I'd like to take this time to remind people that there are some dangers to self-publishing if you want to traditionally publish. The Barnes and Noble thing can be linked to your self-publishing past. B&N will use any measure they can to assess whether a book will sell. This means if a previous book didn't sell well, they might not want that risk of your upcoming book not selling well. B&N looks to your self-published books and might make their decision based on that. This is a little talked about thing, but very much real. I know people think there isn't a lot of upside to using a pseudonym, but this is THE major one. People: please, please use a pseudonym if you self-publish and plan to be a trad published author under your real name. You don't want this totally avoidable thing to happen to you.
That is some good advice, but I wonder how they decide what sells well or not. I mean some authors sell on name vs book quality. King wrote Thinner under a pen name and when he was outed it made 5x the sales afterward. Of course, King is an extream example.
Anne Rice had a trilogy published under the pen name A.N. Roquelaure. I'm sure you've heard of it. She was already well-known for her vampire books, but her Claiming of Sleeping Beauty trilogy was written to push every single sexual boundary possible, to the point that Fifty Shades and The Mister look tame. Except, unlike those books, Rice's were meant to basically blow up boundaries in a time of close guidelines being kept for sex in books. It was a huge enough risk that a pen name was used in case it backfired. Obviously it didn't, though she no longer gets credit for writing the books that destroyed the line.
You are not wrong. The same is true with traditional publishers, Audible, Amazon, etc. This is why any prior failures or changes in genre should lead a writer to change his/ her pen name.
I love your enthusiastic smile through all that. You look like you’re approaching the publishing process as a grand adventure. And how grand would an adventure be if it didn’t have some terrible pitfalls? I certainly wouldn’t want to read “An Adventure during which Nothing Bad Happens.”
I have just sent a heart-felt thank you to my publisher/ editor because I suddenly feel extremely grateful! I'm beginning to realize just how easy I'm having it, whether I ever see literary 'success' or not and it's videos like these, experiences others share about their journeys, that not only humble me but teach me. Thank you so much for sharing and keep up the great work. I'm a huge fan!
Strangely enough, this video actually makes me more excited to pursue traditional publishing one day! I hate stumbling around in the dark more than anything, and I feel more confident knowing the potential bad things. Very helpful, thank you for your transparency Alexa!
Thanks for doing videos related to the negative aspect of publishing--too many people go into this thinking it's going to be all rainbows and sunshine and that can be more damaging to the author's career than anything else!
Yeah, I firmly believe that being prepared makes a huge difference! I try not to sweat the small stuff, and I appreciate all the good things that can happen. No single scenario is ever 100% perfect, and tempering your expectations helps a lot with long term satisfaction.
I love love love these kinds of videos! The publishing industry is so vast and holds so many unknowns - I feel like for everything I already know I learn two more things 😂
Actually I can give you another worst case scenario: the competition rejection/drop. Let me explain. Sometimes publishers will have manuscript competition nights where anyone from a writing group can turn up with a finished manuscript and give a pitch. The winning person gets their work published as a book. But sadly it doesnt always work out that way. I was in a writing group once and a woman from my writing group won the night; her book was about taking a real life pushbike trip around Australia. Then I asked a few months later how it was going. The publishing house had dropped her totally. To me that is disgusting. On that basis I wouldnt advise anyone to go to such a pitch night. This was a reputable publisher as well. It wasn't a vanity outfit.
Hard same! I appreciate the highs even more, knowing and having experienced some of the lows. Plus, I have my agent to get mad at people on my behalf when shit goes wrong :)
This is such a fantastic video! I love that you're always out here dispelling illusions, haha! I also think it's best to be realistic and be prepared for the worst. I had no idea the B&N thing was a possibility, or that they could influence a cover!
Oh man I think this gave me some anxiety, my hands are sweaty. XD I had no idea how many pitfalls there were to look out for AFTER landing an agent. Thank you for talking about this! I'm so nervous now...
Loved your book (Brightly Burning) bought it because I liked what you had to say, and now thanks to you. I am reading Jayne Eyre, something that never interested me, and finding it awesome. ty again.
I've been planning a series of 7 (6 now cos it's better to amalganate than to bore readers) and now I'm scared of these scenarioes... Even if the first book was good I'd be heart broken in I had to forget everything else. So the question is, should I write something else first to get secured or something?
I suggest that you just start writing. You may find that your series of 7 becomes 3. Regardless, the only way to sell multiples is to finish the first one. Baby steps ;)
I have never been so early! Just about to watch the video, I'm sure I'll enjoy it as always. Thanks for being awesome and supporting us all baby authors with your knowledge! ^.^
Thanks, I enjoyed this. I always find it bittersweet when aspiring writers imagine that getting traditionally published is some sort of fast track to Nirvana. My own experience has been elation at getting my books accepted by a respected traditional publisher, and the joy of first-rate reviews, but then there was the matter of bad editing jobs, screwed up galley proofs, ugly and inappropriate covers, very little marketing and events, and then seeing the series get canned after book 2 because the publisher decided to downscale their fiction department. So I saw my books in print, did a couple of readings and earned a few hundred euros, which was sort of nice, but, seriously, so what? For me, it's self-publishing from now on.
dying to know what series you were talking about that you loved the covers that the author hated... I think, thanks to your very informative videos, none of these really terrified me too much.
Several years back, an author had a couple very popular books that had been released, and then the publisher shelved the third book in the trilogy. That author couldn't even release it herself or talk much about it, despite fans begging. I can't remember the author's name, but that's when I learned that a book bought doesn't mean a book will ever be released in the first place, even if the author's previous works sold well. In a lot of my writing groups, something commonly brought up is making sure that contracts have statements about rights reverting back to the author after a certain period of time if the publisher doesn't release it. A friend of mine recently regained rights to a book of hers that sold but wasn't released, thanks to her reversion clause that she pushed for after that other author (I really want to see if I can find her name again to follow up on if there's been anything new since 2012ish) was so screwed. Reasons cited for a publisher buying and not releasing range from the market for a trope cooling or taking a negative turn, to the more nefarious reason of trying to eliminate competition from another title they're planning a huge campaign for.
Yes, reversion clauses are critical! It's why I go so hard about getting a GOOD agent--not just any agent. Contract negotiation skills are critical--I have a book contract with several clauses that shift things in my favor, thanks to my very sharp agent. A friend of mine also has a very sharp agent, and her publisher also declined to purchase her third book (essentially cancelling her plans for a trilogy) BUT she has every right to pub a third book on her own. Her agent did a great job!
