Tag: Mike Nappa (Page 21 of 24)

A Sales Team reason for rejection

Imagine that you and I spend an entire day at the beach. Good times, huh? 

Now imagine that while you are out surfing it up and having a blast, I get sunburned and stung by a jellyfish and a bully kicks sand in my face.

Tomorrow, when you pop over and invite me to join you for a trip the beach again, I will probably squint miserably into the sunshine peering through your smile and say, “No thanks!” There’s no way I want to risk getting burned again.

Sometimes that’s what it’s like with my sales team, especially if we’re facing a time of economic downturn, or corporate layoffs, or just bad annual reviews from our collective bosses. Remember, emotional discouragement affects intellectual outlook. If my Sales VP is discouraged by the performance of the books her team is currently struggling with, she’s going to be hesitant to expose her team to further failure with anything that’s not a slam-dunk, absolute-guaranteed hit. 

Now, if you’ve done your homework (and I really hope you have!), then you’re sending me a book that targets the same audience as previous and/or current books we’re publishing. That’s a correct strategy almost all of the time…but I’m going to be honest and tell you that if the bottom has unexpectedly fallen out of our core market, your new book could fall out with it. 

How are you to know that my Sales VP has become disillusioned with the types of books we’ve been publishing because our typical reader hasn’t been buying those books lately? Well, you can’t know that. But it still may earn you a rejection anyway. 

Sorry about that.

What You Can Do About It

1. Deliver a plan for beating a bad publishing economy. 

At this point, you should know why people buy books (see Reason #65). You know specific sales channels where you book has good potential (see Reason #67). You’ve worked on building your platform (see Reason #54) and identified any “brandwagon” opportunities that’ll help sell your book (Reason #55). You’ve trimmed the costs of producing your book (Reason #68) and even delivered clear, obvious appeal to women with your book (see Reason #59). Add to that all the marketing and editorial expertise you’ve gained, and you should be able to present a proposal that beats any bad economy, right?

So be sure to use that knowledge to tell my sales team exactly why they’ll be successful when selling your book—even though some other loser’s book on a similar topic hasn’t been good enough. Do that, and you can make my Sales VP forget the past and look forward to a bright, shiny future with you in it.

2. Stay away from hard luck cases. 

Sorry to say it, but sometimes it’s best not to send a book to a publisher—especially if you keep reading about corporate restructures, “rightsizing,” quarterly losses in operating income, or even looming bankruptcy possibilities. Your book won’t save that kind of company—and they probably won’t appreciate your offer to publish anyway. 

So don’t try to force your book into a hard luck company. Give it a year or so to see if they’re able to rebound first. Then when all their cost-cutting measures of the previous year start to pay off, they’ll be more receptive to the new opportunity that your book provides.

3. Subscribe to Publisher’s Lunch.

If you’re not already on their list, go to PublishersMarketplace.com and sign up for the free, daily e-newsletter, Publisher’s Lunch. (Heck, if you can afford about $20 a month, go ahead and register on their site for the Lunch Deluxe newsletter.) 

Publisher’s Lunch is one of the most reliable, and timely, sources for business information about everybody active in the publishing industry. If a publisher is struggling, you’ll find out about it here. If a publisher is expanding, you’ll find that here too—along with specific editor names and projects currently in production. 

The information you gain from regularly reading Publisher’s Lunch will be invaluable as you try to navigate unpredictable economic times to find the sales team most likely to be excited about your book.

Looking for more? Check out these links:

• Mikey Can’t Sleep blog
• Mikey Timeline
• Fan-Favorite Books
• Mikey on Amazon

A Sales Team reason for rejection

Megan Tingley, senior vice-president and publisher of Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, blames J.K. Rowling and Stephanie Meyer. 

“Harry Potter and Twilight,” she says, “created a market for hardcover series with more complex, substantive storylines where readers could live in the world a bit longer. I think people came to want something different out of their reading experience, and it became more about depth than speed.”

Of course, series have been popular for a long time (Lord of the Rings or Narnia anyone?) But recent statistics bear out Tingley’s observation of a renewed interest in this publishing strategy. For instance, at the time of this writing, an overwhelming 73% of the bestselling juvenile books are part of a larger series of books. And, of related interest, 91% of romance novel readers say they are “likely to seek out an author’s previously published titles after reading a novel from an author they like,” while 89% of general readers also say they “make a special effort to look for other books by the same author.”

