Deconstructing a publisher’s rejection…with the publisher!
Mira Perrizo of Johnsonbooks and I had two conversations after she rejected my book. Both were educational. I was grateful for her time. I’ll share some of what I learned here and then, at least for the time being, this long anti-blog essay will be complete.
In our first conversation, Mira said that the primary reason she was rejecting me was that she had published books by or about rafters from two other authors in the past couple years. Both were far better known in the whitewater community than I am. She had expected the books to do well. They had not. Perhaps, she said, the rafting community is not a book buying group. Or Johnsonbooks doesn’t know how to sell to that group.
Besides, she said, these are strange times. She’d published general interest books recently, positive they would sell well, and they hadn’t. Author events and signings which once would have netted a dozen or more sales might sell no copies at all.
Listening, I thought about how often recently, in these days of spiraling costs, I have opted to buy a used book instead of a new one, even though I know this is equivalent to stiffing a waitress. I’m choosing not to pay the writer for her work or the publisher for betting on the writer.
Yes, I said to Mira. Strange times.
I tried to argue that mine is not a rafting book any more than Jon Krakauer’s ‘Into the Wild’ was a survivalist book. She said it takes money to drum up the kind of broad attention Krakauer’s book got. New York publishers have that kind of money. Johnsonbooks does not. She needs authors or topical interest or free publicity to sell books.
I asked Mira how many copies my book would have had to sell at Johnsonbooks to reward their investment. Her answer: Three thousand and the house breaks even. Ten thousand over three years makes money.
She should change her mind about my book, I told her. I could generate 3,000 in sales. She wouldn’t lose money on me. Mmhm, she said. Other writers had told her that too.
4 Responses to “Deconstructing a publisher’s rejection…with the publisher!”
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March 16th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
Ah, but you could generate 3000 sales!
Have you thought any more about Internet publishing? Are you working on your novel now? Maybe it’s because I read dit with you, but I’d read it again. It’s a good story.
As for book sales, that’s a hard one. Every time I go to Barnes and Noble I see the books on the buy two get one free table–good books, good stories. And that doesn’t even count the “Bargain” shelves. It always feels sad to me, but I also have to admit, I like a “good deal.”
April 13th, 2010 at 10:03 am
i like a good deal too. i have been very wary of self-publishing and ebook/internet publishing but i think i’m changing my mind about that. one of the things you can do as an ebook writer is offer a good deal and actually get a decent little chunk of the sales price when someone buys. it’s always bugged the crap out of me that the traditional publishing deal meant that you did all the writing and most/all of the marketing but they got most/nearly all of any profits.
hey and sorry to be slow to approve your comments, by the way. i get a lot of spam here. it’s depressing so i only stop in every once in a while.
July 16th, 2010 at 9:05 am
Have you thought of university presses? They have high production values and keep books in print much much longer than trade houses. They pay royalties! A western press I’d think would love to look at your book. Downside is that by definition university press books tend to be for smaller or niche audiences. But some of them sell steadily for many many years. A trade press book is usually a flash in the pan and it’s gone. And I know of authors who’ve published a book or two with university presses and “graduated” to trade houses. Also, you could be as artistic as you wished, and they’d love any memoir aspect.
July 17th, 2010 at 10:59 pm
You know, I hadn’t considered university presses. I didn’t think the book was ‘literary’ or ‘cutting edge’ enough…whatever those mean. : )
Have you published with a university press, Richard?
–j