Ebooks and Agents

Kingson · Nov 17, 2010

I'm in the process of querying agents to represent a novel I have recently published as an ebook. Somebody just gave my ebook a five-star review. What's the protocol? Does an agent want to know about the ebook? If it's selling great or getting great reviews, could I use this as a selling point to an agent. Thank you.

ChaosTitan · Nov 17, 2010

If you've already published and offered this ebook up for sale, then you've used up your first rights. First rights are what agents sell to print publishers. And unless your ebook is selling thousands of copies quickly, it's unlikely to get an agent interested.

You're best bet is to write another novel, and then query that when it's finished and polished.

scarletpeaches · Nov 17, 2010

Why would an agent want to represent a book that's already published?

veinglory · Nov 17, 2010

I have to agree. You might occassionally sell print rights to an ebook directly to a suitable publisher--but I doubt an agent would be interested unless it is extremely topical or a runaway hit.

quicklime · Nov 17, 2010

Kingson said:
I'm in the process of querying agents to represent a novel I have recently published as an ebook. Somebody just gave my ebook a five-star review. What's the protocol? Does an agent want to know about the ebook? If it's selling great or getting great reviews, could I use this as a selling point to an agent. Thank you.

you can't use it as a tool to help sell, because you can't re-sell it. They want first rights, which have been used.

You CAN perhaps use it (who gave it 5 stars? the NYT, or your aunt Lizzy? merit will matter, and waving something without merit is worse than waving nothing at all) to help sell your next book.

DO NOT try to re-sell without telling them it was already published, unless you are seeking to burn as many bridges as possible.

sorry, that book's ship has sailed. best case, you can use the review to establish credentials, worst, it is simply gone.

Kingson · Nov 18, 2010

What if I unpublish the novel. Can I then start submitting queries again? I mean, I own the publishing rights.

ChaosTitan · Nov 18, 2010

It won't matter. Any agent you query will have to be told that the book was previously published and offered for sale, especially if you sold any copies. And this is going to be a huge strike against you, no matter what.

Jersey Chick · Nov 18, 2010

You can't unpublish something. Once it's been published, that's it. You can republish it, but unless it sold a crazy amount of copies, no agent is going to be interested.

Don't try to look for a loophole, you're wasting your time. Write something else and shoot for the moon with it.

Kingson · Nov 18, 2010

Wow. I'm absolutely sick. I really f***cked up.

Because two people in Siberia downloaded the book to a kindle, the book is poison.

Jersey Chick · Nov 18, 2010

No one said it's poison. What was said is that it is published and you can't undo it. That's simply a matter of fact.

Now, you can dwell on it, or try the "yes, but," argument or you can write another book. Which is a better use of your time? That's what you have to decide.

ChaosTitan · Nov 18, 2010

It's a horrible lesson to learn, but you aren't alone. Others have done it and pulled themselves back up.

The book isn't poison, but it's probably time to put it aside and work on something new. Many, many people don't sell their first novel (or even their second, or third). Sit down, write something new, make it amazing, and start querying again. If you find success down the road, you and your agent may be able to revisit this book. But for now, take some time and then move on.

Kingson · Nov 18, 2010

Thank you for the kind words. Live and learn. The ebook is the first in a series of crime novels. I'm well into the second, so now I know.

kposa · Nov 18, 2010

You can still use the ebook to your advantage. Start building an audience now, as you're working on your second book. A blog would be great for this, though it has to be for more than just promoting your ebook. Use the ebook as a teaser and give your intended audience a taste of your writing (and sell a few more copies along the way). When you're ready to query your second novel, hopefully you'd have built a platform by then and a built-in audience will be ready to read your new book. Gather a big-enough audience, and you can include that in your query for the second book.

You've done the work on the ebook. Now, it's time to move on and use what you have at hand. Good luck!

Marian Perera · Nov 18, 2010

Kingson said:
What if I unpublish the novel.

You can't unpublish a book any more than you can unfire a gun.

Because two people in Siberia downloaded the book to a kindle, the book is poison.

No, it's not poison. It may be a wonderful book and a fascinating read - we don't know that from here and can't tell.

But it's definitely a book which has been published already, which is why agents are unlikely to want it. Imagine yourself as a restaurant manager and the agent as a very important customer. You wouldn't serve them a pie with a bite taken out of it, right?

Now if the pie was so delicious that ten thousand of your other customers had ordered it, the agent might be willing to try it - but on the whole you're better off baking another pie.

kellion92 · Nov 18, 2010

Kingston, I would probably remove the book from sale. Then write your current WIP so that it's actually the first in the series.

Then when you query with the new book, get yourself an agent, and sell the book to the publisher, you can revisit the other book.

At least that's what I would do.

rainsmom · Nov 18, 2010

Kellion92's idea is what occurred to me as well. If it hasn't sold many copies, you can pull it, rework book 2 into book 1, and then rewrite book 1 into book 2.

If you're planning to query agents with a series, make the first book able to stand alone and WAIT to write the subsequent books. It's not at all unusual for agents and publishers to ask for changes. Sometimes those changes can completely screw up your plans for future books. Sometimes, despite your plans for a series, your publisher doesn't want multiple books.

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Ebooks and Agents

Kingson

ChaosTitan

Around

scarletpeaches

veinglory

volitare nequeo

quicklime

all out of fucks to give

Kingson

ChaosTitan

Around

Jersey Chick

Up all night to get Loki

Kingson

Jersey Chick

Up all night to get Loki

ChaosTitan

Around

Kingson

kposa

Marian Perera

starting over

kellion92

A cat may not look at a king

rainsmom

Feeling like an old timer