Do editors notify agents when...

Could go either way.

Either/or, but the agents I've known like to be notified.

brs18041 said:

OK interesting, thanks.

I'd be interested in hearing some details about why editors do vs. don't let agents know, or how often they don't notify. It's so hard to find much information about this process online.

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I would think (and this is an uneducated opinion here) that if the book were considered a "hot property" the editor would want to let the agent know about interest as soon as possible because they would be afraid of it getting offered on and signed with someone else. I could be way wrong on that, though.

Also, more experienced editors may be more confident that their pitch will be successful, where a newer editor may not have proved themselves (in a "making money for the company" way) and be more cautious about expectations that their project will be approved.

There may also be elements of "I know I can get this book approved, but only if the writer is willing to work on these things," which might prompt an editor to let the agent know it was going to the acquisitions board.

Aggy, speculating

brs18041 said:

Do editors usually notify agents when a book they've sent over goes to acquisition meetings? Or is it common for them to keep quiet until making an offer (or rejecting)?

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In my experience (which is not universal, obvs): maybe. The way an acquisition might go is that you have an editorial meeting, everyone is excited about it, you go around to sales and try to get them excited so you can get sales figures etc, and then you put it on the agenda for the acqs meeting. At the acqs meeting you go round heads of departments and eventually decide if, and how much, you can offer. Then you go back to the agent.

You might well, if you feel it's necessary, tell the agent you're taking it to acqs; you'd feel it's necessary if the meeting is, say, in a week's time, and you're pretty sure you'll be allowed to make an offer, and so the subtext is 'so please don't get sell it in the meantime.' Or you might have been given a deadline for offers by the agent, in which case you might not feel the need to tell them. Or you've had a deadline and you just say 'you'll talk to your colleagues and get back to you.' Or the acqs meeting might be too far off (most places have them fortnightly, I'd guess) and the book too hot, in which case you'd do the rounds of heads of departments informally and make an offer (or a pre-empt) ASAP.

It all kind of depends on the exact circs (the book, the company, what acqs meetings are actually for), and the relationship with the agent. Books get submitted by agents in a detailed, personalised way (if they're any good.) It's an email conversation, not just a manuscript arriving in your inbox.

Torgo said:

you go around to sales and try to get them excited so you can get sales figures etc.

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How does the sales dept come up with figures for an unpublished book? What kind of figures?

I'm just curious.

Thanks!
Jay

Dezibela said:

How does the sales dept come up with figures for an unpublished book? What kind of figures?

I'm just curious.

Thanks!
Jay

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Projections. Educated guesses, basically. It's very important to have an idea of how many books you're going to sell before you acquire the work, so that you can (a) decide whether to offer (b) decide how much to offer (c) decide how many books to print.

It's hard for debut novels, somewhat easier when the author has a track record. Your projections get more refined as the publishing process goes on - you show stuff to retailers, get a sense of how much they'd support it, and eventually get down to the nitty-gritty of actual pre-orders.

Sales people are conservative by nature and their projections are generally on the low end by design - if the book isn't viable on the conservative sales estimate, it's probably not going to be acquired.

Thanks for the info!