Woah, I’m Canadian and I’ve never seen a Barnes and Noble before. We have Chapters/Indigo where I live. It’s an absurdly large bookstore, and I have a feeling we don’t have Barnes and Noble because I couldn’t imagine it existing in the same space as this mega-giant. The Chapters in my hometown is three stories with half a floor devoted to a full sized Starbucks. Indigo is smaller and usually lives in malls, as in there’s one in every decent mall, but they’re actually the same company. Same with Plum, but I don’t know what Plum actually is as opposed to the other two.
Sharon Efee If I’m ever going to publish a book it will be with an American agent. Publishing in Canada is stupid if you want to actually sell books and you aren’t a Canada-specific contemporary or literary author. No one chooses to publish commercial fiction through a Canadian publisher. At least it isn’t anyone’s first choice.
WOW... So much to take in. I am looking forward the the next iteration of this list of worst case scenarios. At the same time I fear just how much this video's comments are about to light up.
Haha, yes! But I do expect it. And like, I'm cool if this scares some people off--I get it! But I know those who are strapped in and ready to try trad pub appreciate the honesty--it's easier to prepare yourself when you know what can go wrong! (I personally appreciate all the good stuff even more)
Well, interesting to hear. I get that the designers of the cover want to have a free hand and that they may understand better, but it could be nice if there was a talk about how you cover is going to look like. What picture they want to use (if any), what kind of colours they want to use.
Watching your video, I realise how different is the US system and the one in France. First there is no agent, you can't sell "proposal" only finished book and it is your publisher that oblige you to submit your next novel to them in priority.
You have helped me so much with my writing journey!!! And I was so surprised about the Barnes and Noble TID bit, i had never heard of it before! This is how you know we writers really have a passion for what we do becaue why theowbyour self to the wolves over and over unless your whole heart wasn’t in it!!
I honestly really enjoy talking about this stuff haha. I know for some people it's scary in a bad way, but for me, I use stories like this to fortify myself so I can better manage the knocks!
Of course bad things can happen to you in the author world as it does in the world in general. Glad to see you discuss this topic. It's really good to understand the complications because a level head is better than a delusion of grandeur.
Almost all my author friends who left their first agent after no sales went on to sell with their next agent, usually with really good deals. So that's not the world-ender you might think. My local B&N did not stock the sequel to my debut novel, despite it being set in my home city. The bookstore where I did my launch for my first book didn't stock the sequel, either, and ghosted me when I asked about another launch. (They sold like 50 at my first event, but hey, whatever.) I went to a book launch for an author friend who had written an IP book for a pretty big IP and the bookstore didn't have the books in stock FOR THE SIGNING. And it was the second time this had happened for this author. They had to sign bookplates. Crap happens! But seriously, life goes on. Knowing ahead of time is better than going in with stars in your eyes.
I binge your videos while I edit my wip. I see you uploaded a new video. I click. I got scared. I still edit my wip but more scared now. Although Thank you for warning us and helping us, aspiring authors, prepare! :) edit: dunno what happened when I wrote this but my grammar went to shit. my bad.
One author I read, Ilona Andrews (actually it is a couple under one name), has 3 series that I know of regularly in B&N and when I went to get her 4th series book I was told they refuse to stock it, it can only be bought, printed on demand and shipped. It felt weird to me that a published author could be shelved like that. Now I wonder if it was a rejected book series like you talked about.
@@AlexaDonne Well, that settles one wonder I have been pondering. Trying to be a writer and hearing all these videos and stories is rather scary to me.
@@RoseKindred Well, see I see it in a different way? I see an author who established a very successful base in traditional publishing, who was able to transition to self-publishing and still get carriage in a national bookstore chain's catalog (which most self-pub books don't get), while reaping all the profits from her hard work. To me, that's a hybrid author success story.
@@AlexaDonne Oh I agree, I just meant for a beginner like me all this work is scary. I am not averse to the work it is just more in-depth than I would expect, and I thank you for making the videos you do. They are very informative. I am glad as well to see the series still available even if it is not on shelves.
I read before that way back in the day, Robert Munsch's publisher declined to option his next book. He found another publisher for it, and that book, Love You Forever, knocked Goodnight Moon out of the #1 bestseller spot and has been a resounding commercial success.
I was just watching Grey's Anatomy (yeah, I should've been writing) and I feel like a patient lol. Thank you for your transparency in *every* video and for debunking myths in the community! You're setting the path for all of us.
@@valeriaq1810 Haha. It's super rare--I know of three people, total, to whom it has happened but it's still BRUTAL. The first time I heard of it was when Sarah Rees Brennan posted on her Tumblr about it and it blew my mind. (and I think she deleted that post shortly thereafter)
Oooh, I remember the kerfuffle with that cover art/author thing. So awkward. As for the rest... I just hope to get to the point where I have to worry about all this, lol.
These are good lessons. I would say, to those who hear "no" in Acquisitions: don't be discouraged. There are so many political matters behind the scenes. It's possible that the 'no' had virtually nothing to do with you and with your book. I know that's hard to believe, but trust me. Publishing companies are comprised of humans. If you get "yes" from editors but then repeated "no" from elsewhere at the publishing co, you are likely dealing with 1 of 2 issues: irrelevancy in the current market (meaning publishers just can't profit on what you wrote) or supply exceeding demand (meaning there's a glut of whatever you wrote). Unfortunately, the best solution is to write a new book while continuing to shop your work, since you know it already meets editor standards. There are some situations where you just cannot sell a work for political/ cultural reasons, e.g., this is not a good time to write macho characters in mainstream fiction or to include no-means-yes sex scenes
I've had roughly half of this happen to me too. Honestly the worst case scenario I can think of is having to pay back the advance for some reason/being dropped by the publisher. Or sales so bad no one else wants to buy my books. That keeps me awake at night 😱
With these seven worst case scenarios, you described my entire trad pub experience. Okay, I'm exaggerating, I was never rejected at acquisitions (as far as I know). But otherwise this video hit way too close to home, haha.
One of my friends was signed with a small press and does not like her cover. She said it was too Harlequin Romance. But, she can't do anything about it.
Why can a bookstore say they won’t stock the book? I’ve never heard of that. Is like that the author isn’t known so they don’t want to or is it like they don’t like the book/topic of book? That’s something new for me.
