Friday, May 13, 2005

Agent & Editor Q&A: Agent Two

The internationally renown conglomerate known as POD-dy Mouth Industries is proud to bring you installment number two of our Agent & Editor Q&A Series:

Agent Profile: This agent has been in the publishing industry for 22 years and is an agent with a very large (read: 5 or more agents) literary agency. Agent Two sells between 25 - 35 titles per year, both fiction and non-fiction--but carrying more of an interest in fiction, with nonfiction tending to be more narrative. Agent Two was an editor with imprints at three major publishers before becoming an agent. Agent Two regularly attends writer's conferences nationwide. Agent Two lives and works in that dark abyss known as New York.

Girl: What is your impression if an author first publishes his or her work with a POD company? Is there a difference in quality between POD and traditionally self-published?

Agent Two: It used to mean more than it does today. If you are asking about a stigma, I would say it no longer means a thing. My take on it is that it used to be a dumping ground for the slush pile but more and more authors are starting here and skipping the entire "traditional path" to publication, through the agent pool. It's still an "in print" slush pile of sorts but the quality is increasing as time moves on. To answer your second question, self-published is self-published to me, whether it is print on demand or print run. I don't care if it was written on cocktail napkins so long as I am engaged.

Girl: If you like a book, do you care if it was once published POD?

Agent Two: With all the titles published every year, it might be hard to believe but we are always having a hard time finding good books to sell and publish. So if a book comes my way that is a real stunner, I don't care that it took the shape of a print on demand title, and neither will my editorial contacts.

Girl: What if someone pitched a POD book to you and told you it had sold 1000 units in 6 months? Or 3000 units in a year?

Agent Two: Depends. If the book is commercial fiction, for example, and it has sold 2000-3000 copies in its first year, that really says something. I'd definitely be interested in taking a look, and in the big picture I could use this to help sell it. If, however, the book is a niche title (like a book/story geared directly toward ornithologists or some such thing) then the book may have already sold itself out, leaving not much left to market to a publisher. But generally speaking, sales usually help the case for a book.

Girl: Do you think POD will eventually revolutionize the publishing industry?

Agent Two: If you mean, do I think print on demand will be the industry standard someday, after I finish laughing I would tell you NO. This technology can only aid the current production model as a back-up for out of print titles or difficult-to-find books. Even the fantasy some folks have of printing books out at the bookstore level is naive. Anything that makes a customer wait is a big turn-off. Can you imagine a line of people waiting for their books to print at the Christmas sales rush? If a book prints even as quickly as 30 seconds, imagine how annoyed you will be when there are 25-50 books in queue before you, or the printer jams, and on and on.

Girl: Do you think POD publishers are taking advantage of hopeful authors by giving them a glimpse of being in a bookstore?

Agent Two: It's a blurry glimpse if they are. I'm not aware of any bookstores that stock them due to the issue of returns. Besides, even if they did allow returns, they would never get stocked because they will never have the sales forces that Random and Penguin and S&S and Warner have. The big publishers have excellent sales reps working full time for every inch of space at every bookstore. The print on demand self-publishers will never get even .01 percent of that unless they decide to pick a handful of titles and hire hundreds of sales folks. It will never happen. As for taking advantage? I think there is some give and take on both sides.

Girl: Do you think POD publishers will have an impact on books already out of print?

Agent Two: Actually, I think they should be playing an even greater role. The real core business of [a POD company] should be selling services to publishers, by returning titles to print that are [dropping off the backlist.] Printing self-published authors should just be a side benefit. The real usefulness lies in the out-of-print arena.

Girl: If someone POD'd a book but still wants to pitch editors/agents, should he or she simply send the paperback?

Agent Two: The author should always check with the particular agent or editor. I'd be open to looking at a printed copy, though if I were interested in representing it, I would later ask for a digital copy to use for printing for editors. Eventually, the text has to be single-sided and double spaced.

Girl: Anything you want to add?

Agent Two: Print on demand is a cool technology that will certainly play a greater role in coming years and how it is used will determine its relevance. Companies like Lulu are starting to take share from the iUniverses and Authorhouses. I think the bigger companies should be selling their services to major and international publishers and let the Lulus print the self-pubbed authors.

Thanks, Agent Two. You're the best. Except for the fact that you rejected my original manuscript. I suppose that makes you second best.

Stay tuned--because next up we're going to hear from one of NY's hottest editors!

Wednesday, May 11, 2005

Agent & Editor Q&A: Agent One

As promised, here is the first installment of the Agent & Editor Q&A series here at POD-dy Mouth Industries. The questions will be the same for each person, five in total, and I will run them over the next few weeks.

Agent Profile: This agent has been in the publishing industry for 18 years and is an agent with a large (read: 3 or more agents) literary agency. Agent One sells between 20 - 24 titles per year with an even split between fiction and non-fiction. Agent One was an editor with two major publishers before coming into [his/her] own as an agent. Agent One lives and works in New York.

Girl: What is your impression if an author first publishes his or her work with a POD company? Is there a difference in quality between POD and traditionally self-published?

Agent One: I'll admit POD is a turn-off because most people refer to it as a last resort. It is almost like saying, "I've already tried to get it published or get an agent and I failed, so here I am." While I know that is not always true, it is true most of the time and I don't have time to vet out the good ones.

