Positioning

My apologies if I didn't respond before. I confess I'm a bit unclear on your question. You shouldn't "spin" as much as you should inform the editor as to your background.

With regard to literary satire, I can't say I see much of it so I can't say if anyone is buying it.

If the other novels were YA, are out of print, and didn't sell, I'd keep them to yourself. As for relevance, I'm not sure the YA novels have any if you are trying to sell an adult novel.

Hope that helps!

Summer Slowdown?

Hi Andy,

I'm ready to query agents but heard that business slows down to a crawl over the summer. Should I wait until September or will that just put me further down the list?

Thanks.

Mark

PS. My apologies for posting this twice, but there seem to be two separate Andy Zack threads.

Go ahead and query now. Just be prepared to wait until after vacation season for responses to roll in.

Seeking agent vs author direct contact w/publisher

I have done some initial research in the journey towards publication. Many publishers do not accept unsolicited manuscripts; others do.

I am curious what a literary agent can do for a potential author, such as myself, that I can't accomplish alone?

I want to weigh the checks and balances of checking into either agents, or publishers, maybe you can shed some light on the issue.

I am curious if contacting publishers direct is worth the attempt?

Or, is an agent the way to proceed?

Thanks in advance for your help!

Jim
AKA: Xavier Kobel

As an agent, I'm always going to suggest that you seek an agent first. Most, if not all, of the major New York publishers will not deal directly with an author. As for the benefits of having an agent, they are too numerous to list here. I suggest you do more reading on the matter throughout these boards or by checking your local bookstore or library for books on the subject.

Here's a little quiz for you to see if you feel confident to deal with the publisher alone:


1. Do you know what "Delivery and acceptance" of the manuscript means and what time period is best for your book?

2. Do you know which subsidiary rights are most advantageous to keep and which to leave with the publisher?

3. Do you think mandated publication is a good idea?

4. Do you know the length of time that is common for the publisher you're querying to hold "reserves on returns?" Do you know how to change it?

5. Can you negotiate your own option clause so it benefits you more than the publisher?

If you aren't comfortable with all of these aspects of a publishing contract (or don't know what the heck I'm talking about!) then you need an agent.

Cathy

Andrew Zack said:

As an agent, I'm always going to suggest that you seek an agent first. Most, if not all, of the major New York publishers will not deal directly with an author. As for the benefits of having an agent, they are too numerous to list here. I suggest you do more reading on the matter throughout these boards or by checking your local bookstore or library for books on the subject.

Click to expand...

Andrew, I appreciate the timeliness of your response to the suject. Being as you are an agent, I figured there might be some bias towards suggesting that route. But this forum is proof positive that you have an agenda to help educate. On behalf of aspiring writers, I thank you for sharing your knowledge of the industry.
What you have written about major NY Publishers, leads me to the conclusion that pursuing a major publisher through an agent is beneficial over contacting a not so major publisher alone.

Can you share specific links that can help?

Once again, thanks for you time.

Jim
AKA: Xavier Kobel

Hello... anyone know when "vacation season" ends? Is July just particularily slow? Things have slowed way down for me in getting responses to queries and agents emailing me about the novel, good or bad. Will it pick up in August? Do I sound desperate?

Answers to the little quiz

Cathy C, I resonded to you post earlier, but it did not show because of a server error. I tried the back button on my browser but lost all my response. Curses!

I'm up for the challenge of your little quiz.

Cathy C said:

Here's a little quiz for you to see if you feel confident to deal with the publisher alone:


1. Do you know what "Delivery and acceptance" of the manuscript means and what time period is best for your book?

Answer: Delivery and acceptance of the manuscript, and the best time period for my book...Thinking, thinking, um don't know...Maybe the next question will be easier.

2. Do you know which subsidiary rights are most advantageous to keep and which to leave with the publisher?

Answer: Which subsidiary rights are most advantageous to keep...I have no clue what subsidiary rights are. Again, don't know. This may be a trend, a bad start for such a little quiz.

3. Do you think mandated publication is a good idea?

Answer: Mandated publication a good idea...no clue, never heard of it.

4. Do you know the length of time that is common for the publisher you're querying to hold "reserves on returns?" Do you know how to change it?

Answer: Uh oh, reserves on returns...Come on, think man think....Ok my brain is starting to hurt! I am clueless about reserves on returns, or how to change it. Hell is "reserves on returns even english? I feel as if I have crash landed on an alien planet. Where am I, why does the language sound so funny?


5. Can you negotiate your own option clause so it benefits you more than the publisher?

Answer: Negotiating my own options clause to benefit me is not an option...Nope can't do it.

