Knowing When to Walk Away from a Publishing Deal
By Susan Spann | September 26, 2016 |
Many authors spend years (if not decades) seeking a traditional publishing deal. Unfortunately, when the offer comes, it isn’t always a good one—and knowing when to walk away (and having the strength to do it, despite the steepness of the road) is one of the most important business skills an author can develop.
While no one can, or should, tell you when to refuse a contract, let’s look at a few situations when wise authors should consider walking away from a publishing deal:
1. When the publisher is a vanity press, a scam, or taking advantage of authors.
Legitimate traditional publishers never ask the author to pay for anything out-of-pocket (and should pay royalties based on gross receipts or sales, without deducting publishing costs or expenses before calculating the author’s share). If the publisher asks the author to pay expenses or purchase “mandatory copies” of the work, bullies the author during negotiations (it happens!), or does anything else that suggests the publisher or the deal is not legitimate, the author should refuse the deal.
Investigate publishers carefully before submitting your work or signing a deal. If the publisher’s reputation isn’t squeaky-clean, or if anything seems “off,” don’t be afraid to walk away.
2. When the publisher won’t offer industry-standard terms or negotiate a reasonable contract.
Sometimes, even legitimate publishers’ contracts don’t meet industry standards for fairness. Most publishers are willing to negotiate, but if the publisher won’t budge on terms you consider vital, it’s better to walk away than to sign a contract you consider unreasonable or unfair.
I strongly recommend that authors obtain professional assistance with contract negotiations. Hire an agent or publishing lawyer who knows the industry to advise you or negotiate on your behalf. That said, each author has the right to determine the business terms (s)he is willing to accept. You have the power to refuse any deal that doesn’t meet your business standards.
3. When the publisher lacks the experience or capacity to publish and distribute the author’s work appropriately.
Smaller publishers and micro-presses may lack extensive distribution networks; larger publishers may not give authors the attention their works would receive at a smaller house. Authors should create a business plan for their works, and follow the publishing path (or plan) that meets the plan for the work in question. Also, be sure to investigate and ask intelligent questions about the publisher’s resources, distribution, experience, and business practices.
In some cases, it makes sense to sign with a micro-press or a newer publishing house. However, you should always ensure the publisher has the experience and publishing capacity to handle your work appropriately. If not, you should walk away from the deal and find a publisher better suited to your goals and needs.
4. When the publisher’s plans for the work don’t match the author’s.
Publishers won’t always tell an author, in advance, exactly how much support the publisher plans to invest in the author’s work. However, you can investigate the way the publisher treats its other titles (and authors)—and never assume that a publishing house will treat you better than it treats its mid-list writers. (If your title does well, you might end up with A-list treatment, but you can’t assume.)
If a publisher can’t (or won’t) give you and your work the care and consideration you want, you’re better off walking away than signing a deal you regret.
5. When the author could accomplish more by self-publishing than the publisher could do for the author’s work.
Authors have many options in the current publishing climate. The explosion of small and micro-publishers means that authors can often find a publishing house willing to publish quality work in any genre. However, signing with a traditional publishing house isn’t always the author’s best option.
Before accepting a publishing deal, ask yourself: can this publisher do more for me, and my work, than I could do if I published the book myself?
If the answer is “no”—or even, “I’m not certain”—you may be better off turning down the deal. Becoming an author-publisher is a serious business decision, and no author should make it lightly. However, signing a contract is serious too, and you should never entrust your work to a publisher that can’t do more for you than you could on your own (or by hiring people to assist you).
Ultimately, it’s better to walk away from ANY offer than it is to sign a contract you regret.
Obviously, I don’t have room in a single post to discuss every situation where an author might want to walk away from a publishing deal—or all of the factors that contribute to analysis of a publishing offer. However, one great thing about the Writer Unboxed community is the wealth of experience (and viewpoints) all of you have to offer. So, I’m throwing this open for more discussion in the comments.
Have you got advice for authors evaluating a publishing deal, or deciding whether or not to walk away?
