I have a subscription to Publisher’s Marketplace. http://www.publishersmarketplace.com/ If you are a writer, you should invest the $’s in the site . It offers up a wealth of information about the latest deals in the publishing world as well as a history of deals made by on agents, editors, publishing houses, the latest news in the pub biz, and much more. But it can be torture knowing so much and here’s why.
I get daily emails – one from Publisher’s Marketplace – and another called Publishers Lunch Deluxe. The one from Publisher’s Marketplace lists details on the most recent books sales – what agent sold what book to what publisher and sometimes there is a statement like, “to such and such” (editor) at such and such (publishing house) in a “very nice deal) The range for very nice deal = $50,000-$99,000 USD . They have a glossary that explains the categories for the $’s offered – and books can go for anything between a “nice deal” on up to a “major deal.” We (we = not yet published writers) all dream of the “significant deal” or the “major deal.”
But I digress. Sometimes I’ll see a sale for a book that I believe to be similar to mine. Like recently, I saw the sale of a debut book that was about a young girl, and the story was set in the South. It went for a “significant deal.” (that’s in the $251,000-$499,000 range – OMG) Now, what made this even more interesting to me aside from the fact it appeared to be a coming of age story like mine, was…it sold to one of the editors who also has my manuscript. WTF I said out loud, and one of my dogs gave me a dirty look, and left the room. I don’t blame her.
So what did I do? First I sat back and thought, while toning down my internal dialogue, “well SHOOT, what does this mean for my book?” Then, I quickly Googled the author’s name searching to see if she had a blog. And she did. And did she write about her sale? She did. (I mean really – of COURSE! I would! – will??)
As I read her words, I’ll admit to having mixed feelings. On the one hand I was quite happy to see, yet another unpublished writer, make her way into a successful publishing career. You go girl! On the other hand, I was feeling a bit envious. Why couldn’t it have been my book? When I told my husband, he simply looked at me and said, “why do you subscribe to that site? (Publisher’s Marketplace) Aren’t you just torturing yourself?” It made me sort of laugh, because I suppose in a way it is a bit like torture.
But, since I signed up, what I’ve learned is that every day there are many deals, and that the publisher’s are still willing to spend the money on untested, debut authors. And having this knowledge shouldn’t make “us” sad, mad or jealous, it should only serve to give the rest of us hope. And I’m all about having hope.
