Q: I wrote a number of books which were sold by my agent. Those books are now out of print and the agent is no longer representing me. The rights for the out of print books were reverted back to me. I am now representing myself and have a few publishers interested in republishing these out of print books. My agent feels that in the event that these books get republished that he should get his fee for the books as he did in the past. I understand that he sold these books originally, but the books are now out of print, he is no longer my agent and if it weren’t for my efforts representing myself the books would never be republished. What are my obligations here? I want to do what is fair but I don’t want an on-going relationship with my former agent.
According to Ginger Knowlton, Vice President, Curtis Brown, Ltd. “It’s difficult to answer this question without looking at the agency agreement you signed with the agent initially. If there was no agreement, the answer is easy. I believe it’s unfair and unrealistic of the agent to insist on receiving commission/fees on any new deals. Since rights to the original contracts reverted to you and you’re no longer working with the agent, you should be able to do with them whatever you please. The agent has no legitimate claim in my opinion.”That said, if you did sign an agency agreement, examine it carefully and see if there’s anything that applies to this situation. Your question is so succinct that I imagine you’ve already checked that, but let this be a lesson to everyone: read those agency agreements and don’t forget that there are agency clauses within your publishing contracts, too. Make sure you read those as well.” 11:12/04
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Q: What do publishers think about authors promoting their own books? Will they do less for a book because the author is actively marketing it?
It is unlikely that a publisher would do less for a book because the author is promoting it. The expectation is that the author will not interfere or overlap with the publisher’s marketing activities.
Opinions vary on how much an author should do. Many publishers encourage authors to do publicity in their local communities and to get on the lecture circuit to schools and libraries. Some will guide and support authors who want to extend the house’s publicity and marketing efforts. Others try to discourage authors from participating because they are afraid an author will become too demanding or will hinder the publisher’s own efforts.
For that reason, it is advisable to discuss plans with your publisher in advance. Keep them informed of your progress and report on your results. This may give them ideas for marketing possibilities for your future books. 9:10/92
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Q: Is there a way that I can encourage the publicist at my publishing house to do more for my books?
The children’s book publicist typically does many different jobs, has responsibility for many authors, and is given very little staff to help get the work done. Depending on the size of the publisher, responsibilities can include sending review copies to review journals (such as Booklist and School Library Journal); handling author appearances at schools, libraries and bookstores; organizing events at conventions; writing newsletters and other promotional material; updating mailing lists; fielding telephone inquiries from the industry and media about books and authors; as well as traditional media placements and author tours.
Given the scope of the job and the limited resources, it is hard to interest a publicist in taking on added responsibilities. However, if you contact the publicist 3-4 months in advance of your book’s publication date and provide concrete suggestions for publicity that is easily executed, you are likely to get some cooperation.
Provide a sheet of bulleted copy explaining what you think is newsworthy or different about your book and how it could be promoted. Send a set of names on labels of any media, people at organizations, and other important contacts you have that you think should receive books. List any experience you have in giving speeches, conducting seminars and workshops, doing press and broadcast interviews, and writing press or promotional material. Explain that you’d like to be involved and ask what you can do to help them do more for your book. 11:12/92
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Q: I am considering changing publishing houses. How will a move affect the marketing of my books?
The publisher you are leaving will continue to respond to marketing opportunities for your backlist titles, such as co-op ad requests and media requests for review copies, but is unlikely to proactively market your books once you’ve left. Publishers devote most of their attention to authors who plan a longterm relationship with the house and have numerous backlist titles. That’s because they can promote an author’s new book and have their backlist titles benefit too.
If you are unhappy with your current publisher and want to make a change, you’ll probably want to check what kind of marketing commitment the new house will make. As a published author with a track record of sales, you should be able to convince them to make more of an investment than they would for a new author. If they are not willing to do as much marketing as you’d like, consider whether there are things you can do yourself and ask if they will cooperate with you on some of your ideas.
