Because we often work with writers who don’t yet have agents, on some occasions we get to call the author directly to make an offer. One of my absolute favorite parts of the job is telling brand new authors I want to buy their book. It’s really heady to feel like you’re helping someone make her dream come true.
And it’s especially fun because there’s very rarely any kind of warning for the soon-to-be-published author. Nothing beats being part of that initial excitement.
But there’s also a lot of information to take down and questions authors know they should be asking, but they’re so caught up in the moment, they forget what they are. If you’re not in a good spot to write down information or need a moment to catch your breath, it is absolutely ok to ask the editor if you can call back shortly. In that time you’ll want to grab this quick primer on what every Call should include:
- how many books
- the advance: How much is the publisher paying up front and how will it be paid out? Depending on how much the offer is for, if the manuscript is complete, sometimes the author can get the full payment “on signing” or “on execution,” which means once the contract is signed. But usually publishers like to break up the payments into parts, especially since we often won’t be seeing any potential profit from the book for well over a year. If the ms isn’t complete or needs revision, it’s quite common for half to be paid on signing of the contract and half on delivery and acceptance of the ms. The more money that’s on the table, usually the more divisions of the payout there are.
- royalty rate: What is the author’s percentage? Is there any kind of escalator for selling above a certain threshhold? For example, you might get x% up to 100,000 copies sold and then x+2% thereafter. The royalty rate is often determined by the format of the book. Rates are generally higher for hardcovers and trade paperbacks (because of the higher cover prices) than they are for mass-markets. At Dorchester, we only do mass-markets, but for another house, you’ll want to ask.
- sales territories: Where is the publisher allowed to sell the book? Generally, this is either boils down to World rights or U.S./Canada. And closely tied to:
- translation rights: Can the publisher sell the book to foreign publishers to do editions in their native language? This and all the subsequent rights mentioned are divided into percentages, indicating which portion of the money received goes to the author and which goes to the publisher. They can generally be gone over pretty quickly.
- audio rights (to produce audio books)
- electronic rights (to produce ebooks)
- reprint rights: You tend to see this most when a book is done in hardcover by one company and paperback in another
- movie/TV/radio/merchandising: These are listed separately, but they tend to go together because they’re so interconnected
- 1st serial/2nd serial/digest: Honestly, rarely do these rights come into play unless you’re some megastar whom magazines are willing to pay to excerpt from because they think it will help sell copies. And that finishes up the rights.
- option/first refusal clause – You want to talk about this so you know what your publisher wants to see next from you. Basically it’s giving your editor a certain time period to have the proposal for your next book exclusively, during which you can’t sell it to another house. Often publishers want to keep the option as broad as possible (next romance novel), and agents try to make it as narrow as possible (next book of this series) so they have the ability to get deals at other houses for their client. Usually, we end up somewhere in the middle (next romantic suspense).
- due dates – when any necessary revisions are due or if the contract covers multiple titles, when those books would be due.
Ok, so that’s all stuff that’s going to be included in the contract. Other questions you’ll want to ask to help you make your decision:
- When will the book be scheduled? Sometimes we might not know an exact month, but we can usually give you some indication.
- Will there be revisions required, and if so, how extensive? It’s vital to know whether the editor has a whole different vision for the book (though if so, I’m not sure why she’d buy it in the first place). This will also help you gauge the accuracy of the due dates mentioned above and also whether you want to put in the work required for the advance offered. If you have multiple offers, it can also help you determine which to take.
- Will the title change? Again, it may be a little early to know for sure yet, but if you’re especially married to your title, you’ll want to let the editor know.
I think those are the biggies. A lot of authors ask about print runs. But they vary so much, there’s not really a solid answer. A lot of authors also then ask if I can recommend agents. I can’t, out of fairness to all the agents I work with and because the author/agent relationship really has nothing to do with the editor, but that’s a whole post for another day. In the meantime, this should give you plenty to chew on.
June 9, 2009 at 1:04 pm
This is a really great resource for new writers. Thank you!
June 9, 2009 at 1:21 pm
What a great blog!!! Thanks for the information!!!
Lisa 🙂
June 9, 2009 at 3:35 pm
This is definitely a blog post to print and keep. At least I will. I’ve heard that you can negotiate the number of free books you can have so you can promote the book through contests, reviews, etc. Would this be an important subject to ask about or is it more in the second tier of priorities?
June 9, 2009 at 3:58 pm
Nothing is not important enough to ask about (how’s that for a double negative?). You should ask everything you can think of. This post just highlights what I consider the essentials – the make-or-break points. Usually the number of author copies isn’t going to make you say yes or no to the overall deal. But, of course, ask away.
June 11, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Good point. I don’t think I would turn down a contract just because I wanted more book copies 🙂 But I would definitely ask. I want to be able to help promote my book once it’s published.
June 9, 2009 at 4:46 pm
Leah, I remember so well the day you called me! October 13th, 2009. That day will live on in my mind forever. YEA! I stammered around like a blithering fool, and you were so sweet. I ordered a bottle of champagne, as I was having lunch with my sisters, and we drank a toast to you. I had to tell the waiter all about it because he wanted to know what kind of news could make someone so VERY HAPPY!!
This is a great list you’ve come up with. Very helpful for blithering fools. And, anyone who wants to get published. I’m sending all my friends your way.
Again, thank you for making my dream come true!
~Caroline
June 10, 2009 at 11:15 am
Caro, your call is one of my favorite stories. I’ll never forget overhearing you tell your sister, “Order the champagne!”
June 9, 2009 at 4:47 pm
Uhhhmmm, that would be 2008!!
