Chip MacGregor .com

I've got this GREAT personal story...

I frequently get proposals telling me about someone's cool personal story. Right now, I'm looking at a New York cop who busted several organized crime figures, a missionary who spent his life in the bush, the child of an on-the-road professional musician, a former Islamic soldier who became a Christian, and a very talented poet and songwriter who survived breast cancer. These are all fairly interesting stories, and I doubt very much I'll take any of them on. Why? Because there's no market for personal story books. 

Here's what I consider to be a hard truth: You may have led a fascinating life, seen incredible things, and even had miracles happen to you. But in today's market, there's not much interest in publishing this information in book form. And while you may not like that truth, the fact is, it's where we are in today's publishing economy. No matter how successful these books used to be, or how interesting your story is to you, publishers just aren't selling enough copies of personal story books to make it worthwhile anymore. 

I mention this because I've been seeing more and more personal story proposals cross my desk. (In hard economic times, MORE people create proposals, apparently thinking they're going to cash in and make some easy money. Ha!) But right now network television is filled with reality shows -- and these are basically personal stories. There are 20 million blogs -- many of them people sharing their stories. In fact, the web is filled with people who want to tell the world about their stories. So there are cool personal stories everywhere, and they're free. And that's taken away the incentive people have to purchase a personal story book, unless there is a great sense of celebrity or media associated with the book. I represented Lisa Beamer's post-9/11 memoir, LET'S ROLL, a few years ago, then did Marilyn McCoo & Billy Davis' UP, UP AND AWAY, and last year sold THROUGH THE STORM, which was authored by Britney Spears' mom, Lynne. All of those books did well, but the latter had major celebrities tied to them, and the former was simply one of the biggest media stories in our nation's history. Would anyone have published Lisa's account of her life with Todd if he hadn't been killed while heroically trying to take back a plane from Islamic terrorists? No, they wouldn't. Would a publisher be willing to listen to a Louisiana mom talk about the lessons she's learned if her eldest child hadn't become one of the world's biggest music stars? No way. 

You see, in our contemporary culture, there are a million great stories. It's rare for one of them to stand out enough that it needs a book to share that story with the world. It's why I've rejected at least a dozen books from finalists on various reality TV shows (Biggest Loser, Survivor, America's Next Top Model, etc). In the market's view, someone who has come close on one of those shows has HAD their fifteen minutes of fame. A book isn't going to put any extra time on that clock. If you have a great story, you may want to share it in other venues (such as the internet) in order to get your message out. 

Speakers seem to have the hardest time hearing this lesson -- "But I've got a GREAT story! People who hear me speak at a conference all rave about me. Their lives change! They're never the same! They bark like dogs and wet their pants in excitement!" Uh-huh. I think that's great. But unless you're going to be there, to tell your story to potential readers and hand-sell each copy, that doesn't do the publisher any good. And that's why even busy speakers these days are finding it tough to get a deal on their personal story book. (That's why I routinely encourage busy speakers to consider self-publishing. An audience in a room CAN be persuaded to buy a book... and the speaker will make more on those self-pubbed copies than if he were getting a royalty anyway.) 

Instead, if you've got this cool story that needs to be told, consider turning it inside out. In other words, don't focus on your personal story -- focus on the principles for living that come out of your story. Don't just use the book to tell what happened -- use the book to share the principles for living you've learned, and use your story to illustrate those principles. You see, people still want to live effectively. They want to learn how to lose weight, or make money, or be successful, or find peace with God. But they don't want to have to buy your book and hear about your life in order to do so. That said, they're still willing to buy a book that offers a big promise, that answers their questions, that solves the big problems of life. So if you feel you've got some sort of dynamite story, don't focus on re-telling everyone what happened in your life. Instead, focus on the lessons learned, write about them, and use some of your story as examples in your text. A MUCH more effective method these days -- and, if you have a platform, far more likely to help you land a publishing deal. 

And one more word... What's clear recently is that the internet is killing nonfiction book sales. People have discovered they can find those same answers on the web for free, so nonfiction sales are in the toilet right now. Publishers, authors, and agents are trying to stay ahead of that curve by figuring out what nonfiction books readers ARE willing to buy... but the prospects in nonfiction self-help are pretty sketchy. People still want answers to the evergreen questions (how can I be healthy? how can I make money money? how can I be at peace? how can I know God? how can I ever be as cool as Chip if I'm not Scottish?), but we're not sure they're going to continue buying those answers in book form if they can get something just as good for free.  

So before you decide to pen that cool personal story about how you kicked drugs, lost weight, found your muse, made a fortune, and learned to glow in the dark, be aware that there may not be anyone interested in reading it in a book. 

Thinking about Careers

I was at a big writing conference a couple years ago, and there was a glob of literary agents yakking it up on a panel. We were asked about the role agents play in the contemporary publishing industry, and one of the agents who spoke made a point of saying, "The most important thing we do is career planning for authors."

I almost laughed out loud. She happened to be an agent who...um...I want to put this delicately: She has no idea what she's doing. One of those people who can't seem to figure out what this job actually entails, besides sending emails and collecting checks. So to hear her talking about "career management" made me smile. It's not that I disagreed -- I happen to think that assisting authors with their careers is probably the most important piece of what I do. It's just that I believe to some agents "career planning" is nothing more than "find a deal for my author." In other words, a writer who doesn't have a book contract simply needs a deal in place, and he or she will have a "writing career." But anybody with a lick of sense could figure out that a book contract is sort of expected if you're going to make a living as a writer of books. I mean, every author who signs on with an agent expects to land a deal.

So, for an agent, there's a bit more to it. In my view, a career plan for an author is created by helping the author figure out (1) where they are now, and (2) where they want to be in the future. Because, you see, "success" is going to be defined differently for each author. There's no one rung we reach that equates to "success" for every writer. Some people really want to make their living writing; others don't care about the money so much as that they write regularly. One author may see success as making just enough to be financially feasible (say $2000 per month on average), while another author defines success as replacing her corporate job (making a minimum of $5000 per month). So part of this first stage is to simply figure out where you are and begin to define where you want to go.

It can take a while to get to that place -- you have to think about your past, your desires, your schedule, your personality, your platform, your calling. What's the message you feel God has given you? What are the books you simply HAVE to write? Do you know your voice? Do you know yourself well enough to recognize what your strengths and weaknesses as a writer are? 

An author also needs to think about keeping life in balance -- having a career is more than just making money. Sure, you have to consider how much you'd like to earn and where it will come from, but you also have to think about how you can maintain a healthy marriage, stay physically fit, and have friends and a vibrant spiritual life. All of this has to get written down somewhere, so the author has a document from which to work.

THEN you start thinking about the steps to take in order to move forward. Sure, if you're unpublished or between contracts, most likely the first thing you need is a deal. But that's not the ONLY thing an author needs. One of the reasons I've tried to get the authors I represent to think through a written career plan is so that they can begin the process of noodling on their writing careers. A couple people have emailed their plans back to me with a note that said they've come to realize they don't want to be full-time writers. That's fine -- it's just nice that they have clarity. Others have found that writing things down has helped them get a better picture of where they are weak. An author with no platform is hoping the salability of her idea and quality of her craft will carry her to success...but that's become tough to do in today's market, so taking steps to build a platform may be necessary in order to move forward.

