Incoming Proposals

Wednesday, January 6th, 2010

To your left is an actual picture of the pile of proposals our office has received since December 1, 2009. About 30 days worth of incoming mail…during a slow time of the year. The stack of books next to the pile include books sent for review (consideration) and recent publications that I want to look at.

That does not include the myriad of email submissions we get (many simply ignoring our guidelines regarding email submissions)…inquiries from those who use the contact form on our web site (many of those ignoring the request to “Please do not copy and paste your entire manuscript into this form.“)

Or the poor soul that failed to proofread their email before sending this sentence, “I would like to send you my quarry letter….”

Nor does it include those that do an Internet search and call us. Recently we got a call that went something  like this:
Agency: This is the Steve Laube Agency…
Caller: What kind of agency are you?
Agency: We are a literary agency.
Caller: What does that mean?
Agency: It means we represent books to publishers on behalf of our clients and manage our client’s careers.
Caller: Oh good. I do comic strips…and they are really unique…  [caller's voice gets faster and louder as they talk]
Agency: Well, we don’t represent artists or comic strip artists.
Caller: But I’m a philosopher too! ….. [further explanation followed]
Agency: Well, we [caller interrupts]
Caller: And I’m also a musician with over 500 songs to my credit.
Agency: Unfortunately we do not represent musicians at this time.
Caller: But I was named Rock musician of the year…
Agency: We’re sorry but it does not appear that our agency would be a good fit for you.
Caller: You want to listen to my stuff for free on Myspace?
Agency: I don’t see how that would be a good use of our time.
Caller: Someday someone will discover it and make millions.
Agency: We wish you the best in all your endeavors…

The day before, the office received a call from an aspiring author who was a psychic who had an “amazing” personal story to tell…oh, and by the way, they also have two novels done and five children’s books ready and waiting.

Meanwhile I look at my to-do list compiled last weekend in preparation for hitting the ground running on Monday January 4th:

• We are waiting for final contract paperwork on four new book deals.
• We have three authors whose proposals will get thumbs up or thumbs down at a pub board in the next week or two.
• We are waiting for proposals from fifteen clients (all in development over the last couple months).
• We need to have “career counsel” conversations with at least ten other clients. (All very different in scope and intensity.)
• We need to make the “do we represent?” decision on five successful and published authors who have approached us and the same decision on at least a half dozen excellent unpublished authors whose full manuscripts have been reviewed and now sit on the floor near my desk…staring at me (they are not in the picture above).

And that was just the to-do list and does not include the review of cover designs and marketing plans for forthcoming titles. Nor does it include the contracted clients who are wrangling with their editors over any number of issues (everything from copy edit/grammar questions to editors not returning a phone call). Don’t get me wrong! I’m not complaining. In fact this is quite an exciting time. But this post is for those who wonder why agents take so long to make representation decisions. I’ve written about rejection before and no agent takes the process lightly. But a little understanding and self education would make every writer’s experience while approaching an agent a little more tolerable.

I fully expect that at least 90% of that stack pictured above isn’t ready yet. It doesn’t mean it isn’t good. Only that it isn’t ready. The competition is fierce and a little extra effort to learn the industry (read Rachelle Gardner’s and Chip MacGregor’s blogs), learn the craft by going to a good writers conference in 2010, and realize this is a marathon, not a sprint.

Tags: Pitching, Proposals, Publishing, Rejection
Posted in Publishing | 19 Comments »

Endorsements

Monday, July 6th, 2009

How important are endorsements? (Those “blurbs” on the back of a book that exclaim “A real masterpiece!”)

Let me answer with a question. When you are browsing a book title do you look at the endorsements or notice who wrote the foreword or introduction? I suspect you do without realizing it. And if you are unfamiliar with the author, but you know the endorser, then you are more likely to give this new writer a try.

In its early self-published days, The Shack by William Young gained tremendous benefit from an absolutely glowing endorsement by Eugene Peterson, author of The Message. It made me pause and think, “If Eugene Peterson makes such a claim, then maybe I should pay attention.” So, as a fan of Eugene Peterson for nearly twenty years I paid attention. I believe that endorsement is still on the front cover of The Shack (which at the time of this writing has sold 7.5 million copies).

How many endorsements should you get? One or two meaningful ones are best. Sometimes your agent can help you secure them. Sometimes your publisher. But it is best if you get them yourself from the folks you know.

The more recognizable name the better.

And the earlier in the creative process the better. Years ago I was presenting a proposal at a Bethany House Publishers pub board meeting. Unfortunately I was not getting a good reception from the team. Then I asked the members of the group to look at the endorsement page in the proposal. This writer had secured endorsements  from James Montgomery Boice, R.C. Sproul, and John MacArthur, each a highly recognized author and speaker, particularly withing the Reformed Theology tradition. The pub board members exclaimed, “Who is this guy?” They had never heard of the writer of the proposed book, but they knew the endorsers. Those endorsements turned the tide in favor of offering a contract to the author!

Recently I talked to a very well known author who gets about four to five unsolicited requests for forewords or endorsements each week. I read somewhere that Annie Dillard, the Pulitzer Prize winning author,  can receive as many as 40 in one week….and most of them for books by writers she does not know.

Whatever you do, don’t (please don’t) claim in your proposal that you can get endorsements from Rick Warren, Charles Colson, Dr. James Dobson, or Sarah Palin, unless you already have them in hand. Many visible leaders have tough restrictions from their board of directors regarding their endorsements (especially those who are part of a Christian ministry). They don’t want their name associated with a book that could ultimately reflect negatively on the author or their organization.

And if you are frustrated by that policy, let’s make it more personal. Imagine if you had endorsed a book by Bernie Madoff….and now that he has been sentenced to 150 years in jail, what does your endorsement of his book say about you? With tongue in cheek I used the graphic at the top of this blog “Trust me I’m a Jedi.” The implication is that the endorsement of a Jedi makes the book trustworthy…just like an endorsement.

Endorsements that only use initials (“A.E. from St. Louis”) are all but useless. And so are endorsements from your dentist, unless your book is about dentistry. And an endorsement from your minister is suspect, unless yours happens to be a well known author.  (What if your minister doesn’t like your book and refuses to endorse it? Will you still want to attend services?). Also try to avoid sneaking family member endorsements who have a different last name as a way of padding the list. You will be found out and your integrity will be suspect. This is not the time to “pad the resume.”

Securing endorsements is something with which you need to spend time partnering with your publisher. It can be a team effort that will ultimately help sell your books.

Tags: Endorsements, Proposals, Publishing
Posted in Publishing, Writing | 5 Comments »