Publishing Insider: The Art of Submitting (and Acquiring) - a guest post by Carrie White-Parrish

Recently, Glass House found itself once again involved in the hurricane-level excitement of not one, but two #pitmad events … even though we weren’t supposed to be taking submissions at all. And THEN we agreed—or maybe we agreed some time ago—to be part of a #pit2pub event in February. Again when we’re not supposed to be taking submissions.

Obviously I’m not very good at the whole ‘we’re not taking submissions’ boundary. But there’s a good reason for this. As a publisher, I love fresh meat. Wait, that came out wrong. As a publisher, I love NEW PROJECTS. I love hearing about new ideas, meeting new authors, brainstorming, getting into a new story, and talking to the author about what we might do with it. In short, I love the acquisitions process.

I just don’t get to do it very often. Because it can also be incredible exhausting. And depressing. Not only for the authors, but also for the editors. Because here’s what: The truth of the matter is, acquisitions can be just as hard on the editor/publisher as they are on the author. Don’t believe me? I don’t blame you. After all, I’m in the position of power, right? I get to laugh my wicked laugh (which sounds like MWA HA HA, btw), wave my magic wand, flitter my magic hands, and dictate the fates of the authors who are praying that I’ll like their manuscript. And I’m sure that the many form letters saying ‘thanks but no thanks’ add to the idea that the acquisitions editor is a faceless robot with no heart, and that we actually take joy in turning people down.

That’s far from the truth, so I’m here to not only dispel the myth, but give out some helpful tips as well. The Truth About Submissions, if you will.

Truth #1: I get too attached to manuscripts and authors when I’m in acquisitions. I get the grabby hands and the Gollum voice and start saying things like “I wants them alllllllll.” I exchange wonderful email chains with the authors, doing brainstorming and getting to know them, and I start thinking immediately about what we might be able to do with their books.

Truth #2: Negotiations are scary. Once we get to the point where we’re up against brass tacks, so to speak, I turn the conversation over to someone else. Because when it comes to negotiations, I CAN do them, but I haaaaaaates it.

Truth #3: Having a deal fall through makes me cry. That’s right, I admit it. If I’ve put time and effort into an author or manuscript, and have grown attached to them or their stories, it throws me into a deep depression when it doesn’t work out. So there you go—it’s not only heartbreak for the author!

So how do we all make the submissions process easier and better and more fun? Moving on to what authors can do to ease the road, so to speak.

Truth #4: Pitch only what you know the publisher likes. Honestly. We’ve had pitches for gay erotica, poetry, nonfiction, and the like … for a house that publishes MG, YA, and NA. And it’s going to be an automatic no if you don’t give us something we can work with. Which is just going to make everyone sad.

Truth #5: Arguing with us when we say thanks but no thanks isn’t going to change our minds. We’ve had authors do that too. And it just makes it all harder. If the answer is no, realize that we’ve considered it, and think that your manuscript would do better somewhere else. Telling us that we’re wrong isn’t going to change that.

Truth #6: Give us your best shot right off the bat. And this is where the advice truly TRULY comes into play. Because every time I open a sub, I’m looking for some specific things, and too many authors don’t realize this. I’m looking for the Catchiest First Line Ever. Think the first line of your book is the most important line in the whole thing? Well you’re right, but you’ve got to start with the first line of your pitch. Grab me right off the bat. Give me a complete synopsis—with the plot intact—so that I can see where your book goes, and why. Highlight your best, most awesome characters, and tell me why I’m not going to be able to live without them. Don’t hold back. This is your baby, so talk about it like it’s your baby! Because if you can’t sound excited about it in the pitch … why should I get excited about it as a publisher?

Truth #7: This is where too many authors fall short. Tell me how I’m going to be able to sell you as the author. The book is the first step, but as a publisher I’m selling you as well—we’re going to book appearances and blogs and radio shows and columns, and we need to know how we’re going to say that you’re more interesting than other authors. So give us the start of our marketing plan. Are you secretly related to George Clooney? (oh my God, can you introduce me???) Do you have contacts to the biggest Alumni Association in the nation? Are you going around the country next year, with the option to make stops at Every.Single.Bookstore? These are the things that catch a publisher’s eye, and you’d be surprised how many authors I’ve signed on marketing plan alone.