Ask about the different levels of marketing they give to authors. Find out what more they can do when you have five or ten titles on their list. To speed the process, you may want to consider creating an “instant” backlist for yourself by doing a series. Publishers are willing to make a bigger investment in marketing a series because the cost can be amortized over several titles. 2:3/93
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Q: Should authors try to sell their books in bulk? Who handles this at the publishing house?
Selling large quantities of books at a specially negotiated price is called Special Sales. Large publishing houses have Special Sales departments. Smaller houses may handle it through their marketing department.
Unless you or your agent have contracted to retain rights for you to sell to a specific market, you should start by talking with the person in charge of special sales at your publishing house.
If the idea you have is to sell to a cataloger, corporation, association, specialty store, or other outlet the publisher already deals with, the publisher may ask you to provide them with information you have that would help make a sale. If you want to pursue a lead in areas the publisher does not cover, you can discuss who should make the contact and how far you should take negotiations.
Bantam Doubleday Dell is very aggressive about Special Sales. BDD’s Director of Sales for Special Markets Janet Cooke, who heads the 10-person department, recommends authors start by writing to the special sales manager at their publishing house and outlining marketing ideas. These can be the names and addresses of contacts you’d like the publisher to consider making, or ways that you would like to supplement the publisher’s special sales activities.
If you don’t get a response, wait a few weeks, then recontact the publisher to find out if they plan to act on your ideas. If not, ask what you can do.
The publisher may ask you to contact the vendor to see if there’s interest, then turn over negotiations to the Special Sales Department, or you may be told other ways to proceed. Bantam Doubleday Dell has arranged for a number of children’s book authors to be set up as distributors. They buy their books at a wholesaler’s discount and then resell the books in bulk at a profit. “This has been an excellent arrangement for both Bantam Doubleday Dell and the authors,” Ms. Cooke said. “We profit from having experts on the subject selling quantities of the books, and the authors get more money than they would have received through royalties.”
Authors should know, however, that in this kind of an arrangement they are subject to the same rules as any distributor. They must pass a credit check, adhere to a payment schedule, and handle returns. BDD does outline the process for authors who do want to set up a distributorship. This is also an idea that is not widespread, so other publishers may not be able to work in this way.
This is not an area where books will sell themselves with a good storyline or attractive art. You must identify an aspect of the book that is uniquely targeted to a specific market. One author made inroads selling horse stories to stores at racetracks, another sold a book on AIDS to Planned Parenthood. Cookbooks can be sold to gourmet stores and food companies who might use them in special promotions. Gardening books can be sold to catalogue companies, nurseries, or could be of interest for packaging with children’s garden tools.
With the right angle, you may find an opportunity to carve out a niche market. 8:9/93
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Q: I am currently looking for a new publisher because my first publisher decided not to take my next two books. What should I say in my query letter to new publishers?
Publishers know the decision not to take a book can be made for many reasons that have nothing to do with the quality of the book –the publisher may have another book in house on the same subject; the house may have reduced the size of its list, an editor may change, or the book may just not fit their list. Even if the reason is that the sales for your first books were not what your publisher had hoped, it’s possible another publisher with a different approach could have had better results.
A query letter to other publishers should focus on the new books and their merits. Tell each one why you think these books would fit their list. Explain what you thought worked well with the marketing of your previous books, explain where you think improvements could have been made, and suggest ideas specific to the new books. 10:11/93
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Q: I do a lot of speaking in schools and libraries, both locally and in other cities. Should I let my publisher’s promotion person know about these even though I make the arrangements myself?
There are a number of advantages to keeping the publicist or promotion person informed of your travel plans and speaking engagements.
It also provides an opportunity to stay in touch with your publisher on an on-going basis. The updates of your speaking schedule should be sent in writing, but these will establish a relationship for when you call to talk with the publicity or promotion staff. 2:3/94
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Q: I’d like my publisher to do a biographical brochure for me as they have done for some of their other authors. How do they decide who gets one, and is there a way to request having one done?
