Non-fiction: lead times
| Thu, Sep 2 2010 10:43am IST 1 | ||
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 Catherine 51 Posts |
Dear people – I would appreciate advice on how long it takes for a non-fiction book to be published. Let’s say, I was writing a non-fiction book that would have most relevance and marketability if it hit the shelves in December 2011 (being linked to an event that is happening in mid-2012). Working back, when would the book have to be accepted by a publisher in order to meet this deadline? I remember a discussion around non-fiction which went along the lines of: publishers can accept a non-fiction book before it is complete (based on good credentials, good example chapter, good synopsis etc). Although I’ve looked for this discussion, I can’t find it – would someone mind going through it again? What are publishers looking for in a non-fiction submission? Are the rules different for unpublished writers? Many thanks Catherine |
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| Thu, Sep 2 2010 11:35am IST 2 | ||
 Spangles 722 Posts |
Catherine, generally speaking the shortest lead time for a
non-fiction book is about four months - that is the schedule for
the book I've got to deliver at the start of December for a
publication date of early April 2011. It is more usually about six
months. However, this does depend entirely on the way the publisher
works, the complexity of the finished book and the sense of urgency
around the publication date. For instance, I have written for one
publisher who always allows one year for an illustrated non-fiction
book to be in production. Of course, there are always exceptions,
such as the slew of books that cropped up like mushrooms after
Michael Jackson died, but some of those were almost literally
thrown together and the schedules were horrific. But such things
are definitely very rare events.
I can't go into this in too much detail today because I'm not
supposed to be on here at all - I should be working! - but I can
go through it another time in more detail if you need further
info. Yes, you're right in thinking that a publisher can
commission a non-fiction book before it's been written, based on
the synopsis and some sample chapters. Publishers are looking for
non-fiction submissions that cover their subject matter well,
that are written with authority, that are expressed clearly (any
non-fiction book that's a muddle is going to be a disaster), that
are going to sell well (as far as they can tell, of course), that
are different from the competition for some reason (written from
a different angle, perhaps, or with new information) and
preferably are written by someone who knows their stuff or, to
use the current jargon, has 'a platform' (i.e. not the owner of a
dais but someone who is known to be an expert on the topic, gives
talks about it, runs a school or workshops, etc). The rules are
no different for unpublished writers - either way, you have to
prove that your book is worth the publisher's time and money.
If you're tying your book in with a specific event you need to
get the idea out to publishers pronto, because if it's a big
event they will probably already be thinking about it and you
don't want to be told that they've already commissioned a book on
the subject. If it isn't a big event but it's one that deserves
to be noted, they will need time to consider it, discuss it with
the sales team and so on. Either way, publishers will already be
mapping out their publication lists for next year so there is no
time to lose.
Something else to consider is that your book idea will probably
be taken to one of the big trade book fairs before the publisher
wants to proceed with it, unless they are completely confident
that it's a goer, so you must build that into your own submission
schedule. There are three main fairs each year - Frankfurt in
October, the London Book Fair in April and BookExpo America in
May. If you're writing a children's book there are some extra
fairs for those. Anyway, if you were to submit your idea now to a
publisher who liked it, they would have time to work up a
presentation to take to Frankfurt this October. Otherwise, they
might have to wait until the London Book Fair next year before
deciding whether to proceed. Especially with the way things are
at the moment in the trade.
So I would say that ideally you should submit your idea soon,
because of course there is no guarantee that you'll strike lucky
with your first submission. It may take a while to find the right
publisher, and you need to bear that in mind.
I hope this is helpful. Do ask if you have any other questions.
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| Thu, Sep 2 2010 11:40am IST 3 | ||
 EmmaD 1801 Posts |
The usual lead-time in publishing is a year, from the final
manuscript being accepted to the book hitting the shelves. They CAN
turn things round quicker - vide the rash of Michael Jackson bios -
but generally speaking they need six months of
editing/designing/typesetting, to get it to the bound-proof stage
to start showing it to the big booksellers (to get feedback on
covers and blurbs etc. apart from anything else) and media (the
glossies, particularly, have long lead times), and then six months
to stoke the publicity fire, start selling it into bookshops and so
on and finally print the thing. And the pub date will get pushed
around too, to bag slots in the promotion merry-go-round of
book-of-the-week, 3-for-2s and so on.
And of course if you've got to write it first, you need to be trying for a contract in time to write it, before that year kicks in. Having said that, all these things are moveable, to suit a particular pub date. But the more of a rush it is, the more expensive for them... |
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| Thu, Sep 2 2010 11:48am IST 4 | ||
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EmmaD 1801 Posts |
Crossed with Spangles, who knows far, far more about it than I
do...