I think God has a unique calling for each of us. (I think that's true even if you don't believe in Him.) But I look around, and I see that this business allows one writer to have modest success and another to make a million dollars. Sometimes that can be traced back to a great idea or a great title or great writing or great marketing -- but other times it seems to be nothing more than a sovereignty of God issue. Maybe that's why He calls one guy to pastor a church of ten thousand, and another to pastor a church of fifty. I don't believe the pastor of a thousand necessarily has better talent, or received a greater blessing, or is any more or less obedient...sometimes God just calls people to different things. There have been far greater preachers than Billy Graham who are toiling obediently in small-town churches around the world. I happen to represent some remarkable writers -- some of whom haven't had huge sales yet. But God isn't just calling people to success; He's calling people to obedience. He wants us to use our gifts, whether we sell 5000 copies or 50,000.

My reason for writing all of this is just to encourage you to think carefully about your career. As an agent, I really want the authors I represent to feel as though they've got a plan in place -- something more than "I owe my publisher another book." Clarify where you are and where you want to be, and think through the steps to get there. On this blog, let's talk through things like how many books you ought to write in a year, and how much money you need to make, and what concrete steps you could take to improve your sales and visibility. Think about what you need to study or improve or build in order to move your writing career forward. Think about keeping things in balance, since God has called us to be more than writers -- He wants us to be strong, healthy Christians who minister to those around us and leave an impact on the world.

Sorry if I sound like I'm preaching. I was just going over notes to myself from some recent conferences, and had to ruminate on this issue a bit. I want the authors I'm working with to know they've got some sort of plan in place. When a fellow writer asks one of the authors I work with if they have a career path, I want my author to feel comfortable saying, "Yes, I do." Maybe I'm just tired of hearing people talk about writing as a career without stating clearly what that means. 

So, in case you're not sure, a career writer, in my view, is one who makes a living from writing. You probably need to figure out what it means to make a living in your world, taking your community, your family, and your financial needs into consideration. And having a career plan means you've got a step-by-step plan in mind to move there from where you are now (or, if you really don't see yourself making a living at writing, at least you've figured out where you DO want to be, and what steps you'll take to get there). 

It ain't simple. But maybe we could use less general talk about "careers for authors" and more concrete help with establishing those careers. 

Some thoughts.

Chip

How an Author should Think about Money

I have had a number of authors ask about career planning -- mainly, "What does that mean in real life?" Since I'm the guy who criticizes others for "talking about career planning" without really knowing "how to do career planning," I thought I should offer a description. Here are some practical thoughts for putting this to work in your own career...

An author and an agent start out by trying to get to know each other. Who are you? What's the platform you're bringing to the process? What are the big past events and accomplishments? What's important to you for the future? What do you want to do, and what changes do you need to make? Trying to get a quick overview of your writing life is a good first step. The goal is to try and create a career map, so that you can start to think about what you expect to happen in the next two years, the next five years, the next ten years. What plans are you making? Do those plans reflect your values? Do they match up with your life purpose? Does it maximize your strengths? As an agent, I'm not trying to get you to write some sort of overall purpose statement that you think is fun, but then stick in a drawer and forget about -- I'm trying to help you establish a workable plan you can use to move your writing career forward. So I'm very results-oriented. It's why I'll ask an author questions like "what person would you most like to learn from this year?" and "what single thing would you most like to purchase this year?" and "what obstacle is holding you back that you most want to overcome this year?" If we can talk through issues like this, we start to gain some clarity as to what you want to accomplish. 

So if you want to make career planning real in your own life, here is Step One: The very first thing I suggest an author do when thinking about establishing a career plan is to write down on paper what you define as "success." If you don't do this, you're always going to be wondering if you're successful, or if you're "successful enough." Define success for yourself -- is it hitting the New York Times list? Or just seeing your name in print? Is it making a certain amount of money? Or selling enough copies to get another deal? You see, everybody defines "success" differently, so you've got to figure out what success is to you in order to figure out if you're taking the right path. 

And no, in case you're wondering, I don't happen to think that "success" is the be-all and end-all of writing. In fact, I happen to think it can be a trap, because we're never going to be satisfied by this world. For most of us, we simply want the time and energy to be able to actually write down the stories we have in our heads, and the opportunity to share them with others. BUT...at the same time, most of the people I represent are either full-time writers or moving toward being full-time writers. So I think from a business standpoint, there is the sense that they need to figure out how they can make a decent living from this writing gig. So I tend to focus on the economics of a career plan. 

Step Two is to set a financial goal for the year. It's got to be something that is both livable (assuming you are a full-time writer) and reachable (so there's no setting a figure of "a million dollars this year"). Let's say, for someone just moving into full-time writing, they set a goal of $24,000 a year. Skinny, but a real wage. If you're farther along in your career, maybe the goal is $48,000 for the year. (I don't have up-to-date figures, but I know that in 2004, the average annual income for a full-time writer was only $31,000. If you're doing better than that, you should be filled with gratitude.)

Step Three is to figure out a real-world budget for yourself. What does it cost to live for a year? I'm always surprised at the number of organized and creative artists who basically don't know where their money goes, or what it costs to live each month. It's going to prove very tough to determine a writing salary if you don't know what your monthly costs are. So if you have that information, get it out. If you don't, sit down with your checkbook and figure out how much you need each month for housing, utilities, food, insurance, car payment, gas, retirement, taxes, tithe, etc. If your monthly expenditures exceed your financial goal for the year, something has to change -- either you need to make more money or you need to cut expenses. For all the financial advice you can get from books and experts, it still comes down to those two choices: You can either make more, or you can spend less. The goal here is to create a budget that matches your financial goal. (This is why most authors are married to someone with a "real job.")

In Step Four you break down your annual financial goal into monthly sections -- the writer who needs to earn $24k per year will need to average $2000 per month. The writer looking to make $48k will need to average $4000 per month. It's important that you have that figure in mind, since most Americans live on a monthly budget and pay their bills every 30 days. 

Step Five: I always remind authors of the MacGregor Formula for full time writing: 24m(s) + 4b = RJ

You've probably heard me talk about this before, but I'll translate: the writer needs to have the next 24 months of book contracts, and they need to add up to a regular salary [that's the 24m(s) part].

The writer also needs to have four books earning him or her income [books already earned out -- the 4b portion of the equation].

If they have those two aspects, they have a real job [RJ]. 

Still with me? So the author has figured out what a realistic annual salary is, Then he or she has has written it all down so that there is a two-year plan. 

Now comes the hard part -- in Step Six, you have to start adding up what you expect to earn on the writing you're doing, marking down the times you expect it to arrive. That's called a budgeting calendar, and it helps you figure out what you have coming in and what you might need to add. Let's say an author is expecting a royalty check in May, and has a book due in July. She expects a signing check in October, another royalty check due in November, and if she can complete her other contract in time, another payment due in December. So she simply takes out a calendar and writes down the dates and expected income. Once she has filled in all the numbers on the calendar, the author will have a pretty good feeling for how much she's going to make and when she's going to make it. 

