Blogger: Rachel Kent
A couple of us at the agency have sold books this week after receiving multiple offers for the projects. It’s always very exciting to receive a lot of interest for a project and getting more than one offer does allow us to ask the publishers to up their offers to “win” the book from the other bidder. We like to get the best deal for our clients and working multiple offers allows us to get a better deal in one way or another. We also always try our best to make the entire process fair for all publishers involved because we care about keeping our relationship strong with them. A good relationship means we can continue to bring book proposals to them in the future.
In situations with a lot of offers for one book project we host a formal auction–one of our agents did that this week. Thankfully, I was only balancing two offers so my week wasn’t quite as stressful.
While getting multiple offers is exciting, it’s often emotional for those involved. The publishers really want the project which is why they took the time to put the offers together in the first place. The agent wants the author to be well taken care of, but also wants all of the publishers to “win” when in reality only one publisher can get the book. The author is almost always excited and nervous–selling a book is a big deal and getting more than one offer is an even bigger deal!
Let me illustrate how emotional things can be with the way my client’s sale went this week:
I received an offer from a publishing house on a project that had been out with multiple publishers for a very long time. I kept checking in, but no one had had a chance to look at it yet. The first publishing house that brought me an offer was a publisher that had just recently requested to see the proposal. The editor had heard about it from another editor who had looked at it a long time ago and passed because the timing wasn’t right. To be fair to all of the publishing houses who still had the proposal, I wrote to inform them of the offer I’d received. This prompted the second offer to come in and the second offer was better than the one the first house gave. After some back and forth with both houses, the second publishing house ended up getting the book.
You can see how as an agent I felt bad about this. It was because of the first publishing house’s offer that the second offer came to me at all. Ultimately, for all involved, it’s a business deal so letting emotions in doesn’t help. I’m a human though, so I still feel for the first publisher. I’m hoping now to bring a great project to Publisher #1 so their need for a new project can be met.
Keeping emotions in check is very important in the world of publishing. It’s so easy to get upset with rejection, or with the amount of time everything takes, or with any part of the often-frustrating publishing process. And it’s easy to let feeling sorry for someone control our decisions as well. But if we let our emotions get the best of us in the business world, we might not make the best long-term decisions. Communicating in anger or without thinking burns bridges that might have been important down the road.
What tricks do you use to keep your emotions in check when working in the publishing world?
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Thank you for the behind-the-auction look. Negotiations are often tense. Do you feel that you prayed a lot through the entire process or was it pretty much numbers? How did the author in question react — was he/she also at the edge of his/her seat?
I don’t want to equate it to a realtor selling a house, but having sold houses, we’re always looking for the highest bid, and if I were to put my emotions on the table, I would not have sold any anything (I would have been too attached to them). The best bid is a win-win for buyer and seller.
Right now I’m not at the publishing stage, but hurtling toward it — okay, crawling toward it — I’m doing all I can to study and observe the industry, to learn the ins and outs of the business so that when the time comes, I can be objective about it. I fall back to my IT experience dealing with contracts and projects and software (writing software is like writing novels), but I know the publishing world is different. Still, what a fascinating world it is.
I love writing, and I can’t wait everyday to write. But I have to “ration” my time throughout the day, and I understand that. Even there, I have to keep my emotions in check, and not be anxious about anything (Philippians 4:6-7). Trust God for the future, and just do the next thing.
Congratulations on getting your client the best book offer! I hope that you get a long, restful weekend for your effort!
😎
“The best bid is a win-win for buyer and seller.” So true! We’ve sold many houses, and there are so many factors involved (financing, down payment, if the purchaser has a house to sell…). The best offer sometimes means a lower but more attractive one overall. Nice analogy!
Hi Jan,
My client and I were both in prayer about this and we talked throughout the process. My client was very excited about the offers, but was able to keep calm knowing she wasn’t alone in this and of course God was answering those prayers!
Thanks for the congrats! It’s very exciting.
P.S. Slip of the keyboard. I meant to edit “realtor” to be “investor” i.e. “equate it to an investor selling a house.” I’m not a realtor but when we sold houses we worked with realtors. IMO, it’s a nightmare to sell houses by owner. That’s why we needed agents in every transaction. Agents know what to do.
Yes, it’s very important to have an agent for times like this!
Lately I can’t say I’ve been good about keeping my emotions at bay. I’ve had some setbacks and allowed my emotions to take over instead of managing them. Thankfully, through prayer and some great advice from this blog, that fog has lifted.