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| Thu, Sep 2 2010 01:45pm IST 5 | ||
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Catherine 51 Posts |
Thank you Spangles and Emma for your extremely helpful comments.
Looks like I'd better get a move on...
I would be interested if you were able to expand, Spangles,
particularly about how you structure your submission to the
publisher, if agents play the same role in non-fiction as in
fiction etc. But only when you have time!
C
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| Thu, Sep 2 2010 03:08pm IST 6 | ||
 Caducean Whisks 1120 Posts |
Can I ask an allied question, please? Is an agent as
essential/advisable for non-fiction as it is for fiction?
I have a little non-fiction work on the go and am beginning to wonder whether to go the agent route or not. I mean, of course, for no-name authors like me - not for the celebs, for whom (I assume) doors open all over the place, nor for seasoned writers who have a respectable back-catalogue. What should little ol' me do? |
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| Fri, Sep 3 2010 09:31am IST 7 | ||
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Spangles 722 Posts |
Catherine and Whisks, I may have to answer your questions in
chunks, as I get time and as new ideas occur to me, but I might as
well start now.
Submissions
Catherine, below is a list of what I include in a submission to a
publisher. It is always sent through my agent, but having an
agent does not mean I can bypass this bit. It still has
to be done, and it still has to be of a decent standard. Frankly,
if an author can't put together a good non-fiction submission it
will raise eyebrows about how they're going to cope with the
book!
Here is a breakdown of what a
good non-fiction synopsis should contain:
* A brief overview of the book (in running text). Keep it simple, straightforward and to the point, so the agent/publisher can immediately get a good flavour of what the book contains. At this point, you are selling the concept to the agent/publisher. Avoid the temptation to include any hyperbole or hard sell. (Although I doubt very much that you would do this, it is still worth mentioning. You would be amazed to see what people write!) * A short description (about 100-200 words) of what makes your book stand out from the competition. Say what it has to offer. List the competition, with a brief description of each book, saying what is in print and what isn’t. The publisher needs to know where your book belongs in its particular field. You are the expert in this so you need to give them your expertise. * An itemized breakdown of each chapter. This can be quite short and it doesn’t need complete sentences, but it must contain the guts of each chapter, so it's easy to see how the ideas flow, how one chapter leads on to the next, and so on. * A paragraph of information about you — who you are, your experiences, where you live, whether your writing has been published before, your work, etc. Ideally, when submitting this you should also have some sample chapters ready to send out if requested to do so. Any publisher worth their salt will ask for some examples of your work before making a commitment and you should have those ready to go. It's no good saying they can have them in six months' time. Agents Can't sort out the spacing between the sub-head and this text! Anyway, Catherine, you asked if agents play the same role in non-fiction as in fiction. And Whisks, you wonder if an agent is essential for non-fiction. I asked my agent about both these questions the other day, actually. My non-fiction agent says it depends entirely on the client and what they're writing about. She has some clients who she says she won't allow to visit a publisher without her being there, because they're hopeless in meetings or they get into arguments or there is some other reason why they need to be chaperoned. She always reads through an author's submission before sending it off to a publisher, and she will often come back with comments/suggestions for changes, etc, if she sees fit. When I come up with a new idea I always discuss it with her first, as I don't want to waste my time creating a submission if she can't sell it. And sometimes this can be very disappointing! Fiction agents often get involved with the nuts and bolts of the novel they're handling - that is what my fiction agent is doing with me at the moment. She acts like an editor, suggesting changes, pointing out weak areas, etc. My non-fiction agent has never done this with me, and she says she rarely does it with other authors unless she knows they are struggling or there have been problems with the publisher and she wants to see the level of the work that's being submitted. Does a non-fiction author need an agent? Not as much as a novelist. It can help, of course, because it shows you've already convinced someone that your work is good enough to warrant representation and so it should be good enough for publication too. However, it depends to a large extent on what you're writing about. Is there an agent who represents your field? If you're writing historical biographies, you can pretty much take your pick. If you're writing about chickens, Whisks, it may be harder to find an agent who is happy to take you on because it's quite a specialized field. It's the same with equestrian books - not many agents handle horses! So in that instance, you might decide it's worth submitting your work to a publisher direct, rather than to spend ages tracking down an agent who may or may not be any good. You could always explain all that to the publisher if they are interested in your work. And, of course, once you are published you will probably find it easier to get an agent, although it may still be hard to find an agent who knows enough about your specialized field to be confident that they can sell your stuff. I have heard many authors - published and non-published - complain about agents, claiming essentially that they're bloodsuckers who aren't worth their commission because it's easy to submit a proposal to a publisher and then sit back and bank the cheque. But I think agents (the good ones, not the hopeless ones) are definitely worth the money because they do a lot of behind-the-scenes work, and my agent says the really tricky bit can be negotiating the contract to get a fair deal. If you don't have an agent, you can join the Society of Authors who will read your contract and advise you on whether it's fair/what to negotiate about. So all is not lost by any means. Whisks, you say you imagine that celebs can open doors all over the place. Not necessarily! At the Frankfurt Book Fair a couple of years ago an agent was desperately trying to sell the auobiography of a Very Famous Actor, and couldn't get a bite. It was the talk of the Fair, apparently. It was eventually sold but it was a struggle. It all depends on what the publishers think the market wants or the way the market is going. I seem to have answered your questions after all, but please do ask if anything else occurs to you. I'm very happy to help if I can.
