Anyone know what happens at Frankfurt?

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Paranormal_Writer

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My agent is taking my manuscript there next month, and I know Frankfurt is all about getting foreign deals, but does anyone actually know what happens there?

I mean, will my agent send off my manuscript to the publishers attending before hand, or will she just hand them a blurb at the event and then they will contact her for a full if interested?
Anyone got any idea?

Thanks!

 
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Hallen

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You get lost and realize that you've passed the hauptbahnhof three times and then you find your way to the Mein tower, wait 20 minutes to catch the elevator to the restaurant where they feed you a horrible meal that isn't near enough to soak up all the alcohol so you leave only to realize that you've left your jacket up in the restaurant so you have to wait for the elevator again. You lose you buzz before you get back to the hotel and then you stay awake most of the night. After you get home a week later, you realize that you left your jacket in the last hotel you were in so you wasted a ton of time going back to get it at the Mein tower. Was that supposed to stay in Frankfurt?

Oh, you meant a book thing. Sorry. Can't help you there.
 

aruna

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I've been there several times, mainly because I lived in Germany at the time and it was a rare opportunity for me to meet my agents and editors!

It's a huge area and not really suitable for authors, unless you;ve got a special invite, as I had, so I was able to go into the agents' area. The agents all sit around at little tables with lists of their books for sale and talk to the various foreign publishers -- it's a bit like speed-dating, I guess. Everyone is hoping to make the huge deal that will make the headlines so that the publishing world sits up -- I remember the year that The Horse Whisperer sold for a couple million, based only on a few chapters and synopsis (I think that was a movie deal, though). All the professionals are hyper and excited and busy and rushing around -- that's in the first couple days, where the public is not allowed in. The public can visit at the weekend, but by that time the agents and editors have all rushed off home to finalise their deals.

I also went to a big Bertelsman party (now Random House). It was dreadful. Must be thousands of people and everyone knew each other and were talking nineteen to the dozen, and there was poor little me not knowing a soul, and being ignored by everyone. There was however this whole buzz about the place, and it was somehow exciting, knowing that all the big bosses of the publishing world were right there in the room, and maybe some celebrities! But after a while I went to sit down at a table by myself and just watch, and then a woman came and sat down at the table with me, who felt just as lost. It turned out that she was a Hollywood producer, i think with Sony, involved with the Spiderman movies, but she didn't like this kind of affair at all. We chatted for a while and I kind of wondered if I could get her to buy my books for Sony movies, but nothing came of that megadeal!

I wonder which book is going to be the big sensation this year.

Oh. and to answer the OP's specific question: the deals are actually made right there and then, no waiting around and I'll-get-back-to you stuff. There's such a buzz that they don't even read the full mss, I believe. Back then, the agents had short descriptions of the books; I can't imagine they lugged suitcases full of mss with them, yet somehow the deals got done. Once my agent came back from Frankfurt with three foreign sales for me.
I suspect that these days they have the mss on Kindles or whatever. God bless the e-age!
 
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Paranormal_Writer

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Wow Aruna, thank you for that huge level of detail. I now have a much clearer picture of what goes on and I can't believe the deals get made there and then based on sometimes only a few chapters! That's incredible. Bummer you didn't get your Sony megadeal though lol. Three foreign sales though, wow, I'll be happy if my agent get's me one...

Hallen - sounds like you had a pretty bad experience! Did you ever get the hotel to send you back your jacket?

:)
 

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That's one conference to attend if you know the right people! Especially if you're a newcomer to the business.
 

Chase

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I kept missing the ausfahrt and got off at Darmstadt.

Frankfurters are so named as being "from Frankfurt." Sorry, I've never had a Darmstadter. Hamburgers are good, but that's the extent of my GI German.
 

aruna

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Lots of drunks get beer.

True, a lot of partying and drinking goes on after hours.