Bookstores have store buyers (usually by category/department) who decide what they'll stock on their shelves--they can't possibly stock all books, as there just isn't room. Plus, titles are constantly weeded from the shelves--I'm a year out from pub, so my book has likely been weeded from most shelves. It's pretty routine for indie stores, for example, to decline to stock titles at the outset--only a fraction of YA titles are stocked by indie stores (I've gone to indies who didn't stock me). It's more rare for a big store like B&N, but it does happen--it usually means that the buyer just doesn't feel it is worth their bandwidth and shelf space to stock a title they don't believe will sell. Sarah Rees Brennan's second book series was passed on by B&N at first--she blogged about it on her Tumblr. They'd done a big order for her first series and it just didn't sell. Another person I know of who it happened to writes middle grade--the store just didn't want to carry it. Another person I know was pubbed by HarperTeen, who notoriously publishes like 200 YA books a year, and B&N just can't take all their books--in any given week, 4+ of the new titles might be HarperTeen books and they have to also stock titles by other houses. This is why it's almost impossible for self-published works to get into stores--they have such limited space they turn down even some trad books (so a self-pub title has to be very commercially successful and represent a guarantee). This is also because of returns. There is also a WHOLE subsection of the distribution business that has to do with remaindering/returning books--the major publishers enable bookstores to return books for a refund--so that represents a lower risk for the store in buying books to stock, because if they don't sell they can return them. Many smaller publishers WON'T refund the bookstores if they return inventory, which is why many book stores will not carry small press (or self-pub) books. There are also incentives major publishers offer stores for carrying more of their titles, but that's even further down the rabbit hole. There is a very complex and intricate set of systems in the publishing and distribution world, which is why trad pub is so good at it--they know all the ins & outs and rules. I know I should make a video, but it's such an intense topic and I've not felt up to it yet lol.
Alexa Donne I didn’t even know there was so much to after you get the agent, then the editor, then the publisher. Holy crap.... that must be the most insanely intense wait time. Then if they don’t even tell you! What a huge let down if you were excited for it.
@@KatharineFrancis It is a lot! It's why I've always been so intense about seeking out information and preparing as much as possible. Honestly, I was so prepared for so many worst case scenarios (and/or went through them before I sold), that when everything went pretty darn well for me, I was pleasantly surprised and really happy about it. It's why generally I can't complain much about my publishing journey. I got decent money (nothing crazy, but not peanuts), my publisher treated me SUPER well, and even though I'm not a huge seller, my book was widely distributed, especially in libraries! And some of this stuff... it's better to know it so you can make more informed decisions about your publishing career once you're on this side. Like... some publishers are more notorious for things falling through the cracks than others, and you can always... not submit your book there lol. (the question always is: do you just want to be published, or do you want to publish well?)
Alexa Donne I for sure want to be published well. Haha I still haven’t decided which to go with. They each have their perks and cons but your channels pretty much the only one that gives it to the viewer straight. You should totally do a video on this topic some time. Or like a series of publishing mishaps to prepare for.
It's always interesting for me to hear how authors feel about their covers. There's no way everyone loves what the publisher decides, and it's sad that they can't really do anything about it, and I understand why. But it's your book. It's like thinking your baby is ugly but you have to put on an act for the sake of the baby and everyone around you (I don't actually think anyone would consider their baby ugly, just a stupid analogy haha). Either way, yes, it's in bad taste to publicly state that you hate the cover, especially after it's just been published *cough* goodkind *cough* .
My favourite book as a Teenager, which I had only borrowed from Libraries for the longest time, had great stylised covers through its paperback editions. Would finally own it when it was on the U.K. Kimdle store for £0.99, with a dull photograph based cover which one hand alluded to the surprisingly dark ending for non fantasy genre for its the age group (well for a time that was during Harry Potter’s early days). But compared to what came before... it sucks
If your book doesnt sell, can you turn around and self publish it after it has been submitted and ended up going nowhere? Or are there some kind of legal ramifications for doing this.
Absolutely! If you don't sell something, it still belongs to you. But most of us in the trad pub ecosystem are trying to sell something that way, so we just shelve the book. Not always forever--I would consider self-pubbing one of my older projects, possibly.
@@DanicaChristin Self-publishing is definitely part of my long game plan! There are some key genres I really want to write in that don't do very well in trad pub, or are simply more lucrative in self-pub. But it's chicken and egg! I've partly built my platform on the back of my trad pub experience, so I'm not sure if it would have worked out the same the other way around, at least not for the book I did debut with :)
I wonder if there's anything you can do if your title is just plain inaccurate. For example, if your protagonist is described as, I don't know, being olive-skinned with long, dark hair and there's a short-haired, nordic person on the cover. Or, say, a specific flower is a central symbol in your book and they put the way wrong flower on the front. Can you truly be stuck with it if it's just not correct?
As far as I can tell, the only actual advantage that traditional publishing has over self-publishing is the chance (however slim) at getting onto bestseller lists, winning awards, getting option for TV/film, etc.
Bethany Laurell also with self publishing you've basically got to do everything. Traditional publishing allows for professionals to take over the business role for you.
@@RashmikaLikesBooks Well, that's the conventional wisdom, but is it really that accurate? From what I've seen, the vast majority of traditionally published authors still have to pay for most if not all of their own marketing, as well as paying their own way to cons and festivals and such. They don't have to pay for a cover to be made, but the flip side, as mentioned in this video, is the very real possibility of hating the cover and having virtually no say in it. Same goes for the title. I'm not trying to hate on trad pub, but it just seems like every time I turn around, there's another tweet thread or UA-cam video about the myriad of ways that the publishing industry can screw over authors, and I'm continually frustrated/mystified over how they get away with it when the entire industry wouldn't even *exist* without authors and the work they produce.
Bethany Laurell what you say is completely true. Traditional publishing is far from perfect. Self publishing gets a lot of unwarranted hate, when it's actually a good option for a lot of people and might be better than trad publishing. Self publishing is a lot of work, but ultimately ends up being very rewarding for a lot of people.
@@RashmikaLikesBooks For sure! I forgot to say that traditional publishing obviously has extensive in-house editing that the author doesn't have to pay for, so that is a point in its favor. Ultimately both paths have their advantages and disadvantages. It's good for authors to have options!
@@bethanylaurell8081 My publisher paid for all my marketing as well as all my travel to events. And I only got into those events because my publisher got me in--most of the biggest/best book festivals and fan conventions ONLY accept trad pubbed authors. Plus, distribution is a real thing--I'm in nearly a thousand libraries, which you can compare to a notable self-pub title I had librarian friends look up and is only in 27, total. I also had 3-10 copies in every single Barnes and Noble in the country--IN the store, not just online. The thing is, if you focus on worst case scenarios, you miss all the middling to best case scenarios, where you still end up WAY ahead of where you'd be otherwise. 99% of trad pubbed authors get the extensive distribution that is standard for traditional publishing, and even the bare minimum of marketing is enough to move copies of the book. It's good to know about the 1% worst case scenario but the odds of it being you are slim. To focus on outliers is a little bit myopic?