In Step Seven, the author shifts his or her budget from a monthly system to a quarterly system. So in our $24k per year scenario, the author stops thinking in terms of "I need to earn $2000 this month," and starts thinking in terms of "I need to earn $6000 per quarter." The $48k-per-year author stops thinking about making $4000 per month and starts thinking about making $12,000 per quarter. That takes the immediate, "how-are-we-going-to-survive" pressure off. Writing income just doesn't arrive on a monthly basis; but it's very fair to assume a full-time writer can expect to earn a decent paycheck four times per year. So move your income into quarterly groups, lowering the pressure on yourself, and give yourself a better big-picture view of your budget. (And if you're reading this far, you should know that several authors have found this one step to be life-changing. No kidding.)

The conversation then becomes something like this: "I'm going to make $6000 this quarter. It's going to come from these three sources: my completion money, my royalty check, and those magazine articles I'm completing. And the money is going to go toward..." [again, part of having a budget is determining where the $$$ goes, not just how it comes in]. 

Are you still with me? I'm just trying to help the authors I represent see that we can create a realistic plan for making a living at this writing stuff, but it takes some planning. And no, not everybody needs this from their agent. Some authors just need a guy who can negotiate contracts, or who has the relationships with editors to sell books. And that's fine -- if you don't need this information, feel free to ignore it. 

And no, this doesn't always work. Unforeseen events can occur that foul up our plans. We can be too aggressive. Or we can get lazy and only get halfway done. But in the real world, this is what I think an author has to do if he or she is going to think about creating a writing budget and actually making a living at all of this. 

Questions from Novelists

I've been away at a writing conference, and have fallen behind in my Q&A work. So let's get back up to speed with a heapin' hunk o' fiction questions...

Heidi asked, "In your opinion, is it better to see first-person or third-person POV novels for a first-time novelist?"

I'm not one who gets too worked up about first-or-third POV, Heidi. A good novelist can use either one. However, I can tell you from experience that many first-person novels from beginning writers suffer from an overuse of the "I-verb" syndrome. ("I started... I walked... I ate... I moved... I handed... I answered...") That endless parade of I-verbs creates a really dull novel. First-person fiction can be great, but in my view it's harder to master than third person. 

On a related note, Dana wrote, "Is it true most publishers don't want first-person novels?"

No, I don't think it's true. Again, writing an excellent first-person novel is simply harder to do well, so publishers probably have set the bar a bit higher. But some of the best fiction on the market is done in first person, and publishers still buy first-person novels. (Two favorite authors of mine, Ross Thomas and John D. MacDonald, wrote nearly everything from the first-person point of view. Bridget Jones Diary was a wildly successful first-person novel.) 

Cara sent in this: "How many POV's should a new novelist have in women's contemporary fiction? I've heard we should use two for romance and one or two for general fiction. (I'm asking because my work in progress has one main character, but three other storylines that each require chapters from their POV. I'm wondering if that will make my novel harder to sell.)"

Interesting question, since it seems to suggest there are hard and fast rules to be followed in contemporary fiction. While there are certainly rules to follow in genre literature (for example, if you're writing contemporary romance, you've got to have your woman meet her man early; if you're writing a cozy mystery, the crime needs to take place early in the novel; etc.), in general fiction you don't have all those same strictures. I've read contemporary fiction that had several POV's working. However, let's get real: The more POV's in the novel, the harder it is to make it work. In my view, it will take an experienced hand to craft a great novel with multiple points of view. Having four POV's in one novel might be a lot to ask a new novelist to do. So, yeah, in the big picture, that might make your novel harder to sell. That doesn't mean I think you should give up on the idea (I haven't seen your work, so I have no idea how well you handle it), it just means you should be aware that you've given yourself a tough task. 

Kathy wrote to ask, "At the beginning of many novels, I see the author often state 'this is a work of fiction, and any similarities to real events is coincidental.' Since writers don't live in a vacuum, and often write about what they know, how important is this disclaimer? If I write about the donut shop in my hometown, am I in danger of being sued?"

You ever watch "Law and Order" on TV? At the beginning of every episode, they offer a warning that the story you're about to see is a work of fiction, and any similarities to persons or events in the real world is strictly coincidental. The writers are clearly inspired by what they see in the newspaper headlines, but they take some basic plot ideas and weave a completely fictional story around them. If they simply stole someone else's ideas, they would be violating the individual's right to privacy, as well as infringing on another's copyright. Your novel has the same limitations. We've all written stories with people or places or events that had some connection to our past, and you're free to include places and events that are genuine and bring a dose of reality to your book. But if you were to interview your friend, steal her story, and create a novelized account of her life, you would be in violation of the law. You need her expressed permission to tell her personal story. Instead you take that character and you reshape it a bit. You make sure not to slander anyone, or make a real person look bad. You change the details so that nobody could explore your story and know immediately who you were talking about. (I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not giving legal advice here. If you need legal advice, by all means consult an attorney. I've had more than one lawyer explain the argument of reasonability in novels -- If a reasonable person were to read the story, would they know who you were talking about? And would they assume you were trying to assassinate that individual's character?) I doubt the donut shop is going to sue you, since you're free to include such details in your novel. But I'd stay away from using the real names of the owners, and having them poison customers with cyanide-laced donuts. That's the sort of thing donut-shop owners frown upon. 

Melissa asked, "When will CBA publishers get away from having their covers filled with young women looking forlorn, bereft, and staring off into the distance? Whenever I step into the Christian fiction aisle at my local bookstore, I have a sea of young women staring at me desperately."

Covers are like women's suits -- one style will come in, gain popularity, and suddenly everybody wants to look that way. But in a while the whole "sameness" problem will make them seem passe', and a new look will come along. You're right -- there are a lot of forlorn-looking young women gracing the covers of religious novels right now. That will pass. Of course, some of us wouldn't mind having a sea of beautiful young women staring at us longingly...

Anton wants to know, "Do you think it helps a novelist to enter a contest or win an award?"

Hard to say. Certainly it can't hurt that an author wins a Faulkner Award, or a short story writer is handed an O. Henry Prize. Doubtless it causes the publisher to pay a bit more attention to the proposal, assuming the contest is widely respected. But does it actually help the publisher decide whether or not to publish your novel? I doubt it. That work will have to stand on its own. Still, it's not a bad thing for a  debut novelist to read "Winner of the ____ Prize" on the cover. Perhaps one of the issues is the award itself -- I know a number of writers are thrilled with the Genesis Award handed out by ACFW. I'm a huge fan of ACFW as an organization, and think they put on a wonderful conference, but I don't think publishers take the Genesis competition seriously. It's too new. Perhaps that will change in the future, but right now I don't think winning the Genesis does much to enhance an author's career. Of course, that doesn't mean an author should refrain from entering. Entering a contest might be exactly what a writer needs to get over the hump and finish the manuscript. It's no doubt a great form of self-motivation. But does it help in terms of getting a deal? I don't think so. 

Vera asked, "I just finished writing a manuscript set in 12th-century Europe, but my friends have told me it's a waste of time. Are medieval books selling?"

You wouldn't write a book just because somebody said it was a hot category, right? I mean, just because somebody said to you, "Amish books are hot, vampire books are selling like crazy, and sci-fi is growing, " I doubt you'd race out of the room to create a novel about an Amish girl sent into space and attacked by vampires. You don't spend a lot of time chasing the market. Instead, you write the story you've been given. So if you feel passionate about a medieval novel, then you should probably write the medieval novel. No, that's not a particularly hot time period at the moment, but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea. Perhaps, if your novel is very strong, you'll stand out for being different. (And yes, there's a limit to this advice. If all the publishers are saying, "Don't send me biblical fiction," then don't expect to get a contract for your novel about Noah and the Ark. I think there's a difference between "being true to your calling" and "banging your head against the wall." I just don't see publishers being adamant about hating all things medieval.) 