June 9, 2009 at 5:07 pm
And most of us on the 2007 GH loop won’t forget the day either, Caroline, or how happy we all were for you. We could hear you screeching even via email.
I’m printing the list, Leah. Thank you. Forever the optimist, I dislike being unprepared–although there isn’t a doubt in my mind I’ll be a blithering fool (Caro’s words, but appropos) for a wee while ere I get my act together. LOL
June 9, 2009 at 5:09 pm
Leah,
I know I’m way out in fantasyland today, but that’s just how it is. Do you suppose you’ll ever read such an incredible proposal from a new author to inspire such a call?
And if not, may I ask how long you take to respond once you ask for my–I mean, “someone’s”–full manuscript? (Hah!)
*We totally understand Caroline, that you are still a bit tipsy from the call! Spin on, my friend.
June 10, 2009 at 11:18 am
It usually takes 6-8 months on average for a response. And just about all of these calls are for new authors. Caroline Fyffe, Angie Fox, Trish Albright (whom I got to offer for in person!), Lindsay Randall – all were new authors.
June 9, 2009 at 5:58 pm
Thank you Leah! This is fabulous. I’m sure when I get “the call” I will be speechless. I’m going to print this out and put it by my phone 🙂
June 9, 2009 at 9:05 pm
What a fun topic. Just thinking about – The Call – keeps me going when I’m feeling a bit blue. I’m now gazing off at a far away cobweb and daydreaming – “I think I would like for it to come around 11:30 a.m. on a Wednesday. 11:30 – because it’s late enough in the morning to have a celebration drink without the waiter thinking I have a problem, Wednesday because that’s tomorrow.” Daydream interrupted with the ringing of the phone. Could the call be early…?
June 9, 2009 at 10:22 pm
Leah, this is a fabulous post! Thanks for offering it up to the writerly masses. I have a couple questions if you’re willing to answer them.
You say: “If the ms isn’t complete or needs revision…”
How often do you offer for a book that *doesn’t* require revision? Also, am I correct to assume that you’re talking significant edits rather than smaller details?
June 10, 2009 at 11:22 am
There’s always going to be some kind of line edits, no matter how polished the ms is. If I’m buying a book by an author I’ve never worked with before, it probably won’t require much in the way of major revisions – otherwise I’d ask for the changes *before* making the offer, because I’d have no way of knowing whether the author was capable of doing what I was asking for.
However, sometimes it’s a matter of trimming word count or changing a piece of the ending–bigger than a line edit, but smaller than “I like the concept, but I’d like a complete rewrite.”
June 10, 2009 at 7:09 am
Thanks for this post, Leah! I have to confess that I haven’t thought much about the call…seems so far away right now, LOL. You definately gave me a lot to think about.
June 10, 2009 at 8:00 am
Thanks Leah! This is perfect timing. My agent and I are almost finished with revisions and are sending out my manuscript next week. Hopefully I’ll need this info very soon! By the way, ladies, she offered me representation on only 58 pages of an unfinished book. So keep the faith! It can happen!
June 10, 2009 at 11:25 am
If you have an agent, she’d be the one getting The Call – at least so far as taking down all the details from the editor. Your version of The Call would be your agent phoning to pass on the information. As the editor, I don’t get involved too much until it’s accepted. Then I call and gush.
June 10, 2009 at 8:19 pm
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June 11, 2009 at 6:16 pm
I appreciate the info enormously. Having recently been made an offer just two days ago from another publishing house I am still in the questions process and this gives me a better idea of what questions to ask.
I do wonder however, should you mention to other publishers that you submit to that you’ve recently been made an offer by another publishing house? I say that in the hypothetical context that the publisher that made the author the first offer may not be the author’s first choice of publisher. Or is the subject of other offers something that the author should keep to themselves?
June 12, 2009 at 11:07 am
And actually, I also wonder if you should contact the publishers that have requested partials or full manuscripts to let them know you’ve been offered a contract elsewhere in case they would like to make an offer?
The whole contract thing is very confusing to me and I understand why writers use agents now. I only wish I had gone the route of using an agent. Is it too late to use an agent after you’ve already been offered a contract?
Thanks so much!
June 12, 2009 at 11:22 am
I’m actually going to do a whole separate post on after you get the call, but it sounds like you need this info now.
1. Immediately contact any publisher and/or agent your manuscript is currently with and let them know you have an offer on the table. Ask when they can get back to you. Let the publisher who has made the offer know that you need a little time to make your decision as you have other interest.
2. In my opinion, this is not the time to be sending the material to new people. Even if it’s been requested, unless someone was really enthusiastic about it–as in, “get this in my hands now”–it’s not fair to the publisher who’s made the offer to wait while your submission makes new rounds.
3. A lot of authors who get an offer immediately then try to get an agent. I know some agents are thrilled to work with someone who already has a deal on the table, some not so much. Here’s the important part: If you accept the terms of the deal to the publisher (advance, royalty, rights), the agent can only negotiate the general language of the contract (this where stuff like author copies would come into play, Alexis). If you tell the publisher you’re in the search for an agent and make no firm commitment, the agent has more negotiating room, but again you need to get back to the publisher within a few days, a week at most, so any potential agent needs to work fast (something they’re pretty used to anyway).
More to come, but if folks want to keep asking questions, I’ll answer them in the new post.
July 23, 2009 at 9:03 am
[…] referred to is Leah Hultenschmidt, an editor with Dorchester Publishing. Her article, Getting the Call, lists the 12 items she goes over each time she signs a […]
July 25, 2009 at 10:54 pm
[…] referred to is Leah Hultenschmidt, an editor with Dorchester Publishing. Her article, Getting the Call, lists the 12 items she goes over each time she signs a […]