The Process of Publishing

Tons of questions -- I'll try to get to a couple of them today.

First, Cheryl wrote to ask, "What is the process of getting your proposal selected by a publishing house?"

Think of a publishing house as being an actual building. Your proposal is more than likely sliding into the building by way of a window known as an acquisitions editor (often an acquaintance of your agent, sometimes a person you met at a conference, or maybe a guy who lost a bet). They'll read through it, make some suggestions, talk it over with your agent, and eventually make a decision on whether or not they think it's worth pursuing. (Most publishers are relying on agents to do the initial filtering of junk, so the slush pile has sort of moved from the publishing house to the agent's office...which means you're going to have to sell it to an agent first, therefore adding one more step to this process). If the acquisitions editor likes it, he or she will take it to some sort of editorial committee, where they sit around grousing about their pay and making editorial jokes ("I'm having a DICKENS of a time with this one!" "Yeah, let's catch a TWAIN out of town!" Editorial types love this sort of humor. That's why they're editors and not writers.) Eventually they'll run out of bad puns and be forced to discuss the merits of your proposal. If it passes muster, it moves to the next step...

The Publishing Committee, which is a group generally made up of folks from editorial, marketing, sales, and administration. They'll meet somewhere between once a  week to once a month, and they'll have an agenda of books to talk through each time, with the various representatives offering their own perspectives -- the editors will talk about the mertis of the words; the accountants will figure out the costs and potential dollars in play; the sales guys will begin thinking up excuses for why they won't be able to sell many copies; and the marketing people will sit there trying to think of how to cover their own sorry hind ends.  (True story: Thomas Nelson just announced they're doing a new book with Bill Cosby. I was once in a pub board meeting talking about a book from the world famous comedian, and the marketing representative spent her time explaining to everyone why she wouldn't be able to garner any media for him. For Bill Cosby?!  When I asked her about it later, she explained that she "couldn't put herself in a position where others would have a lot of expectations" of her. Uh-huh. All that heavy weight of expectation for trying to get TV shows to talk to one of the world's most famous entertainers. I explained that I could use my cel phone to immediately start booking him. Of course, editors have expectations put on them every time they bring a book to pub board. Just another example of those hard-working marketing types in CBA.) Anyway, this is the group that will explore the feasibility of doing your book. They may send it back to the ack editor to do some work.

At that point, the editor has to run a Profit & Loss sheet or pro forma, in which they'll take wild surmises as to how many copies they can expect to sell in the first year, what the hard costs of ink/paper/binding will be, how much money they'll have to throw at the money-grubbing author, who, if she really loved Jesus, would write her damn books for free, since we all know the publishers are only in it for the ministry. The editor will take all this information back to the publishing committee, who by now has had all sorts of time to think up new reasons why they shouldn't do the book. Eventually the pub board will be forced to make an actual decision, so they'll probably throw the Urim and Thummim, read their Ouija board, and make a decision.

All of that points to one thing: It's tough to get published. A publishing house has all those filters in place so that they can do the easy thing and say "no" to you. (Really.) The purpose of the process is to say "no" to most everything. Therefore create proposals they can't say "no" to.

Second, Andrea asked, "If a publisher turns down my proposal, does that mean everyone at the publishing house has rejected it?"

Maybe not. It's possible the ack editor loved it, and the marketing people drooled over it, but the accountants replied, "We don't see how we can make money with this one." If that's the case, you or your agent may end up having another discussion with the company about their objections. Or you may have better luck with a different imprint, if the group you've been talking with said they liked it, but felt it would fit better with someone else at the company. Still, my experience has been that once a group of people have said "no," it's hard to get that word out of their minds.

Going to another imprint may be a perfectly valid response, especially if you'll be talking with a different publications group. I have been told "no thanks" on a project by one Random House imprint, only to be offered a contract by another Random House imprint. Sometimes it's a matter of sticking with it and answering objections, other times it means you've just got to find the right group.

One thing to stay away from is to send something to different editors at the same imprint. Nothing ticks off an editor more than walking into a meeting and discovering someone else on the team is looking at an idea he or she just rejected. Unless you've thoroughly revised the proposal, it'll make you look bad.

Lots more to come - keep those cards and letters coming.

Comments

[Pam Halter]

Just thinking about the whole process makes my head spin. I wonder why I'm even trying! But I can't not write and so I go on. I believe if I work hard, meet people, attend conferences & workshops and build a writing foundation for myself by selling the small stuff, I will eventually get my big stuff published. Heck, my first two picture books were picked up after only 2 rejections! If I didn't believe in a sovereign God, I would have thought it a fluke because I'm still waiting to sell another children's book and it's been several years. I know SO much more about the writing world now, and I look back at those books as an encouragement to keep going. So, I'm working hard while I wait. I think that's the best thing to do.

[mike duran]

Thanks for confirming my suspicions, Chip: Christian editors tell bad jokes, consult Ouija boards, and do their darnedest to say "no."

P.S. Are those Ouija boards and bad jokes sanctioned by the CBA?

[Richard Mabry]

Chip,
Great post--absolutely great. Nice to see the inside workings of a publishing house--brings to mind Will Rogers' admonition that laws and sausage were two things one shouldn't see being made. Should be add the pub board meeting to that?
Incidentally, on first reading, I thought the "ack editor" was so named because he often threw up after reading the initial proposal.

[Sam Pakan]

Bill Cosby, aye? Whew, now that would be a tough one to promote, for sure. Mine would be much easier, of course, what with name recognition playing the part it does.

Guess I'll just sit on my duff waiting for someone to pick up on the obvious.

[Danica/Dream]

And here I thought it was all up to the magic eight ball. Huh. Obviously, I need to learn a little more about the biz.

[Stevie Rey]

Hi Chip, Just wanted to say thanks for the direction, pal. And I wanted to say something a little off the subject I guess too. When I put your name in google just now it shot back with another blog where someone had taken issue with something you had said, specifically:

"A couple years ago I was invited to become a Visiting Member of the Senior Commons Room of Regents Park College at Oxford University, where I hung out with VERY smart people. Even though I was raised Presbyterian, my theology tends toward grace, so I get to do things like use the words “damn” and “hell” and drink a fair bit of Guinness without feeling terribly guilty about it all. My ministries have included teaching English to new immigrants, serving as an executive pastor at a couple churches, volunteering at an AIDS hospice and a soup kitchen, and teaching church history to pastors in former communist countries. I think most evangelicals are more concerned with doctrinal correctness than life in the Spirit, worship Scripture more than they do God, and are more concerned with appearances than matters of the heart, so they’ve become exclusive and rigid. If Christ came back, He’d be hanging out with gays and homeless people, not with the blue-denim-jumper-with-hair-in-a-bun set. But what do I know?]"

I hope this is not a miquote, because I think it's about the coolest thing I've heard anyone say in a while, and right on target. Unfortunately, our faith has somehow been highjacked by a bunch of mean-spirited legalistic buttholes of late. So much so that people actually rejoice when they die! What is up with that!? The church by enlarge hasn't a clue that the Christian life is GRACE, from beginning to end. We have become fat and haughty and I hope we wake up soon. Great quote!

[Cameron Conant]

Chip,

I loved this post, especially this:

"At that point, the editor has to run a Profit & Loss sheet or pro forma, in which they'll take wild surmises as to how many copies they can expect to sell in the first year, what the hard costs of ink/paper/binding will be, how much money they'll have to throw at the money-grubbing author, who, if she really loved Jesus, would write her damn books for free, since we all know the publishers are only in it for the ministry."

I'm still laughing.

Perfect.

Cameron