Don sent me this: "I'm a novelist, trying to land my debut book. The first publisher I sent it to called me back to say they were interested. They are a small, independent house with a good track record in my genre. The editor said they were in the midst of producing several books, and that he'd call me in six weeks. It's been about eight weeks and I haven't heard from him. Would I seem too eager if I were to drop a note and ask for an update?"

Nothing wrong with that, Don. Asking for an update after a couple months seems reasonable enough. I'd drop them a friendly email that says, "Well, it's been a few weeks, so I just thought I'd check back to see if you need anything else from me." Keep it friendly. Don't whine. Things take time, especially in this lousy economy. And don't threaten ("I'm thinking of taking my book elsewhere"). That's a sure way to turn off a publisher. 

Anna asked, "What do you think of a novelist posting the first chapter on a blog, in order to try and attract reader attention?"

I think it's better in theory than it is in practice. I keep hearing about authors doing this, but I'm not sure it really builds their readership. In many ways, it's like self-publishing -- you only do it if you know how to sell the book. If you've got some fantastic method of getting readers to visit your site, then I don't see what it would hurt to post a chapter. It might get some readers clamoring for more. But if you don't have a plan for attracting readers, the chapter just sits there, unread, and offers publishers the message "nobody wants to read this." 

Daniel wrote, "I've heard about the importance of nonfiction authors developing media platforms to support their work. How does a novelist develop a platform?"

I used to never get publishers asking about novelist platforms. Now it happens frequently. Times are hard, and they're looking for every angle they can get. I'd like to think a novelist will still be judged solely on his or her words, but the reality is that publishers want novelists who have a lot of touchpoints with potential readers. So if you speak to groups, or appear on TV, or host a radio show, or have a newspaper column, or write a popular blog, or regularly have a column on a website or e-zine -- all those things put you in touch with potential readers. If you are part of a big organization, or have ties to celebrities, those relationships can help you get noticed. As a novelist, you have to think like a publisher, capture names and emails, and be in touch with people. That sort of thing is no longer limited to nonfiction writers. As a novelist, a long list of potential readers will move you ahead of other fiction writers who can't demonstrate a platform. 

Got a question about publishing or writing? Send it along and I'll try to answer it. 

Ten Things Going On Right Now

1. The facts are in, and the CBE (Christian Book Expo) lost $250,000, according to sources. As I've said here before, I loved the idea, but it didn't work, and that type of loss means the organization won't be doing it again. Dang. (It should also be noted that the leadership is approaching member publishers and asking them for donations to meet the deficit. One word: Yikes. It's a brutal time in publishing to be asking publishers to donate money for something that was such a bust.) I'm sorry this failed. [Correction: Mike Hyatt, the Prez at Thomas Nelson, wrote to say that ECPA announced they won't do the Book Expo next year. Once they clear out the debt, they're going to explore options, maybe partner with somebody else. You can read his note in the "comments" section.]

2. Today Amazon bought Stanza -- the software that makes digital books available on an iPhone. The previous software on your iPhone did okay with reading digital books, but it was clunky and not really made to "read" many books. That problem is solved, and the solution now belongs to Amazon. (And here's an interesting thing: The e-book store that provided books for those with Stanza software was Fictionwise... which is now owned by Barnes & Noble.  something tells me Fictionwise will no longer be selling those Stanza titles.)

3. If you haven't heard about the big Google settlement... well, then you're really out of touch. The Author's Guild settled a suit with Google that would basically grant that company electronic rights to every book that's out of print. It's an interesting idea, and it will either be a boon for authors (who can get their oop books back onto the market) or a boondoggle (since we don't really know if this is going to work or what sort of money it might generate). But today the courts put the whole thing on hold, since it was argued that authors were being forced to hurry into a decision. You can go to the website ( www.googlebooksettlement.com ), and either opt in or opt out -- but be aware: the site is a pain. You'll have to do a new form for every book you've had published prior to this year. They could have made this much easier. [A judge yesterday postponed the decision for four months, AND the justice department is reviewing the whole schlamozzle to see if it violates US anti-trust laws.]

4. There's a very funny project you should know about: www.unshelved.com/publisherconfidential.pdf . It's a bunch of wisdom gleaned from booksellers, authors, and librarians at Book Expo America, presented in a comic-book form... and it's a hoot. They asked people a simple question: What do you wish publishers knew? The answers and cartoons are great. Stop by and get a laugh. 

5. On the not-so-funny side, retailers report that religious book sales were off 19% in the month of February. That's the biggest drop in years. Overall book sales were down 12%. 

6. Endeavor and the William Morris agency joined forces this week, creating the second-largest representational group in the business, behind only Creative Artists Agency. The LA Times called it "easily the most talked-about hookup in town since Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt." Hey, we have mega-churches, mega-businesses, mega-publishers... why not a mega-agency? 

7. Some authors have written to ask about getting their self-published or out-of-print books available on Kindle. I could be wrong, but I don't think there's a way to sell your e-book-only on Kindle. Or you can go to a website my friend and fellow agent Steve Laube turned me on to... www.ljndawson.com. For a thousand bucks you can get your manuscript turned into an e-book and made available in all forms and in all places where e-books are sold. Sounds like a deal. (And thanks for the tip, Steve.) 

8. A great interview over at www.genreality.net/the-reality-of-a-times-bestseller. Bestselling author S.L. Viehl offers facts and figures at to (1) what she sold, (2) what she made, and (3) how she got to the bestseller list in the first place. It's a fascinating, honest look into the business of writing. I highly recommend you visit. 

9. It's official: Random House is now making contract offers in quarters. That breaks down to 1/4 of the advance on signing, 1/4 on delivery and acceptance of the manuscript, 1/4 on release of the hardcover, and the last 1/4 a year after that release. As bad ideas go, I rank this one right up there with the Edsel, hip-hop pants that have the crotch at the knees, and putting poisonous chemicals in cute bottles and making it the same color as Kool-Aid. A year after the book releases? Can you imagine the fights we're going to have when an expensive book tanks? Good Lord. Hey, let's no longer call this an "advance." Let's call it a "delay." 

10. I've been scorched by Christians lately for making a joke about George W. Bush on this blog. Some really vile things sent to me. Um... Look, I voted for the guy twice. I'm sure he's undoubtedly a nice guy who loves his wife and goes to church. But what is keeping Christians from admitting what is abundantly obvious -- that W was one really lousy president. Lousy oversight, terrible fiscal management, and an expensive war that has drug on forever and cost a trillion dollars. I mean, it doesn't take a genius to see this guy was a disaster. I'm no fan of Bill Clinton, but next to W, he looks like a flippin' genius. Good grief, people...

A Grab Bag of Publishing Questions

Time to get back to answering your writing and publishing questions...

Denise wrote, "I've had a few friends ask me to recommend an agent. Where can they check out an agent's reputation if they are just starting out?"

The first place to go is Publishers Marketplace, which lists which agents have done deals, how many deals, and at what houses. That's a start. There are also two websites (Writer Beware and Predators and Editors) that both try to track bad agent activity, so you can check out those resources. You can always check to see which agents are in good standing with the Association of Author Representatives. And you can ask around through writing contacts among some of the online writing communities. You can try asking editors, though sometimes they'll feel constrained not to say anything bad about anyone. Still, the best thing to do is to research an agent -- try to meet face-to-face, get a feel for the individual, find out who he or she represents, who they do business with, what sort of books they represent, and what others have to say about them.

