Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
As I was saying in my blog post yesterday, you can communicate not only inappropriate items to your publisher but, in addition, you can communicate too often. I’m in the middle of straightening out a publisher-author fracas because the publisher is just plain weary of hearing from the author. Every day, apparently, the author had new questions to ask about marketing/publicity, when the next contract might be offered, how the last manuscript turned in was received, etc.
The publisher, weary of being barraged with emails, came to me and said, “We give up. We’ve tried to be responsive, but really, we can’t devote this amount of time to answering one author’s questions.”One of the great aspects of having an agent is that the publisher depends on the agent at such relationally-defining moments to step in and sort through the mess. Because, trust me, the publisher and the author have very different views of how the communication misfired.
The sad truth is that some agents won’t try to sort through the tangle. He or she believes the agent’s job ends when the contract is signed. At our agency, we believe the agent’s job is never done, even when no more money is coming from a project. We want to oversee the author’s career, and that includes taking care of relationship snafus.
What can we learn from my client’s mistake? That the publisher does not appreciate hearing from authors too often. If an author sends a nonstop stream of e-mails, even if they’re to different people at the publishing house, that author soon becomes thought of as a problem.
The author is seen either as way too insecure (and needing too many assurances) or way too pushy (and hoping that being pushy will result in more marketing/publicity or editorial feedback). But the publisher will hold an author at arm’s length in such instances, and the publisher will always win because the author needs the publisher more than the publisher needs the author.
If you think you’re over-communicating, consult with your agent, or ask your editor if the in-house folks think they’re hearing too often from you. Let it be known that you want to be sensitive to how much communication should take place.
If you have lots of issues to clarify, collect them over several days, put them in categories (marketing, publicity, editorial issues) and then send emails targeted to the best person for each category.
Can you think of a time someone has over-communicated with you? (Like maybe your toddler…) How did you respond? What would have made the relationship work better at that point? How might that apply to an author’s relationship with her or his publisher?
All three of my children were over-communicating with me as I read this. Going in with specific questions can help, as well as knowing what you expect to hear. I agree it’s important not to come across too demanding or with a sense of entitlement. I’m big time into respecting boundaries and communicating. It truly can improve a working relationship.
I love how you described your agency overseeing the author’s career.
~ Wendy
Have my children ever over-communicated? You mean like the times when they were toddlers and even knocked on the door when I was in the bathroom? Actually, now that they’re grown, they probably think Mom’s the one who over-communicates.
I shall try to remember your advice with my children, and most definitely with publishers. Actually, I’m the shy type in that circumstance so I might be more likely to under-communicate. Could that also be a problem?
Janet,
I’m still pondering yesterday’s post as well. It seems like the painful collision of the “writer’s dream world” and the realities of the business side of publishing are inevitable. That is, unless we come into this with a high degree of professionalism and measured expectations.
Apparently, the barefoot Muse must also be comfortable in a pin striped suit.
Teri, yes, you’ve pinpointed the problem at the opposite end of the spectrum–the author that the publisher never hears from. Publishers can interpret that as uninvolved. You won’t hit the just-right balance very often, but it’s important to be aware that you’re not serving yourself well by residing on either end of the spectrum.
Michael, you’re so correct that what the writer dreams of as the perfect relationship with a publisher seldom ever happens. It is, after all, a relationship, and you’re relating to many people at the publishers about a complex business–and your creative work. No wonder miscommunication happens!
Years ago I was responsible for the hiring at a coffee company. We had one difficult to fill position that was out of the area, so we let a couple of “headhunters” know about the opening.
One of them epitomized “overcommunicating.” He’d call to tell me he was going to send me a resume, call to tell me he sent it and call again (after maybe 30 minutes) to see what I thought of it. He used up soooo much of my time I worked 3x harder to fill that position without him.
If I were in the publisher’s position and I had an author like that, the current project would definitely be the final project. Besides it being annoying and time consuming, I might also have the thought that the person’s time could be better spent working on that next project.
I also think that when it comes to several of those matters (when the next contract is coming, etc), that’s best left to the agent to take up with the publisher. Better to pester your agent than your publisher, right?
Mary, thanks for the example of overcommunicating. It aptly shows how unproductive too much contact with a colleague can be. And, yes, publishers do think in terms of how much time authors require of a publisher in determining if another contract will be forthcoming. After all, if you require lots of extra time, the publisher might not find an additional book from you profitable.
Yes, when in doubt contact your agent rather than your publisher. But agents have finite time as well; so they can’t allow any one client take up infinite amounts of every day.
Teri, your toddlers actually knocked at the bathroom door? Mine were always in the bathroom with me.
Thanks for both of these posts, Janet. Good stuff.
Yesterday’s really surprised me. It never occurred to me that people at the publishing houses would be excited about signing a contract.