Wow Aruna, thank you for that huge level of detail. I now have a much clearer picture of what goes on and I can't believe the deals get made there and then based on sometimes only a few chapters! That's incredible. Bummer you didn't get your Sony megadeal though lol. Three foreign sales though, wow, I'll be happy if my agent get's me one...


:)

But you have to remember, that for the most part these are not first-time deals. These are new books that have already been sold, mostly to angloamerican publishers. The foreign editors know they can trust the angloamerican editors to have chosen good books, and if they were major deals, say, to Penguin New York or HarperCollins London, they can more or less have faith that the books are good, and only need a glimpse at the writing and story to buy the translation rights.

That's one conference to attend if you know the right people! Especially if you're a newcomer to the business.

No, new authors are not welcome there and don't have any chanse at getting a new deal. Remember, it's not a conference, it's a trade fair so there's not much for an unpublished author to do.

At the weekend, when it's open to the public, all there is to see are rows and rows of booths form all the major publishers of the world. Every country has its own section, and its literally miles to walk -- you need good flat shoes -- with their latest books displayed. The people in charge of the booths are not in editorial, so its no use pushing your ms on them!
However, there are many established authors giving talks and readings, and other events. In general, a new author can't get a word in there.
 

Paranormal_Writer

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But you have to remember, that for the most part these are not first-time deals. These are new books that have already been sold, mostly to angloamerican publishers. The foreign editors know they can trust the angloamerican editors to have chosen good books, and if they were major deals, say, to Penguin New York or HarperCollins London, they can more or less have faith that the books are good, and only need a glimpse at the writing and story to buy the translation rights.

That's true I suppose. My book has just been sold to a pretty big London publisher, so hopefully I will stand a chance. Of course, I'm not holding out though.
 

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There's a Kurt Vonnegut book where a new type of venereal disease which eventually renders the whole of humanity infertile is first detected at the Frankfurt Book Festival.
 

Angkor

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Here's another question: I understand that agents put together "catalogues" that they take to these fairs, and specifically, Frankfurt. Presumably, the catalogues contain the books they're trying to sell, along with some author bio, etc. Would agents be trying to find buyers for their newbie unpublished authors, or merely foreign rights for the books already sold to an Anglo-American publisher?
 

aruna

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Would agents be trying to find buyers for their newbie unpublished authors, or merely foreign rights for the books already sold to an Anglo-American publisher?

As far as I know it's all about foreign rights. They aren't looking for home-grown publishers; though occasionally a miracle does happen, and a first timer gets a contract. But that is really the exception.
 

aruna

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Well, today I'm going to the Frankfurt book fair all on my own. I've had a very busy few months, working a day job AND writing a novel and both are over now so I thought I'd take the day off - Frankfurt is just a 2 hour journey away. In the afternoon I'm visiting an old friend whom I haven't seen for years so its killing two birds with one stone. I'll let you know in I run into a huge editor who grabs my ms, pants over it, and falls to her knees in ecstasy before me - but I won't bet on it.
 

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Well, today I'm going to the Frankfurt book fair all on my own. I've had a very busy few months, working a day job AND writing a novel and both are over now so I thought I'd take the day off - Frankfurt is just a 2 hour journey away. In the afternoon I'm visiting an old friend whom I haven't seen for years so its killing two birds with one stone. I'll let you know in I run into a huge editor who grabs my ms, pants over it, and falls to her knees in ecstasy before me - but I won't bet on it.

I generally swoon over the art books on display; Europe has some of the very best high-quality printers in the world, and they're all at Frankfurt.

Have a great time Aruna.
 

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Here's another question: I understand that agents put together "catalogues" that they take to these fairs, and specifically, Frankfurt. Presumably, the catalogues contain the books they're trying to sell, along with some author bio, etc. Would agents be trying to find buyers for their newbie unpublished authors, or merely foreign rights for the books already sold to an Anglo-American publisher?

