Authors, We Need to Talk
Deciphering some recent discussions about book publishing.
Welcome to this week’s free edition of Publishing Confidential! You’ll hear from me again on Thursday because this newsletter is celebrating its first anniversary, and I am planning some fun things.
Recently, I’ve seen authors chatter on social media about the publishing experience. Everyone seems a bit discontent, whether it’s advances, where books are sold, or promotion. It’s been a long winter! I want to share some of my thoughts about the issues authors face today.
I. Author Advances
Let’s clarify: Author advances don’t make sense (most of the time). Yes, publishers create P&Ls to create some semblance of a monetary value to place on an author’s work. The problem is that unless an author has a sales track record, it’s impossible to accurately predict how many copies their book will sell and how much they should be paid. When one author discloses they received an advance of $350K, it can make others feel like they aren’t as successful because their advance was lower. This is not true, and here’s why: an advance can predetermine how much muscle a publisher puts behind a book, but it can’t predict how many copies consumers will buy. An author who receives a six-figure advance for their first book could see a significant decrease in an advance for their second book if the first didn’t sell well. I can’t dictate how people act on social media, but the argument over what someone’s advance allows them to afford can quickly become toxic. The truth is that no one knows what anyone else’s financials look like, and no one should be made to feel “less than” by receiving a low advance. That said, publishers need to overhaul the way they pay authors. It’s common for most publishers to pay in fourths, so a $350K advance could take two years to receive all their funds.
Further, 15% of each payment goes to an agent, and about 30% goes to the I.R.S. (if you’re in the U.S.). That doesn’t change if your advance is lower.
The bottom line is that publishers must change, not authors.
II. Bookstores
I’ve read a few things like this Lit Hub piece lately, where authors try to get bookstores to sell their books. I can’t emphasize this enough: do not, under any circumstances, call or email Barnes & Noble’s corporate office to get them to carry your book. Doing so is the quickest way for them NOT to take copies of your book. I’ve witnessed this repeatedly and was given marching orders to scold said authors. Barnes & Noble now leaves the decision of what books to carry with each store manager. They are also taking fewer chances on books because they want minimal returns (books that don’t sell & therefore get sent back to the publisher). If you already have a relationship with your local B&N, it can help. If you don’t, and you’re a debut or indie author, chances are slim they’ll take copies.
Independent bookstores are a different beast, but their profit margins are razor thin, so they are selective about which books they carry. Further, when they don’t sell copies of books after a set period, they can return them to the publisher. For these reasons, it is incredibly difficult for them to carry debut, indie authors, or authors with a weak sales track record.
Why you shouldn’t fret if your book isn’t in many bookstores: 75-80% of book sales occur on eCommerce, and Amazon has over half of that market share.
III. M.F.A.s
You do not need an M.F.A. to get published. Most authors I’ve worked with did not have M.F.A.s. This is not to devalue an M.F.A. It’s hard work, and I respect people who complete their programs. They often write books AND teach at universities. I’ve even considered an M.F.A., but an M.B.A. is better suited to my needs. In this NYT opinion piece, the novelist Gary Shteyngart said, “The gatekeeping in fiction, as you know, is the M.F.A. program.” Not only is that false, but it is also the same elitist attitude of others in the industry, and it isn’t fair. Plenty of successful authors do not have an M.F.A.; other writers are fantastic but could not spend the time or money obtaining an M.F.A. Does that make them unpublishable? Absolutely not. If you want an M.F.A., do it for yourself, not because you want to get a book published.
IV. Is the Aftermath of Publishing a Book Like Postpartum Depression?
I experienced severe postpartum depression after the births of each of my kids, so I took issue with this piece. While I agree there are highs and lows in the book publishing process, it is more like the day after Christmas or New Year’s than it is postpartum depression. I’ve experienced working on books, being immersed in the process, and crashing after a campaign ends. It’s an awful feeling--like you attended the best party of your life, and now it’s over. Many people in book publishing experience this, not just authors. Managing your expectations is important; sometimes, you are content simply by getting a book into the marketplace. You might also feel disappointed that your book wasn’t reviewed. Perhaps you feel down because you weren’t interviewed. These feelings are valid, and I suggest setting a timer on your phone and allowing yourself to be sad for 15 minutes a day, 30 minutes max. Control the things you can control. You can’t control who buys your book, but you can control how you reach readers. You don’t need to stress over social media posts or feeling lost. If family members assume you are rolling in money, laugh, and it will confuse them. If they ask about your book sales, keep telling them it’s too early to know or that your publisher provides monthly reports, and you haven’t received yours yet.
We all love validation, but when you publish a book, you must somewhat remove yourself from the reward system (to paraphrase Emma Gannon). Five-star reviews on Amazon are nice, but they don’t define you, nor does the success of your book. A professor for one of my M.B.A. classes never gave feedback on assignments, so I’d receive an “A” without notes. I live for feedback (working on this), so I never felt validated in that class…even with an “A.” It got to a point where I’d tell my spouse about my grade, and he’d say, “Oh no. Not another A! This is terrible.” His point was: you did the work and did it well, so you don’t need anyone to tell you how great you are. BUT I DO. Here’s the thing: Even when I receive nice feedback, I sometimes feel like a failure because I think about every mistake I’ve made in my career instead of staying present. Conversely, when I spend the day pitching media, and they don’t respond, I don’t get depressed—I get motivated to pivot my strategy. That’s a result of being in my profession for three decades.