Why would you feel guilty? If your agent/agency isn't working for you then move on to another or self publish. You have to look out for you. And definitely have your own lawyer, not just your agent. Your agent works for an Agency and their first interest will Always be to that Agency(their employer ) Not to You. A lawyer that You hire directly works for You and looks out for You without that conflict of interest that an Agent will have. It's like having a serious problem at work and thinking that HR is going to be your advocate. 🤦HR works for your Employer Not You. Get a Lawyer that Actually represents You and Your Interests.
worst case 1: they turn me down but something very eerily similar gets published shortly after by a different author worst case 2: Someone sues me for defamation or plagiarism based on things I actually changed and are based on something else - just because I generically admitted to being inspired by something worst case 3: I go traditionalvand become obligated to change things to fit trends that sicken me
@@sharonefee1426 it's more that, it's exponentially harder to get published if you reject certain trends... And forget rejecting several common beliefs about "the right way to write". It's less that, you're forced to write trends no matter what, and more, if you don't conform to what publishers believe "sells"... no matter how dumb that can be at times... you'll nine times out of ten not find yourself a book deal. This is by extent why literature has become so focused on YA novels overall. It's easy to get certain things published and difficult to get others published. Conformity, albeit implicit conformity, is something that people often force down your throat for no better reason than they won't interact with you if you don't conform; such is humanity.
Honestly I'd never get published. My slow burn starts with no clear inciting incidents for example, these are things most readers adore and praise, which have a genuine purpose in the pacing, yet are just so antithetical to what people believe makes good writing that it would never get past the acquisitions meeting.
Along the book rejection route: My worst case scenario is selling the first book (or two) in a series and maybe the publisher doesn't pick up the other books...so the series remains unfinished. It's happened to me as a reader multiple times, so I was heartbroken when I learned I might never know the end to these stories. As a writer, I would be devastated if I couldn't finish my story because the books weren't picked up, or were dropped for poor sales or something. I think that's why I'm leaning toward self-publishing. I write long series in a shared world, and at this point, I think it might be a better fit to have the control over making sure my stories are finished. But if I have a standalone, I would definitely try it traditionally because I don't worry as much about some of the other worst case scenarios. There are some books on my agenda that I think would do better when trying to sell traditionally. So I guess I'd like to be a sort of hybrid-author if possible. If I could get an agent who would be onboard with that, of course. Thank you for the wonderful video, Alexa! I like seeing the not so good~ sides to publishing because there's good and bad to everything. I always look forward to your next video! Even if I'm a hermit who lurks a lot of the time, haha. :D
@@sharonefee1426 I don't know if that's possible. The publisher owns the right to publish the books when they buy it, so I think unless there's some sort of clause in the contract that says you get your publishing rights back if the publisher decides to not publish future books...that can't really happen. Maybe a publisher would be nice and let you out so you can publish elsewhere, but that's rare. I've seen authors wait decades to have their rights restored to them so they could republish a book series that had been out of print for almost that long. It's kind of ridiculous. And because I see it happen to other authors, it just weighs on my mind, I guess.
My biggest fear is being Pearl Harbored. I write my book; jump through the seemingly endless editing process and beta readers; finally feel like the manuscript is ready for some serious criticism, query, query, query - get a HOOK! Wonderful, agent is a lost soul companion, we zing! More work to polish the work. Off to the publishing gantlet we go! We ran around in the darkness for a while, but not too long and we get an eager buyer. Everything, goes click, click, click. Then, the camel's nose makes it's showing and incrementally the book changes until the whole camel is in my tent. I do not recognize the book, the cover or even the title. NONE of it was what was in my head when I started this journey. Do I just collapse inches from the finish line and cancel everything or do I stick out my chin and start marketing a book, I do not know?
Well, but Pearl Harbor is a movie, not a book. Hollywood is very different, where movies are collaborative efforts with studios--who put in the money to make everything happen--have power. Books are different. The publisher can't publish a book without the author--that's not how rights work. They need the author to do all the hard work. (In Hollywood, you can be replaced on your own project, easily) So really a publisher can't make you do anything. If it truly comes to blows, you cancel your contract and give the money back. But most of the time, if an author doesn't want to make a change, they don't have to. The publisher backs off. I've flat out said no to my editor... many times. So my books--all the good and especially the bad--fall on my own shoulders.
@@AlexaDonne Thank you Alexa, you are more angelic than you know - and a hard working angel at that. As I am sure you are aware, writers fear the loss of control after going through so much effort and hoping for the best during the 'process' of being traditionally published. You give me strength.
@@cadengrace5466 I understand the fear! But I'm here to at least show that it's not always so bad :) I've only had the experience of my publishing team making my books better. I really appreciate the feedback I get on my drafts :)
I'd like to take this time to remind people that there are some dangers to self-publishing if you want to traditionally publish. The Barnes and Noble thing can be linked to your self-publishing past. B&N will use any measure they can to assess whether a book will sell. This means if a previous book didn't sell well, they might not want that risk of your upcoming book not selling well. B&N looks to your self-published books and might make their decision based on that.
This is a little talked about thing, but very much real. I know people think there isn't a lot of upside to using a pseudonym, but this is THE major one. People: please, please use a pseudonym if you self-publish and plan to be a trad published author under your real name. You don't want this totally avoidable thing to happen to you.
That is some good advice, but I wonder how they decide what sells well or not. I mean some authors sell on name vs book quality. King wrote Thinner under a pen name and when he was outed it made 5x the sales afterward. Of course, King is an extream example.
Anne Rice had a trilogy published under the pen name A.N. Roquelaure. I'm sure you've heard of it. She was already well-known for her vampire books, but her Claiming of Sleeping Beauty trilogy was written to push every single sexual boundary possible, to the point that Fifty Shades and The Mister look tame. Except, unlike those books, Rice's were meant to basically blow up boundaries in a time of close guidelines being kept for sex in books. It was a huge enough risk that a pen name was used in case it backfired. Obviously it didn't, though she no longer gets credit for writing the books that destroyed the line.
@@RoseKindred I'm pretty sure they don't care WHY it sells, just how many units.
You are not wrong. The same is true with traditional publishers, Audible, Amazon, etc. This is why any prior failures or changes in genre should lead a writer to change his/ her pen name.
'one person's gold is another person's 'i want to die' ' lol
I love your enthusiastic smile through all that. You look like you’re approaching the publishing process as a grand adventure. And how grand would an adventure be if it didn’t have some terrible pitfalls? I certainly wouldn’t want to read “An Adventure during which Nothing Bad Happens.”
