Wiscon 29 Con Report

Continuing from the previous installment...

In this entry I'll be including my notes from a panel I attended on the Sunday, along with the usual con observations. These notes weren't scribbled down verbatim (I can't write that fast), so much of this will be paraphrased and no doubt contain an error or three. Hopefully you'll get the gist, anyway :)

Day Three - Sunday, May 29 (Part One)
After partaking of the breakfast buffet in the hotel bar, we headed off to our first panel of this year's Wiscon. Previously we'd been going to the readings, so it was time to break out the Moleskine and get scribbling!

-----<>-----

Our first panel was entitled "The Business of Publishing." The panelists were Shana Cohen (agent), Jack Byrne (agent), James F. Minz (Editor at Del Rey), and James Frenkel (Sr. Editor at Tor).

JFM began outlining a summary of the overall publishing process. It all starts with an agent (for the purposes of this discussion, that is). One of the panelists made the analogy of the process of looking for an agent akin to "serious dating looking for a life partner." From there, the manuscript is sent to a prospective publisher, whereupon contract negotiations begin (assuming the publisher was interested). The book then goes through the production process which involves the editor making improvements, then on to copy editing (checking for typos, consistency, etc), followed by typesetting, and a proof. The publishing schedule is normally set 12 months in advance.

JF mentioned the fastest turnaround time he'd ever done was on a non-fiction book: an astounding 2.5 weeks! This was in the days before FedEx and before typesetting by computer. This book had a large print-run, too. He turned around a Canadian edition in a further 1.5 weeks. The panelists pointed out that this rapid turnaround is well outside the norm.

SC talked about the role of an agent being that of author's advocate, finding editors, getting the best deal, nagging and so forth. JF said that a decent agent has clout by virtue of the other writers they represent. JFM said agents bring credibility to the table.

JF mentioned using the credibility of the publishing house to buy books from a well-known author. This author's agent conceded and let them see the book, after JF mentioned other authors his company published. When he came in, bidding had already begun, and they ultimately obtained the US rights, selling the British rights not long after for more than was paid for the original rights.

JFM talked about subsidiary rights, including other markets, other languages, mediums, etc. JB said that a good agent should hang onto as many rights as possible for their client. JF noted that the evolution of e-rights (e-books, and so on) could be seen by looking at contracts over the past few years. JFM talked about how Peanut Press approached Tor 7 years ago, and the latter started subrights licensing. The panelists mentioned how (at the time?) distribution deals of e-texts are (were?) the norm, rather than licensing.

SC talked about how agents are on the look-out for clients. Some of the ways an agent may connect with a client include attending cons, through aquantainces who know someone in a writing group, and so on. The agent must ask "is this for me?" when going through the slush; they must be selective. They want to work with an author for not just 1 book, but for the duration of the author's career. Some agents also do some editorial work with the author to whip their manuscript into shape. She mentioned having 4-5 SF/F clients and many mystery clients. Her agency has about 50-75 clients, with her share being 15 or so. JB mentioned he also specializes in SF/F and mystery clients.

A question was asked about bad agents. JF said that a bad agent is no better than no agent at all. An editor looks for the credibility of an agent, and said that a bad agent may be ignored if their offerings are known to be no better than what is in the publisher's slush-pile. Money flowing to the author was discussed. There is no reason to give money to someone to get your book published! If you come across this, run, report to the BBB, websites, etc. An agent doesn't usually get anything up-front. SC mentioned a good site to reference is aaa-online.org, and JFM said sfwa.org was a good place for info on publishing, editors, known scams, etc.

When asked about short stories, JF said no agent was necessary in SF/F for short stories. He recommends magazines over anthology publications, since the magazines are published more regularly. Locus (trade publication) is a good source of information (I agree!).

JFM talked about visiting agency websites to see who they represent; they should be up-front about this. Gave the example of a writers group thinking you write like Nancy Kress--contacting her agent might be a good way to go.

JF mentioned how an editor is an advocate for the publisher, and gave examples of pitfalls an editor could face. He also talked about sales being pushed beyond the ability of the public to absorb them, leading to a high number of book returns which the booksellers' computers show. This can count against future books from a particular author.

JB talked about being an agent. Agents rarely charge up-front, but may take a portion (in addition to their percentage) for expenses, such as photocopies, postage, etc after the book earns.

An audience member asked what to look for in an agent. JFM said relationships with NY editors, have they worked in publishing before, do they have connections. They must be up-front about who they represent. An agent is most commonly apprenticed under an agency before they branch out on their own. JF said there are exceptions, though. JB said you want an agent who is excited about your work. He has turned down well-written stuff because it didn't completely interest him. An audience member asked about multi-book deals, to which the panelists responded that such things tend to vary.

JF gave some excellent advice: get your short stories published first! This builds name recognition and can get your foot in the door when it comes to novels. JFM mentioned the essential writer's market resource, ralan.com, which he highly recommends.

SC said that just because a second book might not be finished doesn't mean you couldn't still get a 2-book deal. Having the first done is sometimes enough. JF said it is a terrible mistake to write a book and wait until it sells before writing the next one. He gave the example of C.J. Cherryh writing 14 novels before getting one published.

