The value of publisher diversity

If you’re trying to get a book contract, publishing may seem like a monolith. But it’s not.

The typical quest of a nonfiction author seeking a publisher is filled with rejection. You connect through friends of friends, send in your query or proposal, and then mostly hear nothing or curt rejections.

But you’ll also hear from people who’ve spent a little time with your proposal and think it has promise. And they’ll be happy, as a courtesy, to tell you what to do to fix it and make it publishable.

“It’s too long. Nobody is publishing books that are 55,000 words.”

“It’s too short. A book needs to be longer than 55,000 words.”

“Your marketing plan is too publicity focused. Publicity doesn’t drive sales.”

“There’s not enough publicity work in this proposal.”

“You need to do a book tour.”

“Book tours are worthless, they make no difference.”

“You need more social media followers.”

“Why is your marketing plan so focused on social media?”

“You need case studies.”

“Nobody reads case studies any more.”

“You need more step-by-step instructions.”

“You need more visionary, uplifting content.”

And so on in as confusing a profusion as possible.

Should you listen?

“Publishing” does not speak with one voice

The answer to “should you listen” is, of course you should, but don’t treat any publisher as the oracle on what can get published. And be clear on if they’re just making suggestions, rather than an offer to publish contingent on following those suggestions.

Each publisher — and each acquisitions editor in a publishing imprint — has a unique perspective. When they say “This is what you need to do to get published,” what they really mean is, “Based on my experience, the most successful books have x qualities, especially at this publisher, so you need to be more like my ideal of a successful book.” But since they have different experiences, they have diverse perspectives.

There’s a word for generalizations based on long experience: prejudices. Despite the stigma associated with that word, we all have prejudices. They’re a shorthand we use to make decisions. And provided not all editors and agents have the same prejudices, the diversity of viewpoints can actually be helpful.

Once you begin to work with publishers, you start to see their unique tendencies. For example, Wiley publishes a broad range of business books but requires authors to account for how they can sell 10,000+ copies. Hay House focuses on uplifting stories. Berrett Kohler likes books that have a pro-social message. Harper Business is for authors with the potential to have breakout sales. Harvard Business Review Press prefers authors with impressive professional credentials and research to back their theses. Individual editors within each of these imprints have their own ideas about what will succeed.

Editors are also influenced by fashion: what book just took off, what book is getting buzz, what trend is played out. Ironically, that means that each time an Atomic Habits or Lean In is published, they’ll be expecting your book to either be just like it, or not be so much like it, depending on whether it’s an even day or an odd day. Given that it takes 15-24 months to get a book published, whatever today’s fashion is, it could very well be irrelevant by the time the book comes out.

There are truths that always apply, of course. Every publisher wants you, the author, to do the work of selling your book. Every publisher loves authors with big followings and popular blogs, podcasts, newsletters, or television appearances. Publishers like authors whose ideas are proven in the world, and they like writers whose writing samples show they can write well. But beyond those generalities, there are as many opinions as there are acquisitions editors — and there are hundreds and hundreds of acquisitions editors.

What this means for you

The main takeaway here is that you shouldn’t take a collection of offhand suggestion from a single editor as the gospel truth. If you keep revising your proposal based on what editor A and editor B and editor C suggested, at some point you’ll just be chasing your tail. Some of those suggestions are likely to be good. But you need to balance them against your own vision of what the book should be.

So how should you move forward? Here are some suggestions (based, naturally, on my own prejudiced experience):

• Get a good agent. Agents deal with dozens of publishers. They’re in a position to put your proposal in front of several publishers at once, which is the easiest way to find one whose vision matches your own. It’s a far more efficient process than approaching publishers one-by-one and getting a series of conflicting suggestions. That’s well worth giving up 15% of your advance and royalties. When my agent was shopping my book Writing Without Bullshit, I talked to publishers who saw it as a writing manual, a novelty book, and a major business book — and they all made different offers with different suggestions. (For example, one said I couldn’t get it published with that title, while another, the one I eventually chose, insisted on retaining the title to make the book successful.)
• Don’t put too much stock in suggestions that aren’t attached to an offer. There’s a big difference between “This book seems too long” and “We’ll publish this if you cut 15,000 words.” The former is an offhand suggestion, the latter is prelude to a deal. Twisting your book’s main ideas to match a publisher’s prejudices in the absence of an offer is madness.
• Be patient. This is like dating. It could take many months to find your ideal publisher. You have to kiss a lot of frogs . . .
• Consider hybrid publishing. Hybrid publishers work for you. They’re selective, but are willing to publish solid offerings from any author who’s willing to pay. If you don’t want your book jerked in uninvited directions, you may have to invest in a publisher that will put it out the way you want.

Remember, the goal is not to get a book in print. It is to get your book, reflecting your own point of view and expertise, out where people can learn from and react to it. A deal to publish a book that’s been distorted to reflect the publisher’s viewpoint isn’t going to make you happy or accomplish your goals.

If your idea is good enough and your marketing strong enough, there’s a publisher out there who will want to publish it. And if your publisher search reaches a diverse enough set of potential publishers, you’ll find the one who can see the potential of your vision for the book. That’s a partnership you can ride from now to your publication date.