THE 'MAGICAL FORMULA' TO SECURE A BOOK CONTRACT ELUDES ME
The following is the my latest update on the continuing visiccistudes of publishing a memoir.
THE NINTH REJECTION
The brief note {like each of the other eight} indicated that the story is interesting and provocative. However it is "old." Further the editor is unable to figure out how he can put together an "aggressive" marketing campaign.
So once again the rejections seem to come down to a problem of marketing. This despite the fact that I have submitted a detailed 85 page marketing plan which is comprehensive and expansive. Much of it provides specific information as to marketing the memoir on the internet. This is in addition to the conventional channels of marketing including book tours, presentations at conventions, direct sales, amassing e mail lists of friends, family, etc., radio and TV appearances, and the like.
MY REACTIONS
Immediate:
- I wish this rejection would have been sent out in the third week rather than the eighth.
- I allowed myself to feel the full brunt of the blow I experienced: stunned, hurt, depressed, resigned, angry, determined to press on.
- Wishing that Maxwell Perkins was still alive and would read my submission.
- Understanding that it only takes one publisher on my wave length to make a meaningful connection but finding it difficult not to be discouraged.
- Convinced I have a potential best seller that promises to make a significant contribution towards understanding the complex nature of drug addiction and detailing what treatment is most promising in effecting a salutary 'cure' but needing one publisher to take a chance that I am potentially accurate in my prediction.
- Wishing that publishers would give more details as to what they mean by their often quoted phrase: "found his work compelling but just don't love it enough".
- I am deeply frustrated by the criticism of "old" attributed to the time period of the story line - 1967-1969. My experience at Odyssey House - an innovative, ground breaking therapeutic community wherein I was a psychologist treating heroin addicts was a life defining event for me, the addicts, and the birth and evolution of the therapeutic community concept. It has taken thirty five years to gain the necessary objectivity to do justic to this complicated story. Additionally what was learned from my story - personally and professionally - is as relevant now as it was then.
- As observed in the Times Review of Books there are a number of recently published memoirs dating back to the 60s and 70s. Apparently these book were not considered to be dated. I can't figure out what they have that mine doesn't.
- Reading the above I am aware of a mixture of powerfully negative feelings of frustration, hurt, disappointment, consternation, puzzlement, and especially anger. But overarching is an even greater determination to press on at all cost.
Upon Reflection:
- I am aware that no amount of venting is going to get me what I want - namely a book contract from a reputable publishing house.
- I and my editor/agent are going to have to keep working and reworking to see if we can discover the magical formula for opening the seemingly unopenable publishing lock.
- The content appears to be acceptable.... the problem is marketing.... Will it sell is the guiding issue that has to be sufficiently spelled out to make a prospective publisher finally "love" my work enough.
Now What?
I need your help. If anyone has been in my shoes and has managed to secure a book contract I would be eternally in your debt if you would share your experience with me. I am aware that as a first time author I am not in a unique position. Breaking into the publishing "fraternity and sorority" is extraordinarily difficult - at least for me. That I have an important and well written memoir is clear. That I have secured and emplyed the professional services of a top notch editor is clear. That I have a respected agent is clear. That I have material that is both informative and entertaining is clear. That I have provided a comprehensive and carefully written submission package is clear. But there is something - some X factor - that remain illusive that is decidely and painfully unclear. This is why I need your help.
P.S.
I still have one more piece of bait in the water hoping that it will be sufficiently enticing for the tenth prospective publisher to swollow it.
"TOMORROW IS ANOTHER DAY"
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Comments: 34
but lots & lots of authors went through a whole lotta rejections too... keep trying!
You did an 85 page marketing plan? Wow! I'd have more trouble doing that than writing a book. Hang in there, Gibbs. It may happen for you yet.
One thing that jumped out at me while reading your piece was the juxtaposition of "memoir" with "drug abuse and rehab". In the wake of the recent James Frey debacle that alone may be enough to turn off publishers.
Did you finally get a contract? If so any idea of what finally worked? Chemistry?
