Blogger: Rachelle Gardner
Blog reader Katie asked:
I was wondering, what if I get an agent and she tries to sell two or three of my novels, all in the same genre, and nothing sells. What would happen in this case?
Well Katie, sounds like you and your agent will be at a crossroads and need to make some decisions.
Each agent is different, and some agents might set you free at this point, believing they’re not the right agent to help you find success. You’ll want to clarify whether your agent wishes to continue or hang it up.
Remember that you have a choice, too. If you think another agent can serve you better, it would be a good time for you to make this decision. Be cautious not to automatically blame your agent for the lack of a sale — she’s probably put in many hours on your behalf. She deserves the benefit of a conversation, at least. But if you honestly think the agent hasn’t done a good job, you need to address it.
If you and your agent want to continue working together, you’ll probably have a meeting to discuss your options. You’ll take a hard look at what’s going on, asking questions like:
? Why aren’t your books capturing the attention of editors? Is it the ideas? The writing?
? Could there be something specific about your characters and plot lines aren’t resonating?
?How much of this is due to the market, and how much is it the specific books you’re pitching?
? Is it the genre? If so, is there another genre you’re interested in writing that perhaps is more saleable?
Ideally this meeting would culminate in a strategy and action plan for moving forward to find the success you’ve been working toward.
Keep in mind that this isn’t an uncommon scenario. Once you get an agent, it could still be a long time until serendipity strikes again and you find the perfect match between a project and a publisher.
What would you do if you were the writer in this situation?
Tweetables:
What to do when you have an agent but publishers aren’t buying your stuff. Click to Tweet.
Once you get an agent, it could still be a long time until you find a publisher. Click to Tweet.
When you’re at a crossroads with your agent. Click to Tweet.
I’d like to think I would do as you’re suggesting. When I’m ready to seek an agent, I am going to make sure I query those who I think would be a good fit–hopefully for both of us. If I respect the agent I’m with, I believe it will make it easier to have the kind of conversation you’re describing. Honesty and openness are essential in this sort of a relationship.
As the writer I need to keep in mind that books will rarely (okay, probably never) be embraced by a publishing house on my timetable. So patience and open communication will be a must in the situation you’ve described.
That was a great question to tackle. Thanks, Rachelle!
I’m so glad you tackled this question, Rachelle. I appreciate your insight, too. I’m really not sure what I would do in this instance, but as Jeanne said, patience is key. If I’ve learned anything after releasing two books it’s that my idea of when things should happen and when they actually happen are two different things. 🙂 Let’s just say, publishing has taught me patience, even if I am an unwilling student.
Thank you, Rachelle, for both the advice and the reality check. Normally, I’m a fairly patient person, but after achieving the milestone of getting an agent to represent me, I know that I would be excited being one step closer to publication. Having to sit and wait again–possibly for years–would feel disheartening. As Jeanne and Cheryl pointed out, we have no real control over the timetable (at least not if we go the traditional route). So patience and trust in God’s will are key to that waiting period.
You brought up some wonderful points about why publishers may not be buying a manuscript and it seems to me that the communication between the agent and the writer is key in the situation. The strategy and action plan meeting seems like a great way to go. It is the agent and the writer working together towards their common goal of selling the manuscript instead of immediately blaming and cutting bait. It’s reassuring to hear that it is not an uncommon scenario.
Blessings.
Great question. I am in this situation, but from a slightly different angle. My agent was able to score me a 2 book deal within 2 months of representation, so the first year was sweet. My sales weren’t so sweet, however, which is the reality of many debut authors in the land of “Nobody Knows You”. Because of that, my publisher decided not to option a new contract, so my agent once again started shopping my newest book(s) around. This go around isn’t going as fast and sweet, because I have low sales on my resume now, and getting a good bite is more challenging. But my agent is the best. 🙂 She is in it for the long haul, and we constantly brainstorm what can be done differently. How can I write something maybe a little different, with more of a hook to really grab and make editors look past the $ signs a little.
My advice to all those looking for an agent: Find someone who wants to grow old with you. To fit your personality because you are going to be batting ideas around for a long time. And someone who believes so wholeheartedly in your writing that she’ll keep going to bat for you and help you be the best you can be. 🙂
Sharla, thank you for this reality check. Your advice about finding an agent that looks ahead at your long term career is valuable.
I’ve heard that if you’ve ever had a book published and it didn’t sell well no publisher will ever consider future books by you in any genre. Is that not true? I hope it’s not.
Wise words, Sharla. Thanks for sharing your experiences.
Why wouldn’t you write something different?