If you aren't comfortable with all of these aspects of a publishing contract (or don't know what the heck I'm talking about!) then you need an agent.

Cathy

Click to expand...

Cathy, you are evil! That was an impossibly hard pop quiz...But a welcomed eye opener.

I see it is not a cut and dry business of querying a publisher and 'poof', there you have it, publication happens. It seems to be a very in depth process not for the faint of heart.

Thanks for the enlightenment.

Jim
AKA: Xavier Kobel

On the subject of vacation...I think you'll find that July and August are very slow, with a variety of folks going away. After Labor Day is probably the best time to try, with late September probably the best of the best.

As for finding an agent, I'm a fan of Jeff Herman's book on agents. Not sure if there's a related website, though.

Xavier Kobel said:

Cathy C, I resonded to you post earlier, but it did not show because of a server error. I tried the back button on my browser but lost all my response. Curses!

I'm up for the challenge of your little quiz.


Cathy, you are evil! That was an impossibly hard pop quiz...But a welcomed eye opener.

I see it is not a cut and dry business of querying a publisher and 'poof', there you have it, publication happens. It seems to be a very in depth process not for the faint of heart.

Thanks for the enlightenment.

Jim
AKA: Xavier Kobel

Click to expand...

Heheheh! Actually, the point was --- if you were ready to be negotiating contracts, it WOULDN'T BE a hard quiz...

But, I'll take pity on you and answer them for you:

1. Do you know what "Delivery and acceptance" of the manuscript means and what time period is best for your book?

For the purpose of an author/publisher agreement for a first book, the "delivery" of a manuscript is NOT when you first send the completed manuscript to the editor! Instead, the term refers to a date after editing occurs when the publisher accepts the book for publishing. (This usually doesn't apply to a repeat author, because the ability to fix a book according to the edit letter is already known.) But for the first or second book, even after signing a contract, a publisher is NOT required to publish the manuscript if they don’t like the final product. If you receive a twenty-page list of edits to the plot, characters or even changing the book from first person to third person point of view, and you choose not to make the edits, or CAN'T make them in the time period the contract requires (which is the reason why you have to negotiate that time period depending on your writing style) you have not delivered the manuscript and aren’t entitled to future payments (you might even have to pay back what you’ve received to date, depending on the contract).


2. Do you know which subsidiary rights are most advantageous to keep and which to leave with the publisher?

This is a long list, but the basic subsidiary rights are: Audio rights, electronic rights, translation rights, book club rights, and dramatic and movie rights. Whether it's good to keep a subsidiary right depends on the ability of the publisher to sell them for you, and YOUR ability to sell them if kept. I posted a detailed description of the rights and how they benefit you, here: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15068 , Post #3

3. Do you think mandated publication is a good idea?

"Mandated publication" means that the publisher must publish the book within a reasonable time (often 18 or 24 months from contract signing) or return the rights to the author free of charge. Frequently, any advances paid to the author to that point would be retained by the author as damages. In a multi-book contract, it usually only applies to the specific book not published, and the remainder of the contract remains in force. (Yes. It's a good idea.)


4. Do you know the length of time that is common for the publisher you're querying to hold "reserves on returns?" Do you know how to change it?

You'll see this term a lot when talking about contracts, because it affects WHEN an author is paid. A "return" is exactly what it sounds like — any book that a bookseller is unable to sell is returned to the publisher to free up room on their shelves for incoming new titles. Once a bookseller orders a dozen books, the publisher seldom has any idea if the books are sold until an adequate amount of time has passed for the bookseller to report any unsold books. Since the publisher doesn’t want to fuss with paying the author and then trying to seek a refund for returned books, they devised a system to withhold a certain percentage of the royalties owed the author until the returns are reported. In a semi-annual payment system, this might be just until the next pay period, or even up to several years before you'll see that money.

5. Can you negotiate your own option clause so it benefits you more than the publisher?

Sometimes, the publisher will add in a paragraph to allow them to make an offer on future books the author may write. This "option" is generally exclusive, so that you MUST offer the publisher a future book, instead of sending it out to various publishers to bid on.

But for the moment, since the questions stumped you, I'd suggest finding an agent!

Guess they're all at the movies. I did go thru Herman's book but he doesn't list THAT many agents. I don't know if this is true or not, but I read somewhere one has to go thru 20-50 agents who actually READ the work then reject it before landing someone willing to take one on. I'm up to about 8. The novel is experimental narrative. This is my 2nd book though the 1st was a different genre. It's in a number of agent's hands right now. I so hate waiting. The fastest turn around for me was a couple hours over email. That was great. Another took 10 days which was excellent, too.