Susan Spann writes the Hiro Hattori Novels (Shinobi Mysteries) featuring ninja detective Hiro Hattori and his Portuguese Jesuit sidekick, Father Mateo, who solve mysteries set in medieval Japan. Her first novel, Claws of the Cat: A Shinobi Mystery (Minotaur, 2013) was a Library Journal mystery debut of the month and a finalist for the Silver Falchion Award for Best First Novel. Her fourth Hiro Hattori novel, The Ninja’s Daughter, releases August 2, 2016 from Seventh Street Books.
Susan is the 2015 Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers’ Writer of the Year, and also a transactional attorney whose practice focuses on business and publishing law. She founded and curates the Twitter hashtag #PubLaw (for Writers), where she answers questions and provides information about publishing business and legal issues.
When not writing or representing clients, Susan enjoys traditional archery, reading fiction and nonfiction, and raising seahorses and rare corals in her marine aquarium. She lives outside Sacramento, California, but you can find her online at https://www.SusanSpann.com, on Twitter (@SusanSpann), or on Facebook/SusanSpannBooks.
All good advice, Susan, but honestly, I think if you’re going to be pursuing trade publishing at all, you should get yourself a good agent first. At the end of the day, it’s your decision to make, but your agent will bulldoze a lot of those hurdles down, and can also advise you when it’s best to walk away.
I actually agree, Jeffo – an agent or a publishing attorney. However, the recent explosion of small and micro-presses accepting submissions directly from authors means that many authors are submitting manuscripts (and getting deals) without that critical support. While my #1 piece of advice is “get an agent if you want to go this route,” experience tells me that knowing when to walk away when you haven’t yet found one is also an important skill in today’s publishing world.
I’ve had to be my own advocate and I’ve learned how to negotiate, which means being ready to walk away too. Sometimes it hurts, when the terms are unfair, but I have a heart for the project.
I like Pushkin’s advice: write for pleasure, publish for money.
Good advice for all of us, Vijaya – and I’m glad you’ve learned to become an advocate for yourself and your work. It’s not always easy, but it’s always worth the effort.
Susan-
A huge topic, at least for this agent of 36 years. May I add a few words in answer to questions that your empowering post may have stirred up?
What are “standard” industry terms? One thing to look for in print publishing contracts is whether royalties will be calculated on the cover price of the book, or on the less transparent “net receipts” taken in by the publisher. The latter isn’t by itself bad but the math is different–and often less favorable.
Meanwhile, e-royalties paid by the Big Five are, at 25%, less than those by e-only publishers (often 50%), but there are trade offs. Print and “e” sell each other. “E” alone is not necessarily inferior but means swimming in a vast ocean of fish. It helps to be in an e-friendly category like romance and have the means and energy to promote yourself. That’s not an absolute rule, needless to say, but a way to think about it.
What does it mean to have adequate distribution? For smaller presses, that means a distributor that can sell in to national accounts. Distributors like IPG and Perseus/PGW are known and there are others of varying effectiveness. Check around.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_book_distributors
How can you know whether a publisher will do more for you than you can do for yourself? Specific publicity and promotion plans mean more than vague promises, but as you point out, Susan, even the Big Five will not necessarily give those in advance. (How can they? They haven’t yet met in the conference room to discuss that.)
As meaningful as anything, though, is the presence of your book where consumers can see it. That goes back to the distribution discussed above.
One thing you didn’t mention today is editorial support. Talk to authors. Good editing is gold. Weak editing is…not. One thing you can probably gauge in advance is the editorial temperament of your prospective publisher. If what you hear makes your work better, great.
The best thing one can do is think, research, get educated, ask questions, have a realistic vision for your publishing and go for it. Your post today is a good place to start, Susan. I applaud your rational approach.
Donald, your point “Good editing is gold” is excellent. Editors at publishing houses are not paid by the author. There is an arms-length relationship there that allows the editor to perhaps be more free with suggested changes. The editors at both my publishers have definitely helped to make my books better for the reading public.
