1. Do I need an agent to sell my book to a publisher?
Probably, but not necessarily.
Plenty of books are still found and bought out of what publishers
called the "slush pile," (or manuscripts that sometimes
are known more politely as having come in "over the transom,"
though rare is the transom in a publisher's office these days).
Plenty, yes, but hardly the overwhelming majority. And those
that do get bought this way tend to be the more modest purchases.
The large and well-known publishing houses deal almost exclusively
with agents, and many simply will not look at a proposal that
is not submitted by an agent. You have to realize that the average
house is dealing with an overwhelming number of submission s.
One of an editor's main jobs is to keep in close contact with
a group of agents, letting them know what kind of books that
editor is looking for, and getting them used to that editor's
taste.
Ideally, a good agent will help you put the final polish on
your proposal, and will get it directly to the editors and publishers
most likely to buy your kind of book and most likely to publish
such a book successfully.
This is the ideal scenario. The less than ideal truth is that
agents too are dealing with an overwhelming amount of proposals.
To prosper, agents need to move a lot of product, and they are
often unable to lavish the kind of attention that authors might
sometimes expect on a project. The best agents know how to stick
with a project they believe in until the proper home is found,
but many may run out of steam before reaching the ideal publisher.
And while the large and well-known New York houses that traffic
in general commercial fiction and non-fiction rely on agents,
many smaller house and more specialized houses do still pay close
attention to unsolicited manuscripts. The romance publishers,
for example, regularly enlist new writers from the ranks of their
submissions pile. Not only that, but many of the best publishers
in the business are independent small and mid-sized houses spread
throughout the country. These houses are often much more accustomed,
and much more amenable, to doing business with unpublished authors.
They are often the companies that thrive on finding and nurturing
new authors.
Most encouraging of all? Tom Clancy and John Grisham both
sold their first books without agents.
Many authors find, however, that even if they can secure an
interested publisher without an agent, that it is still recommended
that they retain an agent to close the deal.
Once again, opinions vary as to the wisdom of this. The truth
is that, as well meaning as they may be, publishers are business
people. If they know you are someone who does not know their
business, they probably won't offer you their absolute best deal
unless you ask the right questions.
First-time authors often chafe at paying a percentage of their
earnings to an agent. But look at it this way; if a trained professional
who does this all the time can improve your deal by 10%, which
seems quite likely, then they have earned their keep; th e rest
is gravy.
One other option is that more and more lawyers are specializing
in representing authors. If your deal is relatively simple, or
the potential of your book high, you may prefer to pay by the
hour than by the percentage.
2. How do I find the right agent or editor?
Smart research--the same way you do anything else in life.
Literary Marketplace is the Yellow Pages of the book
business. Your local library should have a copy in their reference
section, and some bookstores carry it as well (with a price tag
of about $150). The publisher section lists complete addresses
and names of editors; the agent section lists agencies' specialties,
and all of their appropriate manuscript submission requirements.
The best way to zero in on the right people is by comparing
your book to other published works. Odds are good that the editor
and agent of someone else's gardening book might be interested
in yours as well. The closer a comparison you can make--either
i n subject, or sensibility, or style of presentation--knowing
of course that your book is unique and unlike anything else ever
written, the better the odds that you will hook up with the right
people.
Look at the copyright page to see if the editor is credited;
the next best place to look is the Acknowledgments page, where
grateful authors will often thank their editor and agent. If
this search doesn't work, you can always call up the publishing
house . The editorial department should be able to tell you the
editor's name, and the sub-rights or publicity departments will
usually know who agented the book.
When you write to these people, make it very clear why you
zeroed in on them as likely candidates. Editors and agents like
dealing with educated authors who know their market, and everyone
always enjoys meeting a customer.
3. Can you copyright a book idea, or a title?
No.
Copyright protection applies to an entire work; their is no
way to protect an idea. The same applies generally to titles.
Occasionally, series titles will enjoy some trademark protection,
but even that is rare. It's often quite likely that more than
on e person will have the same idea at the same time--like calculus,
for instance.
4. So how do I keep my idea from getting stolen?
The best protection is to execute your idea as well as possible.
When a publisher evaluates your proposal, they look at the
idea to see if they like it, and they look at the author and
her sample materials to see if they think her execution can live
up to the promise of the idea. One without the other is completely
us eless.
No reputable publisher is in the business of stealing ideas
from people. To the contrary, publishers love authors and good
idea people, and they want to encourage an environment in which
good ideas are submitted to them freely.