Truth #8: It might not work out, no matter how much we all want it to. And there’s almost always a good reason for that. The truth is, publishers are looking for something very specific—they’re expecting you to put your heart and soul into a story that you then put down on paper, and they’re expecting that story to fit their house, and be completely marketable within their realm of expertise. Those are a lot of pieces to come together, and sometimes they just don’t. Maybe the editor sees that there are going to be disagreements about plot, or that you’re saying you want to write YA but are actually writing adult romance. Maybe your concept is actually closer to something they already have in-house than they realized, and there would be too much overlap. Maybe there are differences in terms of expectations. And none of these things are anyone’s fault. They just are. No publisher wants to sign a project that doesn’t fit the house. It would be a disservice to both the author and the house itself. So if it ends up being a no, gather up your heart, go read some of the awful reviews people have left for Harry Potter on Goodreads, and carry on. Because there’s a 99.9% chance that it wasn’t about you, and that there IS a right home for your MS out there. You just have to find it.

---

Carrie White-Parrish is a dreamer, a rebel, and an admitted bibliophile. She started Glass House Press—her second company—when she ran across a manuscript that deserved to be published, and hasn’t looked back. Though her tastes run from MG to historical fiction to high fantasy and back, her heart truly belongs to YA. When she’s not editing or publishing, you can find her taking over the world, hanging out with her many spoiled pets, or traveling the world with her beloved husband.

Publishing Insider: The truth about publishing a book … or rather, ONE of the truths - a guest post by Carrie White-Parrish

I’ve been asked (by multiple parties) to discuss some of the highs and lows of the publishing process. This is, of course, a topic that is WAY TOO BIG for a single blog, but it led me back to something I’d been thinking about for some time. So I’m afraid I’m going to use the blog to climb onto my soapbox for a second.

Here’s the thing: Too many authors—and I’m saying this from a LOT of experience—think that writing a manuscript, and then getting the notice of an agent or even publisher, means that their job is done. They’ve belted out this terrific story, they’ve done enough in a pitch letter to get someone’s attention, and they’ve even—gasp—been accepted. The agent or publisher actually responded to the pitch, and the author has reached the ultimate goal: They’ve Inked A Deal. 

Now they’re on the fast track. Editors and marketing aficionados are talking about schedules and calendars and release dates, a cover artist is starting to do mock-ups, and there might even be talk about a book tour. The author’s head begins to quite literally spin, and before they know it, they’re talking to their friends about another book, and the dream of a movie deal. 

What they don’t understand is that their job has really just begun. And I mean literally JUST begun. Because the moment that their manuscript is signed, they go into this rather terrifying process called Edits. And I can tell you right now—as the lead editor at my house, and the editorial director as well—that there are going to be a LOT of edits. This is a process that can last from a few months to a year, depending on how much work there is to be done. The acquisitions editor will have pitched the book to the higher up, and potentially signed it, with ideas in mind about how to make subtle or not-so-subtle changes to the text. And the author will start to hear words like ‘marketability,’ ‘readability,’ and even ‘realistic movement.’

These are, in reality, changes that will make the book better. Make the characterization bigger. Make the whole shebang more successful. And in most instances, they’re a kind of asterisk to the contract itself. Traditional publishers and editors sign manuscripts based on their promise, rather than the current execution. Which means they have an idea of what the manuscript can become.

But it’s up to the author to work with the editors and get it there.

From there, it’s a process of constant brainstorming sessions, working with editors on sticky little plot details, and even hashing out entirely new endings. There are a lot of flow charts, a lot of phone calls, and more Track Changes than any one person should ever have to deal with. There are Macs crashing because they don’t like Track Changes, authors freaking out because Word has swallowed an entire manuscript, and—yes—whole weeks when editors and authors might refuse to talk to each other because the process is too heavy (just ask PT McHugh about our required breaks from each other!). But at the end, if everyone has done their job, there is a beautiful, shiny, and completely unique piece of work, just waiting for a cover and printing process, to make its way out into the world.

The problem is that a lot of authors don’t understand that this is all part of the parade. Too many authors take it personally, or believe that publishers are pulling the rug out from them, or have even decided that they hate the manuscript, and must change it. Wrong. As publishers, it’s our job to put the best possible books out there, and that often requires a lot of work on the author’s side. We signed your manuscript because we thought it had promise. But we always need your help whittling it down TO that promised land.

In the end, editing is a natural and very important aspect of publishing a book, and yes, even Jo Rowling received notes from her editors. So the next time you hear the dreaded “I have some edits for you,” and start to feel that drag in your stomach, or perhaps tell yourself that the editor is trying to change your words, or doesn’t understand your vision, or maybe even just hates you personally … remember one thing: We’re all working for the same goal. And that’s the best book possible. 

Sometimes it’s a very long road. But it’s always worth it in the end.

---

Carrie White-Parrish is a dreamer, a rebel, and an admitted bibliophile. She started Glass House Press—her second company—when she ran across a manuscript that deserved to be published, and hasn’t looked back. Though her tastes run from MG to historical fiction to high fantasy and back, her heart truly belongs to YA. When she’s not editing or publishing, you can find her taking over the world, hanging out with her many spoiled pets, or traveling the world with her beloved husband.