JB gave an anecdote about a person who didn't know much about the business who had to cut a novel down to size, and they already did. This resulted in a 2 book deal! Luck sometimes plays a part apparently.

An audience member asked about simultaneous submissions to agents. JB said he has no problem with simultaneous queries, and typically has a fast response time. SC says she has no problem with those either--just ask!

Another question was asked about distribution and returns. JF said publishers, like other businesses, do profit and loss projections. They might figure on 35% returns, and crunch the numbers accordingly. They might figure on 70% returns on mass market paperbacks (which go to supermarkets, Target, Wal-Mart, etc), which means 7/10 will have their covers stripped and the book returned. They might figure, say, 45% returns for retail markets. JFM mentioned better distribution for SF/F with retail, since returns tend to be lower.

Book milestones was another audience query. The panelists talked about the process, advances and what that means. JF said the publisher doesn't get any money back until the book is selling, unless they can sell subsidiary rights (but that takes time). JFM talked about the process of layout, copyediting, author checking, typesetting and so forth, taking anywhere from 6 weeks to 2 months, but one year is scheduled. Eliminating room for error would be 7-8 months for the end-to-end process, but the year-long window is needed to take difficulties into account. Publishing is a glacial process.

JF said lead times for magazines are quicker. JFM said typos are greatly reduced with the move to an electronic process, since someone used to have to key-in manuscripts. JF mentioned only having a single author who still uses a typewriter.

Covers and cover copy were discussed. JFM said B&N and others like to see covers well in advance. Often cover copy is prepared 12 months in advance! JB said that while all this is going on, the agent could be shopping around subsidiary rights. JFM said the final book is normally done about a month before publication. Someone asked about how covers were determined, to which JF said that major publishers have art departments to handle covers, while smaller publishers might not. JFM mentioned Royo (well-known SF/F artist) only speaking Spanish, yet he is usually dead-on with the details of translated scene descriptions he is provided with.

Also on covers, an interesting fact: the cover is primarily a marketing tool, rather than just being artwork. It is the #1 sell piece! JF said the cover is one of the publisher's best marketing and sales tools. JFM said that a poll revealed 50% of a book's sales might result from its cover. The author is sometimes consulted on the cover, but rarely has the final say.

The subject of book titles came up. JF said they change all the time, giving the example of some ordinary/bland titles being changed before publication. e.g. 'Carbuncle' became 'The Snow Queen,' and Vernor Vinge's classic 'A Fire Upon the Deep' had a similarly bland title before it was changed. JFM said a catchy title can help sell a book, but this typically has more effect with non-fiction.

A question came up about using the ARC as a sales tool. JF/JFM talked about asking small presses about sending things out and how they handle that. The ARC is slightly fancier than a bound galley. There was another question about manuscript length limits, to which JB responded that he'd let the author know if he thinks a book is too long; maybe suggest cutting some fat! JFM/JF said price-point was a factor here, which could change when the book is a paperback. They gave the example of John C. Wright's book being split into three, due to its length. JF said it's hard to sell a novel < 60k words, unless perhaps it is a YA book. JFM said the length depends on the type of book.

The panel wrapped up after a final question from the audience regarding agents charging for expenses (see above).

This panel was as interesting and informative as I'd hoped, and the panelists clearly knew their stuff. After the panel we went to the hotel bar for lunch. Unfortunately lunch took awhile to arrive, and I had a reading I really wanted to go to! Carrie stayed behind to finish her lunch, and got mine put in a doggy bag for later. I made the reading in the nick of time!

-----<>-----

I was very much looking forward to the Sunday afternoon reading entitled "Magical and Monstrous YAs," since many of the Journalscapers whose journals I follow were doing readings there! The readers were Tim Pratt, Heather Shaw, Jenn Reese, and Greg van Eekhout. Amazingly, they recognized me by my name-tag. How about that :)

Up first was Greg, with an extract from his YA novel (a kung fu story). This was just as amusing as his short stories and journal entries, and I hope to see the book get picked up by a publisher soon. Jenn was up next, with her first reading ever! She read a story with a villain's point of view which she wrote for the "Rotten Relations" anthology. This story was a "Grendel's-eye view," which was highly entertaining. I reckon I would've gotten more out of it had I been familiar with the epic, Beowulf, in which the starring villain appears.

Heather read the second chapter from her recently finished YA novel, titled "Sienna's Summer." This was apparently a rough draft, but a damn good one just the same. The chapter centred around a girl and her witch grandmother, and was read with great expression and enthusiasm. Rounding out the pack with a monstrous tale was Tim with a story he wrote the previous Thursday, entitled "The Frozen One." This was an evocative piece, and one that I hope will appear in print sometime soon.

Is it just me, or was the quality of readings at Wiscon exceptionally good this year?

-----<>-----

I think I'll wrap up this entry right here! I'll be splitting the rest of Sunday's festivities into a separate entry which should be ready by week's end. I would've finished the con report in its entirety by now if this past weekend wasn't so jam-packed--but that's a subject for a journal entry all its own!

While you wait for the next installment, why not check out what others are saying about wiscon.