This potential for series books can play a factor in non-fiction acquisitions (for instance, when pitching this book to publishers, I also included a few ideas for sequels). However, not many non-fiction books are first acquired as series books. Typically, with non-fiction, a publisher wants to know that a series could happen—but isn’t terribly interested in making a series until after that first book takes off in the marketplace. 

Fiction, however, is a different story—particularly mystery, romance, and sci-fi/fantasy novels. When I acquired suspense novels, I routinely looked for series potential as a part of my evaluation process. Other editors do the same. 

“When we bring an author’s proposal or manuscript to acquisition,” says Stephanie Lurie, editorial director of Disney-Hyperion Books for Children, “often sales will ask if there are more, and we’ll sign them up as a series from the beginning.”

This is not to say that a single, stand-alone novel can’t sell—of course, they’re published every day. But it does say that, especially for fiction writers, the potential for a series of successful novels can be an attractive element when my Sales VP takes a look at your proposal.

Something to think about.

What You Can Do About It

1. Think in threes. 

I’m speaking mainly to novelists right now. After you’ve come up with a great idea and written that “next great American novel,” don’t assume your work is all done. Before you send out your proposal to an agent or an editor, think ahead a bit and create a short (one-page or so) summary for two more novels that could start a series based on your original book. Think in terms of a trilogy with continuing characters and/or unique, continued settings that somehow all tie together.

Include those additional book summaries with your proposal, and point out that you are both willing and able to create this as a series for your publisher, or to at least give that publisher the “option of first refusal” on any additional books based on the original. If your original is strong, the prospect of future series potential will be an attractive selling point for any Sales VP.

2. And for nonfiction writers… 

It never hurts to also think about future possibilities to capitalize on the unmitigated success of the book you’re currently pitching. You don’t have to go into as much detail about future books in your series as a fiction writer would, but you should at least come up with two or three possible titles and subtitles for books that could be follow-ups to the original one.

Go ahead and list those in your proposal under a heading like, “Series Potential” or “Possible Future Books in a Series.” It may not actually help your chances of selling the original book (most nonfiction sells as single-book contracts), but it can’t hurt. And it may come in handy as a reference when you’re book hits a bestseller list after publication.

3. Keep an “ideas” list somewhere on your computer.

Some authors think they have to write fully every idea they dream up. That’s not true. I personally have over a hundred unused ideas just sitting around on my computer, waiting to be plucked out and created. This well of unused ideas has become a source of many successes for me (including this book). Imagine if I’d never taken the time to jot these things down?

So, whenever you have an idea for a new book, don’t judge it right away. Simply jot yourself a few notes about it and then forget about it. Keep adding to your idea well whenever a new idea pops into your creative little brain. Then, when it’s time to think about series-izing your next proposal, go back and re-read some of your forgotten ideas on file. Who knows? There may be something there that adapts well to be book #2 or #3 in a potential new trilogy.

Looking for more? Check out these links:

• Mikey Can’t Sleep blog
• Mikey Timeline
• Fan-Favorite Books
• Mikey on Amazon

A Sales Team reason for rejection

Think about the last book that you bought. Why did you decide to spend your hard-earned money on that one? If you’re like the majority of Americans, it’s because someone close to you recommended it. In fact, fully three of every five Americans indicate that what makes them “want to buy a book” is a suggestion from friend or family member.

This makes sense. After all, those closest to us—those we trust—are typically people with similar tastes, people who know us and who have our best interests in mind. Sure, they may miss from time to time with a recommendation, but for the most part these folks are pretty reliable in our lives. 

Guess what? My Sales VP is one of those people who turns to friends and family when he wants a quality recommendation on a book. 

In fact, my Sales VP trusts his wife’s opinion—or even his babysitter’s opinion—more than he trusts the hype you’ve plastered all over your proposal pages. If my VP gets along with his family (yes, even dragons have families!), and if your book is on his mind after a day at work, he’s going to talk about it to his wife and kids. Maybe over the dinner table. Maybe during chores. Maybe when they’re between innings at Junior’s 8^th grade baseball game. Trust me, the topic will come up.

What’s more, if he’s on the fence about your proposal—maybe he likes the writing, but not the trade channel prospects—he’s even more likely to solicit a second opinion from somebody around the house. That puts a lot of power into the opinions of a person only tangentially involved in publishing—or maybe into the hands of someone who doesn’t really know the first thing about writing except that she didn’t like Brisingr as much as she liked Eragon. 

Still, it happens—and it may be the reason your book is rejected.

