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As the  year winds down, and I look back at the incredible journey my writing has taken me on, I’ve taken time out to ponder some topics that have crossed my mind during 2012, as well as address some of my fears in regards to my writing. When I was first getting started back in [...]

It's 9 pm and I haven't posted since Tuesday. This is a great indication of how busy things have been over the past few days.

Had a crash editing project Wednesday and Thursday. This basically means I went through and reread the entire manuscript for typos, etc. over two days so I could send it on it's merry way to an editor at Kensington today.

I always reread, even if it means I only find one typo to correct. One fixed typo is one less the editor sees.

Received the deal points for a client's work today. I love getting to call a client and offer up good news. The deal's not done until the inks dry, of course, but I don't foresee anything going wrong. A perfect start to an awesome career of a wonderful (all of my clients are wonderful) writer. Look out reading world!

Okay, 9:30 pm and I have mark ups to do. Hi-ho, hi-ho, it's off to work I go.

I have an agent who I've been with for about 2 years. I am considering leaving this agency. I read the contract (and your posts on this subject) and noticed that she retains the right to receive her cut of any manuscripts I might sell that are still in "negotiation," even if we have parted ways. "In negotiation" in the contract is defined as "on submission."

There is one house which expressed strong interest in my work. Ultimately, the editor wasn't able to get the support of other editors—she's still somewhat junior—and the manuscript was rejected. However, the door was left open for me to revise and submit again.

The editor and I have plans to talk and discuss ways to revise the work.

Now for the question: in the event that I do revise and resubmit, is this still part of the original "negotiation" or is it a new submission? If I have a new agent, can the new agent handle this "negotiation," or will it legally be in the hands of the old agent?

The author goes on to explain her reasoning for leaving her agent, which was nice, but she didn’t need to do it. When making the decision to leave an agent you shouldn’t ever feel the need to justify your actions. If you no longer feel the agent you’re with is doing the job you need her to do, that’s enough reason to leave. Be that as it may, I don’t think she’s trying to pull something over on her agent. She doesn’t feel she’s the right person for the job anymore and wants to seek other representation.

This is a tricky question, since I assume there’s no end date to the amount of time the agent has to finalize any deals. For example, the BookEnds contract gives us four months to finalize any outstanding submissions, at which time everything reverts back to the author and we no longer have a right to those sales. I think it’s fair to both us and the author and gives a final end date at which we can all move on. It also gives us sufficient time to wrap anything up, without limiting the author.

My belief is if you don’t have anything physically sitting on an editor’s desk you don’t have anything under submission. When ending your relationship you should say as much in a letter. In other words, send that certified letter saying that you are ending the relationship and since you have no outstanding submissions together you will be moving forward effective immediately, etc., etc. Make sure you are very clear that the old agent has no more rights to your work.

Another thing to consider. Presumably when you resubmit this work, if the editor still wants to see it, it will be an entirely new work and not the same book your agent submitted.

I’m sure advice would be welcome from anyone else who has ever found him/herself in this situation.

Jessica

In a continuation of trying to let you know what happens to your work in an agency and in a publishing house, I’m going to address what happens when an editor finally does make that offer to your agent. Of course it’s different in every instance, but here is a basic look at how I handle the situation.

When a phone call is made (in rare cases an editor will email the offer) I thank the editor, let her know I’ll be getting back to her after discussing the offer with the author, and hang up. If it’s a first-time deal for an author or project I’m really excited about, my first calls are to Kim and Jacky. I know, I know, I should call the author first, but often I need to get my squealing under control before doing that. Once some semblance of professionalism has returned I’ll call the author to let her know the good news and listen to her squealing. I LOVE doing this. Once the author and I have gotten our excitement down to a dull roar we’ll discuss the steps I would like to take in negotiations.

Remember, I think this business is about teamwork and I like to include the author in all my negotiations as much as possible. I like to think it might give her a better understanding of what’s going on, and she might have some ideas, thoughts, or concerns that she would like to share at this time.

If the book is with multiple houses my goal is to try and get multiple offers. The more the merrier, I always say. In that case my first step will be to contact all the editors who still have the project, let them know we have an offer and what it is (but not who), and give them a deadline for when I need to hear of their interest.

If it’s a situation where it’s a continuation of an already established career or an offer on option material, we’ll discuss whether it’s even an offer we want to consider or if we think it’s too low or insufficient to even counter-offer. Traditionally, though, I’ll begin by counter-offering on the money issues—advances and royalties—and we’ll discuss rights (world, North American, etc.) and due dates.

At this point it’s a little wait-and-see and a little strategic planning. My conversations with the author are usually about what would make her very happy, happy, and not happy at all. I want perspective on exactly what her feelings are so that I know in what direction negotiations should be going.

From the negotiations side I’m talking to editors (in the case of multiple offers) and negotiating deal points.

The only time I’ll counter-offer on the spot (before calling the author) is when it’s an offer we knew was coming (usually an option), something from a series publisher like Harlequin, Dummies, or Complete Idiot’s Guides when I know exactly what they usually offer or what I should expect, and when negotiations are rather limited (like in the cases of the publishers mentioned above).

I’ve had negotiations take a mere few hours and I’ve had them last weeks. How intense they get can depends on a number of things—how many publishers are involved, how successful the author is, how badly the publisher wants her, and the house we’re dealing with. Of course, things like vacation can also come into play, as can forgetful editors.

When the deal is done, though, I make sure I get a finalized deal memo from the editor and then we wait for contracts. At which point my job is to negotiate all over again. Those things that we might need new boilerplate wording for or that are traditionally negotiated with a contracts person rather than the editor, things like indemnification wording, schedules, or reversion clauses.

Keep tuned in and I’ll do a future post on what exactly is negotiated with the editor versus with the legal department.

Jessica