5 Book Publishing Secrets from an Industry Insider
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To aspiring authors, the traditional book publishing industry can too often feel secretive and exclusive. As a book editor who works mostly with debut authors, I am passionate about helping writers understand how the book publishing industry works and revealing the inner workings so they can put their best foot forward when they are embarking on the publishing journey.
In this article I'm going to highlight the top five book publishing secrets that most writers don't know to give you a better understanding of the industry and how you can go about getting published.
It's important to note that in this video I am only talking about the Big Five US publishing houses, which is what I have professional experience with. These secrets do not necessarily apply to indie or hybrid publishers.
1. Debut Authors Are Hot
The first book publishing secret most writers don't know is that debut authors can be considered a hot commodity. A lot of writers seem to think if they are new to the game, it is going to be difficult to find a literary agent and get published. Many fret over not having a successful track record of book sales or a large social media following.
However, it is not at all necessary to have prior writing experience to get published. In my experience, the editors and agents I worked with were always super excited to work with debut authors. The reason is that debut writers are like clean slates. All the effort an agent and editor puts in will help that writer establish a long-term career as an author, which is highly motivating.
If the author already has some book sales, then the agent or the editor is going to take them into account. If you are a successful self-published author with a lot of sales, that can absolutely help you. But if you have traditionally published before and only sold modestly, that can actually be a bit of a detriment.
So because it’s not always necessarily a selling point if you have published in the past, being a debut author is not at all a disadvantage. If that is your circumstance, then I recommend mentioning it in your query letter. It can be as quick as something like “This is my debut novel” or “I am a debut author.” That way, the agent immediately knows that this is your first book project.
2. Assistants Also Edit
The second book publishing secret most writers don't know is that assistants are very involved in the editorial process. This is true for both literary agent assistants and editorial assistants at publishing houses.
The assistants’ duties involve many administrative tasks, like scheduling, working on book contracts, and communicating between different departments. But they have a strong editorial role as well. In many cases, they are also reading alongside the literary agent or the editor that they work with. They offer feedback and notes to the authors along with the agent or editor, or in some cases, they communicate their feedback directly with authors.
These assistants offer a second point of view on your manuscript, so if you are an author and you eventually get traditionally published, you will likely have a close relationship with the literary agent’s assistant and the editorial assistant at the publishing house. You'll know them by name and often communicate with them, maybe even as much as you are communicating with your agent and your editor.
While their job title includes the word “assistant,” literary agent and editorial assistants are still a powerful and helpful voice that will support you during your publishing journey.
3. Publishers Don’t Expect Massive Sales
This might sound blasphemous, but publishers don't expect all books to be bestsellers. This may be a shock, but it's true, and I hope that it alleviates some concerns you might have about how many sales your book is going to get.
The business model of a Big Five trade publisher is to have books from established best-selling authors help balance the investment risks that come from publishing debut authors or unique book projects. So, those number one, New York Times bestselling authors that sell book after book help get smaller book projects published through the excess revenue they bring in.
This allows the editors room to take some risks with the projects that they want to sign. So, it's important to note that when your book is being pitched to a publisher, it is going to be compared to realistic comparable titles in your genre. Just because your psychological thriller novel features an unreliable female narrator does not mean it will be compared to Gone Girl because, realistically, it's not going to sell like Gone Girl, and that is totally okay. Your agent doesn't have that expectation, your editor doesn't have that expectation, and the publisher doesn't either.
4. Nonfiction Can Be Easier to Publish
The fourth book publishing secret is that nonfiction can actually, in some cases, be easier to publish. Whenever an editor is interested in potentially making an offer on a book, they attend meetings with other members of the editorial team at the publishing house. There, the editors go one by one and talk about the projects they’re interested in. The purpose of that meeting is to gauge the team's reactions and see what projects seem like good fits for the publishing house.
As an editorial assistant, I attended these meetings and one thing that I noticed is that non-fiction projects tended to get support more easily than fiction projects. There are a few reasons for this. The first is that writers who are writing a nonfiction book are often experts in whatever that book is about. For instance, if it's a book on wine making, it could be written by someone who owns a winery.
Not only are they experts on the subject, but the author also tends to have connections to help market and sell the book, which is appealing to a publisher. For example, that winemaker could sell their book about winemaking at the winery they own, automatically creating an audience for that book.
It can also be easier to get media coverage for nonfiction books. To continue with the example, the local newspaper where that winery is located will likely want to do a story about the book, as it is local news, and that will also help funnel sales.
Now, I am not suggesting that fiction writers should pivot to nonfiction just to increase their chances of getting published. I definitely don't recommend that, because you're writing fiction for a reason. It's what you're passionate about, so it’s what you should put all of your effort into. I think it's just worth understanding how editors and publishers think about the books that they're signing, especially if you are interested in dabbling in nonfiction.
5. The Industry Is More Than Agents and Editors
The last book publishing secret is that the publishing industry involves many other professionals than just agents and editors. As an author, you’ll often interface with your agent and your editor throughout your publishing journey. However, there are a lot of other professionals working behind the scenes who have a lot of influence on what gets published.
There are literary scouts, foreign rights agents, film agents, and even seemingly unrelated people like Reese Witherspoon, who heads the Hello Sunshine Book Club. Each of these individuals hold weight over a book’s ability to get distributed to a larger audience in some shape or form.
They operate behind the scenes and are even involved in the publishing process from the submission stage. This is because as soon as a literary agent has a manuscript that they are presenting to publishers, they are also going to think about which other people they can pitch the book to. If the novel has good cinematic potential, the literary agent might directly pitch the film rights to a film rights agent, for example. You're likely not going to speak with them directly, as the writer, but it's interesting to know who is working behind the scenes.
I hope these secrets gave you more insight into the inner workings of the book publishing industry. I truly believe that having this information about how literary agencies and publishing houses operate can help you position yourself for success when you are looking to get your book traditionally published.
Thanks so much for reading and happy writing!