How many books die on submission?

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TODAY'S #ASKMEANYTHING :
00:32 - How many books die on submission?
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ABOUT ME:
My name is Alyssa Matesic, and I’m a professional book editor with nearly a decade of book publishing and editorial experience. Throughout my career, I’ve held editorial roles across both sides of the publishing industry: Big Five publishing houses and literary agencies. The goal of this channel is to help writers throughout the book writing journey-whether you're working on your manuscript or you're looking for publishing advice.
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2 июл 2024

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Комментарии : 37

@ghostchick5275 20 дней назад

New fear unlocked.

@TheEccentricRaven 20 дней назад

"Can you give examples of books that did not die on submission?" Mmmmmm, every book that's ever been published? *glances at bookshelves in living room"

@FreeTimeMastermind 17 дней назад

I've not personally met a published author that felt they got a fair deal for their book. Even established authors are now self-publishing. It isn't for everyone but spending months, or years, on something and never getting paid is an avoidable tragedy.

@AFringedGentian 20 дней назад

Oh this is such a fear of mine! I have been taking a break from the querying trenches for the past year and I just jumped back in, and the thought that after all this, my book could die on sub is so disheartening. Alyssa I know you’ve addressed this and I’m so sorry to ask, but I’ve been cramming on AuthorTube lately and can’t remember where I saw it. But I think you mentioned when we should mark a full manuscript request a CNR, or a closed/no response. I have a full out to an agent who has had my manuscript for over a year and has not responded to nudges. I know from Query Tracker that she’s open and accepting queries and requesting manuscripts. My thought is that agents are catching up on fulls over the summer lull in publishing and that I should continue to query and not give up hope, because I know she’s got her own book out on sub and she has kids and a very full list and is probably just behind on work like we all are. What would you advise? Thank you for everything you do for us!

@leenaronalds4155 19 дней назад

Both books submitted by my agent died on submission. Very hard to have faith in my agent after that. Realising he wasn't the best agent for me, and admitting as much to him, was the best thing I did. We just didn't share the same vision.

@jimgilbert9984 20 дней назад

Oh, goody! Another thing to worry about in trying to get published in the traditional manner. 😓

@stebbigunn7690 18 дней назад

Don't worry about anything. Do as much work as you can, if you don't find an agent its always passable to self publish. Some of the best known books were self published at first before a publisher found them and decided to publish them.

@jimgilbert9984 18 дней назад

@@stebbigunn7690 Thank you. I didn't know publishers look at self-published books to possibly publish them. Interesting idea. Very interesting.

@rowan7929 20 дней назад

Dam. As if I not already struggle to get an agent in the first place, now I have to worry about this? Joy. This will be multiple questions. I'm considering writing a contemporary fantasy novel and would like to know if you need to get permission/rights to mention real life people (dead or alive) or products? if so, do you need to get permission or the agent can do it for you? This may be a stupid question but like to get clarification on it. Would it be considered enemies to lovers trope when both characters don't really see each other as enemies? Similar theme like in the movie "After the sunset". Only the woman would be a thief and the man as a cop. Only she would have a personal reason for her acts but doesn't want to share it directly to him.

@jasonsumma1530 19 дней назад

I wouldn't be too surprised the percentage of DOS (dead on submission) is rather low. I do wonder what the best time frame, like time of the year, is best for submitting a book. Based off of NaNoWriMo, I suspect probably earliest be April and end time October.

@veritasaequitas9277 20 дней назад

Great video - thanks! Question: Do you think that self-publishing a novel -- assuming it doesn't perform well, sales-wise -- could affect how an agent/publisher might see your next book? In other words, would an agent or publishing house be LESS likely to get excited about a manuscript if your previous novel was a self-published dud?

@AFringedGentian 19 дней назад

@@veritasaequitas9277 I don’t think so! I think they will be excited by your current project based on its own merit! Although most of the Query Manager forms I’ve seen do ask if you have previously published a book and if so how many copies are sold. Agents will know that self publish s authors don’t have access to the marketing resources that drive sales. I’d give the agents a chance to fall in love with your project!

@veritasaequitas9277 19 дней назад

@@AFringedGentian thanks for that perspective 🙏

@Douglas-dr8ke 14 дней назад

Do most literary agents submit to the Big 5 Publishing Houses or do you have to target specific literary agents?

@davidrawkins1851 17 дней назад

A question that I have been mulling over for a long time is this. In the book I am focusing on at the moment, I have mentioned some places that would not exist in the real world. So, all my place names are fictitious, but my dialogue contains a few Spanish sentences. Can I combine these two things, or would it be better to keep things simple and stick to real place names?

@envernigmatouline3316 19 дней назад

This is why I'm spreading the risk with multiple books, because I am not sure which one will win out.

@Lorna-JWB 19 дней назад

For AAA WEDNESDAY July 10th. Hi Alyssa. I have a question about agents. Do you sign a contract with your agent for a specific amount of time? If you leave-let’s say 2 agents, will that sort of “mark” you in the agent community?

