Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
I would be remiss if, in my rants about what drives an agent crazy, I didn’t mention one other group: publishers. Yup, sometimes the good folks at a publishing house can cause us mental distress.
One of those crazy-making times is when they go incommunicado.
Say, for example, I’ve phoned and emailed about a timely, important issue. Well, it’s important to my client and me. And the person at the publishing house doesn’t respond. That person might be an editor, someone in marketing, the publicist, the contracts negotiator, the accounting department, or the publisher himself.
Acknowledgment of receipt of the communications would be appreciated! A time-frame in which a response can be expected would be deeply appreciated. (Even an approximate date, thank you.)
Agents go crazy when the publisher hogs all the good news.
When agents get together, one of the items we grumble about is that publishers love to deliver good news to our clients. But publishing personnel rarely think to include the agent in the conversation.
For example, if a client is a finalist for a writing award, the publisher happily phones or emails the client. And then the client informs the agent. While I’m thrilled for the client, I’m not thrilled for me. My part in the publishing process wasn’t noted by the publisher. Hello, who brought that award-winner your way!?
Agents are driven crazy when the publisher expects the agent to deliver all the bad news.
The bad news part of the equation results in some agent eye-rolling as well. Recently I had to phone one of my clients, whom we’ll call Carolyn, to tell her that the editor she’s been working with for several years hates Carolyn’s next novel idea. The two of them just returned from a time together. But during their face-to-face the editor offered only praise for Carolyn’s writing. So imagine how unprepared my client was to hear the opposite from me. I phoned her to explain that not only was the idea not liked, but also the word hate was used by the editor.
Why did this “go down” this way? The editor explained to me, when she called me with the bad news, she didn’t have the heart to be honest with Carolyn face-to-face.
Agents as bad-news bearers.
Agents get to announce:
- canceled contracts
- poor sales figures
- a publishing committee turning down a project
- a tiny advance/royalty offer
- an almost nonexistent marketing budget
- a title or cover the author hates but the publisher is moving forward with anyway
- a rejected manuscript, etc.
A better way?
I want to be involved in these “bad news” communications. But some of these items are more effectively communicated when both the agent and the editor set up a conference call with the author. If that were done more often, I think writers would think of the publishing process as involving more teamwork.
I understand that editors don’t get paid to hand authors Kleenex. Sometimes the agent’s job is to pick up the pieces and come up with a plan of how to move forward.
Other times, editors convey that they expect the agent to figure out a fix even though the publishing house is the genesis of an unexpected decision. I think it would be nice to have some balance and let publishers explain certain decisions to both the agent and the author–whether that decision is headline-making great news or heartbreaking hard news.
When publishers do it right.
To be fair, right now I’m engaged in an ongoing conversation with publishing personnel who rejected a client’s manuscript. While I was conferred with before the news was delivered to my client, the editor arranged for a conference call with all the parties involved and told the author the disappointing–okay, devastating–news. From there, we developed a plan to steer the writer from the path she had veered onto and to the trail that would make for a compelling book.
The communication was clear, we all shared in the disappointment of the manuscript falling short, and we all agreed on what happened next. Nice, right?
What would you like to hear directly from your publishing house? What would you prefer filter through your agent first?
TWEETABLES
Ways publishing houses drive agents crazy. Click to tweet.
Why bad news comes to writers via their agent. Click to tweet.
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser
Far prefer communications come through my hypothetical agent, period, no exceptions.
* But then, I’m spoiled; the only agents I really know (through this blog and some of their clients) are those of Books and Such, the gold standard.
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser
Please amend the above to read ‘non-editorial communications’. Running line edits through an agent would be silly, but the agent should be copied on everything,
Angela Carlisle
I’ve not arrived at this point yet, but theoretically, I would like most things (good or bad) to come through or at least with my agent involved. I imagine I would have a closer relationship with my agent than I would with anyone in the publishing house even if I had worked with them before. So for me, the bad news would come easier from the agent. Conversely, when the news is good, I’d have someone right there to celebrate with that’s been involved from the get-go.
Shirlee Abbott
Wow. Face time with someone who’s smiles and praise, all the while lining up someone else to deliver the “I hate your work” message. That would, but for the grace of God, warp the relationship beyond workable.
*Give me the truth, good news or bad. Truth is essential to trust.
Janet Grant
I know. What was the editor thinking. Oh, I know what she was thinking. “I just can’t do it. I just can’t.” But she needed to–for the sake of the relationship.