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| Fri, Sep 3 2010 09:39am IST 8 | ||
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EmmaD 1801 Posts |
Spangles, you are such a star! I'm contemplating a non-fiction
proposal at the moment, and that's all so helpful...
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| Fri, Sep 3 2010 09:56am IST 9 | ||
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Spangles 722 Posts |
Thanks, Emma, I'm glad it's helpful. I am thinking of posting one
of my old proposals on here, if I can find one that's suitable.
'An old proposal'! You can see how publishing terms can easily be
misconstrued!
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| Fri, Sep 3 2010 11:31am IST 10 | ||
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Caducean Whisks 1120 Posts |
Whew, Spangles - such a full answer, than you so much, that's
fantastic. I keep forgetting that you need to negotiate with
publishers - that your relationship with them is adversarial (i.e.
you want as much money as you can, they want to pay as little as
they can), and someone to stick up for you is part of the job of an
agent. It never occurred to me that subject matter might, er,
matter, either - so thanks for those thoughts.
And I, for one, would be very curious to see an actual proposal, if you are willing and able to dust one off. Thanks again - that's all so helpful. Whisks |
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| Sat, Sep 4 2010 07:23am IST 11 | ||
 Green polka 50 Posts |
Yes, me too. There seems to be so much contradicting info out there, making it very confusing. Some say keep it short and let them ask for the rest, other suggest detail, like Spangles. I like the idea of sending everything through once, of course so long as it isn't just a jumble of unnecessary words. But we something to sell, and we need to be able to make a proposal dignifying that - surely? |
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| Sat, Sep 4 2010 08:24am IST 12 | ||
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Spangles 722 Posts |
Whisks, I know what you mean about the relationship between a
publisher and an author being adversarial, because they've got to
find some sort of compromise between what they both want, but I
have never had any experience of real trouble over this. I do know
of one non-fiction author who always ends up at daggers drawn with
her publishers, whoever they are (so it's not one company in
particular, it's the entire publishing industry that she dislikes),
mostly because she is already anticipating trouble then flies into
a paranoid rage over the smallest problem, fires off an incendiary
email, follows it up with more invective and everyone gets upset.
If she didn't sell in the numbers she does, she wouldn't be
published because word spreads and no one wants that kind of
hassle.
Although it's tempting to imagine that publishers look like the
archetypal baddie from one of the silent films, with a big black
moustache and slicked down hair,who's just tied our heroine to
the railway tracks, in fact the vast majority of them want their
authors to be happy. A happy author writes a good book. You can
tell the books that are written by unhappy authors because, on
some level, they don't work. The angry author I referred to in
the above para often writes books that, I think, don't work,
although they sell in great numbers because of her name. The
books are littered with mistakes, both factual and grammatical,
probably because no one dares tell her about them. And they have
an edgy feel to them. So in negotiations, there is always room
for compromise. The publisher may not be able to increase the
advance to the level that you request, but they might improve the
royalties instead or give you more author's copies than are
usually stipulated in the contract. I think the key is always to
remain friendly and courteous, because then they're much more
well disposed towards you and it makes the entire process much
more pleasant. And you stand a much better chance of writing
another book with them. I have put my foot down sometimes over
things, and I have always been listened to because it isn't the
normal way I operate at all. So if I protest about something, the
publisher knows it's quite serious.
Green polka, I agree about the confusing information. It can
drive you nuts. One book or blog says one thing, with great
authority. Another says something different, also with great
authority. I am simply speaking from my own experience (probably
with great authority too!). I think it depends on what the agent
or publisher has asked for in the first instance, or whether
they've asked for anything at all. So if you're writing a letter
of general inquiry, it might be best to simply describe your book
idea within the body of the letter or email: 'I am writing a book
of approximately 100,000 words about what Elizabeth I ate for
breakfast. I have seen primary reference material that states
quite plainly that she always ate Cornflakes followed by black
cherry yoghurt, which is remarkable considering that it's
generally thought that Cornflakes weren't manufactured until 1899
and that yoghurt was only eaten in the Middle East at that time.