@moconnorwrites 16 дней назад

Not Alyssa, but happy to answer what I know! For my contract, it is not for a specific period of time, and I have never heard of contracts like this (not saying it's not possible though!). Every agent is different, but sometimes, if an agent can't help you sell by your third book, you may part ways. Sometimes it's less than that, after say one or two books. But this isn't written into the contract, more like a discussion the author and agent have. I don't think there is any sort of mark against authors for leaving one agent and finding another. It's very common to go through multiple agents over an author's career for one reason or another. Hope that helps!

@Lorna-JWB 16 дней назад

@@moconnorwrites Hi “not Alyssa”. An agent who wanted to take me on had a term of agreement of 18 months (to secure a deal) and another term limit in the event the deal was secured. I wanted to know what the norm was or what my expectation should based on industry standards, and I was asking Alyssa about the former, because that seemed to be a little longer than I might have hoped for, but I would like to give Alyssa-who has been on publication end of the book industry-the chance to answer questions for her AAA Wednesday. I think many do comment (or “opinionate” as my grandmother use to say) on here AFTER she answers on AAA Wednesday. Congratulations on securing an agent, and I wish you well in your publishing efforts.

@Shuamonrol 2 дня назад

How to find a literary agent in us for someone who is based in Asia

@spookybooscarystorytime 20 дней назад

I’m trying to find examples of books that are in the 80K word count range that involve a timeline from when the main characters are young to adulthood and how that is transitioned in the book. Too many pieces of the backstory that shape the main character and climax happen to approach it in flashbacks. The hardest part I guess is the beginning chapters because they’re young and with the exception of the things that happen that shape how they are today, I don’t think anyone wants to read the other fluff. Wait that just gave me some ideas here…. lol thanks for listening. 😅 wow this cool.

@Fuliginosus 20 дней назад

As a reader, I often find childhood stuff the most interesting.

@spookybooscarystorytime 20 дней назад

@@Fuliginosus It is where most of the traumatic things happen in life that shape our futures. The hardest part is writing it in a way that doesn't turn the reader off.

@TheEccentricRaven 20 дней назад

There's lots of books out there where the main character has flashbacks to their childhood/youth and how it shapes them. If your main focus is the character as an adult, the reader might feel they are not getting the story they expected if it starts with a teenage protagonist and then a couple chapters later the protagonist is an adult. It sounds like you might be struggling with info dumping. Flashbacks are fine, but excessive flashbacks can annoy the reader (as I know many readers who just want the plot to progress). To make a solid beginning of your story, the best measure is to make it clear what the protagonist wants, what they believe will bring them happiness, what obstacles they plan overcome to get there, and what they need that they discover over the course of the story. One thing that I'm learning in my own writing process is some things you think the reader "needs" to know, the reader doesn't actually need to know. I like to use Shannon Hale's Austenland as the perfect example of a story that shares flashbacks that show how the main character was shaped while not being excessive. If you haven't already, I recommend reading Jessica Brody's Save the Cat writes a noveland the examples of novels she provides.

@spookybooscarystorytime 20 дней назад

@@TheEccentricRaven It's the flashbacks that I want to avoid. I began writing the story as just a 20K word novella and as it was it was fine with a flashback or info dump here or there but as the plot thickened, the info dumps became too much. So now I'm working in those info dumps as a part 1 story of adolesence between two friends and how their tragedies shaped their future tragedies and how they handled them. It's a dark fantasy gothic horror novel so there will be tragedy. Everything the reader needs to know in adolescence is correlated directly to future events and the plot twists. I will take a look at your suggestions. Thank you for the info!

@TheEccentricRaven 19 дней назад

@spookybooscarystorytime You're welcome! Looks like you're on the right path to figuring out what works. My story is somewhat similar in that scenario as it is YA with a sixteen year old protagonist, but the first chapter is him at age eight. The first chapter is significant with set up and presenting the background that affects his decisions. I limit to only the first chapter. Then the rest is the main character at age 16. So I'm just working to keep it short but sweet. Good luck to you 👍

@Lauratrenzas673 18 дней назад

Hay un libro que nunca muere con el paso del tiempo, es como el vino, con el tiempo se hace mejor calidad

@stephanieandrews2561 17 дней назад

Hi Alyssa, I have a question! Is it impossible for a first-time author to get an agent or book deal on a series? How common/uncommon is it in your experience

@moconnorwrites 16 дней назад

In case Alyssa doesn't answer this, I can add some perspective! In my debut group (those who are coming out with their first books in 2025), there are many authors who are coming out with their first book in a planned series. Many of their publishers are doing a "wait and see" method, where they want to see how the first book does before deciding to come out with another (which means that author will need to tie up enough of the story that if the next book doesn't sell, it's fine as a stand alone). Others have gotten multi-book deals! I think the former is more likely though. Hope that helps :)

@stephanieandrews2561 16 дней назад

@@moconnorwrites thank you so much for this!! Definitely reassuring to know going forward. I’ll definitely keep it in mind as I work my manuscript. And best wishes for your debut!!

@spookybooscarystorytime 19 дней назад

I think if mine died on submission I'd self publish it under a different name to get it out of my system and then work on something else.