Recently,
Glass House found itself once again involved in the hurricane-level excitement
of not one, but two #pitmad events … even though we weren’t supposed to be
taking submissions at all. And THEN we agreed—or maybe we agreed some time
ago—to be part of a #pit2pub event in February. Again when we’re not supposed
to be taking submissions.
Obviously
I’m not very good at the whole ‘we’re not taking submissions’ boundary. But
there’s a good reason for this. As a publisher, I love fresh meat. Wait, that
came out wrong. As a publisher, I love NEW PROJECTS. I love hearing
about new ideas, meeting new authors, brainstorming, getting into a new story,
and talking to the author about what we might do with it. In short, I love the
acquisitions process.
I
just don’t get to do it very often. Because it can also be incredible
exhausting. And depressing. Not only for the authors, but also for the editors.
Because here’s what: The truth of the matter is, acquisitions can be just as
hard on the editor/publisher as they are on the author. Don’t believe me? I
don’t blame you. After all, I’m in the position of power, right? I get to laugh
my wicked laugh (which sounds like MWA HA HA, btw), wave my magic wand, flitter
my magic hands, and dictate the fates of the authors who are praying that I’ll
like their manuscript. And I’m sure that the many form letters saying ‘thanks
but no thanks’ add to the idea that the acquisitions editor is a faceless robot
with no heart, and that we actually take joy in turning people down.
That’s
far from the truth, so I’m here to not only dispel the myth, but give out some
helpful tips as well. The Truth About Submissions, if you will.
Truth
#1: I get too attached to manuscripts and authors when I’m in acquisitions. I
get the grabby hands and the Gollum voice and start saying things like “I wants
them alllllllll.” I exchange wonderful email chains with the authors, doing
brainstorming and getting to know them, and I start thinking immediately about
what we might be able to do with their books.
Truth
#2: Negotiations are scary. Once we get to the point where we’re up against
brass tacks, so to speak, I turn the conversation over to someone else. Because
when it comes to negotiations, I CAN do them, but I haaaaaaates it.
Truth
#3: Having a deal fall through makes me cry. That’s right, I admit it. If I’ve
put time and effort into an author or manuscript, and have grown attached to
them or their stories, it throws me into a deep depression when it doesn’t work
out. So there you go—it’s not only heartbreak for the author!
So
how do we all make the submissions process easier and better and more fun?
Moving on to what authors can do to ease the road, so to speak.
Truth
#4: Pitch only what you know the publisher likes. Honestly. We’ve had pitches
for gay erotica, poetry, nonfiction, and the like … for a house that publishes
MG, YA, and NA. And it’s going to be an automatic no if you don’t give us
something we can work with. Which is just going to make everyone sad.
Truth
#5: Arguing with us when we say thanks but no thanks isn’t going to change our
minds. We’ve had authors do that too. And it just makes it all harder. If the
answer is no, realize that we’ve considered it, and think that your manuscript
would do better somewhere else. Telling us that we’re wrong isn’t going to
change that.
Truth
#6: Give us your best shot right off the bat. And this is where the advice
truly TRULY comes into play. Because every time I open a sub, I’m looking for
some specific things, and too many authors don’t realize this. I’m looking for
the Catchiest First Line Ever. Think the first line of your book is the most
important line in the whole thing? Well you’re right, but you’ve got to start
with the first line of your pitch. Grab me right off the bat. Give me a
complete synopsis—with the plot intact—so that I can see where your book goes,
and why. Highlight your best, most awesome characters, and tell me why I’m not
going to be able to live without them. Don’t hold back. This is your baby, so
talk about it like it’s your baby! Because if you can’t sound excited about it
in the pitch … why should I get excited about it as a publisher?
Truth
#7: This is where too many authors fall short. Tell me how I’m going to be able
to sell you as the author. The book is the first step, but as a publisher I’m
selling you as well—we’re going to book appearances and blogs and radio shows
and columns, and we need to know how we’re going to say that you’re more
interesting than other authors. So give us the start of our marketing plan. Are
you secretly related to George Clooney? (oh my God, can you introduce me???) Do
you have contacts to the biggest Alumni Association in the nation? Are you
going around the country next year, with the option to make stops at
Every.Single.Bookstore? These are the things that catch a publisher’s eye, and
you’d be surprised how many authors I’ve signed on marketing plan alone.
Truth
#8: It might not work out, no matter how much we all want it to. And there’s
almost always a good reason for that. The truth is, publishers are looking for
something very specific—they’re expecting you to put your heart and soul into a
story that you then put down on paper, and they’re expecting that story to fit
their house, and be completely marketable within their realm of expertise.
Those are a lot of pieces to come together, and sometimes they just don’t.
Maybe the editor sees that there are going to be disagreements about plot, or
that you’re saying you want to write YA but are actually writing adult romance.
Maybe your concept is actually closer to something they already have in-house
than they realized, and there would be too much overlap. Maybe there are
differences in terms of expectations. And none of these things are anyone’s
fault. They just are. No publisher wants to sign a project that doesn’t fit the
house. It would be a disservice to both the author and the house itself. So if
it ends up being a no, gather up your heart, go read some of the awful reviews
people have left for Harry Potter on Goodreads, and carry on. Because there’s a
99.9% chance that it wasn’t about you, and that there IS a right home for your
MS out there. You just have to find it.
Carrie White-Parrish is a dreamer, a rebel, and an admitted bibliophile. She started Glass House Press—her second company—when she ran across a manuscript that deserved to be published, and hasn’t looked back. Though her tastes run from MG to historical fiction to high fantasy and back, her heart truly belongs to YA. When she’s not editing or publishing, you can find her taking over the world, hanging out with her many spoiled pets, or traveling the world with her beloved husband.
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