A Publisher's Conversation with Authors: Starry Eyes

 

photo by Frank Perez

It is Tuesday. Time to talk turkey. Monday's madness is over, and Wednesday will take us over the hump, so Tuesday it is--for some serious discussion with authors. Tuesday talks mean to address authors in waiting and self-published authors who would like to go a more traditional route or who would at least like to take their steps with a publisher by their side.

Yesterday, I received a book proposal in the mail. Well, a proposal of sorts. The author had not his homework; he thought he was writing to a literary agent! Without any more prefacing, let me quote word-for-honest-by-gosh word the first paragraph:

"I know that you have a set fee for helping me to get this manuscript to any one of the many interested book publisher, and that the most standard fees for your work ranges between10% and 15% which is fine with me. However, I would like to make a suggestion for you to present to any of them you may find that are willing to take on these works; this option is to sell all of my rights for one or both of these manuscripts [titles omitted] for a one-time payment of 1.1 Million Dollars after taxes and your finder's percentage fee, as my time in this world will become slowly limiting after Iu reach the age of eighty, which will be on [date omitted]."

After the shock and laughter subsided and before I tossed the letter in the trash, I thought about how much this letter revealed the starry-eyed naivete of new authors, regardless of the age though most would not put their dreams and unrealistic expectations in writing the way this person had. Generally, I will take the time to respond, at least briefly, and try to educate the author just a bit (though the education part is not always appreciated). Why did this one deserve no response (beyond the fact that my time is limited and I do not suffer fools gladly)?

• I am not a literary agent; had the author done his homework, he would never have written to me. I am certainly not going to be representing his work to other publishers, and I have to assume that if his research on this small matter is this sloppy, I can probably not trust any research he has done for his book.
• There is an arrogance in the assumption that there are many interested book publishers in his work; chances are there are few to none, especially since the topic was one with hundreds of authors competing for the few opportunities available for book publication.
• He is suggesting that he sell all rights to his work. This is a big mistake that authors sometimes get caught up in simply because they do not understand their rights and the kinds of rights that legitimate publishers purchase as oppose to the graft exhibited by the unscrupulous scammers posing as legitimate authors. (See an earlier blog post on this topic.)
• He overrates the value of his works to absurdity. Large book companies working with obviously capable authors, including sometimes first-time authors, will pay advances up to $10K -- which is they expect the book will earn in royalties. Many, if not most, authors' books never bring in royalties beyond compensating for the advance. Since this author appears to expect to die any day, he apparently anticipates that as a first-time author, without lifting a finger to promote the book (obvious from later statements in the letter) will be selling $11M worth of books (assuming a 10% royalty rate) the first year; average first-year sales are 250-300 copies, so those books would have to sell for $4000 each! I don't know any reader who would pay that amount of money for a book.
• If an author has no intention to assist with promotion, that author is not a good asset for a publisher.
• This author did not include a sample of the two books he mentions, nor does he include a SASE. He must not be wanting a response. 

Lesson for today's Tuesday talk: Educate yourself on realistic expectations!

If you come across as a starry-eyed, first-time author with no realistic expectation of what publishing is all about, what your role needs to be, and what sales are most likely, an acquisitions editor is, for certain, going to throw your proposal/letter in the trash (especially if you do not include a SASE). Much information is available on the Internet for expected book sales in various genres and from various kinds of publishers. Study it; know it; show it. Equally available is information about the publishing process and expectations of authors. Study them, know them, use them.

Read more posts about publishing HERE.