THE ONE WHERE THEY TOOK A GAMBLE
Category: Adult
I signed with my agent a month and a half into the panini. We did very few edits together – just made some alterations to the last few chapters – so I was on sub within a few weeks. She was confident we would get interest quickly; I saw we were approaching the dead months of summer and didn’t have much hope.
But she was right.
We had a list of around 10-15 editors that were sent the full manuscript off the bat (for my genre, that’s a pretty “wide” sub strategy). My agent’s goal was to get multiple editors interested quickly – she thought we had a good shot at an auction – and within a week, I had an editor call scheduled. The editor (let’s call them A) wanted to discuss potential edits because the work would be extensive. But our visions meshed – hooray! A said they would send the book out for second reads. It had all happened SO FAST. I thought I would have an offer in hand soon.
And then I waited.
And waited.
It actually wasn’t that long (maybe three weeks?) but it felt like forever – especially since A didn’t check in at all during that time. In the meanwhile, a few passes started rolling in. It made me wonder if A had disappeared because they too had realized something was wrong with the book.
And then A resurfaced . . . but not with a beautiful offer in hand. They wanted another editorial call.
Anyway, we talked, and it just confirmed my gut feeling that A would be PERFECT for the book. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but then, just a few days later, came my offer! I was over the moon excited. My agent notified other editors, and along came a few more passes. Then another editor, B, told us to ‘stay tuned.’
Now, because I really wanted to work with A, my agent suggested offering a preempt to them in order to take the book off the table before B came in with an offer. My agent came up with a number (significantly above the initial advance for the book) and we took it to A, who did come back with a higher offer, but somewhere between the original bid and my agent’s number.
It was a good deal. With an editor I loved. During a soul crushing pancake. So I was feeling ready to take it and be done with sub, thank you very much. But my agent suggested we wait for B.
At this point I was verrrrry stressed because I knew that if we waited and B didn’t offer – or they offered the same amount as A had in their original offer – I might end up with less money for the book. Preempt offers are high for this exact reason: they’re designed to be high enough that you wouldn’t want to see what others might pay. If you turn them down and no other publishers bid, you lose your leverage.
FYI – this can be true in an auction situation too. If one publisher tries to preempt with a very high offer but you choose to take your chances at auction because there’s lots of other interest, you might still end up with a smaller deal overall because if those other houses start the bidding at a much lower level, there’s no guarantee you’ll get them back up to that preempt number.
But I digress. My agent had been right thus far, so I was going to trust her. We turned the preempt down.
About a day later came the offer from B.
It was around twice the initial advance offered by A per book, and for two books. It was a dream offer, and now we had two houses fighting for my book. I couldn’t believe it!
My agent went back to A with the news, and A did bring up the offer to match B’s advance – but only for one book, which was a worse deal because there was no guaranteed second book.
The math was simple:
A: 1 x $$$ = $$$
B: 2 x $$$ = $$$$$$
It should have been a no brainer, right? The only catch was the vision – B wanted to lean in one direction, and A had different ideas, ones I liked more. I didn’t know what to do.
So I did what I always do when I’m facing a tough choice. I sat in bed, cried, and called my mom. She didn’t have much advice, but at least I felt better – and she snarked some sense into me: no matter what I was getting a book deal! A good one too! To publish a book I loved!
I went to sleep, and the next morning woke to the news that our gamble ended up paying off!
My agent had gone back to A for one last chance at matching B’s offer, and A had done it. I had that offer in my inbox. It was a sign. I took it and didn’t look back.
I know this is some sort of fairytale sub story. To be honest, I’m still kind of waiting for the other shoe to drop, for someone to tell me it’s all a prank. I’m not usually a person for whom things work out without having to scrap and fight and settle for second best. I’ve had a pretty freaking bad panorama. But I’m trying to savor whatever good things do come my way, and this was definitely one of them.
TLDR: Trust your agent and trust your gut. And sometimes, gambles pay off – even if they are terrifying.
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The stories on this blog are posted anonymously so that authors can speak candidly about their experience. If you have a sub story you’d like to share, drop me an email at: katedylanbooks@gmail.com
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