Each publishing house has it’s own policy for deciding how many authors each season get a biographical brochure and which authors are chosen. If biographical brochures are not done for every author the house publishes, the decision is likely to be made based on how many of that author’s books are on the publisher’s list and how well the author’s books sell. Sometimes a brochure will be created to coincide with a special press kit or publicity campaign the publisher is doing for a particular book.
Since your publisher does do some author brochures, I would suggest you get samples of recent brochures your publisher has done and write your own copy to fit their style. Once you’ve done that, submit the copy with a current photograph that you’d like used to your editor or publicist and ask if they would print this as one of their biographical brochures. Since you’ve done the bulk of the work, they are more likely to agree. 4:5/94
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Q: What are the dangers of being over published, or publishing around? Is it different when an author has become a brand name?
In the last ten years, many children’s authors have moved from publishing with a single house to publishing with more than one house. Sometimes the author chooses to follow a favorite editor to a new publisher, or wants the opportunity to negotiate for a larger advance, or a better contract. Other times corporate takeovers or changes in a publishing program cause an author to make a move. If you have to decide, there are advantages and disadvantages to consider about both situations.
The advantage to staying with one publisher is that they will have more incentive to invest money in promoting your books because the better known you are, the more of your books they’ll sell. This means that new books may get more marketing attention, and your backlist books are more likely to be kept in print. The disadvantage to staying with one house is that you can get into a rut and receive the same or incrementally better treatment with each new book.
Changing publishers allows you to start with a company after you have established a reputation. This may give you more negotiating power when discussing the publisher’s plans for publishing and marketing your book. A good literary agent should be able to help weigh the pros and cons in your particular case. For a list of literary agents specializing in children’s books, send a self-addressed stamped envelope to SCBWI’s main office address. 8:9/94
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Q: Do publishers set up bookstore signings and school visits for authors and illustrators?
Yes and no. Many publishers will help coordinate an appearance when an outside organization requests a visit from one of their authors or illustrators, but will not actively solicit these appearances unless a special author tour is planned. Since author tours are only done for a small number of authors and books each year, getting on the speaking circuit is largely an author’s responsibility, and it is done by networking.
Some authors and illustrators make a substantial amount of money on the lecture circuit by getting paid honoraria to speak at schools and libraries. An honorarium can range from several hundred dollars to more than $1,000, plus expenses for travel, lodging and meals. As a rule, booksellers don’t pay to have authors and illustrators come to their stores because it is expected that they will profit from the store’s sales.
If you want to get on the school and library lecture circuit, start locally and hone your speaking skills, then expand regionally and nationally. Start by offering a reasonable honorarium and ask for feedback on your presentations, so you know what is working and what isn’t. Keep asking for referrals to other schools and libraries that might be interested in having you as a guest. Also be sure to keep the publicist at your publishing house apprised of your activities, so they can inform the sales force and will know that you are willing to accept speaking engagements.
Be sure to let your publicist know what you will accept as an honorarium and how available you are for travel. Often requests come in for authors whose honorarium is too high for the organization to pay, then the publisher can suggest another author or illustrator as an alternative.
To do bookstore appearances, contact the manager or owner of area children’s or independent bookstores, or the special events coordinator of a local chain or superstore to find out how they book appearances. Suggest special programs you can do, such as workshops, craft activities, or other events that will help draw crowds, rather than just asking to come sign books. Ask what other events they run where authors can participate. 12/94:1/95
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Q: My book is being sold to libraries, rather than at retail. I would like to bring books with me when I do appearances. Do I have to pay for these books in advance, or can I just pay for what’s sold afterward and return unsold books to the publisher?
“You should first check your contract to see if you are allowed to resell your books,” according to Bill Hanshaw, customer service manager at Harcourt Brace. If you can resell, the publisher will probably expect you to buy the books in advance at your author discount, which is generally around 40%. These books are usually non-returnable, but you can get small quantities and just reorder as needed.
