ten copies, which is very good for a hardback.' (Over a time scale of two weeks since publication.) She's selling it at full price. She didn't take the book as a favour to me - she had ordered copies before I had ever introduced myself, and put it in the window. There's now a gap in the window because she sold that copy this morning.

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Well done, Roger! I'd say the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and compared to being unpublished - as you would likely would have been still if not for this alternative - you seem to be doing very well. This might not br the best avenue into publishing, but who knows where it will lead.

Thanks Sharon! Nice to see a friendly face!

aruna said:

Well done, Roger! I'd say the proof of the pudding is in the eating, and compared to being unpublished - as you would likely would have been still if not for this alternative - you seem to be doing very well. This might not br the best avenue into publishing, but who knows where it will lead.

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I agree!
If I cannot get a deal for my book with the convential UK publishers then I will send it up to MNW before trying to publish and promote it myself.

Thanks MacAllister. Skepticism is very healthy. I don't want to turn into a proselytising advocate of MNW either. It's not right for everyone. I certainly wouldn't advise it for anyone who has a six figure offer from Penguin on the table. But not all writers are in that position. I know some very good writers who are for one reason or another unagented. It is therefore difficult not to say impossible for these people even to get their work read by mainstream publishers, because for most pubishers, agents are the first gatekeepers. A model such as that offered by Macmillan, wherein unsolicited submissions are actually read, though perhaps with the terms you quite reasonably desire, may be somewhere nearer an ideal solution. In the meantime, I think Macmillan New Writing is an interesting experiment, and I'm glad to be part of it.

I've done some deeper checking on this and I can see that the idea of authors paying for their own editing is not correct, though I think the original press release from Macmillan was very badly worded. I retract that part of my argument.

I'm very, very glad that things have worked out so well for you Roger. I rejoice in it. Well done, and cheers from all of us. But I still think that New Ventures is a terrible idea and I doubt that other authors who are not part of the high-profile launch will enjoy anything like the same type of success as you have.

Macmillan are not Publish American. They are not 'scam' artists. However, what they are doing is taking advantage of the hopes and vulnerability of talented young writers in having them sign a highly exploitive contact which takes away all their foreign, translation and media rights and offers no advance, a royalty rate based on gross takings (something no reputable agent would condone) and a ridiculous option clause on further work, none negotiable (This is a terrible contract, Roger! If your work is good enough to sell so well I know that you could have done better. As a first time, unagented writer, I did better and that was only a couple of years ago!).

Roger states that a debut, unagented author could not sell their media or foreign rights, but in saying that misses the point, rather. As soon as a normal publisher offers you a contract you become a desirable property for an agent. You write to the agent of your choice, tell them you have a publisher, and they snap you up! Then they sell your rights, negotiate a contract and get you as much money as possible - as much money as you deserve. 100% of the work of writing that book is yours, and you deserve a lot more for that than 20% on NET (net!) takings. I did this. My agent increased the offered advance by about 15 percent, got the publisher to up the royalty rate from 7 to 10% on UK and export sales and renegotiated the option clause they tried to put in. But an agent can't do any of this on a New Ventures contract. No agent would touch a New Ventures writer with a barge-pole, and that's one of the things that Macmillan are counting on. It means that there is no one involved in the process but them and this inexperienced first-time author, and the author is so happy at the thought of getting published that there's no way they can be expected to realise what's going on.

Authors should not be be treated like this by any reputable publisher. The publisher/writer relationship is based largely on trust and good faith and this violates that. Authors should receive advances, retain as many of their rights as possible and have the option of taking their next work elsewhere if they're not happy. They should not have to give up everything and accept a measly 20% on net takings as their only reward. And please, nobody say that being published is its own reward. These guys are not fulfilling the deepest desires of writers out of the goodness of their hearts. They're not 'helping' people to get published out of a sense of charity. They're business people, for heaven's sake - and they're trying to make the biggest profit they can. It just happens that this time they're doing it at the expense of those author's rights. That seriously burns my toast, and it should burn every other writer's toast too.

No agent would touch a New Ventures writer with a barge-pole

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I'm going to limit myself to addressing factual issues, rather than matters of opinion. In the light of that, I would like to say that I do have an agent. His name is Christopher Sinclair-Stevenson. He used to be a publisher (you may have heard of the Sinclair-Stevenson imprint). He published William Boyd, Peter Ackroyd, Susan Hill, Joseph O'Connor and many others. He read the contract and advised me to sign. He had his reasons, as I had mine for signing. I don't feel that it is necessary for me to go into all of them here on a public board. Everything depends on the writer and the book in question. I don't want to re-iterate points I've already made, which would be tiresome for me and everyone else, so I'll leave it at that. I don't want to persuade anyone to submit to MNW. In fact, knowing the guys there I'm sure they'd really appreciate it if people stopped sending in manuscripts for a while, giving them a chance to catch up on an ever growing backlog. I merely intervened in this discussion because I wanted to correct the false assertion that writers have to pay for their own editing. But as Zolah now says:

I've done some deeper checking on this and I can see that the idea of authors paying for their own editing is not correct

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On that factual matter we are agreed. Everything else is opinion. And everyone is entitled to theirs.

Good luck to everyone and congratulations to you Zolah on your own great successes.



ADDED: I'd forgotten this, but I was also contacted directly by an agent (David Smith of the Annette Green Agency) who had seen the details of my book. I had to tell him I was already agented.

This is what he wrote: "I came across your name and details of your novel TAKING COMFORT on the Write Words website. It sounds like a very interesting idea for a novel indeed. I note that you are being published by Macmillan New Writing under their standard terms, and I'm assuming that you have contracted directly with them rather than through an agent. If that's the case, but if you are now thinking about finding representation I'd love to see some of your work. You can find out about us on our website www.annettegreenagency.co.uk .

I very much look forward to hearing from you."

I certainly wouldn't want to cast aspersions on your agent without knowing the circumstances in which he gave you this advice - that way lies a fruitless argument, rather than any kind of worthwhile debate. I still can't get my head around it; but (of course) you have every right to do what you want with your own work. The very best of good luck to you too, Roger, and I'll keep my eye out for your book.

I understand your doubts Zolah, but it is still better than trying to self-publish or letting a publishable book rot on your hard-drive