Some time ago I wrote about the nonfiction submission process, and in my example I gave a respond-by date, letting editors know that I was hoping to hear of their interest by a certain date. Well, one wise reader asked what happens next. What do you do when you have more than one publisher interested, or worse, what happens if no one is interested?
First let me clarify that every agent is different and every agent’s response will be different. Some feel no need to ever set such deadlines, not wanting to rush editors, while others think every project they have is worth setting a respond-by date for; it rushes the submission process and moves things along more quickly for them. I tend to fall in the middle. If I have a project that I am 100% confident will be hot I will set a respond-by date, but often I like to give editors time to explore something new at their leisure and let it grow on them if necessary. Why? I know I for one don’t always like to be rushed. Sometimes it’s good to have time to process and slowly fall in love rather than be pushed into it.
But when I do use a respond-by date, what might I expect?
After having worked on both sides of the submission process, I can honestly tell you that most respond-by dates go by unnoticed. The truth is that people are going to offer if they’re going to offer and the only thing that’s going to make them move faster is a bona fide offer from another publisher. One of the reasons a respond-by date can backfire is because it also shows your hand. If no one comes in and offers, all other publishers will know this and they’ll know where they stand. If SuperBooks was interested and planning to make a $50,000 offer, the lack of interest from others could quickly drop that to $25,000. Why not? They suspect that no one else is out there to raise their price.
But what if no one offers at all? Do you then submit around to other publishers and set a new respond-by date? I don’t. I think a respond-by date is a one-shot deal. If no one responds it is definitely time to go to your second-tier group, but I wouldn’t set another respond-by date. I would simply submit the old-fashioned way . . . send to my group of editors and bug the heck out of them until they respond.
And what if everyone (or at least two or three people) call to tell you that they’ll definitely be making offers? Again, this is a situation where every agent is different, but my strategy is to set an auction date. I like to give everyone a day or two to put their offers together, so let’s say two days after the respond-by date I’ll hold the auction. In this case I set guidelines. If one publisher came in before the respond-by date with a decent offer, but not as high as I would like, I’ll often use that as my basis. Let’s say we’re starting all bids at $5,000. I then give a time. All bids need to be presented before a certain time, let’s say noon. If by 12:30 I haven’t heard from some publishers who mentioned that they would be biddin,g I will call and remind them as well as let them know where the price stands. You would be surprised at how things can play out from respond-by date to auction. Some publishers will drop out and others will suddenly show up. You never know what’s going to happen until the bids come in.
There are different ways to hold an auction too. Some can do final and best, which means everyone simply comes in with their very best bid the first time around and winner takes all. Another technique is a round robin. You keep calling all bidding editors to let them know what the current high bid is until the last man is standing. A round robin auction can take days, or even weeks.
I’m sure I’m missing something. An auction can be as complicated or as simple as an agent wants and each one is different depending on the editors involved, the agent, and the project, but I think this gives you, in a nutshell, an idea of what you might expect if an agent tells you that she’s asking for a respond-by date and hoping to go to auction.
Good luck!
Jessica
Viewing: Blog Posts Tagged with: auctions, Most Recent at Top [Help]
Results 26 - 31 of 31
.jpg?picon=418)
By: BookEnds, LLC,
on 4/1/2008
Blog: BookEnds, LLC - A Literary Agency (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: auctions, submissions, contract offers, Add a tag
By: Kristin Nelson,
on 2/11/2008
Blog: Pub Rants (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: auctions, Add a tag
STATUS: It is really freakin’ cold here in New York City. They think we have winter in Denver. Oh please. It’s six degrees. Wet. And the wind is blowing like 30 knots or something crazy like that. It’s never that cold in Denver or if it is, the sun is shining and everyone is happy. Although we went on a walk today, Chutney was unwilling to pose.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? DANCING WITH MYSELF by Billy Idol
(uh, I actually don’t own this song but the radio is playing at the moment…)
I know that blog readers love to hear the inside skinny on agent stuff. So how does an agent know that an auction might potentially unfold?
Easy. When a manuscript is sent out, some editors will take a look right away (especially those editors who know me and have had the experience of submissions from me moving fast). They tend to get on it quickly.
And if they like what they see, they email or call almost immediately to say that they love what they are reading and that they are either going to finish soon (like over the weekend) and get second reads or they are already doing so. They want me to keep them abreast of any new information regarding the project (as in other interest, an impending offer, etc.)
When this kind of communication happens from more than one house (and it has to be different houses because in-house imprints can’t bid against each other), then the agent knows it’s shaking. The project has it going on and an auction might unfold.
Now, that doesn’t always happen. Sometimes multiple editors from different houses show interest and those editors aren’t able to get the support to buy (support being other readers who love it as much as they do or an editorial director or publisher on board). And yes, I have had that happen.
But when there is a lot of interest early on, it usually means multiple offers and the agent has time to get her deal game plan in place.
By: Camille,
on 12/14/2007
Blog: Book Moot (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: auctions, JKRowling, The Tales of Beedle the Bard, Add a tag
...Amazon.com
Amazon won the auction at Sotheby's for the only copy available to the public of J. K. Rowling's The Tales of Beedle the Bard. They paid £1,950,000.
The Telegraph reports:
Bidding for "The Tales of Beedle the Bard", of which there are only seven copies in existence, was frenetic at Sotheby's on Thursday and experts were shocked at the huge winning bid for the book, which had been expected to sell for £50,000.
Amazon has already posted pictures and a review, with spoilers. I didn't read it in hopes that someday, I will get to read the stories. The book is just beautiful to behold. I chuckled when I read the book was decorated with moonstones. Several years ago Rowling posted a note on her site about having just read The Moonstone by Wilke Collins for the first time. She described it as a "cracking read."
