I realize there is so much information and misinformation out there that it's hard to know what realistic expectations are. And when you first make the leap from "being a writer" to "learning about the publishing industry," many of your expectations are immediately dashed. (Sorry about that!)
But there are many writers who hold on to unrealistic expectations long after reality should be setting in. This is an ongoing concern for agents, editors, and publicists who constantly find themselves not living up to writers' expectations. In many cases (and yes, there are plenty of exceptions), the writer's hopes and beliefs were simply too idealistic to begin with.
I don't want to sound like publishing professionals are all perfect. We're not! We make mistakes, we sometimes let things fall through the cracks, we sometimes don't do the best possible job on some aspect of a book. But what I'm talking about here is the more common scenario: the publisher/agent/editor/publicist did the appropriate amount of work on a book, but the author thinks much more should have or could have been done.
We all need to keep our expectations in check. If you're reading this blog, you're probably trying to keep up with the industry, so you're doing your part to learn what kind of expectations are realistic. Kudos! Here are a few unrealistic author-expectations I've dealt with lately:
"My book would be perfect in Wal-Mart." Yes, it might be. But Wal-Mart makes those decisions, and they only choose a very few books, a tiny fraction of the books actually published. So it's a long shot.
"I'll go with the publisher who will commit to putting my book on the front table of Barnes & Noble." I'm sorry to say that this is highly unlikely if you are a first-time author without a huge platform or marketing hook. Now, I do have a client (Brian Mackert) whose book will be on the front table of B&N this October. It's an exception because this is one of David C. Cook's lead books this fall, with huge potential because of significant media tie-ins. Generally, don't expect B&N front table.
"I just know this book is going to spark an auction between publishing houses." Despite what you hear and read in the media, auctions are relatively rare, particularly amongst Christian publishers. Whether there is an auction or not isn't necessarily a good indication of how well your book is going to do.
"If I don't see tons of print ads and reviews for my book, and I don't get a multi-city booksigning tour, and I'm not on dozens of TV and radio shows, then my book didn't get proper marketing." The truth is that a good deal of the marketing and publicity budget for any given book is spent in places the author may never see—particularly, marketing to the trades (influencing retailers to stock your book and trade publications to review it). Another truth is that publisher marketing budgets are limited, and they usually know exactly how much they will spend at the time that they contract the book. There is not a lot anyone can do to change it. If publishers spent as much on marketing each book as the authors want them to, they'd be out of business in no time, because the ROI for book marketing is often not that great. This is why your own efforts are so important.
"If my book doesn't sell to a publisher, it's my agent's fault." I suppose this could be true in some cases, but agents have limited power. If they have a good reputation and good contacts in the business, then they can get your book in front of the right people, and follow up appropriately. But they can't force a publisher to buy your book. Sometimes the book isn't ready for the market, or the market isn't ready for the book.
Of course, I could go on all day addressing unrealistic expectations, but I won't. I don't want to be a discouragement, but I want you to understand that if your expectations are impractical, and you are unable to change them based on reality, your publishing journey won't bring you pleasure or fulfillment or excitement. It will instead be a disappointment at every turn and you will end up resentful and talking negatively about your publisher, your agent, and everyone you've ever met in publishing.
Many of us in the business have been on the receiving end of this, and it's not pleasant. So keep learning, and keep being optimistic and positive, while not allowing your expectations to get out of hand. A fine balance!
A final thought: Some of you will be tempted to answer this post with an argument to the effect of "...but with God, all things are possible!" That's true, but we don't know what God has planned for your book. So my advice still stands. Be hopeful and work as hard as you can... and manage your expectations.
Rachelle Gardner is a Christian literary agent affiliated with WordServe Literary Group in Colorado.
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24 comments:
Are you saying an interview with Oprah is out of the question???
;-) Sorry, my tongue was too sore from last night, I couldn't bite it tonight too.
I think that's what she's saying.
DARN!(Ooops! I mean, uh...phooey?"
I had my outfit picked out and everything!
Here's what I have: a collection of words, not too random I hope, on my laptop. That's it. Forget Oprah or Walmart, all I have are words.
I'm glad I can be realistic and face the astoundingly long odds of having any success whatsoever. A firm grip on reality keeps me from being the writer who queries my "heartbreaking work of staggering genius" (nod and smile to Randy Ingermanson).
However, my odds of having an actual shot at this are stored in my HEAD. "Keep being optimistic", to me, means I have to keep my head out of my heart for writing. And I have to write like I'm ignoring the odds, otherwise my writing is wimpy and passionless, just like I feel when I allow myself to wallow in statistics.
A fine balance indeed. Tightrope walkers have nothin' on writers.
Hear hear. I think what a lot of writers think is that it's all going to be the gravy train, and once you've sold that book you can retire and start planning for the second home.