I finished a picture book yesterday that I started in March and began a new one I’m very excited about. It will be a slight departure from my usual stories, so it will be interesting to see how it turns out.
Thanks for providing insight into negotiations, Rachel. Praying you find a great project for Publisher #1.
Cheryl, I will hold you in prayer. Setbacks can be frustrating and discouraging.
It’s exciting,though, that you’re starting a new book! Blessings on the venture. 🙂
Thanks Christine. I appreciate it.
I’m so glad the Books & Such blog has been such a help to you, Cheryl!
I hope your new writing venture has great results!
Wow!! Congratulations to you and your author, Rachel! I know what you mean–not everyone can “win” in this situation. But I am such a strong believer in God’s timing. Things work out the way they do for a reason. We just have to trust it’s best for everyone, even the so-called loser.
Have a terrific weekend!
I, too, believe strongly in God’s timing. When we ask him for guidance he is sure to give it to us as well.
It’s nice to know that even though a project can sit around for a long period of time, it only takes one editor’s interest to get things moving. I’m amazed how things move in this industry: wait, wait, wait, wait…go, go, go!!!
The industry is very much like that, Karen. You can wait forever and then suddenly something clicks and the whirlwind sweeps you up. It’s exciting and scary at the same time.
Awesome behind-the-scenes look at an auction. Thanks for that, Rachel. Emotions can seriously derail us, but they don’t have to. I’m trying to focus more on the Lord when I’m upset and ask him to comfort me and give me peace when I’m worried. I’m not always great at it, but it is a start. 🙂
Yes! Prayer and focusing on God makes a huge difference.
How thrilling for that author to have two publishers want their work! Emotions in business seem to be a tricky balancing act. I appreciate that you feel bad for the first publisher. I wouldn’t want an agent who was an automaton. Where is the spirit of Christ in that? But you also make a good point about not letting emotions rule the decisions. Save the drama for the next book!
Yes, I don’t want to be an automation, but controlling emotion so it doesn’t rule my decisions is important in business and life in general too. 🙂
Awesome look at the behind-the-scenes work of agents and getting a book to a publisher, Rachel!
Though I do have a question regarding this:
“The agent wants the author to be well taken care of, but also wants all of the publishers to “win” when in reality only one publisher can get the book.”
When an agent considers this, how much does the latter influence the former? If the best way for publishers to “win” is to have great books, isn’t the best way to get books to those publishers to create environments for authors where keeping 70% of their earnings for doing 90% of the work promoting the book not such an seemingly obvious choice?
In other words, in your experience as an agent, have publishers become aware that pursuing what has made them winners in the past might cause them to lose in the new era of publishing? Not being an agent myself, and not talking to publishers on a regular basis, I only have the perspective of one who sees the way the industry goes, but not the “why”, not the perspective of those who captain the ships of industry. It may appear obvious to me that they are heading for the rocks, but I don’t know if they are aware of it.
“What tricks do you use to keep your emotions in check when working in the publishing world?”
That is difficult to reply to: for example, what a writer may feel is a perfectly legitimate critique or statement about the nature of the industry and the performance of those in it may be perceived by non-writers in the industry as unforgivable breach or protocol. Perhaps more needs to be said about those who have traditionally been at the top having to deal with the mud that everyone else slogs through, and that they are not free of criticism. In this regard, the publishing industry and academia are quite similar, as there is such a sense of entitlement to ones’ ego that critique itself often becomes taboo.
Now, if one where to write a curse-filled epistle and send it to publishers when their work was declined, I can see how that could be seen as quite unprofessional.
But there is something about this industry where logic and reason and common sense have no place if it hurts the feelings of the folks driving it into the rocks, the ego entitlement of the publishing elite, which doesn’t seem to remind me so much of burning bridges, but of the flabbergasted incredulity of the nobles who felt offended by having to sweat as Rome burned.
Larry, I’m always involving my client in the entire process when a decision is being made about his or her book. And my clients want to be published with these “traditional” houses. We talk about traditional vs self-publishing all the time as an agency and we work with our clients to make the best decisions and placements for each one of their projects.
I was thinking more practically about what you can do when emotions get heated–like take a couple days before responding to an email so you’ve had a chance to “cool off.”
Ah! I see what you meant now, Rachel. Indeed, I agree that with the ability of our modern world to allow for instant communication, that it is good to think about those Tweets, emails, etcetera before they are sent!