It also seems that she was one of the first people to appreciate
the benefits of Manuka 10+ honey, as several pots of it were
found by her death bed.' You then ask them if they're interested
in seeing more material. If the agent/publisher does ask for
more, you send them the full proposal plus, if they've asked for
them, some sample chapters.
Yes, we have something to sell and our proposal has to dignify
it. I completely agree. The proposal is like our shop window, so
we want it to be as impressive, informative and tempting as
possible.
I am still looking for a suitable proposal to post on here. I
think I may have to cobble one together as the only one I can
find that does what I want is for my wip and I don't want to give
the game away about that because I know other authors are coming
up with similar ideas.
By the way, the synopsis is always single-spaced. And I always
put the title of the book, my name and the page number in the
header section of the document, so it can be easily identified
and reassembled if someone drops it on the floor.
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| Sat, Sep 4 2010 09:01am IST 13 | ||
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Spangles 722 Posts |
I've now found the proposal that I submitted for a book that was
published in 2001 - which is why the biographical info is out of
date. You will see that this proposal doesn't contain any info
about the competition, as publishers didn't expect that at the
time.
You will also see that I put the number of pages and number of
words by each chapter, to give the publisher some idea of the
level of importance of the different chapters. For instance, such
topics as Western astrology and palmistry were afforded a lot
more space in the book than dice. This isn't something I would
normally do for an initial proposal but the publisher had
requested it, having told me how many thousand words they wanted
and how many pages the book contained.
I always put different sections of the proposal on separate
pages, and I've indicated two page breaks in square brackets. In
the long chapter breakdown I inserted page breaks so as not to
break up any of the sub-sections, such as breaking the numerology
section halfway through. So I would have inserted a page break
before it to carry it over in its entirety to the next page.
Sorry, some of the formatting has gone a bit wonky and I can't
fix it. But I did put the title in a larger size to make it
stand out. A lot of this is common sense, as you will
see.
Tell Your Own Fortune Jane Struthers Tell Your Own Fortune is a fascinating compendium of fourteen of the world’s most powerful divination techniques. These come from many cultures and traditions, from runes that originated in Viking mythology to the gypsy roots of cartomancy. Most of these techniques use items that are readily available, including dominoes, coins, dice and candles. Others require specialist tools such as tarot cards, pendulums and runes. Throughout the book the emphasis is using divination techniques on several levels. They are not only a way to discover the potential in the future but also tools for self-knowledge that will enable us to move beyond simplistic ideas of good and bad fortune and to see the bigger picture of our lives. [there was a page break here] Tell Your Own Fortune by Jane Struthers
What the future holds for youSynopsisIntroduction 2 pp/700 wordsBrief introduction to the topics in the book; the importance of intuition; how to give a reading in the right spirit; how to deal with negative interpretations when reading for others. Western Astrology 26 pp/9100 wordsBrief description of each of the twelve Sun signs; astrological projections for each sign for the next 10 years based on the cycles of Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune and Pluto. Chinese Astrology 24 pp/8400 wordsBrief history of Chinese astrology; charts listing the years for each of the 12 signs; description of the sign’s characteristics; how each sign fares in the 12 different years. I Ching 16 pp/5600 wordsBrief history of the I Ching; how to throw the coins to get a reading; the eight trigrams and what they mean; the sixty-four hexagrams and what they mean. Tarot 22 pp/7700 wordsThe possible origins of the tarot and what it may mean; its links with playing cards; how to use the cards for a reading; the significance of the Major and Minor Arcana, and of the four suits; meanings of the 78 cards; classic tarot layouts; sample readings. Cartomancy 16 pp/5600 wordsHow to use an ordinary pack of playing cards to tell your fortune; the differences and similarities with the tarot; the significance of the four suits; meanings of the 52 cards; suggested layouts; sample readings. Numerology 18 pp/6300 wordsThe mystical qualities of numbers; how to use numerology – table linking the numbers to each letter of the alphabet; how to calculate your destiny number, personality number, heart number and expression number; the meanings of the eleven numbers. Palmistry 26 pp/9100 wordsThe secrets that the hand can reveal; the four basic shapes of hand; the meanings of the nine mounts on the hand; the meanings of the four fingers and thumb; the meanings of the major lines – life, fate, head, heart, bracelets of Neptune; the meanings of the minor lines – girdle of Venus, ring of Solomon, hepatic line; the meanings of breaks and other marks on the hand. The Oracle 12 pp/1000 wordsAstrological oracles based on the themes of the ten planets – Sun for creativity; Moon for emotions; Mercury