I'm also exclusively emailing, not sending hardcopy. That includes queries AND manuscripts sent-- if they insist on seeing the whole thing hard, I'll do it but not without reconsidering if it's worth the time & money potential-wise.

I've branched out to England, too, as I think this may go over better there. An agency there almost took it.


thanks!

While I can't speak for every agent, I do not take email queries or email submissions, other than from current clients. Remember, I know that 99.75% of what I get I'm going to reject. So what are the odds that I'm missing out if I won't take your material by email? Pretty slim if stats hold true. You are shooting yourself in the foot by taking the approach you have, IMHO.

Could be, but you may be surprised how many top agents are now taking email queries AND more and more are exclusively taking it over email. But maybe I've just had super good luck with responses. of course, if I don't land someone this way, I'll be forced to go the paper route. And from what I've learned most agents reject somewhere between 95-100 percent, whether email or snail.



pray for me.

As I said, I can't speak for "all" agents, but I work the way I work for a reason. I've actually addressed this issue on my website under the Submission FAQ.'

Query Ninja said:

Guess they're all at the movies. I did go thru Herman's book but he doesn't list THAT many agents. I don't know if this is true or not, but I read somewhere one has to go thru 20-50 agents who actually READ the work then reject it before landing someone willing to take one on. I'm up to about 8. The novel is experimental narrative. This is my 2nd book though the 1st was a different genre. It's in a number of agent's hands right now. I so hate waiting. The fastest turn around for me was a couple hours over email. That was great. Another took 10 days which was excellent, too.!

Click to expand...

Herman's book is more in-depth on certain agents rather than an exhaustive listing of ALL agents. It's great if you're trying to feel out one or two particular 'dream' agents, not so great if you don't have any idea what you're looking for or will take 'anyone' that represents your genre.

As for 20-50 agents, I don't think that's true. I know someone that sent out 3 queries, got one request for a partial, one request for a full, and one flat rejection. The agent that requested her full signed her 5 days later and sold her book 2 days after that. Must have been good. For myself, I've sent out approx. 9 submissions or so with the novel I am currently submitting, and have the partial at one house and another exclusively looking at the complete manuscript. Both are *extremely* prestigious agencies for my genre, so I'm quite excited. Still, that's not 20-50 tries. Honestly, if you get 10 flat form rejections, it's time to rethink your query and see where you're going wrong. (JMO)

Query Ninja said:

I'm also exclusively emailing, not sending hardcopy. That includes queries AND manuscripts sent-- if they insist on seeing the whole thing hard, I'll do it but not without reconsidering if it's worth the time & money potential-wise.

I've branched out to England, too, as I think this may go over better there. An agency there almost took it.


thanks!

Click to expand...

Hey, whatever floats your boat. Some of the best agencies don't take e-queries, so I wouldn't rule it out just because of the cost of a stamp. Pick the agencies you want because of who they represent, not how easy it is to send the query off. (For the record, I had terrible luck with e-queries myself, thanks to a virus scanning software that ate one agent's request for my partial 3 times in a row.)


Just for the record, what's 'experimental narrative'?

Ouch, sorry about that virus thing. Wow, congrats on the fast luck on submitting!! Could be the 20-50 agents is too high a number- who knows, but I'll keep you posted.

It's not the stamp cost as much as it's the cost of printing, the cartridge, paper, postal, envelopes, reply postage, time it takes to print it out (takes over 2 hours to print the novel off my printer)-- it makes sense if they peek at it via email and hate it, I waste not anyone's time in sending, incl. the overworked post office on whatever end of the country this week. I actually think THEY shoot themselves in the foot by not taking an email query. I get it that they might spend a lot of time weeding out.


But the agencies who do that now- they somehow make it work. At any rate, the ones who don't definitely do not get the first crack at my work.


It's not necessarily linear every single line- poetic, some is so- called stream of consciousness-
I follow the needs of the theme more than develop the characters. Some things are in scene when you wouldn't think, and vice versa. A lot is non-fiction mixed with the fiction. Each character takes a recurring theme and uses it differently. If it gets out there at all, it's going to be an "alternative" press, something along the lines of FC2. I'd kill for FC2. Rugged Land, etc.

I got a contract this am from London to sign b/f they'll even look at my work. Seems ludicrous but I signed it. How could there possibly be an agreement to anything if an agent just takes a look at someone's work? Why do they need an agreement that there is no agreement? :faint:

hey good luck

I got a contract this am from London to sign b/f they'll even look at my work. Seems ludicrous but I signed it.