More practically, stealing an idea is usually just plain too
much work. Publishers look for writers to create books for them;
so why wouldn't they want to deal with the writer who brings
the idea to them?
Additionally, mainstream publishing is still a pretty small,
close-knit, and honorable community. People change jobs--and
sides of the table--often, and a person's reputation is important.
People go into publishing because they love ideas and writing
an d working with writers and take pride in the originality of
their work; that mentality just doesn't match up with taking
other people's ideas.
5. I've heard that you are supposed to get an editor's
name before submitting a proposal? Is that true, and if so, how
do you find the right person?
This is the standard advice of most getting published manuals.
It is true that sending a proposal just to the Editorial Department
is often a dead end. But often, sending something to an editor
who does not know you is just as futile. When you send a p roposal
to an individual, you need to let them know why you sought them
out (e.g. by referring to other books that you know that person
edited that are similar in some fashion to your book).
6. How do I find the right publisher for my book?
The same way that you find an editor or agent--by research.
Ideally, you want to find not just a publisher, but the best
publisher, who will not only put your book in print but will
make your book a success. In addition to the tips provided earlier,
you should draw further on the resources available to you.
The bookstore is a great place for research. Look closely
at the category in which you book would be sold. Try to see if
any one or two publishers "dominate" the category.
Which publisher's books are facing out on the shelf, or there
in large quantitie s (ten copies or more)? You can also look
at individual books to see how successful they have been; check
the copyright page, and look for a small sequence of numbers
at the bottom of the page (e.g.: 10 9 8 7 6 5 4). This tells
you what printing t he copy of the book comes from. The more
printings, the more successful the book.
More simply, talk to your local bookseller. Booksellers are
always supportive of writers, and are often happy to share their
thoughts on which publishers are doing the best job in your field.
Similarly, your library may have a very good opinion on the s
ame subject.
Make sure that you aren't just looking at the big-name publishers
that are immediately familiar to you and your friends. Some of
the country's most successful publishers--Rodale, Andrews and
McMeel, Rutledge Hill, Running Press--are not based in New York
and are not household names.
7. What is a standard book deal like?
Though terms vary from house to house, the general parameters
tend to fall within an established range. All publishers will
offer you some form of non-refundable advance, applied against
royalties accrued on all sales. Advances can go all the way from
$ 100 to $1 million and up; publishers are advancing you a portion
of what they conservatively think you will earn within the first
year or two of publication; it doesn't really have much to do
with the work you will expend in writing the book.
Royalties are generally 6 to 8 percent of the retail price
on trade paperbacks, 6 to 10 percent of the retail price on mass
market paperbacks, and 10 to 15 percent of the retail price on
hardcovers. But there is plenty of variation. Coffee-table books
a nd reference books often require more investment and production
work upfront, and yield lower advances. Certain publishers invest
more editorial and artistic effort, and therefore offer lower
royalties. And so on.
8. How do I put together a good proposal?
Be clear, articulate, and to the point. You would be surprised
how poorly presented, and poorly written, many proposals are.
The same rules apply as with anything else in life: this is your
sales presentation. Go all out to capture the buyer's interest
as quickly as possible, and hold it for as long as you can. How
your proposal looks, and how professionally it is presented,
is critical to shaping the attitude with which your proposal
will be viewed. As a general rule, you should include the followin
g:
- A one-page cover letter
- An introduction that sells your idea in two pages or less.
Pretend that you are writing the publisher's catalog copy for
them; tell them what the book is about, what makes it unique,
what the market it is for your book, and how it will be reached.
T he more concrete you are, the more convincing you will be.
- A table of contents, annotated if necessary, to give an overall
picture of your book.
- Sample material, enough to convince, and enough to give a
sense of what they are buying.
- Information about the author--what makes you the right person
to do this book.
- Marketing information and plans. How can you help sell this
book, what special places and ways can it be sold, and what special
ways can it be promoted.
9. OK, now I know what I should do. Is there anything I shouldn't do?
Three self-explanatory things to never say in a non-fiction book proposal:
1. "Who knows, it could be the next pet rock."
2. "All my friends think this is a great idea."
3. "I know we can make a million dollars with this one."
10. A bonus: not a question, but an amusing answer. Think
there's a glut of cat books? Think again. Herewith, the three
most-common humor book proposals:
1. Fart books
2. Visual puns
3. Books about roaches