As far as traditional vs. POD, I cannot explain why but traditional self-publication [where a print run it done] usually results in a slightly better product.

Girl: If you like a book, do you care if it was once published POD?

Agent One: Not at all. If it is good, it makes no difference to me. It is not like publishing POD kills a book in an editor's mind.

Girl: What if someone pitched a POD book to you and told you it had sold 1000 units in 6 months? Or 3000 units in a year?

Agent One: Certainly a different story, especially if those units are for fiction. It is much easier to go to a publisher with a track record then with nothing. It is understood that, say, 3000 POD/Self-published is the same as 10,000+ traditional. Of course, the key is that the book must be good underneath it all. I would be interested in any POD fiction that sells 3000 a year, more like 5000 for non-fiction. We can usually get bigger advances for previous performers. I have sold two self-published books in the last year and both went to auction.

Girl: Do you think POD will eventually revolutionize the publishing industry?

Agent One: No. The two biggest factors that makes POD so stodgy are that it is very slow and very expensive, the two things customers hate the most. Look at the success of Amazon's Prime club, or whatever it is. People want things fast, and POD is anything but.

Girl: Do you think POD publishers are taking advantage of hopeful authors by giving them a glimpse of being in a bookstore?

Agent One: Hard to say. The real downside is paying to get published. My experience is that [the good POD companies] have pretty much gotten on par with University Presses, meaning no marketing or publicity - with the difference that the University or small press will let the book go out of print.

Girl: Do you think POD publishers will have an impact on books already out of print?

Agent One: I think that is where POD can really make a positive impact. Overpriced books that were once out of print will not be of as big a concern and may refuel some old titles. I can think of many titles I would pay twenty bucks for if I could find them.

Girl: If someone POD'd a book but still wants to pitch editors/agents, should he or she simply send the paperback?

Agent One: Ack! No way - I want single-sided double spaced like everyone else.

Girl: Anything you want to add?

Agent One: It is really not true anymore that "if you write a great book it will get published." I have had brilliant novels not sell because marketing is skittish about one thing or another. If that happens to these good books, I'm not sure what else an author can do.

Thanks, Agent One! Now get back to representing those trite, ridiculous Da Vinci Code knock-offs.

We'll have more in the upcoming days from the folks in NY!

Stay tuned, as usual.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

The (Authorhouse) Empire Strikes Back!

So on and on goes the debate of whether or not iUniverse actually ever gets a book into a Barnes & Noble brick-and-mortar store. Some say yes, some say they have never seen one.

Well, Authorhouse claims you will definitely see your book stocked in bookstores.

Actually, only three copies of your book. In a single store. In England.

Don't believe me? Read this and laugh. Or weep.

There is no mention (unless my bleary eyes missed it) of what happens if they sell out of your three copies.

Interesting point here, though: What if enough self-pubbed authors agreed to pay whatever it takes to get in a bookstore? Certainly the vast sea of POD authors could outprice any publisher for a single bookstore location. I wonder just how "buyable" a store's credibility is.

Stay tuned tomorrow for our first installment of the Q&A with Agent's and Editors.

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Bonus Round:

Nicole Hunter's WAITING FOR THE WORLD TO END has been nominated for yet another award: the 2005 Independent Publisher Book Awards (better known as the IPPYs) for religious fiction.

Maybe once the New York publishers are finished with their Spring sales meetings, they will notice this book . . . before it costs them an arm and a leg.

Monday, May 09, 2005

DEADER BY THE LAKE by Doug Cummings (iUniverse)


Well, here comes our second thriller (after Mullan's CIRCLE OF SODOM) from our second radioman (after Noker's RATED F.)

I fear I may be falling into a rut. And, indeed, I had no intention of running another thriller already, but this plump hardback kept sticking out like a coffee table book on my bookshelf. (Note: This $34 hardcover copy came my way at a used book store, held back by the owner just for me, for a whopping $1.35.)

DEADER BY THE LAKE by Doug Cummings is a clever thriller based on a (sort of) imitative plot:
*Reno (our protagonist) is a former investigative journalist (he was fired);
*Reno gets offer to get job back if he performs an investigation on sly;
*Reno--against his instincts, of course--agrees;
*Reno goes to house of call girl, who was about to spill the beans on [Russian Mob];
* She's dead already, of course, and guess who everybody thinks did it?

Sounds sort of like a Law & Order: SVU episode.

But it is not. It is something much greater. The writing, at risk of sounding cliche, is very Grisham-esque, though (and no offense to Mr. Grisham) Cummings seems to know a lot more about what is going on in the details. This book flows wonderfully from top to bottom (I typically discard thrillers with a good deal of back-story at the start, but this one does it well.) The author's writing is more than competent--much better than the last two books I read from St. Martins Minotaur.

But here is what makes it so special:
(1) The book is filled with plot twists and truly unfolds near the end; I stayed up late to finish reading;
(2) Cummings seems to have an excellent grasp on everything going on: The Chicago area, crime scene rules and etiquette, the Russian mob and (certainly) how things are pressured and prioritized in a newsroom.

When I started flipping through it last night, I almost reread the whole thing--but then my editor called.

This book comes highly recommended. I'm keeping my $1.35 copy.