Don't you love the white gloves? It is a rare book, indeed.
By: Kristin Nelson,
on 12/5/2007
Blog: Pub Rants (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: auctions, Add a tag
STATUS: I’m feeling good because I’m actually tackling the big items on my TO DO list.
What’s playing on the iPod right now? THE CHRISTMAS SONG by The Carpenters
I can finally talk about my big day from last week or should I say my big days since the auction lasted for two days.
Here’s the announcement from Deal Lunch:
FICTION: MIDDLE GRADE
Helen Stringer’s debut HOUSE OF MISTS, about a girl who lives with the ghosts of her parents in the north of England and when they disappear, along with all the ghosts in the world, it’s up to her, an always-in-trouble classmate named Steve, and the one remaining ghost (from 1912) to find out why, to Jean Feiwel at Feiwel & Friends, in a significant deal for two books, at auction, by Kristin Nelson of Nelson Literary Agency (NA).
This is the very first middle-grade project I’ve ever taken on so I was rather heartened that it caused quite a stir and lots of interest. As an agent I probably shouldn’t admit this but because it was my first middle-grade ever, I was kind of nervous when I submitted it. I obviously feel quite confident about my YA abilities but middle-grade is a whole other ball of wax so to speak. Now I can rest easy. At least in this case, I got what it takes!
So here’s how the auction went down.
1. Project was sent out on Wednesday. The first offer came a week and a day later.
2. All editors were notified of the offer on the table.
3. Several editors expressed serious interest, which signals that an auction might be imminent.
4. Another house makes an offer (but not a pre-empt), so now there are two offers on the table. Auction date is scheduled and that information is sent to all editors interested in participating.
5. A house with an offer already on the table attempts to pre-empt with a new offer. The Interest at this point is too high, the pre-empt is declined.
6. Agent sets auction rules and asks all interested parties to declare if they plan to attend or not. The rules are emailed to all auction participants.
7. Auction day comes and it’s a round robin one (which means participants can bid in subsequent rounds). Four participants are bidding. Auction continues until there is a winner but in this case, it came down two main bidders. As the auction continued on Friday, the publishers were asked if they wanted the option to put their best offer forward instead of doing subsequent round robin bidding that might last several more hours. Participants preferred that. Final offers were presented to the author and ultimately a final choice was made.
There can only be one publisher after all. Although I have to say, when all parties are excellent, it’s tough to call the “losing” publisher and potentially break that editor’s heart when he/she obviously has tons of enthusiasm for the project.
By: Betsy Bird,
on 5/20/2007
Blog: A Fuse #8 Production (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: Auctions, I Was Going to Call This Post "Pooh To Be Sold" But Realized That Sounded Very Wrong, Add a tag
Never assume that your blog readers aren't just ah-hankering to buy up kidlit related original art.
First and foremost, y'all are familiar with the work of Jim Flora, yes? A children's illustrator and truly mod fellow he created images like this:
Two rare illustrations featuring the adventures of A.A. Milne's much-loved creation, Winnie-the-Pooh by Ernest H. Shepard (1879 - 1976), are to go under the hammer at Bonhams in London later this month. 'Tigers don't like honey' and 'Pooh visiting in Owl's parlour' are expected to fetch between £20,000 - 30,000 each at Bonhams' Sale of Modern Pictures and Illustrations at Knightsbridge on 22 May 2007.
Posted on 1/5/2007
Blog: Book Moot (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap)
JacketFlap tags: auctions, cancer, Marc Brown, Arthur, Add a tag
From AmericanaWeek 2007:
The folk art collection of Marc and Laurie Krasny Brown will be sold on Sunday, January 21, beginning at 11 a.m. Marc Brown, the creator of Arthur, a character of children’s books and television, collected some notable painted furniture, boxes, and game boards, as well as watercolor and oil portraits of children. The Browns have also consigned 30 original drawings, which will be sold to benefit children’s cancer care at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. Following the Brown sale is various-owners’ folk art and furniture.
This beautiful collection can be seen at the Sotheby's website. You do have to register in order to view the catalog. Brown has collected exquisite game boards, windsor chairs, watercolors, baskets, whimsical signs and other beautiful things. His Arthur artwork is at the very end of the catalog.
LOVE that auction image! It's so...auctiony! Thanks, Jessica.
THANK YOU! Very helpful post!
This sounds like every writer's dream-publishers fighting for our work! Great information, Jessica, thank you.
How often, in your experience, do auctions actually happen?
How common is it to hold an auction for a first-time author's ms? Thanks for the info!
$5,000, $25,000, $50,000? All music to my ears! Why, just last night I was thinking "oh, if I just had $10,000, I could take a year off COMPLETELY and do nothing but write, nothing, nothing, nothing else..."
Then it was day again, the wind starts blowing again, snow (it won't stick) predicted...and New York-y book auctions seem a million miles away...
GRINDING, THIEVING AND THE QUASIMODO SHUFFLE
“What kind of burglar are you?
My writing partner stopped fondling Jessica’s pink-haired Barbie. “A really bad one. That's why I write books.”
“Earth to Stinky, you suck at that too. Forget women’s fiction, it’s hopeless. Let’s search Kim’s office.”
“Leave empty handed? How about this pink hat? I’d wear it.”
“Pitch it. EBay has standards.” I inched open Jessica’s office door and pushed Stinky into the hall. “Duck below the windows.”
“Too late. The neighbor’s washing dishes. She’s seen me.”
“Quick, drop a shoulder and drag one leg. She’ll think you’re Kim.”
“It worked. She’s waving.”
“That was close.”