for communication; Venus for love; Mars for ambition and drive; Jupiter for prosperity; Saturn for career; Uranus for unexpected events; Neptune for dreams; Pluto for major change. Runes 20 pp/7000 wordsThe Norse tradition of runes; how to cast the runes; the meanings of the twenty-four runes known as the Elder Futhark. Divining 6 pp/2100 wordsHow to use a pendulum to divine the future; choosing your pendulum; working with the pendulum; phrasing your question properly for the pendulum. Ceromancy 6 pp/2100 wordsThe art of divining the future through melted wax; choosing and preparing a candle; dropping the wax into a bowl of water; interpreting the shapes produced in the bowl; sample shapes and their suggested meanings. Dice 8 pp/2800 wordsHow to use two or three dice to answer questions; throwing the dice and divining the answer from the numbers that come up; meanings of the numbers from one to eighteen. Dominoes 8 pp/2800 wordsSelecting dominoes and divining a meaning from them; how to use the dominoes; meanings of each domino block. Tasseomancy 6 pp/2100 wordsThe ancient art of divining the future by reading tea leaves or coffee grounds; how to use the tea or coffee; significance of the positions of leaves/grounds within the cup; detecting shapes and interpreting them. Prelims and index 8 pp/2800 words Total 224 pp/75,200 words [there was a page break here] About the Author Jane is an astrologer, tarot reader and writer. She has studied tarot, palmistry and astrology since the age of fourteen and will soon be teaching astrology at the London School of Astrology. As Gemini Jane, she wrote the daily astrology column in the Sun newspaper, Britain’s best-selling tabloid, for two years between 1998 and 2000. She writes weekly horoscope columns for Bella magazine, Britain’s best-selling women’s weekly, and also for an internet site, plus a monthly horoscope column for a regional magazine. Jane has talked about astrology and the tarot on many television and radio programmes, and appears twice-weekly on Dave Lee Travis’ morning radio show. She is the author of many books, including The Book of Destinies (1995), an introduction to tarot, astrology, palmistry and other predictive techniques; The Destiny Tarot (2000), a tarot deck and accompanying book; and Understanding Astrology (2001), a beginner’s guide to astrology. To date, The Book of Destinies has been published in twelve countries worldwide. Jane’s series of annual horoscope books is now in its fifth year. Jane lives in London with her husband. |
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| Sat, Sep 4 2010 09:04am IST 14 | ||
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Spangles 722 Posts |
Oh, this post won't behave itself! The chapter headings were in
bold upper and lower, not in the boxes that the Cloud has given
them. So they looked like this:
Numerology 18pp/6300 words
The mystical qualities of numbers; how to use numerology – table
linking the numbers to each letter of the alphabet; how to
calculate your destiny number, personality number, heart number
and expression number; the meanings of the eleven numbers.
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| Sat, Sep 4 2010 09:45am IST 15 | ||
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Catherine 51 Posts |
Dear Spangles – you’re very generous to provide such detailed advice and to share your proposal: I can see why you are such a successful author! If it is possible to radiate a positive aura through the internet, you are certainly doing it… The process has become a lot clearer to me now. The only part which still confuses me though is the Book Fair business that you mentioned. As I understand, an interested publisher will take your proposal (or just the idea?) to a fair and discuss it with the buyers before committing to publish the book? Without this step, they are unlikely to take you on even if they like the idea themselves? (I only ask since October is too soon for me and London sounds a little late…) Final, final minor question (this is verging on exploitation – sorry!): in that the work of the agent, as you described it, is less time-consuming than for fiction, do they tend to charge differently? Thanks again for your fount of knowledge. Catherine |
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| Sat, Sep 4 2010 10:30am IST 16 | ||
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Caducean Whisks 1120 Posts |
Ditto from me, too - that's incredibly generous of you and so
interesting. Your chapter breakdowns look just like the chapter
blurb in finished books - main headers within and so on.
I'm surprised how definitely you commit yourself, though, to number of words within each chapter. What would you do if you found out something enormously interesting while researching a chapter and you wanted to include it, but it blew the limits? Conversely, when you'd said all you had to say in half the promised number of words? Or even thought up a whole new chapter and wanted to ditch one of the agreed ones? I suppose all things are flexible, and a proposal is just that. Or do you have to stick rigidly to the plan? I really appreciate all this info, but please feel free to draw a line under it all whenever you like as I'm sure you have plenty of work on your plate. Thanks again, Whisks x |
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| Sat, Sep 4 2010 11:20am IST 17 | ||
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Spangles 722 Posts |
Gosh, thanks, Catherine! A bit of head-swelling going on here!