I have just sent a heart-felt thank you to my publisher/ editor because I suddenly feel extremely grateful! I'm beginning to realize just how easy I'm having it, whether I ever see literary 'success' or not and it's videos like these, experiences others share about their journeys, that not only humble me but teach me. Thank you so much for sharing and keep up the great work. I'm a huge fan!
I say thank you to my publisher and agent as often as possible! When things go really well, it's worth being grateful :)
Strangely enough, this video actually makes me more excited to pursue traditional publishing one day! I hate stumbling around in the dark more than anything, and I feel more confident knowing the potential bad things. Very helpful, thank you for your transparency Alexa!
You're such a gem in this community! I appreciate your honesty about traditional publishing "despite" being traditionally published yourself.
Thanks for doing videos related to the negative aspect of publishing--too many people go into this thinking it's going to be all rainbows and sunshine and that can be more damaging to the author's career than anything else!
Yeah, I firmly believe that being prepared makes a huge difference! I try not to sweat the small stuff, and I appreciate all the good things that can happen. No single scenario is ever 100% perfect, and tempering your expectations helps a lot with long term satisfaction.
I love love love these kinds of videos! The publishing industry is so vast and holds so many unknowns - I feel like for everything I already know I learn two more things 😂
Actually I can give you another worst case scenario: the competition rejection/drop. Let me explain. Sometimes publishers will have manuscript competition nights where anyone from a writing group can turn up with a finished manuscript and give a pitch. The winning person gets their work published as a book. But sadly it doesnt always work out that way. I was in a writing group once and a woman from my writing group won the night; her book was about taking a real life pushbike trip around Australia. Then I asked a few months later how it was going. The publishing house had dropped her totally. To me that is disgusting. On that basis I wouldnt advise anyone to go to such a pitch night. This was a reputable publisher as well. It wasn't a vanity outfit.
How annoying... Why do they promise things they can't make them happen?
I have never heard of this happening to anyone here in NYC. Did this happen elsewhere?
@@scarlet8078 I was in a writing group in melbourne australia where it happened.
Regardless of these worst case scenarios I still rather have an agent and a book deal.
Hard same! I appreciate the highs even more, knowing and having experienced some of the lows. Plus, I have my agent to get mad at people on my behalf when shit goes wrong :)
You are truly one of a kind. Heaven is full of people like you.
This is such a fantastic video! I love that you're always out here dispelling illusions, haha! I also think it's best to be realistic and be prepared for the worst. I had no idea the B&N thing was a possibility, or that they could influence a cover!
I love how you are able to give us worst case scenarios with a smile and upbeat attitude!
These videos give me nightmares but also hope
So uh... thank you?
Oh man I think this gave me some anxiety, my hands are sweaty. XD I had no idea how many pitfalls there were to look out for AFTER landing an agent. Thank you for talking about this! I'm so nervous now...
I was happy to see that your novel was available in the public library in Mooresville, N.C. I must read it.
Loved your book (Brightly Burning) bought it because I liked what you had to say, and now thanks to you. I am reading Jayne Eyre, something that never interested me, and finding it awesome. ty again.
I've been planning a series of 7 (6 now cos it's better to amalganate than to bore readers) and now I'm scared of these scenarioes... Even if the first book was good I'd be heart broken in I had to forget everything else.
So the question is, should I write something else first to get secured or something?
I suggest that you just start writing. You may find that your series of 7 becomes 3. Regardless, the only way to sell multiples is to finish the first one. Baby steps ;)
Hey, Alexa. I wanted to ask if you'd share where to get literary agents from? Please. Thanks.
I have never been so early! Just about to watch the video, I'm sure I'll enjoy it as always. Thanks for being awesome and supporting us all baby authors with your knowledge! ^.^
Thanks, I enjoyed this. I always find it bittersweet when aspiring writers imagine that getting traditionally published is some sort of fast track to Nirvana. My own experience has been elation at getting my books accepted by a respected traditional publisher, and the joy of first-rate reviews, but then there was the matter of bad editing jobs, screwed up galley proofs, ugly and inappropriate covers, very little marketing and events, and then seeing the series get canned after book 2 because the publisher decided to downscale their fiction department. So I saw my books in print, did a couple of readings and earned a few hundred euros, which was sort of nice, but, seriously, so what? For me, it's self-publishing from now on.
dying to know what series you were talking about that you loved the covers that the author hated...
I think, thanks to your very informative videos, none of these really terrified me too much.
Several years back, an author had a couple very popular books that had been released, and then the publisher shelved the third book in the trilogy. That author couldn't even release it herself or talk much about it, despite fans begging. I can't remember the author's name, but that's when I learned that a book bought doesn't mean a book will ever be released in the first place, even if the author's previous works sold well. In a lot of my writing groups, something commonly brought up is making sure that contracts have statements about rights reverting back to the author after a certain period of time if the publisher doesn't release it. A friend of mine recently regained rights to a book of hers that sold but wasn't released, thanks to her reversion clause that she pushed for after that other author (I really want to see if I can find her name again to follow up on if there's been anything new since 2012ish) was so screwed. Reasons cited for a publisher buying and not releasing range from the market for a trope cooling or taking a negative turn, to the more nefarious reason of trying to eliminate competition from another title they're planning a huge campaign for.
Yes, reversion clauses are critical! It's why I go so hard about getting a GOOD agent--not just any agent. Contract negotiation skills are critical--I have a book contract with several clauses that shift things in my favor, thanks to my very sharp agent. A friend of mine also has a very sharp agent, and her publisher also declined to purchase her third book (essentially cancelling her plans for a trilogy) BUT she has every right to pub a third book on her own. Her agent did a great job!
Is this Victoria Schwab's "The Archived"? Would explain why that third book never came out.
That's totally mean...
Woah, I’m Canadian and I’ve never seen a Barnes and Noble before. We have Chapters/Indigo where I live. It’s an absurdly large bookstore, and I have a feeling we don’t have Barnes and Noble because I couldn’t imagine it existing in the same space as this mega-giant. The Chapters in my hometown is three stories with half a floor devoted to a full sized Starbucks. Indigo is smaller and usually lives in malls, as in there’s one in every decent mall, but they’re actually the same company. Same with Plum, but I don’t know what Plum actually is as opposed to the other two.
Julian Fantasia If you're in Canada and your story will stay there, there is no actual reason to care about B&N
Sharon Efee If I’m ever going to publish a book it will be with an American agent. Publishing in Canada is stupid if you want to actually sell books and you aren’t a Canada-specific contemporary or literary author. No one chooses to publish commercial fiction through a Canadian publisher. At least it isn’t anyone’s first choice.