Like Sharla said, part of it may just be people don’t know about the authors’ book. As much disdain as I have for social media, I recognize that the reason publishers, agents, and others put so much importance on social media numbers is that the industry really doesn’t have an encompassing, visible “go to” source for book lovers.
Television and movies used to have that with Entertainment Tonight and movie critics in the newspapers; but the closest the book industry has regarding a presence on TV is “Book TV”, which only airs on the weekends, on an obscure cable network, and only features non-fiction work.
Combined with newspapers reaching less readership and no longer having much of a focus on arts and culture, much less a book critic on payroll, and the flops which occur when the industry attempts to mimic other forms of cultural awareness / public relations events (such as when either the PEN awards or the National Book Award tried a televised version of their annual awards ceremony to mimic the Oscars and the event caused much consternation amongst readers for that years’ choices for being “accessbile” to readers, as well as the overall low-quality of the event itself), of course social media is going to appear more important than it really is.
I would suggest that the solution to the situation Rachelle writes of is that the industry needs to get beyond the burden of creating a compelling publicity campaign on the agent and author (and maybe some part-timer at the publishing house), and that the industry needs to come together and create some sort of organization which works to benefit all writers, publishers, and agent houses.
Writers, in some small measure, already do this with things like the AFCW, but the question is how proven these existing groups are at achieving their goals.
With all the changes going on in the industry, I’m surprised that this is one thing that has yet to change.
Ahem…
…A good place to start might be a community-created group for members of existing writing communities, such as a facebook, Twitter, or other such social media group platform. 🙂
You mean like the “Married…with Fiction” community that Becky Doughty, Heather Day Gilbert, and Jennifer Major started at http://marriedwithfiction.wordpress.com?
I agree that a writer has to build a platform of ready readers who would flock to his/her books? It’s terribly hard work, and robs writing time. OTOH if the publishers see there’s potential, then perhaps they might take a second look at the novels, even if they’re not the best-written ones.
We all know that bestselling lists often include books that are not necessarily literature’s best, but something that the sales departments approve for the bottomline. I think Rachelle blogged on sales vs editors recently on her own blog.
Sad truth remains. The proverbial catch-22. How do you build a reading group who would read your books faithfully when you can’t even get the book published for them to read in the first place.
Ah… enter self-publishing. But that’s another can of worms.
Indeed, that is a great example! 🙂
Used to be that literary journals were the way to go to build readership, or magazines, etcetera. Nowadays, I guess that still has merit, but becoming a well-known blogger seems to be the accepted practice.
I think it’d be interesting to see what sorts of blogs folks here follow, or what other writing communities folks might be a part of. It’s good that the community here is establishing itself elsewhere, but I wonder what other writing communities might be interested in collaboration or discussion with this one?
Of course, there are always things like group dynamics and protocol to consider, and different cultures of different communities, but it’d be pretty interesting to see what sort of projects or collaborative efforts that could come about from different writing communities partnering together.
At the very least, getting different perspectives on some of the questions pondered here today might yield results. For example, wouldn’t it be better if instead of an agent and author working alone to try to market their novel, they had a group of dozens, if not hundres or more, of folks with varying backgrounds, experiences, and talents working to share that novel with the reading public?
“For example, wouldn’t it be better if instead of an agent and author working alone to try to market their novel, they had a group of dozens, if not hundres or more, of folks with varying backgrounds, experiences, and talents working to share that novel with the reading public?”
Hmm. Sounds like a collective. A hive. Larry, are you sure you haven’t been working on your mss just before you wrote this?
Writing is a lonely job, but it takes a village to sell a book.
🙂
Hmmm. Not sure if “hive” is the word I’d use.
Doesn’t quite conjure the images of trampled earth underfoot and the booming echo of a thousand times a thousand writers marching towards victory over the forces of Random Penguin that I was going for. 🙂
Not in that situation I can’t truthfully say what I would do if I was the writer in that situation. Looking at it from the outside, however, I think the first thing to do is for both the writer and the agent to be in prayer about God wants them to do.
While it’s good to recognize going in to this that the publisher’s time table is not the writer or agent’s time table, we can’t forget the ever present reality that God’s time table is often not our time table. He is ultimately the one in charge. We must be willing to surrender what is God’s to God.
The writer must also be willing to acknowledge the experience and wisdom held by the agent. That’s why open dialogue between the two is so important. Obviously the agent thought the idea was a good one or s/he wouldn’t have been willing to take on the writer and his or her project. Yet when the book doesn’t fly with the publishing houses, it is important to get the agent’s take on the situation. As writers we all want to think our words are worth reading, but the agent has the advantage of industry knowledge on which to make a comparison. Regardless of the “success” of the project there is value in the writer-agent relationship.