I see the marketing problem coming up with my peers all the time, people whining that "their book didn't do as well as expected" and "they didn't think it was marketed properly" but then I see these same writers just sitting back and waiting for magic to happen. Marketing is hard bloody work and even the large publishers these days are going to expect you to do a proportion of that by yourself. As for the smaller publishers - where I've been until recently -most of it is up to the author. The balancing act is also present in the way you have to plan/research a book not yet written, edit the one that's on its way, write the one you are working on and market market market the one that's just come out.
When I first started out writing, my friend and I used to joke about appearing on Richard & Judy's book club, doing Book Tours but I'm happy enough to get royalties every quarter and perhaps a fan letter every week.
That doesn't mean that I won't work my backside off to make my dreams come true, but I believe that dreams are more likely to come true if you work hard for them, than sitting around waiting for them to happen to you.
I can't believe folks have egos that big! Wow, this post actually made me laugh. I cannot imagine a newbie with that much attitude.
Enjoying your blog.
In my medical practice, I repeatedly said to patients about to start allergy injections or undergo surgery, "Let's be clear on what the indicators of success will be." I made sure to spend enough time to pro-actively head off unrealistic expectations, on their part or on mine. That's not a bad paradigm for writing. Be realistic.
Every writer has things in his/her mind that they consider an indicator of success: getting an agent, having a manuscript taken to pub board, being offered a contract, good sales, a multi-book deal.... There are so many confounding variables in the equation that it's impossible to say "Here. Now I'm a success." The process is a continuing one, and the author has no control over some aspects of it. It seems to me that the key is doing your very best, continuing to sharpen your craft and apply yourself, and stop envying what has happened to someone else.
Now, let's talk a little more about what you can do to put my book on an end-cap at Wal-Mart.
Rachelle said: "Sometimes the book isn't ready for the market, or the market isn't ready for the book."
I have a friend who is in the latter part of that statement. The market simply isn't ready for what she has yet. It's a little discouraging for her, but she's willing to hang in there. And that's how she'll sell it. By perservering and continuing to write while she waits.
Good advice for all of us!
When meeting new writers, we should all do them a huge favor and encourage them to study the industry and learn all they can about marketing and promotion. The more you know the better prepared you'll be.
Rachelle said: So keep learning, and keep being optimistic and positive...
...and develop a thick skin.
Great post! All new writers should read this blog. I thought I knew a lot, but I've learned so much more here.
I'll never forget the lady arguing at a conference with a published writer during a workshop last year. He was leading our breakout session and kept trying to explain why what she was doing wouldn't work, even offered several suggestions on how to fix the problem...and the woman simply wouldn't listen. Thing is, he was right.
Finally, he said we were low on time and we had to keep going around the circle (there were probably eight of us and we had a time limit).
So yeah....
I was on a blog (not this one) a couple weeks ago that talked about writers needing to have a "teachable spirit." Really, despite our level of writing (newbie to expert), I think we all need to be open to suggestions and feedback from fellow writers, agents and publishers. This industry seems so multi-faceted that it's never just one thing that either makes or breaks book sales. The blame game gets us no where. It doesn't boost sales, make you a better writer, or even build your reputation. I think it undermines all of those things, actually.
So, hang in and Press On.
Rachelle, tremendous advice which can be taken beyond the realm of publishing and into life. How kind to list the more ridiculous and not more common errant expectations writers have, especially noobs. Some can’t accept the realities of the publishing world and choose to believe what they will about their writing and where it will lead.
In my experience, writing to publish is a Frodo kind of journey. We set out without a clue of the pitfalls ahead, only knowing our goal. Encountering those publishing business realities---which happens eventually if you stick to the path and don’t detour because you think you know a better way--is like encountering the first yawning chasm in the road. We are faced with the first of many challenges to accept the fact that crossing it and others like it is a necessary part of the journey.
I know writers who made it to the first chasm but decided to close their eyes and wander off thinking that crossing it isn’t for them. There must be another way. Sadly, allowing ourselves to remain in ignorance sets us up for crushing disappointment.
Hope is beautiful and inspiring, but I think we should be careful with Expectation, especially as Christians. Developing a biblically-thinking mind is critical. Being transformed by the renewing of our mind means, in one aspect, that we strive to rise above our faulted human, short-sighted thinking and a self-absorbed outlook and develop a humble God-perspective which in turn shows us that this life is not about us.
I don't think this is discouraging AT ALL. I love that I can come here for a healthy dose of reality - and wisdom!
I remember in the theatre, in school, you often saw this same mentality, and I think all too often, the professors allowed it to go on and on... (this isn't beneficial to anyone, especially those misguided students...) that's why I think it's great for you to be totally real about our expectations and keep us here on earth instead of somewhere with our heads in the clouds...