Sometimes a publisher will go ahead with a book without first
taking it to one of the book fairs. For instance, if it's a
humdinger that they just know will sell by the truckload, they
may decide to push on with it regardless and then take it to the
next book fair that crops up. The book fairs are mainly intended
for foreign publishers to meet one another, so a UK publisher can
sell the foreign rights in their book to other countries, and
vice versa. Very often, the publisher needs the revenue that
these foreign deals will bring in order to publish the book with
any sort of confidence that they'll get their money back. This is
true of fiction (for instance, the UK publisher may not be able
to proceed until they've got a US publisher to take the North
American rights), but it can be even more critical for
non-fiction, especially if it's illustrated. The level of
illustration, photography, printing costs, etc, is so high that
without co-production deals (as they're called) from other
countries, the costs would be prohibitive.
What I'm about to describe applies to non-fiction, not fiction.
And I'm going to use the correct publishing terminology, so you
know what it refers to when you come across it again. The
publisher will almost always take the proposal, either as a
printed synopsis or more usually as sample pages (which I'll
explain in a minute), to the book fair and use that as the
selling tool. The sample pages look like pages from the finished
book but are printed up as big laminates. Sometimes they are
pasted into what is called a bulking dummy, which is a blank
version of the finished book, to show the type of binding that
will be used, the weight and colour of paper, the boards on the
front covers, the extent of the book (the number of pages), and
so on. The pages, whether in the book or as laminates, normally
have what is called live text (as in real words), although very
occasionally they will have dummy copy (which is gibberish) to
show how the panels of text and the captions will look on the
page. They will also have live illustrations, such as photographs
or line drawings that refer to what the text is saying. Normally,
the publisher will want a dummy jacket (the front and back
cover), a chapter start (the chapter opener to show how these
pages will look) and some inside spreads (maybe two or three,
each showing a different aspect of the book).
Yes, unfortunately publishers often have to jettison a book idea
because they have failed to sell it at one or more book fairs.
This happened to me in the spring. A publisher asked me if they
could put my name on an idea that they'd just come up with and
were about to take to the London Book Fair (LBF). I said yes,
they could, as it was for a book I'd love to write. But the LBF
was a disaster this year, because of the volcanic ash from
Iceland, and the publisher failed to sell the idea because there
weren't enough foreign publishers to talk to. So they haven't
proceeded with the idea. They may take it to Frankfurt next month
and try again, or they may not. I sometimes work for what are
called packagers, which are small independent companies that
produce books for publishers. They do everything from
commissioning the book to printing it, but they sell the rights
to a publisher, who sells and distributes the finished copies.
Very often I've worked up proposals for these packagers, either
for my own books or for those of another author (I'm an editor as
well as a writer), and very often these proposals fall by the
wayside because the packager can't sell the required amount of
foreign rights to make the cost of the book viable. It's
disappointing all round when it happens.
I shouldn't worry too much about the timing of the fairs. Let the
publisher take care of all that. What you need to do is to submit
your idea as soon as it's ready. If someone really loves it they
might try to sell it to foreign publishers before the next fair,
either by sending the sample pages by email or by sending the
foreign rights director off on a sales trip to another country,
where they troop round to the different publishers with sample
pages from various books that they want to sell. Or, wonderfully,
the publisher may decide that they don't need to sell your idea
to foreign publishers in order to proceed.
I've already mentioned the sure-fire book that they're confident
will sell at the next fair or for which they have negotiated
foreign sales by some other means. Alternatively, it might be a
book whose sales will be confined to the UK because its subject
matter applies solely to the UK. If foreign publishers take it
that will be a bonus. For instance, my book Red Sky at
Night was published last year with no foreign rights sold
because it's about the British countryside. This spring my agent
sold the rights to its follow-up, which is about the British
seaside, again without it being taken to a book fair in the first
instance. Although it will go to Frankfurt, as did Red
Sky last year after it had been published in the UK.
I wouldn't say that the work of non-fiction agent is less
time-consuming than that of a fiction agent! Sorry if I gave that
impression. I can almost hear my non-fiction agent groaning at
the very thought! Yes, it may be that the fiction agent spends a
lot of time reading and giving feedback on their novelists' work.