If not - what do you think is your difficulty or their's with you?
You're approaching it in the right way and that's what is important.
I told you this before, but you should also consider smaller, independent preses who are more amenable to taking risks the conglomerates won't. My own was small and ended up now as part of the Perseus Book Group which is a medium sized independent. (Basic Books is their nonfiction imprint.)
You might try to approach publishers in the UK as another alternative--though your agent may not want to go that route. Speak to her about it.
Also, an 80 page marketing plan seems a wee bit large. Is there any way you can refine and distil to marketing ideas that do not require a book tour, etc? Publishers know about those and they just need a one line reference. It's the unique and cost-effective they're looking for when a first time author approaches and those need fleshing out. (As an aside, short marketing plans work because my publsiher called me in for a meeting on the strength of opne I drafted and they later told my agent that that's what urged them to make an offer.)
Otherwise, keep thinking positive and sending the manuscripts out.
Damian: I think you have a good point. I need to guide the publisher with bullet points as to what I am prepared to do. Thanks My agent daid not to be discouraged as there are innumerable publishers left to try.
I still say it's really a bad idea for your agent and your editor to be the same person; even if you don't have a problem with it, it's a recognized industry mistake and usually considered unethical. The reason it is considered unethical is that the agent often suggests that the book will be able to be pitched successfully after the editing is done, which is paid for up front. A disinterested freelance editor does not make promises about the subsequent saleability of the book in order to get your editing business. I don't intend to cast aspersions on your agent -- I'm just explaining why it is not considered a good business practice. Nearly any reference or resource you read about publishing will warn you against using an agent who offers editing services.
That being said -- an 80-page marketing proposal is way over the top, which is something your agent should have told you long ago. You need to provide a summary page of the main points, and let the publisher know that you have more detailed marketing ideas if they are interested. Bear in mind that if you get a book contract, the publisher will have their own marketing department . . . they're in the business of marketing books. Your detailed marketing proposal may be striking the publisher as presumptuous rather than helpful.
Due to the nature of your subject material, I might suggest that a way to generate buzz would be to give readings or seminars. If they are well-received, you can say that the material is compelling to an audience, and cite examples. Maybe get audience members to blurb the material for you. Just a thought.
I appreciate your response. Interesting enough I awoke this morning thinking that I had presented too much marketing material and that perhaps less is more. So I knocked out a pithy 2 page summary high lighting what I can and will individually do to market my memoir if I secure a contract.
I have received strongly affirming endorsements from leaders in the field of addiction. The 85 page marketing plan targets very specific groups but is too much material. We are on the same page.
Odyessy House changed perceptions of addiction and recovery as well as lives, so the social implications of your experience are also very important.
Am I making any money? No - not yet, but I see this as a way of breaking into a very, very competitive market. If I can build a fan base, then I'm hoping that in a few years, the bigger publishers will consider me more marketable. My rejection letters said almost the same thing that yours did.
So - advice? I'm glad you're working on that second project because the comment about your second or third book selling your first is often true. Here's a thought. My daughter has been voraciously reading non-fiction memoirs, but I think they are written in a dramatic way so as not to read like a text book. I don't know how you've written yours, but have you tried marketing it as a youth adult (ya) book? Seriously, for some reason, the teenagers love these kinds of stories.
Best of luck with this. I know how discouraging those rejections can be, especially the ones that say "Very intriguing, but not for us."
I was fortunate at being in the right place at the right time when the company I am now working for, is also interested in (traditionally) publishing my first book, and it's scheduled to be released June 1st 2007.
With all you've put into this manuscript, Gibbs, NEVER give up on it. I spent over eight hundred hours writing and rewriting Destiny of the Divas, because there was a story there that had to be told. You, likewise have a story that needs to be told. You're a writer, and an unpublished author. You're not a quitter. I can see that in reading your article above. Perseverence will get you the end result you seek.
I am supposed to be talking on the radio next month for an hour about my experiences. It just occurred to me to post it.