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This blog post has been brought to you by the power of Twitter. It can alternately be titled "If You Liked It, Then You Should Have Put a Ring on It."

Something that's been known to happen both between authors and agents, and then agents and editors is the revision request without a commitment of a representation offer or a contract. Mostly, the request for a revision is a good thing. It means the agent or editor sees potential and wants to develop it.

I myself have asked an author for an exclusive revision on a few occasions. What usually happens is that I'll see something promising, read it, know something's there, but not feel confident enough to take it on without fixing those nagging areas. Part of this has to do with wanting to make sure you're also taking on an author who is CAPABLE of revision. Part of it is just making sure you can make it fit the market.

Whenever I ask for a revision, I do it with the best of intentions. I WANT that project to work. More often than not, this has had good results for me. I have several clients who I did an exclusive revision with first, and then offered representation after seeing the finished product. Those have also gone on to sell to publishers. 

My process is usually to offer the writer this trade: I will give you my notes, and in exchange you will give me first look at the revision. And if I don't choose to take on the project at that point, you are then free to take that revision anywhere you like.

I like to think that's fair. Because I don't want to spend a lot of time giving you notes for you to take my effort and give it to someone else first. And I want you to be free to take a hopefully stronger project elsewhere too. I don't usually set a time limit on it, since I can't dictate how long your revision process should take. 

Sometimes it just doesn't work though. And these cases are always really tough. Sometimes the project can't evolve past "potential." Sometimes the author just isn't skilled enough to fix it. Invariably I feel a little guilty if I pass on a revision. The idea isn't to make the author jump through unnecessary hoops. It's to make sure we're getting the right projects signed. Our hope is always that even if the revision doesn't work, the project is still stronger and someone else might have luck with it. 

This happens on the other side of the table too. And I've admittedly been just as frustrated when an editor has asked for an exclusive revision on a client's book, loved it, and then declined to offer. That happens too. So I understand why writers might hesitate without us offering to make anything official.

But I think at the end of the day, someone taking interest enough to want to see where it can go is a good thing. And this industry requires such collaboration, that any input is inevitable and will help you. So just keep your expectations in check, and you should be in good shape.

What Store Hours Say about You
Shane Gottwals
www.gottwalsbooks.com

There is nothing more frustrating than that locally-owned business who chooses to close right before or right after you arrive, correct?  It’s almost like the indie shops should do everything like the larger chain stores, including hold early and late hours.
Why should customers expect this out of privately-owned business?  Well, when you think about it, we often tout that we deserve their business in order to “keep it local.”  Don’t the customers deserve extended hours?  Don’t they deserve everything that the chain stores can give?
This is just the thing.  Indie bookshops are not corporate giants.  Oftentimes, even these giants will keep late hours while not making large profits during those hours simply so that they are known as an all-hour joint.  Confusing?  I call it the “Wal-Mart Effect.”  Anyone will shop at Wal-Mart because of their lack of exclusivity.  In other words, they have, literally, an open door policy.  They never shut!  Psychologically, this gives the consumer confidence, knowing that this particular business does not and will not shut down.
Should the indie booksellers stay open late and arrive early?  Interestingly enough, the “Wal-Mart Effect” has an antonym.  All are accepted into Wal-Mart’s doors.  This has hurt them in some regards, driving away elitists.  It is not exclusive enough.  Why do the liquidation outlets keep 3-4 day work schedules, opening only for a few hours on each of those days?  They are giving off the appearance of exclusivity.  The local bookshop succeeds in the same way.
My wife and I began our first store with hours that topped out at 9:30-9:00.  This wore us out and we weren’t seeing great results.  Customers were coming through the doors, however, so we kept the hours for quite a while.  When we did finally change to closing at 6:00, our sales were honestly unaffected.  Not only do people expect their friendly bookseller to go home to their family, they seem to understand that their used bookshop is worth stopping in earlier.  Gottwals Books is an exclusive shop to its customers, in many ways, because of our store hours.
We are closed on Sundays not because it is a “day for family” but because it is God’s day.  If we own one thousand stores, we will never be open on Sundays, even though Sunday sales are expectedly good.  Worshiping Jesus Christ is far too important for us to be open.  We also close early on Wednesdays so that any of our employees, including ourselves, can make it to their respective Wednesday night church services and prayer meetings.  So, in our case, we hope that our hours don’t scream “Exclusive!” as much as they do “Christian!”
What are your hours?
Have you changed them as time has passed?
Do you think my analysis is hogwash?
Do you still get angry whenever you drive past the big chain stores at 10 o’clock at night?  (Why can’t I have that many cars after 6:00, right?)

image is courtesy of Sally M at Flickr.com