But a non-fiction agent (whose workload I'm about to describe is
very similar to that of a fiction agent) will be continually
looking in The Bookseller (the UK trade mag) at what is
being published, what's coming up in popularity, what's on the
way out, etc. They then pass this info on to their clients (for
instance, they might ring an author and suggest they think about
writing a book on a particular topic that's going to be big -
that's what my agent does with me). They will be continually
talking to publishers about what they're looking for. They will
also be in contact with their authors, sorting out their
problems, liaising with publishers on their behalf, discussing
their next books, negotiating their contracts, chasing up late
payments, checking royalty statements, reading their authors'
proposals, suggesting changes to these, sending them off to
publishers, chasing up the publishers when they fail to respond
(yes, publishers can fail to respond to agents as well as to
authors), submitting the proposal to another publisher when the
first one turns them down, etc. And if that proposal fails to
find a buyer, they won't have been paid a penny for all the work
involved in those submissions. And they will also be going
through their slush pile, weeding out the mountains of crap in
order to find the hidden treasure.
It's quite common for a publisher to dream up an idea for a
non-fiction book and then send emails to various agents asking if
they have anyone on their lists who would be a suitable author
for that idea. I've written several books as a result of such
overtures. Red Sky at Night was one of them. Bizarrely,
I'd just delivered another book on roughly similar lines to that
same publisher, so my agent was incredulous that they hadn't
approached me direct. And told them so! So sometimes a
non-fiction agent acts like a marriage broker.
I am good friends with my agent as well as being her client, and
I have often listened to her telling me about days and weeks
spent sorting out a single problem for a single client. For
instance, there might be an impasse about the jacket design so
she has to intercede between the publisher and the client, or the
client might turn out to be a very bolshie customer who creates
lots of problems that the agent has to sort out. (Such clients
are usually dropped immediately their book is published. It is
not good to have tricky people on your list. It gives a bad
impression and takes up too much time in troubleshooting.) Last
year she had to attend several summit meetings when things got
very dicey over one book for one client, and I know she had
sleepless nights over all that because she told me so. She will
also be at a client's side if they have a personal crisis that
has nothing to do with their work, such as a divorce or a serious
illness. She recently came to my mother's funeral, for instance,
even though they'd never met, because she wanted to give me her
support. Maybe she's an exceptional agent. I certainly think so!
Different agents charge different rates, even within their own
particular field, but they all charge a percentage (usually
between 10 and 15% for UK sales) of the revenue earned on their
clients' published books. They usually charge a bit more (usually
15 to 20%) for foreign sales.
Please do ask any other questions that occur to you. I am very
happy to help and don't feel exploited in the slightest. As you
can probably tell from the screeds I've written on here, I love
writing non-fiction and I'm delighted to pass on what I know
about it.
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| Sat, Sep 4 2010 05:15pm IST 18 | ||
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Spangles 722 Posts |
Whisks, it all depends on the point at which you want to depart
from the proposal. Most editors are realistic enough to know that
what you put down for the synopsis may well change when you begin
writing, so it is flexible as you suggest. I have often mapped out
a book and then begun writing, only to realize I've forgotten a
rather important point, as though I've hopped straight from A to C,
so I have to insert B. I might mention it in passing to the editor
or I might not, according to how important B is.
If you do discover something that you want to include but it
blows the word count, you have to compensate for that by cutting
elsewhere. The one thing you must not do is deliver a manuscript
that is massively over the agreed word count. A surprising number
of authors do that, and it's a complete headache all round
because it means the author and editor have to negotiate over
what's going to be cut. And that can lead to bad feeling on the
part of the author and frustration on the part of the editor. It
may also screw up the schedule. Equally, you mustn't deliver a
manuscript that is massively short. Either way, you're breaking
your contract and the ultimate consequence of that is to have the
contract cancelled, so you have to hand back any money you've
been paid and walk away.
When I'm writing a book that is either arranged spread-by-spread
(eg. pages 12-13 are the chapter intro on tarot; pages 14-15 are
a brief history of tarot; pages 16-17 describe how to give a
reading, and so on) or topic by topic, I tick off each page or
topic on my master synopsis/page plan (a detailed list of what's
going on each page throughout the book) when I've written it. If
I am adding something, I have a separate column for these
additions so I can keep score and know how many things I've got
to cut to compensate. Sometimes it's a bit of a juggling act!
I hasten to add that not all publishers expect chapter by
chapter word counts. It depends on the sort of book you're
writing. If it's narrative text, they may not be all that
worried about how many words are in each chapter, provided that
the complete manuscript has a word count that tallies with what
has been commissioned and therefore budgeted for.