Click to expand...

Boy, I've got to say, Query Ninja, this sounds REALLY scary to me. What sort of contract is it? Is it an Agency Agreement? Any UK authors on here to say whether this is common over there? I've never heard of it in the US.

Be very careful...

Explanation of the rights

Cathy C, thanks for providing the answers to your quiz. I appreciate your time, and will check out the link you have provided.

Jim
AKA: Xavier Kobel

Cathy C said:

Heheheh! Actually, the point was --- if you were ready to be negotiating contracts, it WOULDN'T BE a hard quiz...

But, I'll take pity on you and answer them for you:

1. Do you know what "Delivery and acceptance" of the manuscript means and what time period is best for your book?

For the purpose of an author/publisher agreement for a first book, the "delivery" of a manuscript is NOT when you first send the completed manuscript to the editor! Instead, the term refers to a date after editing occurs when the publisher accepts the book for publishing. (This usually doesn't apply to a repeat author, because the ability to fix a book according to the edit letter is already known.) But for the first or second book, even after signing a contract, a publisher is NOT required to publish the manuscript if they don’t like the final product. If you receive a twenty-page list of edits to the plot, characters or even changing the book from first person to third person point of view, and you choose not to make the edits, or CAN'T make them in the time period the contract requires (which is the reason why you have to negotiate that time period depending on your writing style) you have not delivered the manuscript and aren’t entitled to future payments (you might even have to pay back what you’ve received to date, depending on the contract).


2. Do you know which subsidiary rights are most advantageous to keep and which to leave with the publisher?

This is a long list, but the basic subsidiary rights are: Audio rights, electronic rights, translation rights, book club rights, and dramatic and movie rights. Whether it's good to keep a subsidiary right depends on the ability of the publisher to sell them for you, and YOUR ability to sell them if kept. I posted a detailed description of the rights and how they benefit you, here: http://absolutewrite.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15068 , Post #3

3. Do you think mandated publication is a good idea?

"Mandated publication" means that the publisher must publish the book within a reasonable time (often 18 or 24 months from contract signing) or return the rights to the author free of charge. Frequently, any advances paid to the author to that point would be retained by the author as damages. In a multi-book contract, it usually only applies to the specific book not published, and the remainder of the contract remains in force. (Yes. It's a good idea.)


4. Do you know the length of time that is common for the publisher you're querying to hold "reserves on returns?" Do you know how to change it?

You'll see this term a lot when talking about contracts, because it affects WHEN an author is paid. A "return" is exactly what it sounds like — any book that a bookseller is unable to sell is returned to the publisher to free up room on their shelves for incoming new titles. Once a bookseller orders a dozen books, the publisher seldom has any idea if the books are sold until an adequate amount of time has passed for the bookseller to report any unsold books. Since the publisher doesn’t want to fuss with paying the author and then trying to seek a refund for returned books, they devised a system to withhold a certain percentage of the royalties owed the author until the returns are reported. In a semi-annual payment system, this might be just until the next pay period, or even up to several years before you'll see that money.

5. Can you negotiate your own option clause so it benefits you more than the publisher?

Sometimes, the publisher will add in a paragraph to allow them to make an offer on future books the author may write. This "option" is generally exclusive, so that you MUST offer the publisher a future book, instead of sending it out to various publishers to bid on.

But for the moment, since the questions stumped you, I'd suggest finding an agent!

Click to expand...

Contract Vagaries

Going to jump in and offer an American instance to Cathy's question about signing a 'contract' before an agency will review your work.

It's standard practice at William Morris to do this and has been for quite some time. So, don't be too worried. In WM's case, the main purpose of the contract is to protect the agency from various and sundry problems that might arise if they reject an author's project and the author takes offense and either sues or accuses them of skullduggery.

Of course, always read carefully before you sign, though, just in case.

Jnaxyc said:

It's standard practice at William Morris to do this and has been for quite some time.

Click to expand...

These waivers are standard for script agents, and some large agencies like William Morris, which have big motion picture divisions, use them for everything, including book manuscripts. Most book agents, however, don't use waivers, so book writers don't often encounter them (and are often confused and alarmed when they do).

- Victoria

it is william morris. the main part that i found sketchy- i'm paranoid surely- was something to the effect if this same work comes in by someone else you have no claims to it. something like that. whatever. they're going to reject it anyway but the thought is maybe they'll refer me to someone else. it does happen. one agent rejected the query but wrote back with like 15 agents & emails.

I'm more worried about someone stealing my title-- they could, couldn't they?

thanks