Thank you for this, I am not ready to query yet but once I am I will be prepared
I hadn't thought about B & N. That's terrifying :O
WOW... So much to take in. I am looking forward the the next iteration of this list of worst case scenarios. At the same time I fear just how much this video's comments are about to light up.
Haha, yes! But I do expect it. And like, I'm cool if this scares some people off--I get it! But I know those who are strapped in and ready to try trad pub appreciate the honesty--it's easier to prepare yourself when you know what can go wrong! (I personally appreciate all the good stuff even more)
@@AlexaDonne it is an important discussion. Unfortunately this is not something that one would think to compile into a craft book. 🤷♂️🤷♀️
Well, interesting to hear. I get that the designers of the cover want to have a free hand and that they may understand better, but it could be nice if there was a talk about how you cover is going to look like. What picture they want to use (if any), what kind of colours they want to use.
Watching your video, I realise how different is the US system and the one in France. First there is no agent, you can't sell "proposal" only finished book and it is your publisher that oblige you to submit your next novel to them in priority.
You have helped me so much with my writing journey!!! And I was so surprised about the Barnes and Noble TID bit, i had never heard of it before! This is how you know we writers really have a passion for what we do becaue why theowbyour self to the wolves over and over unless your whole heart wasn’t in it!!
This was such a fun video (in a terrifying kind of way...)!
I honestly really enjoy talking about this stuff haha. I know for some people it's scary in a bad way, but for me, I use stories like this to fortify myself so I can better manage the knocks!
Of course bad things can happen to you in the author world as it does in the world in general. Glad to see you discuss this topic. It's really good to understand the complications because a level head is better than a delusion of grandeur.
Almost all my author friends who left their first agent after no sales went on to sell with their next agent, usually with really good deals. So that's not the world-ender you might think.
My local B&N did not stock the sequel to my debut novel, despite it being set in my home city. The bookstore where I did my launch for my first book didn't stock the sequel, either, and ghosted me when I asked about another launch. (They sold like 50 at my first event, but hey, whatever.)
I went to a book launch for an author friend who had written an IP book for a pretty big IP and the bookstore didn't have the books in stock FOR THE SIGNING. And it was the second time this had happened for this author. They had to sign bookplates.
Crap happens! But seriously, life goes on. Knowing ahead of time is better than going in with stars in your eyes.
I binge your videos while I edit my wip. I see you uploaded a new video. I click. I got scared. I still edit my wip but more scared now. Although Thank you for warning us and helping us, aspiring authors, prepare! :)
edit: dunno what happened when I wrote this but my grammar went to shit. my bad.
One author I read, Ilona Andrews (actually it is a couple under one name), has 3 series that I know of regularly in B&N and when I went to get her 4th series book I was told they refuse to stock it, it can only be bought, printed on demand and shipped. It felt weird to me that a published author could be shelved like that. Now I wonder if it was a rejected book series like you talked about.
Yeah, if it was POD it's mostly likely that last series was self-published, rather than traditionally published.
@@AlexaDonne Well, that settles one wonder I have been pondering. Trying to be a writer and hearing all these videos and stories is rather scary to me.
@@RoseKindred Well, see I see it in a different way? I see an author who established a very successful base in traditional publishing, who was able to transition to self-publishing and still get carriage in a national bookstore chain's catalog (which most self-pub books don't get), while reaping all the profits from her hard work. To me, that's a hybrid author success story.
@@AlexaDonne Oh I agree, I just meant for a beginner like me all this work is scary. I am not averse to the work it is just more in-depth than I would expect, and I thank you for making the videos you do. They are very informative.
I am glad as well to see the series still available even if it is not on shelves.
I read before that way back in the day, Robert Munsch's publisher declined to option his next book. He found another publisher for it, and that book, Love You Forever, knocked Goodnight Moon out of the #1 bestseller spot and has been a resounding commercial success.
I mean, the best revenge is success :)
I was just watching Grey's Anatomy (yeah, I should've been writing) and I feel like a patient lol. Thank you for your transparency in *every* video and for debunking myths in the community! You're setting the path for all of us.
I actually screamed out loud: OH HELL NO at 9:53 lmaooo
@@valeriaq1810 Haha. It's super rare--I know of three people, total, to whom it has happened but it's still BRUTAL. The first time I heard of it was when Sarah Rees Brennan posted on her Tumblr about it and it blew my mind. (and I think she deleted that post shortly thereafter)
@@AlexaDonne thank you so much for sharing! And even more for taking the time to reply 💗💗
Oooh, I remember the kerfuffle with that cover art/author thing. So awkward.
As for the rest... I just hope to get to the point where I have to worry about all this, lol.
Can you share a little bit about how you learn and keep up with the publishing industry in general?
Me: What could possibly go wrong?
Alexa: A lot of things.
My grandfather: Everything.
These are good lessons. I would say, to those who hear "no" in Acquisitions: don't be discouraged. There are so many political matters behind the scenes. It's possible that the 'no' had virtually nothing to do with you and with your book. I know that's hard to believe, but trust me. Publishing companies are comprised of humans. If you get "yes" from editors but then repeated "no" from elsewhere at the publishing co, you are likely dealing with 1 of 2 issues: irrelevancy in the current market (meaning publishers just can't profit on what you wrote) or supply exceeding demand (meaning there's a glut of whatever you wrote). Unfortunately, the best solution is to write a new book while continuing to shop your work, since you know it already meets editor standards. There are some situations where you just cannot sell a work for political/ cultural reasons, e.g., this is not a good time to write macho characters in mainstream fiction or to include no-means-yes sex scenes
I've had roughly half of this happen to me too. Honestly the worst case scenario I can think of is having to pay back the advance for some reason/being dropped by the publisher. Or sales so bad no one else wants to buy my books. That keeps me awake at night 😱
With these seven worst case scenarios, you described my entire trad pub experience. Okay, I'm exaggerating, I was never rejected at acquisitions (as far as I know). But otherwise this video hit way too close to home, haha.
Another awesome video! Thank you so much!
I love your videos and the word you spread. You should def have more subbies.
One of my friends was signed with a small press and does not like her cover. She said it was too Harlequin Romance. But, she can't do anything about it.
Why can a bookstore say they won’t stock the book? I’ve never heard of that. Is like that the author isn’t known so they don’t want to or is it like they don’t like the book/topic of book? That’s something new for me.