I agree with everything Gwen said too - especially about getting my head out of the heart of my writing. What a good mental picture that one brought!
Thanks for this post, Rachelle!
Are we not dreamers,
We who bare our souls
And carry our friends
To wonderful lands?
What need have we
Of reality?
Fantasia is home.
Must we find better?
In that land
They value my words
Far greater than
The substance of life.
On every billboard
My face appears.
On every show
My voice is heard.
What need have we
Of reality,
We who are dreamers
Who bare our souls?
I work about 3 miles from Wal-Mart General Office, and about half the people who attend my church work there, a couple of them fairly high up (right below VP level). Maybe I should find out who the book buyers are and strike up a relationship!
My expectations, as an unpublished author, were dashed at my first writers conference in 2003, and have been further deflated at each of the four writers conferences I've attended since then. As an unpublished author, I don't think they could be any lower. At this stage, I don't even want to think about what expectations to have once I have an agent or book contract.
Waiting to hear on two proposals,
DAT
The oft-mentioned word in your blog that caught my attention was 'business'. As a novelist, I consider myself an artist. I like that. I like the sound of that – pure, ideal, honorable, free. In my idyllic world, we immediately and cosmically connect with our readers – no middle man/woman, no business, no expectations, just art. However, the economy of moving from creative expression to connecting with readers is a business economy.
Speaking as an ex-corporate type, business is very much about expectations, and communicating them in a way that everyone understands. Successful business people want to know the real story, not the hyped version. Eventually all hype becomes deflated back to its original reality – unleavened, if you will. So when Rachelle takes time to give us the low down on the business realities, she does all of us, and the industry at large, a great service - truth, sets free.
After spending many years in the business world, I can say I’m not a fan. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve heard the words, “it’s not personal; it’s just business.” As an artist, I tend to think everything is personal, even intimate. The difficult reality is that writing is creating art, but getting someone to read our writing is pure business. Most people I know are strong creators (artists) or strong executors (business men/women), rarely both. The difficult reality: a writer needs to be an effective business person and an artist, and learn to live in the tension…or just write for ourselves, our friends, and our family.
Thanks, Rachelle, for once again realigning my expectations (as an artist and businessman) with reality.
I like the distinction Mark Buchanan has made between having expectations and being expectant (maybe others have said the same thing - I learned it from Buchanan).
Expectations are grounded in my will and desire and usually lead to arrogant attempts to impose myself on other people and on circumstances.
Being expectant is grounded in the conviction that God is doing something. I may not know what it is, and it may not be what I had in mind, but something is about to happen.
Expectations make me shake my fist.
Being expectant makes me stand on tip-toe.
Maybe the challenge is reigning in expectations while remaining ever expectant.
A teachable spirit. Good reminder.
The moment I think I know everything about something is the moment I know nothing at all.
(which especially applies to the business of writing)
Speaking of realistic expectations...
A well-meaning friend, visiting from Minneapolis, offered to take one of my manuscripts and drop it off at Bethany House since she lives near there. She thought she'd be doing me a favor by hand delivering it.
The thing is...they'd never asked for a full manuscript. I explained that proper steps need to be taken, such as query letters, etc. Her jaw dropped. She apologized when she realized her offer could be sure death for my novel. LOL
Dawn brings up an interesting side point: Managing the expectations of our friends and family. I'll never forget telling my mother and siblings (in a group setting) that I'd "gotten an agent." They looked at me like I was nuts. One of them, a real estate agent, said, "What's the big deal? How hard could it be?" Since then, they badger me with questions like "So when will your book come out?" They obviously think that "getting an agent" equates with "having a signed contract with a publisher who has your book on the front table at B&N in sixty seconds flat." Now THOSE are some unreasonable expectations! :)
Excellent post. All the time I talk to new writers who think that once their book has been published, their entire world will change and life will be all travel and book signings. They don't realize how competitive the market it, nor just how hard it is to make a dent in it.
Thank you again for posting some realistic comments about the publishing world. I follow your blog and always enjoy reading.
Loved this as always. Why do I feel so wordless when I read your post and the comments?
Maybe because I am soaking all the wisdom in. The last thing I want to do is act like a fool and except the a world of wine and roses. Writing is hard work and even after the book goes to print. The marketing and passion must not fade.
And I say we should be grateful we made it this far and we should continue to work hard to make our book a success. Not blame others, that goes back to the Garden.
Thank you!
First let me say you are so funny! Whether you mean to be or not! LOL. I don't have any expectations actually, everything has just happened to me. I would LOVE for my book to get great reviews, lots of people running over themselves to buy it at the front of the B&N LOL but I won't judge your efforts based on that :-) I hope for great things but expect what's meant for me nothing more nothing less.
Thanks for the always witty commentary and useful info!
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