When Big Book Deals Go Wrong, It's the Author Who Pays

The Inspiration Behind My Novel "The Pitch Queen"

Writers are dreamers.

We dream up stories and sometimes when we finish them, we submit them to our dream agents who we hope will get us a dream deal. If we’re really dreaming big, we might imagine a six or even a seven-figure book deal.

That was once my dream, and I used to study major and significant deals (more than $250,000) listed in Publishers Marketplace, wondering what they all had in common.

I limited my research to debut authors and finally noticed something surprising. Out of approximately three-hundred deals,  I only recognized about a dozen names.

I researched about half of those authors and found something even more surprising:

Only a few had written a follow-up novel. If they wrote a sophomore novel, it was often years after their debuts.

In other words, authors who received big splashy deals often disappeared into literary oblivion.

Why?  Digging some more, I concluded many fell off the writing map because their debut novel didn’t meet sales expectations.

If you’re paid $500,000 or more for your debut, and that debut sells only 15,000 copies or less, you’re probably not going to get another book deal or if you do, the advance will be paltry.

Kate Dwyer

write in a recent Esquire article, “The agent at the talent firm describes a ‘one strike and you’re out’ mentality, with some authors getting dropped by their agents if their debut doesn’t sell well. With second novels, the agent explains, those writers are “starting at square one but worse,” because “they’re back to querying and they have the burden of a bad sales track.”

Bottom line? When a book fails, the author pays the biggest price.

If editors continually back losing books, they might get fired, but certainly not after one goof.

The publisher might take a bit of a bath, but the failed novel will barely make a blip on their bottom line.  Even if a book tanks, they make decent money on good pre-orders and selling sub rights.

As for the agent?  She or he will continue to thrive as if nothing happened.

That’s why I was inspired to write The Pitch Queen. Here’s a short description.

An ambitious literary agent who is determined to be the biggest seller of debut novels leaves New York to sell her late mother’s Georgia beach cottage and falls in love with an idealist antiquarian bookseller who is unaware of her careless attitude toward her authors.

Literary agents can make an author’s wildest dreams come true with an amazing deal, but what happens when that dream ends the author’s career?

I studied dozens of high-ticket, flashy debut novels and many of them have very low ratings from readers. It happens often enough that one wonders if the books were sold on hype fumes alone.

What goes on in an agent’s head when he or she shops a manuscript with a great pitch but a weak execution? Do they hope the editor will fix it? Or that there will be enough pre-orders to make it a bestseller before it hits the bookshelves?

Or do they simply try not to think about it too much?

It’s a ticklish and morally complex situation, one I was eager to explore in a novel.

I also wanted to examine the writer/literary agent relationship.  When it comes to the balance of power, it’s very much weighted against the writer.

Full disclosure: I’ve had five literary agents over the course of my career, all with different business styles.

Obviously, I bring my own prejudices to the table but, in writing this novel, I had to let go of those.

That’s so important because the most interesting novels are arguments, and all sides must be presented fairly. Every character should be the hero in their own story.

That said, I should point out that there are certain agents who will never find themselves in my main character’s situation.

 You’ll meet an agent like that in The Pitch Queen, a true dream agent—one who truly cares about writers and knows how to draw out their magic.

 She tells her clients what they need to hear (even when the truth is unpleasant) and challenges them to be the best writers they can be.

I loved telling that part of the story. Also, in my 20 year plus career as an author, I’ve met many, many authors and the ones with longevity usually have a great agent on their side.

But, ultimately, writers must look after their own careers. As the supportive agent in The Pitch Queen says:

“Pick yourself first. When you know your own worth, others can’t help but recognize it. Instead of being the beggar at the table, you’ll sit at the head.”

Also never forget, without writers’ dreams, there would be no books to sell.

Here’s some advance Netgalley praise:

"A satirical gem that takes a playful jab at the publishing world."

"A witty, insightful read that’s a must for anyone who loves books about the book business."

"This book is fantastic! Exactly what I needed to read today!"

"100% recommend this book to anyone who loves a good personal growth journey. Fans of Emily Henry will love this book!"

"I loved this book. The storytelling is great as is character development."

"I flew through this book in no time and found myself a new author."