The one occasion when it's a disaster to depart from your
synopsis or page plan is when the book is being designed at the
same time as you're writing the words. This is for books with
integrated text and pictures. Having the book designed while
the author is writing it usually happens when there isn't
enough time in the schedule for the ideal arrangement, which is
for the author to write the copy and the designer to design the
book based on that copy. When things are tight, for whatever
reason, the author will submit a detailed synopsis/page plan
that is agreed on by all parties. Then the designer designs the
spreads based on this page plan. The author receives the
spreads, which have the photos and/or illustrations scanned
into position and blank spaces for the text with a word count
so you know how many words you've got to write for each spread.
You also get the word counts for the captions, so you write
those at the same time, provided that you know what you're
meant to be writing about. Some authors find this easy, others
struggle with it. Why is it a disaster to depart from the page
plan when the book is being designed and written in this way?
Because the designer will have to redesign the pages, and
sometimes the illustrations will already have been sent off to
the printers. Of course, if it's essential to make the changes
then you need to alert everyone asap and keep them informed.
Last year I resigned as the freelance project manager on a big
gardening book because the author completely ignored the highly
detailed page plan I'd created for him (he was too busy to do
it himself) and just wrote what he felt like writing. He
ignored the designed layouts, the detailed word counts, the
subject matter - the lot - and wrote double the number of words
he'd been asked to write on several new topics while completely
dropping others. It was a major red alert, and everyone threw
their hands up in horror. Normally I would stick with a project
(it's only the second project I've resigned from in 25 years of
freelance work) to the bitter end but he was already six months
late with the words, and to then discover that he'd blithely
gone his own sweet way without consulting us and couldn't give
a stuff about changing the look and contents of pages he'd
already agreed to made me decide that life was too short to be
involved in the project any longer. It also made it clear why
he's written several books but each time for a different
publisher. No sane publisher would want to go through all that
more than once, regardless of whose name is on the cover!
Authors like that get a very bad name, so it's always a good
idea to keep publishers informed if you suddenly realize that
dramatic changes are needed.
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| Sat, Sep 4 2010 08:57pm IST 19 | ||
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Caducean Whisks 1120 Posts |
Spangles, you've gone above and beyond, truly. This is all
fascinating and I appreciate having someone to ask what must seem
like dumb questions. I think you have here, the first couple of
chapters of a book on non-fiction writing, really I do. Why not put
together such a submission? You're certainly qualified!
Many thanks for your full, frank and informative answers, Whisks |
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| Sat, Sep 4 2010 09:06pm IST 20 | ||
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EmmaD 1801 Posts |
Whisks is saying what I was about to say. Also, have you thought
about teaching a one day or half day course 'write and sell
non-fiction' or some such?
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| Sun, Sep 5 2010 07:58am IST 21 | ||
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Spangles 722 Posts |
Ooh! Dear Whisks and Emma, thanks very much for your kind words.
You know, I have been considering writing a how-to book about
non-fiction for some time now. But I also wondered whether anyone
other than me would be interested in it. It's something I've lived
and breathed for almost my entire career, beginning on the
publishing side of the fence and now moving to the editing and
writing side of the fence. I'll talk to my agent about it and see
if she thinks she could sell it. I suppose the other option would
be to write it and sell it as an e-book on the website I keep
meaning to set up.
Emma, I have been wondering whether there is scope for the sort
of thing you describe. I'd love to do it but don't know where to
start in organizing such a thing. I'm used to teaching, as I
teach astrology and palmistry, both as formal classes and more
informal workshops, but I've never taught anything about writing.
Any suggestions most gratefully received!
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| Sun, Sep 5 2010 08:00am IST 22 | ||
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Spangles 722 Posts |
Forgot to say, Whisks, that they don't seem like dumb questions at
all. They all seem like perfectly sensible and logical questions,
and I really enjoyed thinking them through and then answering them.
So feel free, everyone, to keep them coming!
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| Sun, Sep 5 2010 08:25am IST 23 | ||
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Caducean Whisks 1120 Posts |
Thank you, Spangly One; you're invaluable. Why not pitch the book?
It's half written already. As for setting up a course on your own,
let's see if we can think of an organisation that already knows how
to set up writing courses - or even a Festival? Nope, got me there.
Can't think of anybody at all.
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| Sun, Sep 5 2010 08:33am IST 24 | ||
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Caducean Whisks 1120 Posts |
I meant, of course, for advice on setting up a course -
don't wish to compromise anybody.
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| Sun, Sep 5 2010 11:54am IST 25 | ||
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EmmaD 1801 Posts |
Spangles, there's lots of scope for it, but you're right, it's
knowing where to start. I'll have a think and PM you.
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