I think the most sensible thing to do first is ask a group of strong betas to have a read. If two heads are better than one, six are fantastic! Then, if they cannot spot a flaw or suggest changes to increase salability, perhaps it is time to examine a different genre, or the agent/writer relationship.
I’m not sure how I would feel about having three books shopped by an agent and getting no bites. I would definitely do as suggested and have a serious discussion about it with my agent. If the agent balked at this or seemed unhelpful, I would know it was time to part ways. I guess I’m really hoping this is a situation that forever remains hypothetical for me!
“Each agent is different, and some agents might set you free at this point, believing they’re not the right agent to help you find success.”
I like that statement that Rachelle made. “Set you free” to be all that you can be… elsewhere.
Romans 8:28 comes to mind. If it doesn’t work out with an agency, then I need to look at it from God’s perspective, that He is working all out for my good, and He is moving the pieces into place, and that might mean I have to move around to keep up with His plan for my writing life. As long as I’m in His palm, I need not worry.
“Is it the genre? If so, is there another genre you’re interested in writing that perhaps is more saleable?”
I love this! Every time I read Rachelle’s posts anywhere, I’m looking out for what she says about authors writing in more than one genre. I respect her opinions, she tells it like it is (painful), and she knows stuff that ordinary writers have no clue about (speaking for myself).
I think if a genre doesn’t work out for the writer, it’s a good idea to go back to her idea box and see if there are previously written practice manuscripts in another genre that is in her voice. OK, Rachelle mentions “saleable” but the market might be glutted with saleable genres.
Last night I read a blog post by an author whose name has slipped my mind a this moment. She was writing medieval fiction to begin with, but her publisher told her it wasn’t going to sell, so they made her write contemporary fiction. I’ve read some of her contemporary novels, and I didn’t connect with her stories. However, I read her little write-up on her website about her love for medieval lore — and that short article was a WOW. Her voice seems to be geared toward the medieval genre. I look forward to reading her medieval novels when they are published. When I see the books in print, I will recognize her name. I’m sure of it. It’s the way she writes. I’ll recognize it.
So I agree that sometimes we can write in borrowed genres that are not ours. We all need to find the genres that we can own, that we are most comfortable in, and I think that sales follows “must-read” books.
Here’s a question in that case: Would an author in that position be able to epublish her medieval books? I suppose it would be a matter of her contracts. I think if I had something I was passionate about, and I was published in other genres, that’s the route I’d take. Somewhere out there, I guarantee there is at least a small niche market for what she really wants to write. Why not explore it independently on the side?
A great idea! I don’t know the author personally, but I would think that sounds like a great option. It also depends on the contract the author has signed with the publishing company, whether she is allowed to self-publish on the side or not.
I think the self-publishing arena still has lots of promises in spite of the slush piles that end up there. I read just yesterday that there is a new trend now for “hybrid agents” who can negotiate a book contract with a trad publisher, but also help the author self-publish and keep all rights to ebooks, and also do movie options. It seems to me that agents have to diversify to keep up with the changing world of publishing.
Great information, Rachelle! Thanks for answering a question many writers fear the answer to. It does help!
I believe I would work with my agent to see if we should take another path with my writing, change the genre, or wait until another time to promote it. If we can’t agree on which approach to take, then it would probably be a good idea to part ways.
The agent would probably be hoping her authors weren’t wait around to see what happens to the two or three novels they had produced. Hopefully they would be writing new material, so that even if the others don’t find a home, they have something new to bring to the mix which would cause an agent to be willing to keep working for them.
You know Rachelle . . . I was just thinking about Katie’s question the other day after my mid-day nap. I really think it could be the breed of canine you are – that is holding you back.
Now don’t get me wrong, I’m not suggesting you pretend to be a regal pure bred American Foxhound (like me) if you are actually a scruffy looking -mixed breed mutt like a: Corgi-Dalmatian Hybrid. (That would be the worst kind of K-9 dishonesty)
Donnie has always told me that it is my God given “talent and sticktoitiveness” (not what you look like)that will get me noticed and published. Of course it never hurts to have a striking bio-shot to put on your jacket flap.
Open communication can solve many (perhaps most) problems. Making assumptions or reacting rashly are seldom wise choices.
Of course, it’s easy for me to sound wise from a distance. If I were in the middle of this scenario, it might not seem so easy to deal with.
I am one who has a problem with ‘genre’.
Foolishly, perhaps, I simply want to tell a story and it invariably includes different aspects that makes choosing the genre difficult for me. Perhaps that is where the agent comes in.
Something else for me to bear in mind when the editing of my next book has been completed.