A friend of mine has a good agent who found her a couple of foreign rights deals before finding a UK deal. That wasn't at Frankfurt, but the same agent has been there all week selling books from all of the writers she represents, whether they have a UK deal yet or not.
 

aruna

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Well, I'm back and I had a great, if somewhat exhausting, tim at the fair. I had forgotten the sheer size of the thing; it's like a small town with each of the great halls filled to the brim with publishers stalls and books books books - books of ever yariety! And swarms of people, thousands and thousands of people, people everywhere. Reminded me of a major airport! All the English language publishers from all over the world are in the huge Hall 8, at the farthest end, and you get there by a series of moving walkways, like in an airport. Lots of people in elaborate costumes wearing brightly coloured wigs - no idea whatthatwas about, but overheard someone say it was some kind of manga meet.* (ETA wrong! see explanation too posts later
Anyway I'll post some photos later.)

Here's a better description of the Halls and the mood than I could ever give.

At one point I followed a sign that made my heart race a bit -- pointing to the agents and scouts area. It led down a secret staircase and there was NOBODY around. So I went down and found the secret agent area. Most of the agents had gone home, so it was quiet - but I still got to peek behind the heavily guarded entrances and take some photos of the few leftovers!

It's very exhausting and after a while I found a comfortable seat in an area where all day long authors were being interviewed for tv and/or radio; the interview was screened on a big screen and that's where I sat. I saw several half-hour interviews and then they brought on Martin Walser, one of Germany's top it authors, and by that time the too was brimful but I still had my comfortable seat - hundreds of people standing or sitting on the floor.

When I left in the early afternoon I could hardly move for the flow of people just arriving. It's great to know that bookmark are still that much loved; that books can still draw such crowds.

Photos to come!
 
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aruna

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aha!I now know what the costume thing was about: New Zealand being the guest of honour, and Hobbits!

Hairy hobbit feet and elfin cloaks took over the Frankfurt Book Fair this weekend as JRR Tolkien fans dressed to impress Weta Workshop’s Sir Richard Taylor.
The world's oldest book fair was overrun by hundreds of elves, hobbits, orcs and Gollums all vying for a ticket to Hobbiton and the Weta Workshop.
The Hobbit Cosplay competition is a long running tradition at the fair, which attracts around 300,000 people every year.
With New Zealand the fair’s Guest of Honour, it was only fitting that part of the programme pays homage to what is billed as this year’s most anticipated film.


Publishing Association of New Zealand president Kevin Chapman said: "The German reaction to everything we have done has been one of great joy. They are open to what we try and then when it works they love it.”
The fair will conclude on Monday morning New Zealand time, with a handover ceremony when New Zealand passes the Guest of Honour status to Brazil.
 

aruna

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Oh, and EL James was there. Didn't see her though. Didn't look for her either.
This article was posted on the Fair's Facebook page:

E. L. James: The commercial ramifications speak for themselves. Publishers all over the world, lead of course by the Random House Group, have reaped the benefits of this monster smash. We are all talking about it for that reason alone. Add the spice of a racy, previously niche genre and the talking points grow. However to me, the really interesting aspects are the self-published nature of the work, the way it was born and driven natively as a ebook, the ongoing high proportion of digital sales and some of the unintended consequences of this mix.
Self publishing has gone from being something of a publishing faux pas to a major content channel. For novelists one can soon envisage the day when they will not get published at all without a hugely successful self publishing background. Equally, whereas ebooks were just a passive mirror of print content they are now, as I mentioned in an early post, driving publishers’ content strategy. Nothing illustrates this better than the rush to erotica promoted by Fifty Shades. Tying in with the big data trend, publishers decision making is now based on the evidence of how content works on different platforms.

A lot of very interesting news stories on that Facebook page, btw; all the latest publishing buzz.
 

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The Campus

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The Crowds



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A Secret Escalator...

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To LitAg: Literary Agents and Scouts Only


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No crowds here; barricaded off.

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Forbidden Territory to the hoi polloi


No Entry

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But you can peek if you want to! View of agent "speed dating" tables


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Strictly Forbidden!

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Hall 8: English publishers of the world

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Hachette

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Simon and Schuster

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Ellora's Cave

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