Bookstores have store buyers (usually by category/department) who decide what they'll stock on their shelves--they can't possibly stock all books, as there just isn't room. Plus, titles are constantly weeded from the shelves--I'm a year out from pub, so my book has likely been weeded from most shelves. It's pretty routine for indie stores, for example, to decline to stock titles at the outset--only a fraction of YA titles are stocked by indie stores (I've gone to indies who didn't stock me). It's more rare for a big store like B&N, but it does happen--it usually means that the buyer just doesn't feel it is worth their bandwidth and shelf space to stock a title they don't believe will sell. Sarah Rees Brennan's second book series was passed on by B&N at first--she blogged about it on her Tumblr. They'd done a big order for her first series and it just didn't sell. Another person I know of who it happened to writes middle grade--the store just didn't want to carry it. Another person I know was pubbed by HarperTeen, who notoriously publishes like 200 YA books a year, and B&N just can't take all their books--in any given week, 4+ of the new titles might be HarperTeen books and they have to also stock titles by other houses. This is why it's almost impossible for self-published works to get into stores--they have such limited space they turn down even some trad books (so a self-pub title has to be very commercially successful and represent a guarantee). This is also because of returns. There is also a WHOLE subsection of the distribution business that has to do with remaindering/returning books--the major publishers enable bookstores to return books for a refund--so that represents a lower risk for the store in buying books to stock, because if they don't sell they can return them. Many smaller publishers WON'T refund the bookstores if they return inventory, which is why many book stores will not carry small press (or self-pub) books. There are also incentives major publishers offer stores for carrying more of their titles, but that's even further down the rabbit hole. There is a very complex and intricate set of systems in the publishing and distribution world, which is why trad pub is so good at it--they know all the ins & outs and rules. I know I should make a video, but it's such an intense topic and I've not felt up to it yet lol.
Alexa Donne I didn’t even know there was so much to after you get the agent, then the editor, then the publisher. Holy crap.... that must be the most insanely intense wait time. Then if they don’t even tell you! What a huge let down if you were excited for it.
@@KatharineFrancis It is a lot! It's why I've always been so intense about seeking out information and preparing as much as possible. Honestly, I was so prepared for so many worst case scenarios (and/or went through them before I sold), that when everything went pretty darn well for me, I was pleasantly surprised and really happy about it. It's why generally I can't complain much about my publishing journey. I got decent money (nothing crazy, but not peanuts), my publisher treated me SUPER well, and even though I'm not a huge seller, my book was widely distributed, especially in libraries! And some of this stuff... it's better to know it so you can make more informed decisions about your publishing career once you're on this side. Like... some publishers are more notorious for things falling through the cracks than others, and you can always... not submit your book there lol. (the question always is: do you just want to be published, or do you want to publish well?)
Alexa Donne I for sure want to be published well. Haha I still haven’t decided which to go with. They each have their perks and cons but your channels pretty much the only one that gives it to the viewer straight. You should totally do a video on this topic some time. Or like a series of publishing mishaps to prepare for.
It's always interesting for me to hear how authors feel about their covers. There's no way everyone loves what the publisher decides, and it's sad that they can't really do anything about it, and I understand why. But it's your book. It's like thinking your baby is ugly but you have to put on an act for the sake of the baby and everyone around you (I don't actually think anyone would consider their baby ugly, just a stupid analogy haha). Either way, yes, it's in bad taste to publicly state that you hate the cover, especially after it's just been published *cough* goodkind *cough* .
If your book doesn't sell at all, can you then choose to self-publish it?
I’m going to go and cry now
L G Don't cry (a hug)
Sharon Efee *hugs*
Really good video. I did not know about Barnes and Noble. Ant chance of an indie version.
My favourite book as a Teenager, which I had only borrowed from Libraries for the longest time, had great stylised covers through its paperback editions. Would finally own it when it was on the U.K. Kimdle store for £0.99, with a dull photograph based cover which one hand alluded to the surprisingly dark ending for non fantasy genre for its the age group (well for a time that was during Harry Potter’s early days). But compared to what came before... it sucks
I knew of some of these because you talk about them and some because I have another friend who has mentioned them. Didn't know the B&N one though 😱
If your book doesnt sell, can you turn around and self publish it after it has been submitted and ended up going nowhere? Or are there some kind of legal ramifications for doing this.
Absolutely! If you don't sell something, it still belongs to you. But most of us in the trad pub ecosystem are trying to sell something that way, so we just shelve the book. Not always forever--I would consider self-pubbing one of my older projects, possibly.
@@AlexaDonne you have such a big author platform - I'm sure your book would do great if you self published!
@@DanicaChristin Self-publishing is definitely part of my long game plan! There are some key genres I really want to write in that don't do very well in trad pub, or are simply more lucrative in self-pub. But it's chicken and egg! I've partly built my platform on the back of my trad pub experience, so I'm not sure if it would have worked out the same the other way around, at least not for the book I did debut with :)
I feel like after I get an agent all of these things are going to happen to me...
Aren't most book options turned down? That one doesn't seem like such a big deal.
I needed that ...for my mind
I wonder if there's anything you can do if your title is just plain inaccurate. For example, if your protagonist is described as, I don't know, being olive-skinned with long, dark hair and there's a short-haired, nordic person on the cover. Or, say, a specific flower is a central symbol in your book and they put the way wrong flower on the front. Can you truly be stuck with it if it's just not correct?
I'd actually heard of ALL of these things from reading author blogs.
But how do you FIND an agent?
I have a whole video on that!
As far as I can tell, the only actual advantage that traditional publishing has over self-publishing is the chance (however slim) at getting onto bestseller lists, winning awards, getting option for TV/film, etc.
Bethany Laurell also with self publishing you've basically got to do everything. Traditional publishing allows for professionals to take over the business role for you.
@@RashmikaLikesBooks Well, that's the conventional wisdom, but is it really that accurate? From what I've seen, the vast majority of traditionally published authors still have to pay for most if not all of their own marketing, as well as paying their own way to cons and festivals and such. They don't have to pay for a cover to be made, but the flip side, as mentioned in this video, is the very real possibility of hating the cover and having virtually no say in it. Same goes for the title. I'm not trying to hate on trad pub, but it just seems like every time I turn around, there's another tweet thread or UA-cam video about the myriad of ways that the publishing industry can screw over authors, and I'm continually frustrated/mystified over how they get away with it when the entire industry wouldn't even *exist* without authors and the work they produce.
Bethany Laurell what you say is completely true. Traditional publishing is far from perfect. Self publishing gets a lot of unwarranted hate, when it's actually a good option for a lot of people and might be better than trad publishing. Self publishing is a lot of work, but ultimately ends up being very rewarding for a lot of people.