If you expect to sell a lot of books on an on-going basis, you may want to consider obtaining a tax number and setting yourself up as a distributor. This would mean you’d get a deeper discount from the publisher, get billed as other distributors do, and that you could return books that were in good condition. Keep in mind, though, that you’d have to do the paperwork, meet the minimum quantity requirements, and report it as a business for tax purposes.
The simplist solution is still to encourage the libraries to contact their wholesalers, or the publisher and have them place orders for your books. 2:3/95
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Q: How much can an author reasonably expect to influence hardcover book sales of a novel? of a picture book? through his or her own promotional efforts? How many units would impress the publisher and make the author’s efforts worthwhile?
An author can expect that a hardcover edition of a novel is intended for sale to libraries. Not much can usually be done to change the market potential for such a book. In the case of a novel, it would be wiser to wait to do promotion until the book was published in paperback because then it would be available widely in bookstores and sold to schools as well. A picture book is different because the hardcover is likely to be the primary edition. Often picture books are not put into paperback at all, except if they are reprinted for bookclub editions, or if the book does well enough to warrent a less expensive paperback version for the consumer market. For this reason, a picture book author should expect to promote a hardcover.
The impact of the author’s promotional efforts will vary depending on the subject of the book and on the author’s resources. An author should ask herself: “Is there something unique about the book that will lend itself to promotion?” Do I have the time and inclination to arrange appearances at bookstores and schools, handle publicity, or look for ways to tap into new markets?”
In general, it’s better to view time spent on promotion as part of a long-term investment in a career, rather than to trying to quantify the impact of promotion on one book. Specifically, according to Anne Mau, director of marketing and subsidiary rights at Orchard Books, “the number of units of a book that would have to be sold by an author before being noticeable to a publisher depends on the house’s expectations for that book.” These expectations are based on previous sales of the author’s titles and how similar books by other authors have sold in the past. Barbara Fisch, senior publicist at Harcourt Brace said that, “for a newer author’s book, the sale of 50-100 copies at one or two author events would be an impressive number.”
The best strategy, though, is for authors and illustrators to find out what kind of promotion they are good at and then incorporate time for those activities into their work schedules. 2:3/95
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Q: My book is published by a small press that only prints a limited number of copies. What can I do to help further my sales?
You can use the same methods of publicity and promotion as you would to promote a book from a larger house, but you need to focus your efforts in areas where your publisher has distribution. This can either be segmented geographically (Is the book available nationally or regionally?), or by market (Is it available at retail, just to teachers and librarians, or in special niche markets?). When you know where the book is available, you can determine where to invest your time, or consider ways of expanding the reach.
For example, if the book is sold at retail nationally but the print run is small, you’ll need to talk with your publisher about ways that consumers you promote to can easily order the book. This information should be incorporated into any publicity or promotion that you do, so people don’t get discouraged if they don’t find the book on their local store’s shelf.
You may even be able to provide additional options by having people obtain the book through you by establishing yourself as a distributor and servicing orders yourself. This can be done by mail or by setting up your own “800” number (which can be done inexpensively through AT&T;).
Books that are distributed regionally should be promoted locally where you know the book can be found in stores, and where booksellers will be familiar with the publisher. The same kind of niche marketing applies when you are promoting a book available only in special markets. So, if your book is only being sold in the institutional market, you should concentrate on trying to reach teachers and librarians. “Consider joining the International Reading Association, so you’ll have access to lists of state reading councils and other organizations that want children’s authors as speakers,” recommends children’s author and Universal Press Syndicate reviewer Cris Peterson. 4:5/95
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Q: Who makes the decision for a book character to be licensed, and how much input can an author or illustrator have?
