by Peggy Grillot
Literary Agent, Lawyer Offers Advice
by Peggy Grillot
At our November 1997 book fair and meeting, both a literary agent and a lawyer for the creative arts were panelists. Caroline Carney, president of Book Deals, Inc., a Chicago literary agency with a New York City branch, spoke on "How to Find the Best Publisher for Your Work." Ten authors participated in the book fair, and several joined IWPA to enter our 1998 Mate E. Palmer Communications Contest.
Carney said that the top criteria for selecting a publisher include: market experience with the topic, the ability to promote, size of the first run, enthusiastic editor, and the publisher’s reputation. Authors shouldn’t look for a publisher or an agent until their first manuscript is finished, though, and they’ve started on their second.
Authors should define their writing career goals not only for their first book, but also project those goals over the next five years. Sample book goals can include: writing about a hobby, starting a series, using language in bold new ways, advancing a theory, or building a business profile.
Once their manuscripts are finished, authors also should do their own market research before contacting a publisher. Classify your book. Under what subject heading would your book be found? Then authors should look in stores for similar books, learning to differentiate their books from the competition.
Check out the virtual bookstore Amazon.com on the Internet, which has 2.5 million titles. Find out how many copies sold of comparable books to get an idea what your book’s potential is. Do a periodical search. Check out the Literary Market Place that sorts publishers by interest area. Learn about special advertising opportunities, such as Publisher’s Weekly which devotes one week to specialty topics.
Then size up the audience. Find out their media habits. Is there a particular magazine that the audience reads? If so, what is the circulation? Would it be beneficial for the author to belong to a particular association or organization to promote book sales?
Agents can help an author get noticed in a crowded market place and get a contract. Publishing etiquette includes writing rather than calling a publisher or literary agent. The letter need only be one page. Authors should wait up to a month before following up. Most books (75%) published are nonfiction. The other 25% fiction books are typically from established authors, so the competition is steep.
Carney handles manuscripts with a sports bent, Celtic music, business topics, thrillers and mysteries. Carney is also seeking Southern authors, who she believes are great storytellers.
Our second panelist, Patricia Felch, attorney with Peterson & Ross in Chicago, spoke on "Literary Publishing Deals: Terms to Negotiate."
Felch said there are three types of publisher’s contracts: active editing which includes scholarly publications and nonfiction trade; large house which is more flexible and usually includes subsidiary rights; and the author’s guild form, a copy of which is available for $90.
Essential and negotiable terms include: territory (where to manufacture, market, and print the book) and term (author’s life + 50 years); ownership (copyright ownerships, registration and enforcement); choice of law (Illinois has no publishing laws, but New York and California have great publishing laws); approval (which includes reading the galley proofs) and pricing; indemnification (publishers have big errors and omissions policies in which some authors may want to be named as an additional insured for a fee); author’s right to free (authors traditionally receive only a few free copies) and purchased copies and returned originals; termination (which usually gives rights to the author when the book is out-of-print but typically the publisher always has a few books around); and royalties, accountings and subsidiary rights.
Additional terms include international trade protection (includes a clause so the publisher can register the copyright with customs); delivery and acceptance (authors normally receive one-third of their royalties upon signing, one their upon deliverance, and one-third when printed); returns, reserves and remainders (authors can negotiate a reconciliation so that knowing how many books were returned shows how many were sold; unfortunately the standard forms and accounting systems are woefully inadequate); electronic rights (one writer lost a court battle when his article was sold to databases); and editing and revisions (depending on who pays for alterations, revisions can sting authors) and advances on royalties. Another is the first next book option clause that pays royalties on all of the authors’ books published as one account.
Felch also said that authors should know that there are two seasons -- fall and spring -- in publishing as well.
Remember the four Cs: copyright, control, credit and compensation, authors can leverage
some or all of the above points in their royalty contract.