Is this the right place?

[The Real Joe Shmoe]

A quick question....What is standard practice when one is co-authoring a book as far as contracts go?

Does one author get offered a different contract than the other? What if one is already published, and the other is a relative newbie?
Am I even in the right place to ask this? If not, please send me off in the right direction.
Thanks,
Joe

[aka eraser]

I think this was addressed once before Joe but I'll be darned if I can remember which board.

I'll leave this here but copy it over to the Bewares and BC board too. Most of our more experienced writers hang out over there at least occasionally. If no good responses result from there, we can try Writing Novels or Freelance next.

[James D Macdonald]

Most of my books have been co-authored.

In every case it's been one contract with two author signatures.

What kind of split the authors make between themselves isn't something that concerns the publisher.

In any case, when you go to contract, it would be an excellent idea to have your agent vet it. Avoid unhappy surprises that way.

[The Real Joe Shmoe]

Thanks James!
Thank you very much.

joe

[The Real Joe Shmoe]

One more question please.

What type of "promotion" should one expect from a publisher once a book deal has been struck?
Surely all books are not "self promoted" as with the PublishAmerica books?

[TuppGal]

depends on the publisher, but in my experience they send out hundreds of review copies to book reviews and media. Plus they put you in an actual catalog, something PA is unaware of how to do.

[CaoPaux]

Put you into catalogs the stores read; get you reviewed by places the stores respect; add you to book clubs; negotiate display type and space; yadda, yadda.

[The Real Joe Shmoe]

Thanks folks!

[James D Macdonald]

What type of "promotion" should one expect from a publisher once a book deal has been struck?

I'm going to talk about novels here, because that's what I know about.

Things vary, of course, but the minimum you should expect:

1) Review copies/advance reading copies well in advance of publication to major venues (Booklist, Library Journal, Kirkus, Publishers Weekly) plus major newspapers, and any specialized magazines that deal with your subject matter (you'll work with your publisher on this -- you know your subject).

2) Ads in trade publications.

3) Listed in the catalog.

4) Talked up by the sales force.

5) Press releases to state and local newspapers (you'll work with your publisher on this, too -- they'll already have a list, you can add to it.) Press releases should have copies of the book attached. (A press release without a copy of the book is wasted paper.)

Attractive cover, carefully written back cover blurb ... those should go without saying.

TV/Radio/Newspaper ads, book signings, book tours ... they're a waste of time and money for a first novel. There are other resources a publisher can use, depending ... they vary from foiled-and-embossed covers, up through endcaps, shelf talkers, front-of-the-store placement ... depends on whether they think that the book will get enough extra sales that way to pay for the extra expense.

The single biggest reason someone buys a novel is because they read and enjoyed a previous book by the same author. The next biggest reason anyone buys a novel is because a trusted friend recommended it. All the other reasons fade into single-digit percentages.

A first novelist doesn't have that earlier novel that someone read (that's one reason selling short stories is important, even though there isn't a lot of money in them). So you have to rely on the early adopters, the adventurous folks who pull books off the shelf even if they've never heard of the author, to tell everyone in their carpool or in their bridge club, "You have to read Nameofbook!"

This is tough. But the single most important thing to do is write your second book. Make it better than the first. Then you will have all the people who read and enjoyed your first book buying it, and talking to their friends.

[The Real Joe Shmoe]

Thank you thank you thank you!

Great information, and pretty much what I thought.
I was expecting the "gotta have a first book" catch 22.

I'm going to keep at it and once again, thank you.

Joe

[James D. Macdonald]

It's comparatively easy to sell that first book. Everyone's looking for someone new, someone who can have a break-away best seller.

Selling the second book is also fairly easy.

What's tough is selling the third book. The second book must have sold better than the first one.

[johnzakour]

It's comparatively easy to sell that first book. Everyone's looking for someone new, someone who can have a break-away best seller.

Selling the second book is also fairly easy.

What's tough is selling the third book. The second book must have sold better than the first one.

Either that or you have a publisher who really believes in you.

[swvaughn]

It's comparatively easy to sell that first book. Everyone's looking for someone new, someone who can have a break-away best seller.

Selling the second book is also fairly easy.

What's tough is selling the third book. The second book must have sold better than the first one.

You're scaring me, Uncle Jim. :D