Thanks Don! As always, I appreciate you adding your perspective. It’s impossible to get everything I want to say into a single post, and I was hoping you’d point out some of these very issues.
I also agree with you that good editing is critical – a talented editor can make a book so much better, and poor editing can ruin even a highly skilled author’s work.
Thank you!
I walked away from a publishing deal with a big house for two reasons: 1. They wanted so many changes to the work (basically changing it from fantasy to their paranormal romance line) that I couldn’t enjoy the rewrite. And 2. They demanded a deadline for a second in the series that I couldn’t possibly meet and still work a day job.
I signed with a smaller house that was willing to work with an off-genre book. I’ve always been grateful about that. I can’t say enough about how important it is to find a publisher who likes what you write, rather than a publisher who tries to force you into what they want to sell.
It sounds to me as if you made the right decisions, for the right (business) reasons, Melodie. It always makes me happy when authors stand up for themselves and make intelligent decisions about their careers. Good job!
You go to a traditional publisher to get your book on the Wheel of Fortune and hope it comes up RED as in “Big bestseller” or “A-List career” and not BLACK, as in “Author dropped for lack of sales.” There are more blacks than reds on the wheel. But it’s a shot. The question is, what are you willing to risk to take that shot? Losing your rights for life of copyright?
You shouldn’t put a book on the Wheel without understanding basic contract terms and how to negotiate them based on your leverage.
As the estimable Mr. Maass says, above, this a “huge” (pronounced Hyooj, not Youj) topic. Many considerations. Information is the new coin of the realm. Lots of places to get informed.
Esteemed Mr. Bell-
Many print publishing contracts (certain with the Big Five) do grant publishing rights for the life of copyright. However, a good contract gives you a way to get those rights back under certain (albeit not easy) conditions.
That said, what you say about the roulette wheel has some validity though I would not say that the fate of one’s book is necessarily pure casino luck. You may have written a book to which many people connect, and which perhaps many enjoy.
Could happen, who knows?
-The Estimable Mr. Maass
I think we have to careful about generalities.
No publisher is the same.
Getting a good agent is the best advice. Getting an agent who has sold into the market place similar works as the author’s is good. Knowing the market is key. Agents know what publishers are looking for.
Breaking into major publishing houses is a challenge. As much as they love books they also are a business. In the majority of cases they have not had great success in transitioning eBook authors into hard cover. A lot has to do with pricing. So the strategy by an author should revolve around making the right move and the right time. Sales matter. I’m not referring here to mm or trade paper.
An author’s social media size is valuable. Number of followers helps a publisher design their marketing plans for an author/ book. It’s a national platform. For novelists the social media element is very important as promoting and publicizing fiction is a real challenge.
Getting your work into the distribution/marketing channels of a major publishing house is central. Not every first novel is going to land on the New York Times bestseller’s list. Career management and taking a step by step process towards one’s goal should be the focus. Remember the average original eBook on Amazon sells under 300 copies a year.
Some agencies have a large social media presence. That is good for the author. It’s useful for promoting.
Terms from publishing houses are different. The best boilerplate terms that publishers give are to the major agencies. They are hard fought over. They are won because the major publishing houses want submissions and many of the agencies major authors go to the bottom line of the publishing house.
Remember lawyers solely negotiate contracts while agents do the same they also create business opportunity for their clients. Major agents deal with all the major publishers so the deal terms in contracts reflect that fact. A good agent will involve themselves in the discussions with the publishers concerning wide range of issues that impact the author’s success inside the house and in the market place.
Foreign rights matter. With some authors it can represent up to 50% of an author’s income. Always try to reserve them when making a deal. Big agencies have leverage. That counts.
Trident will have six agents at Frankfurt this year with over 300 meetings lined up.
Some of the points raised in this piece make a lot of sense. At the same time our industry is extremely diverse. My suggestion is if an author receives an offer find a professional agent with a good reputation to discuss it with.
Robert Gottlieb
Chairman
The Trident Media Group, LLC
Literary Agency
http://www.tridentmediagroup.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on twitter.