Licensing is handled in-house by the subsidiary rights department, unless the author or illustrator has retained those rights. While you can certainly suggest ideas to your editor, the impetus to license a book or character is almost certainly going to be driven by market forces. “Licensing, beyond the sale of paperback and book club rights, is unusual for individual titles unless you see a character take off in the marketplace,” says Lucia Monfried, Editor-in-Chief of Dutton Children’s Books. “Other rights sales are more likely to prove viable with a series, or with properties that have been packaged by a consortium to work as a licensed product. In that case, the book publisher is just one of a number of companies involved.”
Another way licensing can happen is when a company which does games, plush toys, greeting cards, or other products approaches the publisher about buying rights to a particular book. That’s where an author or illustrator who has contacts in other industries can have an impact — by generating outside interest. 4:5/95
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Q: Do publishers give well-known authors precedence over lesser known authors when booking school visits?
Unless the publishing house is arranging an author tour with school visits, the opposite is generally true. Oftentimes schools will contact publishers to ask to have a very well known author or illustrator, only to find out that the honorarium that person charges is more than they can afford. At that point, the appearance coordinator at the publishing house is likely to recommend that the school consider inviting a newer author or illustrator, or one that is locally-based to keep honorarium and travel costs down. From the publisher’s perspective, it is advantageous to increase a new author or illustrator’s visibility. In addition, having them do school appearances provides authors with extra income beyond the royalties from their books.
To gain increased speaking opportunities, tell your publisher’s appearance coordinator you would like to do more school visits. Also ask school coordinators where you’ve had a good experience to recommend you, and tell other authors and illustrators you know that you’d like to do more speaking. Many school visits happen as a result of word-of-mouth, and authors on the road are often asked for recommendations of others who would do a good job. 6:7/95
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Q: My book is published by a small press. I have contact with various mail order catalogs that carry similar books. Should I contact those catalogs directly and ask that they contact my publisher if they are interested in carrying my book? Or should I expect my publisher to send them sample copies with a cover letter I’ve written? (I’ve asked my publisher this question, but have not received an answer.)
Generally, I think it’s advisable to talk with your publisher first to find out what contacts they’ve made for your book, but since you’ve not heard back from the publisher, I think it’s fine for you to query the catalog companies yourself. I’d start by asking if they’ve received any copies of your book yet and, if not, then offer to send samples. You can then pass along any leads to your publisher. You should continue to try to find out who at the publishing house handles special sales and should talk with them about what they’ve done for your book and how they want leads handled. 2:3/96
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Q: I’ve written a children’s book that appeals to adults as well as kids. How do pulishers usually handle this type of book? Is there something I can do to help get it promoted in both markets?
Some books are cross-promoted by the publisher as being for both adults and children. The Hyperion books, William Wegman’s Mother Goose. Anastasia’s Album and Sees Behind Trees by Michael Dorris, are good examples. But, most of the time, a book is slotted pre-publication by the publisher as part of the adult or children’s list. This is reflected in when and how the book is presented at the company’s sales conference, where the book is positioned in the season’s catalog, which reviewers are sent galleys for review (ie. children’s books to School Library Journal, or adult books to Library Journal), or whether the book is sent to the adult book reviewer or children’s book reviewer at a given publication. For this reason, your book is likely to be classified as a children’s book.
To balance this, you can talk with your editor about how you would like the book positioned in the copy that is written for the catalog, the press materials, and for any advertising they do. You can also ask what plans the publisher has for special sales and for publicity to special interest publications because books can crossover more easily in niche markets.
You can try on your own to get blurbs for the book from authors who write adult books, if you have time to get these quotes far enough in advance to be useful to the publisher. You can also ask your publisher if they, or you, can do a postcard mailing to bookstores describing the book as a crossover title and asking that booksellers consider putting the book in both the adult and children’s sections. Look for other ways to encourage handselling by booksellers, to get your book into specialty stores, and to market the book directly, which is what you need to do to sell this type of book effectively. 2:3/97
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Q: My book, which told a story to help children understand the notion of death, was purchased by a children’s publisher, but the rights reverted back to me before it was published. I would like to get this book sold again. Would it be best to approach publishers directly, or to attempt to get an illustrator with industry contacts interested in the project and have the illustrator help place the book?