Shelli Littleton
Janet, I don’t know much in this area, but it seems like if publishers get paid to break good news, surely the same pay covers bad news … at least teamed with the agent. And also, it seems like if the agent is left to deliver all the bad news, the writer would soon start fearing to hear from their agent. And that seems wrong. I agree with you, there needs to be a better balance.
Janet Grant
Well, fortunately the agent and author have lots to discuss beyond bad news. And we’re always dreaming together; so the author-agent relationship is balanced out with fun, dreamy, good news and the dreaded bad new. Plus the agent can put the bad news into a career overview, which helps to assuage the author.
Damon J. Gray
I’m inclined to agree with Shelli and Shirlee. The scenario with the “hated” novel idea was pretty lacking in backbone. Were that me, I’d be having a gentle conversation with that editor about transparency, honesty, duplicity … maybe even the need to find a new editor? Every job has its fun times and challenging times. It is inappropriate to push that responsibility to the agent. I want very much for the production of work to be a team effort, but it sounds like that is not everyone’s desire. Perhaps there needs to be a frequent reminder, “Remember now, this is a team effort.” But, like those above, this is all theoretical at the moment, and I don’t really know what I’m talking about.
Janet Grant
Damon, acquiring a new editor when the editor works in the publishing house isn’t an option to quickly ask about. That makes the situation I described all the trickier to deal with. The author needed to continue working with the editor if at all possible.
Damon J. Gray
That makes sense, and intensifies the need to have that heart-to-heart with the editor. “Hey, I really NEED you to shoot straight with me all of the time.”
Terry Whalin
Janet,
Thank you for this article and helpful reminder again about the importance of good communication–from a publisher or from an author or agent. It’s one of the ways I’ve been wired. You and I actually spoke about one of my past companies and how I was different in my communication when the company as a whole was in a non-communication mode. I got the right boot of fellowship in that company and I’m no longer there. Lesson learned–hopefully. It’s why I work hard every day at communicating with my authors and others who cross my path as an acquisitions editor.
Terry
Janet Grant
And it’s one of the pluses of working with you, Terry. The communication is consistent and clear.
Andrew Budek-Schmeisser
Janet, a question…are these issues generally house policy, house culture, or simply poor internal communication of expected procedures, and editors winging it?
Damon J. Gray
That’s a great question.
Janet Grant
It could be house culture, but generally it comes down to the editor’s decision on how to handle it.
With the current situation I’m working through, the editor is being guided by her supervisor in each step toward getting the manuscript into acceptable shape. And the publishing house’s culture is one of strong teamwork. That displays itself in wonderful ways when major problems need to be resolved.
Carol Ashby
No one likes to share bad news, but pretending it isn’t there is what kids do. I would hope an editor would be willing to do it kindly but truthfully. I don’t care who tells me, but I want to hear as soon as a problem surfaces. The sooner I know, the sooner I can work on solving it.
Janet Grant
I suspect the editor was afraid telling my client the truth would hurt the relationship. I don’t think she ever weighed the other side of the equation: Not telling my client did harm to the editor’s relationship. It showed the editor wasn’t to be trusted to tell the truth.
Jeanne Takenaka
Wow, the story about the editor who couldn’t work up the courage to share hard news with the author is kind of sad. It must have left the author really hurt by the two-faced interaction. I’m not judging. Just putting myself in the place of that author.
*If there’s a problem with my manuscript I want to know about it. Honestly and proactively. Publishing a book is a team effort. Each person needs to be humble and honest in their interactions if it’s going to be successful.
*As far as getting to know the news—good or bad—I think I’d want to hear most of it initially from my agent (when I have one). That person would be the professional closest to me on the journey. That said, I can definitely see the importance of some information coming from the publisher. It seems like the agent should also always be in the loop, particularly if there is a problem that needs to be worked out.
Jennifer Zarifeh Major
Umm, the “I’ll smile to your face, but not tell you the truth” thing is REALLY annoying. For some, that may be interpreted as being thrown under the bus. And buses hurt when they roll over a person.
I personally would prefer that my agent be aware of everything publishing related before it is sent to me. I don’t know that I’d be comfortable not including my agent on things.
Unless it’s to discuss something personal that a member of the pub team doesn’t need the agent involved in, like hockey, or shopping. Or shopping for hockey gear.
