4/24/08

How many people do I have to bribe to get published?

How many people in your company have to be convinced a book can sell before you offer a contract?
14 1/2.

Just kidding.

I'm not sure what the purpose behind this question is. Knowing the answer won't really make a difference in the process as far as the writer is concerned—unless you want to try to bribe everyone who is involved in the decision making process. (That probably won't help much either.)

But to answer your curiosity, this varies a lot between companies, depending on their size. Job positions that have to be on board are Editor, Readers, Marketing, Management. Each of these positions may be held by one single individual in a very small company or there may be committees of editors, readers, marketing people, and managers that have to be in agreement in a large company. Some companies may require a consensus, some only a majority. The opinions of some people on the committees may carry more weight than others. There may be one person at the top of the chain who has veto power, regardless of how many others think it's a good idea; or one person may have the power to push a project through, regardless of how many people think the book won't sell.

Bottom line: the answer to this question won't help you get published. Write a good book, send it to the publisher or editor you think will love it and move on.

3 comments:

Rebecca Talley said...

I've heard that if you include chocolate, tickets to sporting events, stuffed animals, a few $20 bills tucked between chapters, and scent all the pages of your manuscript with perfume you'll have a better chance at acceptance.

Couldn't resist :)

Traci Hunter Abramson said...

I think one of the most important things when submitting a manuscript is making sure you choose a publisher that is a good match for what you have written. For my first novel (Undercurrents) I spent a lot of time in the LDS bookstore searching for novels that were the same genre. I then listed down the pubisher and their addresses (listed on the copyright pages.)

Since I was writing suspense fiction and I hoped to write a sequel, Covenant seemed like the perfect match. Undercurrents didn't get accepted right away -- I had to do a complete rewrite, but ultimately my research paid off.

Annette Lyon said...

Couldn't agree with Traci more. My first acceptance came after doing that very kind of publisher and market research--but after several rejections.