While it would be good to have the help of someone with industry contacts, finding an illustrator first is not your best bet because providing art and text together generally does not enhance the salability of a book. Most publishers prefer to select their own illustrator. This is because the editor and art director want to decide what they’d like the format, style and look of a book to be before approaching illustrators who they feel can achieve the look they want. Publishing houses also often pair the text from a new author with art by an established illustrator to help ensure sales.
You can network in other ways to find people to recommend publishers who may be interested in your book. Librarians, teachers, children’s booksellers and, in this case, even psychologists might have suggestions about companies you could try. Another option is to approach special interest organizations, like Hospice, which may have their own publishing programs for books, or might want to use the material in another format. 11:12/99
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Q: How can I find out which awards my publisher has submitted my book for?
It’s probably best to ask your editor about awards whenfinal edits are done and then reconfirm that the book is being submittedfor those awards a couple of months prior to publication. You may also want to check your library for a copy of Children’s Books: Awards & Prizes, published by the Children’s Book Council, to see if there are topical awards for which your book may qualify. Examples are the Scott O’Dell Award, which is given for a distinguished work of historical fiction, and the Edgar Allan Poe Award, which is given by The Mystery Writers of America for the best juvenile and young adult mystery novels. Also, as an SCBWI member, you are eligible for the Golden Kite Awards given annually for fiction, non-fiction, picture book text and picture book illustration. 1:2/00
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Q: How important is the jacket copy? If an author thinks the synopsis for the jacket lacks any sparkle, should the author offer to revise it?
I think the jacket copy is important because it’s your ad vehicle for differentiating the book from others on the shelf and prompting a purchase. If you receive jacket copy from the publisher in advance and don’t feel the synopsis does the book justice, you should ask to have changes made. If the copy change you’re suggesting includes rewriting a portion of the text, be sure to stay within their word count, or you’ll be less likely to get the proposed revision accepted. 5:6/00
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Q: I have a children’s novel that is out-of-print. Do you have any information on publishing houses that are open to working with formerly published books?
I surveyed a number of publishers on SCBWI’s list to find out how likely they were to consider publishing a book that had gone out-of-print with another house. Of the twenty-eight that responded, most said they’d consider the submission, but most said they had “almost never” published a book like that. Reasons given were that it is very difficult to sell a book that has been previously published; it is hard to get reviews on a reissue; and because libraries might still have the earlier version, so they would not buy the new edition.
In response to a question about publisher recommendations on how to submit this kind of book, I received the following suggestions
One publisher noted that “a book should have enjoyed at least some success (ie. 15-20,000 copies sold of a picture book, and 5,000 of a novel) to be really viable when returning to the marketplace”. Another publisher made the point that “the best you can hope for in sales for a re-release is 1,500-2,500 copies, and that rate of sale doesn’t justify advertising expenditure, only a catalog listing”.
It’s important to note that publishers views on this may change as print-on-demand and other electronic options allow for inexpensive production of books. Authors also have the option to self-publish the book, or to use services like the Authors Guild Back-in-Print program to place the books with a print-on-demand publisher. 3:4/01
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Q: I am an artist/designer whose first two picture books are being published this spring. When I first submitted the dummy for the books, I also included another about a different character. The publisher returned the book dummy about the second character, and there is no option clause in my contract for the other books. I’m interested in finding a publishing home for this new character, but do not want to offend my publisher. Is it ethical to go elsewhere?
Your publisher has already decided not to publish the book about the second character, so it’s fine to take the idea elsewhere. This would be so even if you did have an option written into your contract because you offered your publisher the first right of refusal. 5:6/01
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Q: I’ve found out that inventory is low on one of my books, and I want to ask my publisher about plans for another printing. How long does it take to reprint a book?