Do I feel vulnerable after I send this newsletter? You better believe it. It often feels like I just ripped off a band-aid. I await likes and comments and hope my writing didn’t fall flat. One negative email about my writing can send me into a spiral, so I understand what authors go through. I’m getting better at ignoring negativity and moving forward. Sometimes, that means giving myself one hour to watch whatever I want on television. Other times, I take a ride and play music loudly. If I am really in the pits, I sit on the beach. Once, I went outside, took my shoes off, and joyfully jumped in a big puddle. Find your puddle, writers.
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COOL STUFF:
My ladies at The Witches of Pitches are doing a fantastic event. They will host Mark Tavani, former Penguin Random House editor turned literary agent, for a magical conversation about mind-melding with agents and editors. Register here.
Women’s Media Group’s 50th Anniversary Gala is happening on March 25! Find out more and buy tickets here. We also have a fabulous silent auction where anyone can bid on items. I don’t know about you, but time in Barbados sounds cool. Check it out here. You can also bid on a 60-minute consultation with me.
END NOTES:
What I’m Watching: I am newly obsessed with The Family Stallone on Paramount Plus. I love Sylvester Stallone as a girl dad. His family seems very lovely (says the jaded publicist). A fun story: When I worked with Prince, we threw a party at his L.A. mansion, and Sly Stallone and his wife attended. They were super friendly, and I was surprised at how NOT tall Rocky Balboa is. Fun fact: Sly is really good friends with Henry Winkler.
What I’m Reading: It’s Not You: Identifying and Healing from Narcissistic People by Ramani Durvasula, Ph.D. I’ve dealt with quite a few narcissists in my life, and this book has helped my perspective.
What I’m Listening to: It was 65 degrees at the Jersey Shore on Sunday, so I went to the beach and listened to the waves.
I was a manager at BN for about five years so if this is helpful, this is what I tell people about the process: We do have the ability to get your book if we want to, even if it's self-published, but it is a financial risk for us, because if it doesn't sell then we're literally just stuck with it forever. (We had some odd ones that had been hanging around for a decade plus. That is obviously not ideal in any way.) We do have the ability to do consignment if we want to (meaning you provide the books, we sell them through our registers, and we reimburse you for a percentage of the profit) but that's a very new process, kind of a hassle, and not every store manager is willing to do it. (It also is not cheap for the author.)
So, some tips, specifically for self-published authors or those who are with very small publishers: you need to walk into the conversation prepared. Have your book completely finished, with an ISBN, and copies ready to go. (Yes, people would email and call us all the time before the book was even done, amazingly.) Ask to speak to a manager first off, because the person answering the phone might be a college kid working part time, or someone brand new or whatever, and they might not know what the hell you're talking about. Be smart and strategic about your approach (if you're writing a travel guide to a national park in Florida, for example, maybe don't pitch it to BN stores in California, and yes, that also happened to us a lot), and for God's sake, please don't be mean to us. You're not a customer, and we're not obligated to bend over backwards for you. Please be respectful, and treat it like a business relationship (which is what it is). It is not our job to make your book successful, it's our job to make our store successful, and if we can work together to make our goals align, then that's great!! But it's a financial partnership between our store and your book, not a service that we're providing you with. (Basically: please don't yell at us. I got yelled at enough by customers. It was always so much worse when it was coming from an author.)
Events help! Word of mouth helps! Swag helps! (Within reason - always ask first.) We're understaffed and underpaid and our stores are huge, we frankly don't have time to handsell every single book, and the bulk of people coming in are looking for the bestsellers. But we work there because we *are* booksellers, and we're just as passionate about our work as the employees at the trendy and hip indie stores. Like, we're not all corporate drones or anything!! (Some of us are, lol. But not all of us.) We do have a lot of turnover (low pay, you know how it goes), but every single store also has a core group of 6-7 veteran employees, some of whom have been there for 10-20+ years, and none of us would be doing this if we didn't consider it a vocational career. (again: *very* low pay. Why else would we be here?) So we all love books, we love talking about books, and if we believe in *your* book, then we're going to advocate for it. But we also have to work within the confines of our job, and obviously we have to put the needs of our store first. So if you walk in with a good attitude, willing to work together on something that will be successful for both of us, then everything will go a lot smoother. (And we'll fight harder for your book if we like you!! Just saying!!)
Hopefully that's helpful. The other important thing I would add is that we have zero budget, and I mean ZERO, to promote or market anything. We are always more than happy to host author events, but if we can't print it in our back office, then we can't really provide you with much help in the marketing/promo side of things. And all of this is subject to the preferences of a store manager, as well. My store was very open to events and local authors, because that was important to me so I made sure it was a priority, and even after I left I know my colleagues kept that up. But some other stores don't feel the same way, so sometimes you do need to take the store's temperature, so to speak. What works in Cali doesn't work in Utah and what works in Montana definitely doesn't work in New York.
I'm sure a lot of this is also applicable to indies, particularly the parts about being strategic and realistic in your approach. But bottom line - if you go into it prepared then you're going to have a much, much easier time than if you just start calling up random stores and asking without actually knowing what you're asking for. If that makes sense.
This is helpful insight, thank you! Also, I’d take negative feedback mixed with some positive feedback over a no-comment-A any day of the week. I think the search for feedback is an indication that someone has a growth mindset, and we all know that’s a good thing!