Bonnie asked, "If a writer were to get a publishing deal, could they hire you to look over your contract and pay you a one-time fee? Or is it worth it to hire an agent when you've already got a contract offer?"

If an author has a contract in hand, there are contract review companies that will read and respond to your contract wording for a basic fee (usually somewhere in the $200-to-$500 range). I know that Sally Stuart (who does an annual industry guide) and Susan Osborne both offer this service. There are doubtless others. No, they aren't as thorough as a good literary agent, and they won't offer any long-term advice, but they may very well offer you what you need. If you've got a big deal, you can talk with an entertainment lawyer, but realize the clock will be ticking. (Most lawyers are paid for the increments of time spent on reviewing a contract, so they have a built-in motivation to keep the clock moving. If you're going to see a lawyer, try to get a fee negotiated up front.) I don't normally do much "review for fee" work. It's not beneficial to my business in the long-term, so the few times I've done it is because a friend has asked, and I've looked it over to make sure they were protected. I guess I'd be cautious about this -- I'm not going to be dogmatic about this issue, but it seems like a literary agent who is spending his time offering contract reviews is really not all that busy with books, so maybe he isn't such a great agent.

I'm frequently asked the question about "should I get an agent now that I have a deal?," and it's not an easy one to answer. Most agents will be happy to represent you if you already have a deal in place -- they haven't had to invest anything in you, didn't help ready the proposal, didn't offer editing to your work, and didn't have to shop it for you... so being handed 15% of a deal is a gift for them. Should you do it? I'd suggest you keep three questions in mind: First, would a contract evaluation service do the same work for less money? It may not make sense to pay $1500 if a good review service could do it adequately for one-fifth that amount. Second, is the agent going to add any value? I had an author come to me with a deal in hand, but it was frankly a bad deal. We landed the same book with a much better publisher for considerably more money. Third, is this really the agent for you? I happen to think an author is better off with NO agent than a BAD agent. So don't sign up with someone just because she says she'll take you on. Check her out. Don't be in a hurry. The agent you sign with should be able to offer you long-term career advice as well as do a solid review of the current contract offer.

John wrote this: "When we see a print run of multiple thousands of copies (for example, this week on Publishers Lunch I noticed a publisher announcing they're going to print 100,000 copies of a book), where are all those copies going?"

A publisher is only doing a big print run when they've spoken to accounts and they know they are going to see a lot of big orders for a book. So those books are printed and sent to accounts to fulfill orders, or they are shipped to warehouses in order to be ready to fill re-orders when the book starts selling quickly.

Elizabeth sent me this question: "As online retailers are selling more and more books, have distribution and ordering practices changed much? Are things different from when you started?"

Things are significantly different from when I first started in the book business. (Dinosaurs no longer roam the earth, for example. And the whole "movable type" idea has speeded things up.) In my view, the change in book distribution has been the biggest shift I've seen in my twenty-some years in book publishing. First, book readers moved from independent bookstores to mega-stores. That led to the decline of indies and created the rise of Barnes & Noble (and Borders, who I'm praying survives). Second, they began buying books at Big Box stores, so Wal-Mart, Sam's Club, and Costco suddenly become players  in the industry (even though you wander through the aisles and can find few employees who know how to read, let alone answer anything about books). Third, Amazon came along and created the online bookstore, so that now you don't need to leave home to buy books. And fourth, the advent of e-books has begun to reshape the patterns again, as Kindle and Sony owners simply have books downloaded digitally to their devices. So the business isn't the same at all. There are fewer people to ask about books, and more pooled ignorance on Amazon reviews. There's much more of a willingness to order and wait for the books to be shipped to your home. Publishers are now selling directly to consumers, which they used to eschew, and they've had to realign their thinking about book sales. As I said, it's not the same business at all as when I started.

Tammy asked, "You've mentioned you Skype your daughter in Europe, so the two of you can see and talk to each other -- do you ever Skype your authors?"

Hmmm. You know, I've never done that. But it's an excellent suggestion, Tammy. Thanks.

Steve noted, "I just read a nonfiction book that would make a fantastic novel. Must I contact the author to him know I intend to dramatize the story? Or because it is a national story and a true event, do I not need to contact anyone? Do publishers care where ideas come from? Can I simply consider the work reference material?"

You're on dangerous ground here, so let me begin by saying I'm not a lawyer, and I'm not giving legal advice. If you need legal advice, by all means contact a lawyer. I asked a lawyer informally about this question, and he said a writer should be aware of the source of his or her information. If the nonfiction book is basically your complete source for the novel you're planning, then yes, you are legally obligated to talk with the author about your novel idea. But if this is, as you say, a national story that everyone knows about, you might have several sources that you rely on to create a story. The example he gave me: there will soon be a nonfiction book out on the Bernie Madoff scandal. If you base your novel on that upcoming book, so that it is the basis of the bulk of your research, then you could be sued for copyright infringement. But there have been thousands of stories written on the Madoff case, and there are hundreds of people who could be interviewed. If you spent time reading those, talked with people involved, and created a fictionalized account of a guy who created a Ponzi scheme and ripped off millions of dollars, you would probably not be violating that nonfiction author's rights. Does that make sense?

Jennie wrote this: "I notice there are numerous writing contests going on, and I always go back and forth about entering. How important to an editor is winning or finaling in a contest? Will winning help me land a book deal?"

I think a contest can be good for a writer because it forces her to really focus and improve her craft, and puts her in competition with other writers. And I suppose publishers appreciate knowing that some editors reviewed the author's work and decided it was the best in a particular contest. There is certainly prestige in knowing a writer has won the Daphne or the Golden Heart. But no, I haven't ever found that winning a contest will actually help you land a book deal.

Joseph asked, "Do Christian readers read general market books, or do they eschew anything not CBA-friendly? Do agents handle both CBA and general market books?"

I've got to admit, I am sick of this question. YES, Christian readers buy and read both religious books and non-religious books. Right now I'm reading A Thousand Splendid Suns and re-reading Gravity's Rainbow. Next up is The Brothers K. None of those are Christian books. Like most Christians, I have wider interests than "the Bible" and "religious books." And yes, like many agents, I handle both Christian books as well as books that are not Christian (or not religious at all). I've done deals with Christian publishers as well as general market publishers. There are some agents who only work in CBA, just like there are agents who only work in the general market and never do CBA books. And that's fine -- everybody gets to choose what they do. But I think we need to declare a moratorium on this question, since I've answered it at least a dozen times, and I'm going to slug the next person who asks me.

Got any (other, non-sluggable) questions? Ask away.

A Quick Q-and-A

I'm WAY behind in answering questions, so I thought I'd try to do some quick questions today (and limit my normally loooooooong answers). We'll see how it goes...

1. Heidi said, "I finished my first novel, don't have a contract or an agent for it yet, but I'm going to a conference soon to talk with agents and editors. Should I bring a one-sheet for both books? Or focus just on the second book?"

Huh? Why would you focus on the second book, Heidi? If the first book is completed, focus on that. Right now it's tougher than ever to get your first novel deal, so focus on the book that is complete. If you're unpublished, you're much more likely to get interest in a completed manuscript than a cool synopsis.

