THE ONE WITH THE PROTRACTED NEGOTIATION
Cat/genre: Adult SFF
My debut novel went out on submission at the beginning of December—which made me a bit nervous; I’d heard that editors respond slower during this time of year and I did not want to languish on sub for a long time. My agent, however, assured me it would not make much of a difference, which turned out to be somewhat true.
We went out to fifteen editors and got our first response—a potential R&R—within a week. Because the R&R came so early in the process, my agent and I didn’t feel particularly interested in pursuing it, though it was an option for later down the line if we got too many rejections with a lot of the same feedback. (I also was not too keen on jumping back into the manuscript so soon after having finished it.) A couple of rejections also came in around the Christmas holidays. My agent nudged the rest in mid-January, once they were (presumably) back from the break. Those nudges did not produce any responses at all.
In February, my agent informed me that the manuscript had attracted the interest of a small UK press that was not on our submission list. It was a surprise to me, but as it turns out, my agency works with a UK co-agency and they had been shopping my sub-rights already. The co-agent had pitched my book to the editor of said UK press, who was interested in the manuscript, but for world English rights, as opposed to just the UK rights the co-agency was offering.
It was only after I confirmed that I would consider selling those rights that the editor got to see the full manuscript. She loved it and then took the book to acquisitions. Within two weeks, we heard back with an offer. I was so elated—I was going to be a published author!
My agent told the UK press that we were interested in the offer but also asked for improvements on the terms. Meanwhile, he also nudged the other editors who had my manuscript. This brought us three quick rejections, and at the end of March, we got a maybe-offer. A small US press was interested, but the editor wanted to speak with me on the phone first, to make sure our visions for the book aligned. We set up a call within 24 hours, with me, the editor, and my agent on the line.
The editor started out by talking about what she liked about the manuscript, and it felt great to hear all those compliments—especially since this was an editor whose work I knew and admired. She then asked me questions about how the manuscript came about, what themes I believe are most important, what parts of the book can be improved. I’d prepared myself for these questions and had some answers ready, but it was still nerve-wracking. I felt like I was being tested, even though the editor was so kind and reassuring. I also got to ask her questions about her work and editing style, her marketing plans, and her overall vision for the book. She had very clear answers that fit with how I work and with what I was looking to achieve with the book.
Overall, the call was a pleasant experience, and it was heartening to feel this editor truly vibe with my work. The call took over an hour, and my agent said that’s on the longer end of these types of calls, but in the end, he felt quite certain that they would offer.
The editor then brought the manuscript to acquisitions, and that stage of the process took about a month. We heard back from her at the beginning of May with an opening offer—one that was a lot bigger than the UK press’ (my agent was still negotiating with the UK press and by this time they had given their final terms). Again, I was thrilled!
We told the US press that we are interested and began negotiating for better terms. Meanwhile, my agent again nudged other editors who still had not responded to the prior nudge. At this point, about half of my sub list had still not responded.
Negotiating with the US press took another month. Not because it was contentious, but because of external factors that delayed communications. Around this time I began to feel exhausted—the first offer I got was in February, and we were now in June. I’d been in negotiations longer than I was on sub waiting on an offer.
There was a lot of back and forth with both the US and UK presses, and also rejections trickled in from the other editors. When the US press gave their final terms, my agent and I were certain that the non-responding editors would likely not respond at all, and so I had to decide if I wanted to accept the final offer. Honestly, as with any offer, it could have been better;[K1] but we got terms that I, objectively, was more than happy with, and so we accepted.
I don’t know that there’s such a thing as a typical sub journey; mine certainly had elements that other writer friends went through, and some that were unique experiences. Parts were expected and even inevitable (the waiting, the ghosting), and parts caught me by surprise (an offer from a press we didn’t even submit to). Overall, I’m pleased with how it went, mostly because of the happy ending, but also because I learned a lot about this business that I’m entering and learned about the value of my work.
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The stories on this blog are posted anonymously so that authors can speak candidly about their experience. If you have a sub story you’d like to share, drop me an email at: katedylanbooks@gmail.com
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