😉
Angela Arndt
Your experience reminds me of my time as an analyst for an insurance company. Emails, ignored. Constant follow-up, a given. I’d deliver the bad news of a failed audit while my boss would share the good.
But I think I’d like to hear the good news from my agent and hear the bad news from both agent and editor. Maybe that’s naive, but I hope I’d be able to improve that way.
Janet Grant
That sounds like a good plan to me, Angela.
Jaxon M King
I think of an agent as the bridge between the two, the author and publisher, so I would prefer my agent to be involved or included in all forms of communication. A better informed agent will be more equipped to do his or her job. And I imagine that would lead to more success for me as an author.
Jerusha Agen
Wow, Janet–I can’t believe that example of the editor praising the author’s idea and then having you tell the client the opposite truth. How awful for the author! I would imaging moving forward in the relationship with that editor will be difficult for her, to say the least.
This is such an informative post on the inner-workings and dynamics between the publisher, author, and agent. To answer your question, I think I’d actually like to have most bad news delivered by my agent instead of the publisher, since I’d be more comfortable hearing it from the agent I was close to than the editor/publisher I didn’t know or trust quite as much. (Though I would NOT want the editor to deceive me, as happened with Carolyn!) I might be less worried about my initial reaction with my agent, who would forgive a slip in professionalism if one occurred. 🙂
Janet Grant
Jerusha, trust me, we agents see a number of slips in professionalism. It’s part of the reason we’re asked to take the brunt of delivering bad news. And that secret is safe with us.
Richard Mabry
Of course, there’s a situation where an author asks an agent about progress, and receives a list of nine publishers that have turned down the novel. Does the agent tell the client about each of these individually? There’s a middle ground somewhere, and I’m not sure we’ve hit it yet. Thanks for posting this, Janet.
Janet Grant
Richard, it’s always hard to know if the agent should dribble out incoming bad news or collect it to deliver all at once. I think it depends on how busy the agent is and what the agent suspects the client would prefer.
Carrie Padgett
Wow, great post, Janet! I’m so sorry about Carolyn and her editor. I get that it’s hard to be critical about a project an author loves, but praising it while secretly hating it doesn’t seem to be the best way to improve the manuscript.
I’d prefer a collaboration, with all three entities working together with honest (yet kind) communication. Perhaps that editor doesn’t know how to deliver bad news or criticism with kindness. She’s probably overly sensitive herself … just a thought.
Janet Grant
You might well be right that the editor is emotionally sensitive and placed what her response would be onto the author, who actually would rather have the editor be forthright.
Wanda Rosseland
Janet, as the author, am I supposed to include the agent on Every email to/from the editor/publisher? I’d honestly like to know, because I don’t. Thanks so much for a very important and educational post.
Janet Grant
Wanda, every agent operates a a bit differently. Some don’t want to be bothered unless the situation is dire. Others, including those at Books & Such, want to be alerted if you sense something isn’t right. Or even if you’re not sure the way the book production process is going is right. We can ease your mind or flip our agent-on-high-alert button. But no agent wants to be copied on every email that’s transmitted between you and those you work with at the publishing house. We’d get nothing done but read YOUR email. Trust me, we have enough of our own.
Jaxon M King
Well said, Janet. You make a good point. That would be a lot of work for an agent!
Wanda Rosseland
Thank you so much, Janet. I’ve been worrying about this very thing with getting Angels Among Us done, and not being sure exactly what was expected of me. As far as I know everything is going good so we’ll just carry on! May God bless you in your work today.
Elizabeth Bohan (ej bohan)
Oh Janet, I loved reading the truth of what happens. Agents have their work cut out for them.
If it was good news from the publisher, I would absolutely want the agent involved. I couldn’t imagine not having the agent who has put so much faith and hard work into an author not to be on the phone at the same time. We could all scream and jump up and down together in
joy.
If they rejected my manuscript, I would want the agent to break it to me first, so I have an opportunity to sit with it for a while, talk with my agent about it, and take it before the Lord. I like to be a gracious woman in all situations, even if It’s tough or disappointing. I want to be able to respond still in a gracious manner to the publisher, but I want to share my initial reaction, even if it was years of disappointment with my agent.
Elizabeth Bohan (ej bohan)
In my earlier comment, just prior to this comment, regarding your blog post.
That was suppose to be tears of disappointment, not “years.” I am not like that, I deal with it before God and move on with His plan B, the better plan.