2. Holly asked, "Since I'm pitching a series, should I have a double-sided one-sheet -- the front page would cover the first book, the back page for the series? Or should they be separate sheets?"

I'd go for separate sheets.

3. Stan wants to know, "If I'm pitching editors at a conference, should I include a proposed cover on my one-sheet?"

Only if it was professionally designed AND you've test-marketed it (preferably with people who are not relatives). Most author-produced covers are godawful. They start off the meeting on the wrong foot, sending the happy message, "I don't know what I'm doing!" No sense revealing that in the first five seconds.

4. Karen wrote, "I was in a Lifeway bookstore yesterday, and noticed they have put a sticker on some of the books that says, Read With Discernment. Um...what's up with that?"

I heard about this from a handful of people, so I checked it out. Turns out the ever-vigilent Protectors Of All Things Correct running Lifeway have put stickers on books from authors like Rob Bell, Brian McLaren, and Donald Miller. (You catching a theme here?) So in other words, these guys are new generation authors pushing the envelope. They think Mr Bell is too graphic in talking about sex, Mr McLaren is too squishy in his theology, and Mr Miller...um...I don't know. He likes jazz, which is the music of Satan, perhaps. The store even set up a website to explain why the stickers are on the books (though having gone there, I think the explanations are so bland they're like reading old political speeches). Let's face it -- this is Lifeway's way of saying, "Be careful! These guys may not check all the right boxes on our ultra-conservative evangelical theological/political positions. They could be dangerous. They may not be Republicans. It's even possible (gasp!) that Jim Dobson doesn't like them! The horror!"

My take: Deeply stupid. These are books, for crying out loud. And the best books are the ones that make us think. I may not agree with everything Mr McLaren has to say about the faith, but to put warning labels on them smacks of the worst aspects of Christian legalism. If you don't like the books, why carry them? If you're going to carry them, why pick on some authors rather than others? You know what will happen now, don't you? All those edgy Christian novelists are going to be in a race to see who can get stickered, and therefore maybe get some free publicity out of this. (Oh... and in a funny move, they also stickered William Young's The Shack. I guess the lesson is that "we shouldn't base our theology on interesting but poorly executed religious novels." There's something you didn't know.)

5. Bobbi wrote this: "I'm a member of a popular novelist discussion group, and we've been discussing Kindle and e-book rights. We think the royalties should be higher, since publishers don't have any ink or paper costs, nor do they have to warehouse the books. And there are no returns on e-books!"

Um... I don't see a question there (though the rant went on considerably longer). Look, I happen to agree with you to a point. Publishers still have to spend time editing, copy-editing, proofing, page designing, taking care of front matter, and creating a cover. What they don't have with an e-book is any print costs or warehousing. So they're trying to pass along the savings by paying a higher royalty. The industry standard is going to be 25%, which is higher than the 15% you're getting on regular books. I'd love it if it were 50%... but I'd also love it if I were six feet tall and looked like Brad Pitt. What's your point -- that publishers are making more money than authors? Time to check the history books, my friend... publishers have always made more money than authors. (I mean, if they're paying you 25% of net, who do  you suppose gets the other 75%?) They're the ones who own the business, remember? That's not unfair -- it's how every business operates. The writer is the talent, the content provider. The publisher is the one packaging, marketing, and selling the content you provide. Finding a balance in compensation is what your agent is there to help you with.

6. D.J. asked, "Can you tell me why the biggest book show in the country is moving to a mid-week format instead of the traditional weekend show? This seems crazy."

Not to me. Most of the people who attend BEA (editors, agents, authors, booksellers, rights people) are professionals who work during the week. So BEA scheduled this year's conference during the week, to better fit their normal work-week. They also scheduled it in New York, which is still the heart of book publishing. There's been a lot of hand-wringing about this, and I think it's dumb. Okay, so we all don't get to travel to a fun place like San Francisco or New Orleans, and we all spend our normal work day at the show. Big deal. I think this is a good move (especially for a show that seems like it could be in trouble).

7. Lisa simply wants to know, "Is Borders going to survive?"

I hope so. They got their loans extended this past week. And they are taking steps to close unprofitable stores and shrink some of the outlets that haven't been working. Borders is a great company, and we want them to remain in business if for no other reason than to keep B&N from having a brick-and-mortar monopoly. But... it's pretty dicey.

8. And Jim wrote me to say, "It's been a while since you offered us any samples of the really bad stuff you see. Got any great pieces you can share with those of us who are parched for bad ideas?"

Happy to. We recently got a proposal that read in part, "This book is a natural to be made into a movie, since characters in it become Black; or possibly ALL of them become Black, now that we have a Black president."

This is in such remarkably bad taste I just stopped and read through it about three times. For those hoping to write for Hollywood, this guy's advice is to simply "have your characters become black." That makes it a sure thing. Yikes.

I also received a proposal for "Hari Sadhan Dam Meets HarryPotter." It simply came with the note, "The title is self-explanatory." Um... yeah. It is. I might have Sandra read this one...

And I just got in a proposal for "The Men Who Are Ruining America," but I didn't make the list, so I doubt I'll be interested.

Catching Up On Questions

Okay, I'm up and around and not taking pain pills today, so let me try and catch up on a handful of publishing questions...

Carol wrote and said, "You've said quite a bit about platforms lately, but can you tell us how an agent or publisher determines the value of a particular writer's platform? For example, is there a certain number of listeners they want to see for an author who has a radio show? Or a certain number of subscribers to an online program? Are they looking for a certain size of audience for speakers? How are such things decided?"

Generally speaking, the larger your actual audience, the better your platform is in the publisher's eyes.  An "actual audience" is the number of people with whom you've had a point of contact in the past year -- they came to hear you speak, or bought your book, or sent a donation to your organization, or actually listened to your show. (This is in comparison to a "potential audience," which is "the number of people who could have listened to your show." Radio and TV types love talking about a potential audience, because if you have a TV show on cable, it has a potential audience of billions...but that won't do you any good if nobody is actually watching.) That means you may have to dig a bit in order to find your actual audience numbers.

If you speak, this is easy to determine -- you figure out how many times you spoke and how many people came to hear you. If you've got a newspaper column, it's fair to offer the paper's paid circulation as your audience. If you have a popular blog, your host  service should be able to tell you the number of hits and distinct page views you've had. If you're on local radio, Arbitron can tell you the size of your audience. If you're on local TV, your station will have the audience size, but if you're on satellite its much tougher to determine an actual audience count.

Is there a size publishers shoot for? Sure: massive. They want to work with the authors who reach the most people. If you can tell the publisher that you speak 100 times per year, and the average size of audience was 250, that sounds good...but look at the numbers. You only spoke to 25,000 people. Even if you could sell to half of that number, you'd only be promising 12,000 copies. And the percentage of people who buy books goes down considerably when you're not there live -- so you probably can't count on half your blog-readers buying your book. You just put together the best numbers you can, and let the publisher interpret what they think is a fair sell-through. And, by the way, this is why having a "marketing" section in your proposal that basically says "I'm going to start a blog and I'm willing to speak to women's groups in southwest Ohio" doesn't much help your cause. Publishers aren't that interested in selling a couple dozen copies of your book. They're interested in steps that will sell hundreds or thousands of copies. Remember that a platform is built on a combination of these things, so work toward building as large an audience you can... and then write a great book.