I agree with you completely, Robert – especially that no two publishers are the same, and that authors need to find representation to help them when offered a contract.
That said, another reality of the new publishing world is that many authors receive offers from presses “too small” for most agents to work with, meaning that those authors need to have at least minimal skills at analyzing whether the deal is worth hiring (and paying) an attorney or whether they should walk away. In the new paradigm, some authors’ needs and business wishes are met by smaller houses – not all authors or works are identical, any more than publishers are — and with so many unrepresented authors receiving offers, it’s important to me (as an attorney with almost 20 years’ experience representing clients) to help authors achieve at least a minimal familiarity with some of the important issues — including when to walk away instead of investing time and money in a deal that they will later regret.
No question there are a lot of small presses out there. The beaches of California are littered with their bones.
One of my clients Deepak Chopra’s first book “The Seven Spiritual Laws of Success: A Practical Guide to the Fulfillment of Your Dreams” was published by a small press and Deepak Chopra had not only great success but it was a launching pad for his career.
However as you point out wisely an author does have to be careful with small presses as they often ask for terms outside of the norm. Tom Clancy’s first book THE HUNT FOR RED OCTOBER was published by a small press and Clancy did not have an agent at the time. The press kept the copyright to the book telling the author this was typical keeping it for themselves and that did cause problems down the road for Clancy such as who ultimately owned the character Jack Ryan. Clancy or the copyright hold.
Thanks to good representation the matter was resolved in Clancy’s favor.
Robert Gottlieb
The Trident Media Group, LLC
Golly, I’d love to have an agent to be my advocate but I’ve found it harder to get an agent than to work directly with publishers. Granted I didn’t stick with my agent hunt more than a couple of years, but I found even the good rejections deflating. And so I focus on writing. I use a wonderful little book “Negotiating a Book Contract” by Mark Levine. I only have a couple of regrets but I’ve moved on … there are always new stories to write. And so I do appreciate articles like these that help me to think about the business end of things.
As a new author, I took a chance on a small press and was very glad I did. What I received was far more valuable than money…
-learned how to work with editors–a very positive experience
-received a wealth of marketing ideas
-boost of confidence from being published by a publisher
3 years ago, I had an agent who helped me with a contract for a small house. I met the owner/editor at a conference. The contract looked good and I signed it. I had some great emails with the owner/editor about the cover and some marketing ideas right off. But 2 months later, I was going through editing notes and the owner/editor was – let’s say – less than professional. She started some comments with “duh”, she called my main character stupid, and demanded I eliminate all “saids” and replace them with dialog tags such as “wheedled”, pretty much eliminated my voice, and told me when I tried to talk to her about it that it was HER house and things had to be done HER way. My agent arranged a 3 way phone conference where the owner/editor screeched – SCREECHED – at me! We all talked about 20 minutes and my last question to her was, “Can’t we find a way to edit this novel that we can both live with?” And her response was, “ABSOLUTELY NOT!!” I was so confused by this as my first publishing experience with the editor I worked with on my picture books was the total opposite. Professional and kind.
I utilized the termination clause in the contract, got a money order and paid the fee.
The next day, even though she agreed with me about the owner/editor, my agent let me go.
I wept in relief for both things. The agent was a whole other story. She had appointed herself my spiritual mentor and often lectured me through pages and pages of email text. Yikes! You can probably imagine the frustration and stress I went through. When I finally told my husband and my writers group, they all chastised me for not telling them. But it was my first novel! I wanted to try to work with the editor. But I was so thankful I was able to get out of the contract.
Today, I’m finishing up some revisions my writers group has helped me with as another editor has asked for the full. We had a great conversation about my experience (without revealing names) and also the editing process for this small house. If they choose to publish my novel, I’m looking forward to working with them. On my own – no agent.
I don’t know why I went through that, but painful as it was, I learned how I want to be treated. How I should be treated. Maybe that’s my answer. :)
Thank you for an enlightening column and also to your readers for their terrific responses here.