Best of Ask the Agent: 20 Editors Said No...
Plus a breakdown of how submissions to editors work, and some newsy stuff, too!
Welcome to another week of Best of Ask the Agent, where I dive into the quicksand of doom that is my #AskAgent Tumblr inbox and rescue the most interesting and informative questions. And keep reading, for awesome new paperback nonfiction! First up, though:
Quick Links
The ALA Youth Media Awards were announced this morning, and some amazing books won! Including… *drumroll please*… Raul the Third! Whose VAMOS! LET’S GO TO THE MARKET was a Pura Belpre Honor book for Illustration. Here’s the list of all the winners! And here’s the book wearing its shiny medal:
Paste Magazine did an exclusive cover reveal and excerpt for Maggie Tokuda-Hall’s debut fantasy novel THE MERMAID, THE WITCH AND THE SEA — coming in May from Candlewick. This book is ABsolutely gorgeous - you gotta check it out!
Best of Ask the Agent: 20 Editors Said No…
“Do books often sell in the final round of submissions? 20 editors said no and I'm having trouble believing that I'll get a yes with the final 10.”
It might be useful to re-frame the problem. You are feeling like you started with a full hourglass, and with each “no” the sand empties, there are more fingerprints and schmutz on the glass, and the chances of getting a “yes” dwindle.
In fact, each editor represents their OWN shiny and fresh hourglass, that has nothing to do with the sand in any of the other hourglasses.
Just like your lost set of keys is “always in the last place you look,” I might sell a book in two hours or in two years. It will sell when the right person reads it—and that right person is not any less likely to read it later in the process. Does that make sense? No? OK, well, I asked my friendly neighborhood anonymous statistician for help answering this one. And, as a bonus, she helpfully broke down what the standard process of submission in “rounds” looks like, anyway, in case there are newbies who don’t know:
“The individual asking the question has made a faulty assumption: that the editors in the first round have a higher likelihood of accepting the manuscript than editors in subsequent rounds, therefore, if 2 rounds of 10 editors have already rejected the manuscript, then round 3 of 10 has a higher likelihood of rejection.
This faulty assumption is likely grounded in the idea that agents, who want to sell books under favorable conditions like multiple offers, are more likely to send manuscripts to editors who are likely to accept them in the first round.
In reality: your agent, if they’re good, would not send any manuscript to an ill-suited editor in any round, ever.
In the real world, this is the more likely scenario: Your agent will compile a list of 30 editors who might all like the manuscript. Of that list of 30, perhaps 2 stand out as great contenders because the last time your agent had drinks with that editor a couple months back, they were lamenting the lack of an XYZ book.
Does that mean the remaining 28 editors aren’t dying for an XYZ book? No, not necessarily. Maybe your agent hasn’t been able to socialize with them recently. Maybe the editor doesn’t tweet their desires all the time. At any rate, 2 editors have now made the first round based on good information–but not perfect information.
As for the remaining 28 editors, it wouldn’t make sense for your agent to send the manuscript to all of them at once, because:
1. Selective submission will allow you an opportunity to revise in case all first round editors provide similar feedback on a problematic angle that you or your agent may have been blind to in your love for the story.
2. Your agent may have outstanding manuscripts from other clients in review with some of the editors, and it could be detrimental to both clients to bombard the editor until they’ve made a final decision on the existing manuscript.
3. Your manuscript may be suitable to two editors within the same publishing house but in different imprints, but in keeping with industry etiquette, your agent cannot pit them against each other and must select one for the first round.
4. Your agent may know that a good-fit editor cannot review the manuscript for timing reasons…like a vacation, illness or personal matter.
Using some of the above criteria, the agent will select the remaining 8 editors for a first round of 10 editors.
As the first 10 rejections come in, the agent may hear that the editor enjoyed the book but didn’t fall in love or the editor has actually just acquired an XYZ book but hasn’t announced it or the editor would just love to buy it but they’re new, and a more senior editor at the house already brought in an XYZ type manuscript.
This sends agent into round 2 and possibly round 3.
The perfect editor, the one who wants an XYZ book, who hasn’t acquired one recently and doesn’t work for a line that has anything similar, who for whatever reason is “due” to acquire or on a hot streak, that editor could very easily be in round 3, as easily as they could be in round 1. The line separating this editor from any other is thin and often based on imperceptible market conditions.
So, is the likelihood of selling in the third round less than the initial round? No, not really.”
New in Paperback
Environmental educator Nancy F. Castaldo’s brilliant THE STORY OF SEEDS is out in paperback. This is a truly fascinating look at an absolute food crisis that affects the whole world, and will serve as a call to action for young adult readers. You can request SEEDS at your local library, or purchase a copy wherever fine books are sold.
“A terrific, engrossing resource.” – *Booklist starred review
“Championing seeds as one of our planet’s most precious and vulnerable resources, Castaldo delivers a sobering global status report—and a call to action.” “Well-crafted and inspiring.” – Kirkus
“Castaldo breaks down threats like climate change and disease, while providing a greater sense of interconnectivity in nature and within world communities.” – Publishers Weekly
“This eye-opening book on science and politics of agriculture serves as a wake-up call to readers about the facility of something many of us take for granted: our plant-based food supply. Castaldo clearly lays out a case for the importance of plant diversity (“Seeds equal life”), presenting engaging scientific and historical information…” – Horn Book Magazine
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