Jim asked, "How do some books stay on the best-seller lists forever? I love Mere Christianity, but are there that many people still buying it? Is Five Love Languages so good that thousands are still picking it up?"

Yes. Sales for both those titles were strong last year. The reason? They each have a built-in audience. Small groups in churches buy Love Languages for their marriage groups each fall, keeping that book going and going. Every Christian college encourages people to read Mere Christianity in the fall, thereby keeping the book a bestseller. Elizabeth George's Woman After God's Own Heart has never really been seen as a huge bestseller, but every fall Bible studies order copies, and it has been one of the top 50 books in Christian publishing for a decade. Others, such as Purpose Driven Life and My Utmost for His Highest, are examples of evergreen books -- people just keep buying them, year after year. Same on the fiction side, people keep purchasing copies of Redeeming Love because they like it, and it keeps finding a new audience. Eventually these will all fade out, but some books just keep going and going -- it's part of the fun in publishing. Some titles get hot then are forgotten (the Left Behind books), others just don't wear well over time (Peretti's novels come to mind). But those that sell and sell over decades are rare gems. Oh -- and do you know that last year one of the biggest books in terms of sales was Dr Suess' wonderful Horton Hears a Who... and that's more than 50 years after the book originally released!

Tim noted, "I saw an interview with the editor of Publishers Weekly, commenting on the sad state of affairs in book publishing today -- layoffs, reduced acquisitions, the negative affect this will have on the next cycle of buying. She wasn't all doom and gloom, but she was close, and said the current publishing model is 'broken.' What do you suppose that means for those of us writing today?"

I've been in publishing for 30 years, and book publishing for the last 20. I've heard the death of book publishing proclaimed for a long time. Right now the issue isn't one of quality, or of availability, or even of pricing. The issues facing us now are (1) delivery and (2) the economy. Book content can now be delivered cheaply and simply via the internet and the airwaves. That puts us in a time of transition -- do you want all your books to be ink-and-paper, or are you making the switch to reading books electronically on a Kindle of Sony Reader? (I'm now using the Sony, since that's what everybody in publishing prefers.) After the initial costs (editing, design, advance, marketing), there is no cost to warehouse an e-book, and very little cost to ship and send. So where does pricing go? That's an issue we haven't settled yet. And how do we protect a book from unlawful distribution? (Consider the difficulties the music industry had with this same issue.)  The change in readership in our culture has shifted money away from brick-and-mortar stores and toward online retailers and a few superstores. That put the squeeze on publishers and writers, and now this lousy economy has people purchasing fewer books, thereby squeezing us all the more.

Is it doom and gloom? Absolutely. Any time publishers are cutting staff and announcing the trimming of lists, it's a bad sign. Will we get through it? I definitely think so. Books have been around since the mid-1400's, and have been popularly available since Dickens turned everyone into readers in the mid 1800's. While futurists worried the internet would turn people away from reading, it's done just the opposite -- it's made everyone read stuff on their screens all day long. It's hard to imagine getting by in the modern world as an illiterate. But we're in that transitional period, with delivery patterns changing for how we read books and where we buy them. And a big change like that requires some of the old ways to die off. It hurts, but in the end authors will still be writing, we'll still be reading, and publishers will still produce and sell books.

Ashley noted, "You said in an earlier post that your faith is supposed to shape your life. How do you think your faith currently shapes the way you work?"

The easy answer is that I represent my faith in the way I live my life, including the way I do business. Sometimes I do a good job of that. Other times I do a terrible job. But for all my failings, I'm really trying to set an example. I've had a renewed spiritual involvement these past two years, and there's no getting around it -- I want to represent Christ to people. Have I succeeded in doing that? Once in a while. I'll admit I've had more failures than successes in this area -- I've done stupid things, said things that weren't true, and acted poorly. But I'm trying to live out my faith through my work, which is where most people know me. I would love nothing more than to have people who worked with  me say, "You know, that Chip was a total fenderhead, but he did love Jesus Christ."

 

And still MORE fiction questions...

Continuing our discussion about fiction in today's marketplace...

Rick wrote to say, "I recently read a nonfiction author with excellent writing skills... but then I read her fiction, and found it atrocious. How rare is the ability to write both fiction and nonfiction? Why can't some NF writers transfer the skill over to a novel?"

In his National Book Award-wining memoir, Growing Up, Russell Baker tells the story of winning a Pulitzer Prize for his political column in the New York Times, telling his mother, and having her respond with, "That's great Rusty -- maybe now you can write a novel and become a real writer." Ouch. I don't know why it is some writers don't see themselves as "complete" until they've published a novel. I made my living as a NF writer for years, and never felt I had to do fiction in order to justify my writing. But many do... and with the growth of fiction in recent years, many have felt pressure to write a novel. Frankly, I think it's self-imposed pressure, or maybe just egotism, and it's stupid -- akin to the lead singer of Great Big Sea deciding he's got to sing an aria from La Boheme in order to be "a real singer."  

Writing a novel and writing a nonfiction book are different tasks. Each requires voice and content and clarity, but one is basically telling a good story, and the other is basically sharing information. (It's a fair argument to say that writing a NF book also requires telling a good story, but there's a difference -- a NF book is not just a story. It's often sharing history, or encouraging life change, or offering insight and principles to do something more effectively.) I'd argue that the two tasks require some different skills. When working on a NF book, I didn't have to think about characters or setting or story arc. And a novelist doesn't have to think about scope and sequence, or clarity of action, or summarizing the principles. So you're right -- not many writers can do both well. Most writers are better at one or the other -- either writing fiction or writing nonfiction.

Jim asked, "These days there are books, conferences, DVD's, independent editing services, critique partners, etc. -- all a huge assistance to help aspiring authors learn their craft. How did the masters such as Twain and Dickens achieve their skill without these same resources?"

Ha! Jim, you can really be a rabble-rouser, can't you? Okay, I have it on good authority that Mark took correspondance courses from Cecil Murphey, and the rumor has long been around that Dennis Hensley ghosted most of Chuck's books.

Look -- some people (a VERY few people) have amazing talent. Mark Twain and Charles Dickens are in that category. So are Jane Austen and Ernest Hemingway. Contemporaries in that group would include Tom Pynchon and Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Some people just have the gift for seeing the world through unique eyes and capturing it on paper. (I'd argue there are plenty of great writers currently who do that and have yet to find big fame.) Still, passing along knowledge and training is a good thing, and all those things you mentioned can assist younger authors in their growth. But you raise an issue I've talked about for years: I think it's possible to make a case that we over-edit writers today. There wasn't much editing done to Twain or Dickens, and their voices came out. Sure, nowadays we'd consider their works wordy and in need of tightening, but you've got to admit -- the way you see the words on the page is the way the authors intended them. And maybe there's something to that sort of freedom. I think that's why the blogsophere is going to create some great writers -- they can put their words onto the page, and nobody is going to edit or change them. (And, yes, that will also mean there will be a HUGE pile of crap that writers will claim as their "art." That's life in the world of publishing.) Great question!

And Renee wrote to ask, "In today's multi-media world, with traditional publishing going through so many changes, should a novelist look for an agent who has ties to the movie industry as a way to sell their ideas and stories? And if a novelist is with a traditional literary agent who is not connected with TV and movie producers, how does the author get a story idea into the right hands? How critical is this today? Should we be looking for agents with connections beyond publishing houses?"