According to Tim Moses, Director of Publicity for Special Projects at Penguin Putnam, “the amount of time it takes to reprint depends mostly on whether the book needs to be printed here or in the Far East. Picture books are often done there because it substantially reduces the printing cost. When that is the case, it can take as long as 5 months (3 months for printing, 1 month on the ship, 1 month to clear customs). If the book is mostly text and can be printed locally, the timing can be between 2-4 weeks.” I’d expect that there would be some variation among publishers and, of course, there are times a publisher can rush a book through in special circumstances (i.e. a book being on the best-seller list, winning a major award, etc.). 1-2:02
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Q: In 1999, I signed two contracts for two of my children’s manuscripts with a small publisher. The publisher eventually returned the manuscripts to me stating that he could not publish them, due to lack of funds. In 2002, a local bookstore found my stories listed as being published. Somewhat furious, I called the publisher and asked if he published my manuscripts without my permission, after he had told me he did not have the funds to publish them. He claimed that my stories showed up in the bookstore’s listing, because he had acquired ISBN numbers for both manuscripts. Nonetheless, if I inform possible publishers of this matter, will they shy away from these two manuscripts because of what this publisher did?
According to Don Sedgewick and David Bennett of Transatlantic Literary Agency, “It is a common practice to obtain ISBNs for forthcoming titles. In fact, the publisher might have gone as far as listing these two titles in a catalogue of soon-to-be-published books. Bookstores may then “load” these titles and ISBNs into their database. As a result, it “looks” as if the books have been published.
“One option is to inform any prospective publisher about these circumstances, in order to avoid a misunderstanding. However, the easier solution is to simply alter the titles slightly so that these ISBN’s do not come up when the books are searched in a database. Nevertheless, a search of your name may still list the original titles, so be prepared in case there are questions.” 7-8:02
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Q: Who in America would publish a book about England?
It will ultimately depend on the editor at any given house, so there’s no right answer. However, you may want to look at publishers that have editorial offices in the U.S. and UK. Scholastic, HarperCollins, Candlewick and Barefoot Books are some that come to mind. 9-10:02
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Q: : I’ve sold first rights to an article in 1999, and it’s still not been published. When I last spoke with the company’s new editor in 2001, he said he might never publish it. How can I exercise my reprint rights?
If you have a written contract, check if it includes a clause about rights reversion, or if there was a maximum time specified during which the article was to be published. If not, Carol Busby, a contract advisor & grievance officer with the National Writer’s Union, suggests that you contact the magazine about your article. Send the publisher a letter explaining that you sold specific rights (i.e., North American serial rights, if that’s the case) to them in 1999 and understand from their current editor that they do not plan to publish the piece. Then say that your letter serves as notification that you plan to publish the article elsewhere and that you will consider rights reverted, unless you hear from them within two weeks regarding publication plans.
Ms. Busby suggests that authors submitting work for publication get a contract or letter of agreement specifying payment (either a full fee up front, or that you will be paid a kill fee if the article is not used) and a date by which the piece would be published. Make sure to state that if the work is not published within that time, rights will revert to the author.
The National Writer’s Union does provide contract advice free for their members. Information on the organization can be found at www.nwu.org. 5-6:03
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Q: : If a manuscript comes back from a editor with a personal note saying she really liked it but that it doesn’t fit into current marketing plans, is it appropriate to send it again if the editor moves to a new publishing house or if the author has made major revisions to the text?
Wendy Lamb, Publishing Director of Wendy Lamb Books at Random House, recommends that you don’t send the manuscript, but says, “you can query on these questions, and attach a copy of the editor’s letter. It’s reasonable to hope that the editor could now want to consider the project. It’s smart to keep in mind that when someone moves to a new house they are looking to fill up their list, and something they once thought was promising might look more possible now.” 7-8:03
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Email: info@raabassociates.com