What You Can Do About It

1. Assume that quality is your safeguard against unofficial critics. 

Truth is, you have no control over whether or not my Sales VP seeks out a second (or third) opinion on your book. Sure, if you’ve done everything well in your proposal, my VP should be able to vote an unequivocal “yes” without needing extra input. But you and I both know that’s often just wishful thinking.

On other hand, when my Sales VP asks his babysitter what she thought of your book, enthusiasm for your writing from that person will carry a lot of weight. So take care to write with quality and skill for your intended audience. That, in the end, is your best safeguard against any critic—husband, wife, child, friend, babysitter, or anyone.

2. Preempt a similar audience.

If you’re writing for women, and my Sales VP is a man, he’s likely to show your book to his wife as a representative of your audience. So why not do that before he does?

Find a few people who are representative of your reading audience, and solicit their sincere criticism of your work. This works best if your representatives are not your family members, but a few friends is usually fine. Ask for written critiques. Then, when they come in, quote some of the most favorable comments and include them in your proposal under a section titled, “What people are saying about [book title].” 

For instance, if your book is for hair stylists, you might quote as follows: “So interesting! I never knew there were so many possibilities in my job before I read [book title]”—Mandi, chief stylist at Carova Salon

3. Relax.

Hey, you can’t micromanage everything. If you’ve honestly done the best job you can on your book and its accompanying proposal, this reason for rejection may just need to be one of those things you just leave up to someone else. No sense worrying too much over what, really, is out of your control, right?

Looking for more? Check out these links:

• Mikey Can’t Sleep blog
• Mikey Timeline
• Fan-Favorite Books
• Mikey on Amazon

A Sales Team reason for rejection

This is actually a pretty common practice—and one that’s fairly smart on the side of any publisher’s sales team. 

When I worked in acquisitions for both fiction and nonfiction, there were several occasions when a book I was advocating was put on hold so that members of my sales team could call a few key bookstore buyers to get their opinions. If the buyer at Sam’s Club said she’d likely stock the book, that was a good thing. If a buyer at one of the national chains—say Barnes & Noble or Lifeway—said he couldn’t see my book on their store’s shelves, well, that was pretty difficult to overcome in the next publishing board meeting. 

The reason for this is simple: Money. (Surprised?) 

According to a 2009 report from the Association of American Publishers, “Trade Books” (hardcover and softcover adult and juvenile books that are best suited for sales through bookstore channels) are the number 1 moneymakers in this industry, accounting for more than $8 billion in net annual sales. This becomes even more significant when you consider that, over the past decade, bookstores have been closing at an alarming pace. In 2000, there were 2,794 bookstore members of the American Bookseller’s Association. In 2010, that number had shrunk by almost half, to 1410. “Big publishers are primarily interested in ‘bookstore books,’” says industry veteran, Robert Bly. And he’s right. If your new book doesn’t demand a place on bookstore shelves, chances are good it won’t be published at all.

What You Can Do About It

1. Visit a few bookstores to see what’s getting the prime shelf space. 

“Know your enemy,” as they say. Shelf space is definitely limited in the typical bookstore, and that makes it valuable. Yet hundreds of books are still prominently displayed in just about any place that sells books. So your mission, should you decide to accept it, is to find out why those books got the prime spots at Barnes & Noble or Books-a-Million or your local independent bookstore.

Visit three or four stores. Try to mix your visits between national chain stores and independent (sole owner) stores. You might even pop into Sam’s Club or Target and see what’s going on there. Then make a list of all the qualities you notice about the highlighted books on each store’s shelves, and look for identifiable trends across all bookstores—these are obviously elements that appeal to book buyers at these stores. 

When you’re done, figure out how to position your book so it fits into some of those identified trends. Then when my Sales VP asks a book buyer for an opinion about your book, the answer she’ll get will be, “Sure we’ll stock it—it fits right in with what we’re doing at our store!”

2. Use BISAC categories to help make your work bookstore-friendly. 

Don’t ask me what BISAC stands for—I don’t know and I don’t care. But the BISAC Subject Headings List is the bookstore industry standard for categorizing books. Created by the Book Industry Study Group, Inc., it’s a complicated, detailed, subject-tree style list that—despite its complexities—is actually fairly easy to use. Every publisher looks to the BISAC list when labeling the category for a book, because just about every bookstore in America organizes its shelves based on the categories here. 