I'm a traditional literary agent. Been at it for years, and have sold a lot of fiction. (Can I toot my own horn? Publisher's Weekly has basically listed me in the top ten of their "dealmakers" list for the past year. It ain't a perfect way of evaluating agents, since it's basically self-reporting, but it's one of the few ways we have to gauge the ability of an agent.) I've also optioned several manuscripts to production companies (though I've never actually had a movie made). Here's what I say to those who ask about all this: Books and movies exist in separate spheres. I know most of the players in the world of books, have done deal with every major house, and while I can't guarantee a deal, I can probably get someone to look at your proposal. But when it comes to movies, it's a completely different set of relationships. You have to know the production companies and the people in them, and that's a different set of folks, largely on a different coast. I've sold some to them, but I more frequently rely on a co-agent who I trust, and who works exclusively with dramatic properties. In my experience, the literary agent who claims to be well-connected in both worlds is usually full of BS. Many of the dramatic rights deals I've done were reactive -- the phone rang, some reader for a production company had read a novel I represented, and wanted to talk about optioning the rights. The others were done with a co-agent who specializes in selling dramatic rights because this is a guy who has lived in that world for years, and has all the relationships he needs to make it happen. I don't represent screenplays, so I have no direct relationships for selling those.

So, in my view, it's not a matter of a novelist leaving his or her current literary agent, so much as adding another agent who specializes in selling movie rights. And the problem with that? It will make your literary agent feel threatened, because you can bet that the movie agent will try to convince you to drop your literary agent and let the movie agent handle the whole thing. (That's a stupid move, by the way, since I have never meet a group of people who were more full of it than movie agents.)

True story: Years ago, I lost a big client once to a fast-talking movie agent. I had an offer on the table from a major publisher for $250,000 -- that's big money for a book, no matter who you're talking to. Mr Movie Agent was going to take the dramatic rights and sell them to a production company... but then he met with the author, convinced him that the quarter-of-a-mil was too small, and promised the author he could much better. Huge talk. Movies! T-shirts! Games! Your picture on New York billboards! So the author, who was a trusting sort, turned down the quarter-mil in order to go make a fortune with a guy who had never before sold a book. No kidding. So what happened? Nothing. They never sold the movie rights. They eventually got the same $250,000 offer from a smaller publisher, who the author had worked with in the past and had a bad experience with, and who the author had said he never wanted to work with again. And I'm sure Mr Movie Agent had some way of explaining why this was considerably better than what I'd lined up.

Look, if you have a foot problem, see a podiatrist. Don't talk with the dermatologist who convinces you that by curing your dandruff he can also make you walk again. Work with a good literary agent on your books, then ask questions about "who is going to shop my dramatic rights to Hollywood?" That's fair. Your agent might sell them directly, or might work with another person who specializes in them. But don't assume you need to leave your literary agent because some Hollywood type is convinced he or she can do it better. Most of them don't know the book side, don't know who to talk to, and won't help you in the world of publishing.

Business Questions

I've had a bunch of questions about the business side of writing lately...

Dawn asked about a reprint issue: "I noticed that Amazon allows people to search inside my books -- but that  means they've posted a sample chapter. Is that legal? Isn't that giving away a section of the book in violation of my publishing contract?"

If you'll take a look at your publishing contract, you'll see in the "marketing" section some wording that allows the publisher the right to use short sections of your book for marketing purposes. That's the clause allowing publishers to work with Amazon's "Search Inside" feature. They monitor how many pages a customer can actually view, and they limit the page count so that nobody can read the entire book. In cases where the Table of Contents is critical, they don't make that available. Amazon also blocks readers from copying the text, so they've created a feature that helps sell your book, but tries not to give too much away.

The folks at Amazon have noted that this is their way of competing with your local bookstore. If you walk into any Borders or B&N, you can take a book off the shelf and flip through it. (In fact, you could sit at their cafe and read the whole thing -- a feature you cannot do on Amazon.) So the "search inside" aspect is a form of marketing -- letting potential readers get a peek at your book. Perfectly legal.

Jessy wrote this: "I'm a volunteer writer for a quarterly publication. Recently the publisher told me he would be issuing a special anniversary edition, and would include all my stories. I've never received any monetary compensation for my writing, so my question is: To whom do those stories belong -- the magazine or me?"

First, take a look at your publishing agreement, Jessy. If you've got a written contract of some kind (whether it's for a story, or for your work for the publication), it should spell out ownership. Second, it's customary for writers to retain the rights to stories in periodicals, so you'll probably find that others in your situation have retained their reprint and secondary rights. Third, talk to the publisher. If you've been volunteering, there must be some sense of good will that's been built. I doubt he or she will want you to come away from this with a bad taste in your mouth. My guess is a quick discussion could resolve much of this. If there's a dispute, rely on what's written. If there's nothing written, both you and your publisher are going to need to resolve this in a way that's fair to both sides.

Oh, and fourth: I'm not a lawyer, so I'm not giving you legal advice. If this looks like it's headed toward what you feel is a violation of your intellectual property rights, go chat with a lawyer. It's possible all is will take is for him or her to write a letter to the publisher.

Kaye wrote and said, "I have published four children's books with the same publisher. The books were all written on assignment. Would they be considered impressive to another publisher I want to pitch an idea to? Or do publishers prefer to only hear about books that were not assigned?"

Absolutely, Kaye. Assuming you're listed as the author, it won't matter if the books were assigned or if you came up with the ideas. The fact that you've done four of them should impress publishers.

Jean wrote and noted, "I had submitted a proposal to a publishing house, and they sent me back a 'co-publishing' email in which they basically invite me to pay them to publish my book. They say they'll print it, market it, distribute it, warehouse it, and pay me royalties on it. The cost is about $20,000 for 2000 copies of the book. A good deal?"

Let me get this straight... You sent a proposal to a publisher, and they wrote back to say, "If you give us twenty grand, we'll do your book?" Egad. That's a sure sign that you might want to check into the legitimacy of that publisher. Frankly, I've never had that happen -- either as an agent or as an author. Seems like the publishing side is nothing more than a front for a vanity press, which is probably where they really make their money. And I would have serious doubts about them doing much in the way of marketing or sales for your book (there's something to get in writing).

On top of that, you're talking about spending $10 per book with that arrangement. That's higher than you would do with one of the several legitimate vanity press operations. It's even higher than your cost would be if you were to simply use some of the Publish On Demand services that are available. My advice? Walk away. And warn others.

Breanna wants to know about right of first refusal clauses: "I've seen contracts with the right of first refusal on future books, but I'm confused about what that entails for the publisher. How long do they have before they have to give the author an answer on the next proposal? And does a rejection on the next proposal free the author from having to send other books for consideration? What's the standard clause?"

There's not really a "standard" clause -- different houses do it different ways. That's why this always gets negotiated. But it's reasonable to think that your publisher, who has made a huge commitment to your career in doing your first book, can ask for a first look at your next book. It's common to negotiate into that first look clause a window of time (something saying the publisher has 90 days to review the next book and make a decision). And yes, if you grant your publisher a firsts look at your next book, once you've shown them your next book, you have probably fulfilled your contractual obligation.

Got a question about writing or publishing? Send it to me and we'll discuss it.