@@RashmikaLikesBooks For sure! I forgot to say that traditional publishing obviously has extensive in-house editing that the author doesn't have to pay for, so that is a point in its favor. Ultimately both paths have their advantages and disadvantages. It's good for authors to have options!
@@bethanylaurell8081 My publisher paid for all my marketing as well as all my travel to events. And I only got into those events because my publisher got me in--most of the biggest/best book festivals and fan conventions ONLY accept trad pubbed authors. Plus, distribution is a real thing--I'm in nearly a thousand libraries, which you can compare to a notable self-pub title I had librarian friends look up and is only in 27, total. I also had 3-10 copies in every single Barnes and Noble in the country--IN the store, not just online. The thing is, if you focus on worst case scenarios, you miss all the middling to best case scenarios, where you still end up WAY ahead of where you'd be otherwise. 99% of trad pubbed authors get the extensive distribution that is standard for traditional publishing, and even the bare minimum of marketing is enough to move copies of the book. It's good to know about the 1% worst case scenario but the odds of it being you are slim. To focus on outliers is a little bit myopic?
Me: *writing book on hardcore mode* 🥴
The B&N: *Big Brother is watching you.* 😈
Why would you feel guilty? If your agent/agency isn't working for you then move on to another or self publish. You have to look out for you. And definitely have your own lawyer, not just your agent. Your agent works for an Agency and their first interest will Always be to that Agency(their employer ) Not to You. A lawyer that You hire directly works for You and looks out for You without that conflict of interest that an Agent will have. It's like having a serious problem at work and thinking that HR is going to be your advocate. 🤦HR works for your Employer Not You. Get a Lawyer that Actually represents You and Your Interests.
Didn't know B&N don't have to take books.
So.... how often do those worst case scenarios happen? XD
Why are you winded?
Hi
Hi
@@bennettfrazier1742 are you having a good day so far?
@@octosepninetyoneninetysix1601 yeah, it's been a great day, what about you?
@@bennettfrazier1742 same here on my end
@@octosepninetyoneninetysix1601 that's good, enjoying the video?
worst case 1: they turn me down but something very eerily similar gets published shortly after by a different author
worst case 2: Someone sues me for defamation or plagiarism based on things I actually changed and are based on something else - just because I generically admitted to being inspired by something
worst case 3: I go traditionalvand become obligated to change things to fit trends that sicken me
all things I'd fear
Can you just be forced to go with the trends? Sounds weird...
@@sharonefee1426 it's more that, it's exponentially harder to get published if you reject certain trends... And forget rejecting several common beliefs about "the right way to write". It's less that, you're forced to write trends no matter what, and more, if you don't conform to what publishers believe "sells"... no matter how dumb that can be at times... you'll nine times out of ten not find yourself a book deal.
This is by extent why literature has become so focused on YA novels overall. It's easy to get certain things published and difficult to get others published. Conformity, albeit implicit conformity, is something that people often force down your throat for no better reason than they won't interact with you if you don't conform; such is humanity.
Honestly I'd never get published. My slow burn starts with no clear inciting incidents for example, these are things most readers adore and praise, which have a genuine purpose in the pacing, yet are just so antithetical to what people believe makes good writing that it would never get past the acquisitions meeting.
Along the book rejection route: My worst case scenario is selling the first book (or two) in a series and maybe the publisher doesn't pick up the other books...so the series remains unfinished. It's happened to me as a reader multiple times, so I was heartbroken when I learned I might never know the end to these stories. As a writer, I would be devastated if I couldn't finish my story because the books weren't picked up, or were dropped for poor sales or something.
I think that's why I'm leaning toward self-publishing. I write long series in a shared world, and at this point, I think it might be a better fit to have the control over making sure my stories are finished. But if I have a standalone, I would definitely try it traditionally because I don't worry as much about some of the other worst case scenarios. There are some books on my agenda that I think would do better when trying to sell traditionally. So I guess I'd like to be a sort of hybrid-author if possible. If I could get an agent who would be onboard with that, of course.
Thank you for the wonderful video, Alexa! I like seeing the not so good~ sides to publishing because there's good and bad to everything. I always look forward to your next video! Even if I'm a hermit who lurks a lot of the time, haha. :D
novellyKJ I wonder f techbically there's a problem to start with one company and then move to other (fot the same series if you are rejected)
@@sharonefee1426 I don't know if that's possible. The publisher owns the right to publish the books when they buy it, so I think unless there's some sort of clause in the contract that says you get your publishing rights back if the publisher decides to not publish future books...that can't really happen. Maybe a publisher would be nice and let you out so you can publish elsewhere, but that's rare. I've seen authors wait decades to have their rights restored to them so they could republish a book series that had been out of print for almost that long. It's kind of ridiculous. And because I see it happen to other authors, it just weighs on my mind, I guess.
First time I've been so early, still not first :(
This... this is depressing.
#ARCSAREFREE
My biggest fear is being Pearl Harbored. I write my book; jump through the seemingly endless editing process and beta readers; finally feel like the manuscript is ready for some serious criticism, query, query, query - get a HOOK! Wonderful, agent is a lost soul companion, we zing! More work to polish the work. Off to the publishing gantlet we go! We ran around in the darkness for a while, but not too long and we get an eager buyer. Everything, goes click, click, click. Then, the camel's nose makes it's showing and incrementally the book changes until the whole camel is in my tent. I do not recognize the book, the cover or even the title. NONE of it was what was in my head when I started this journey. Do I just collapse inches from the finish line and cancel everything or do I stick out my chin and start marketing a book, I do not know?
Well, but Pearl Harbor is a movie, not a book. Hollywood is very different, where movies are collaborative efforts with studios--who put in the money to make everything happen--have power. Books are different. The publisher can't publish a book without the author--that's not how rights work. They need the author to do all the hard work. (In Hollywood, you can be replaced on your own project, easily) So really a publisher can't make you do anything. If it truly comes to blows, you cancel your contract and give the money back. But most of the time, if an author doesn't want to make a change, they don't have to. The publisher backs off. I've flat out said no to my editor... many times. So my books--all the good and especially the bad--fall on my own shoulders.
@@AlexaDonne Thank you Alexa, you are more angelic than you know - and a hard working angel at that. As I am sure you are aware, writers fear the loss of control after going through so much effort and hoping for the best during the 'process' of being traditionally published. You give me strength.
@@cadengrace5466 I understand the fear! But I'm here to at least show that it's not always so bad :) I've only had the experience of my publishing team making my books better. I really appreciate the feedback I get on my drafts :)