When you’re getting ready to write up a proposal for your book, go ahead and browse the BISAC Subject Headings List until you find a strong category that fits your book. Then be sure to identify your book as part of that exact category in the materials you send to the publisher. If they’re already having trade sales success in that category, they’ll be glad to know yours fits in.

Here’s the web address for the BISAC Subject Headings List at the time this was published):

https://bisg.org/page/BISACEdition

3. Emphasize significant non-trade sales options for your book.

The truth is, many books make their money outside of trade bookstore sales—through direct-to-consumer efforts, or in professional association channels, and so on. In fact, a book that must rely solely on trade sales is probably going to struggle anyway. 

So, in your book’s proposal, temper the need for significant sales in the bookstore channels by emphasizing the non-trade channels where you think your book will have success. (See Reason #67 for more on this.)

Looking for more? Check out these links:

• Mikey Can’t Sleep blog
• Mikey Timeline
• Fan-Favorite Books
• Mikey on Amazon

A Sales Team reason for rejection

Here’s an acronym that’s often quoted in bookstores and publishing board meetings: SMOWS 

That stands for “Sell More Of What’s Selling,” and it’s more than simply a mantra. It’s an ingrained business strategy that dictates decisions across the board from my Sales VP to my Publisher to the bookstores that stock and sell your next book. It’s the reason why one successful book on low-fat cooking suddenly produces a glut of low-fat cookbooks in the marketplace, or why a single successful TV series on forensic pathology suddenly multiplies into a dozen shows about people who spend their lives squirming through blood and body fluids to solve crimes.

And SMOWS is why, before your book will pass my publishing board, someone on my sales team will always ask me, “What’s this book like in the marketplace?”

This is a tricky question, of course, because what my sales guy is really asking is, “Can I sell more of what’s selling with this book?” It’s a real, tangible expression of an emotion that psychologists call “loss aversion.” That is, it’s a deep-seated desire on the part of my sales team to “avoid any option associated with loss” by instead making sure the books they approve (yours included) are somehow associated with success. In publishing, that means being like a bestseller. Still, if you or I make the mistake of answering that question in a way that makes it seem like we’re simply copycatting an existing bestseller, that most often spells doom (see Reason #27). 

So to avoid rejection in publishing board, our job (i.e. your job in your proposal) is to show the sales team that a) your book is completely unique, and b) your unique book will attract an enormous audience that’s already made another book a huge bestseller.

What You Can Do About It

1. Study your industry’s bestsellers. 

First, find out which bestseller lists are important in your chosen industry. 

For instance, the most successful trade books (both nonfiction and fiction) are gauged against one of the major national bestseller lists such as The New York Times, or USA Today, or Wall Street Journal. Specific fiction categories (such as mystery or historical) may benefit from a Barnes & Noble or Amazon.com list. Religious bestsellers are an industry to themselves, and they show up on either the ECPA (Evangelical Christian Publishers Association) list. Children’s books bestsellers that show up on a list from Publisher’s Weekly carry weight. Industry specific lists (for example, for textbooks, or business books, etc.) are also out there, as well as regional lists (Los Angeles, for instance, or southern states).

The point is, find out which bestseller lists will be important and comparative when it comes time for the sales people at my publishing house to consider your book. Then make sure yours compares favorably to the books on that list.

2. Choose carefully what you identify in your proposal as your book’s competition.

As we discussed in Reasons 45-47, the market summary and competitive analysis you provide for your book is critical to your book’s success during a publishing board discussion. So why not slant that section to favor you and your book? When choosing books for comparative discussion, go ahead and include one or two that are bestsellers on an appropriate list, and play up how your book will attract readers of that book in significant ways. After all, we are known by the quality of our enemies, right?

3. Find a comparative bestseller somewhere—even if it’s not a book.

Monopoly has been a bestselling family game for decades. Does your book deliver an experience for families that’s similar to the appeal of a game of Monopoly? Then heck yeah, you’d better talk about that in your proposal. How about a blockbuster movie? Does your novel deliver to readers an appeal similar to their insatiable hunger for James Cameron’s Avatar? Well, that’s interesting—and my Sales VP should know about that as well.

The point is, don’t let your book be considered in a void. Find something that has significant sales history—even if it’s not a book—and find a way to favorably compare your book to that thing. It could be enough to help my sales team forget to check for other comparable, yet elusive, books on an industry bestseller chart.

Looking for more? Check out these links:

• Mikey Can’t Sleep blog
• Mikey Timeline
• Fan-Favorite Books
• Mikey on Amazon