Thank you for sharing this story, Rachel, and congratulations to you and to your client.
I understand why you felt badly for the first publisher. It almost seems unfair when that publisher’s offer, as you pointed out, was the push that the other publishing house needed to wake up and make an offer before the book got away from them. Even so, the first publisher apparently didn’t want the book badly enough since they didn’t seem willing at least to match what the second publisher offered, so ultimately, it seems that the logical choice was to go with the second publisher, not only because of the better deal, but because the company seemed to want the manuscript and the author more.
I think the multiple offer scenario is easier for authors than for agents. Authors just have to worry about what is the best deal and the best publisher for them. Agents have to worry about doing right by their clients while maintaining good relationships with all the publishers involved. That has to be a tough balancing act.
As I’m not published yet, I can’t share any tricks about keeping my emotions in check when working in the publishing world. I can relate to the balancing act and the relationships / humanity part in regards to my teaching. I teach Developmental Writing to college students whose writing skills aren’t up to college level yet. At the end of the semester, they take a timed essay test and their score on that test combined with their grade for my course determines whether or not the students can move into the college level writing course. I get to know my students quite well and feel invested in them. I want them to succeed and I am aware that it’s important for them financially not to have to repeat my course. However, I also know that the college level instructors have a right to expect a certain standard of writing from the students in their classes. So I feel a responsibility to both my students and the professors. Sometimes I have to give a failing grade to the crucial final essay because the student’s writing is just not yet up to the standard. My heart hurts every time I have to do it, but what helps me is knowing that, in the long run, not letting the student pass will help the student. It is painful for him or her, but it’s better for him or her to repeat my course and become ready for college level composition than to move up and end up failing a course that will count against his / her GPA. So I guess my trick is to stay focused on what is really best for all involved.
My ultimate “trick” is prayer, asking for God’s grace and guidance and praying for everyone who is affected by the process.
Blessings!
Good examples! Thanks for sharing about your experiences as a teacher.
And it might be harder for the agent, but I do think the authors care about the other publishers as well. It’s hard not to feel for someone who loved your book!
The best way to keep my emotions in check with business is to give them time. Sometimes I even write something out in a document that concerns me, so I can vent. This helps me process the experience and possibly find things that may be useful in communicating desires or concerns in a professional manner.
Sounds like you’re using a form of journaling. I think writing to process is a great way to help get emotions under control.
If–no, make that WHEN–I make it to the process of an agent shopping my book around, I think I’ll probably be lacking full fingernails for a while, and my husband will have to develop the patience of a saint. Because there’s no way I’ll be able to keep emotions out of it, but I WILL be able to keep them in my own home for the most part. I hope.
Thanks for this post. It’s neat to see that emotions are there for all involved, and that it’s not only the author that cares about the manuscript and the relationships!
Yes! Having someone to talk to–like your husband–who can deal with the emotions so they don’t need to enter the business world is a great way to control them.
There is always taking a deep breath and looking at both sides of the issue. That helps keep emotions in control. When you’re on the receiving end, remember that it’s business and it isn’t personal.
(Oh, to have this problem.)
When I receive critiques on my story, I’m learning to better recognize my ‘voice’ so I can utilize suggestions for changes without scrubbing out the uniqueness of my writing.
Conversely, when I critique other people’s writing, I’m learning to merge forthrightness with consideration.
Always room for growth in how I respond and reciprocate.
. . . to keep from getting stressed out, I like to take a long nap, then chase the neighbors cat around the block and ultimately – finish off with another nap.
It work’s for me – who knows – it might work for you.
Disclaimer: The cat was not harmed during our race around the block, although she was quite winded.
Rachel, thanks for this insightful post! I think this is the VERY reason authors are thankful for agents–so at least one of you can keep a level head while making business deals! That, and the fact that you’ve done this before, you know your client, and you know the publisher. So you can step in and help negotiate the best fit.
Yes, another reason to be grateful for agents.
I can’t but help point out the irony of the the publisher feeling rejected. Never occurred to me… and once again puts a beautifully human face on every player in this game.
Great post, Rachel. Thank you. Congrats on the multiple offer deal!
On the plus side, if this book becomes a success, at least publisher #1 knows they recognized its potential and didn’t pass on a winner.
Take, for instance, these famous rejections: http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2012/05/16/publishers-who-got-it-wrong_n_1520190.html#slide=977971
One of the best things I can do is leave it in God’s hands. If He wants it to happen, it will.