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2.
AOTW: What is the quickest sale you ever made?
Jane Dystel:
I recently sold a parody about George W. Bush, titled THE FIRST 100 DAYS, to Andrews
McMeel via a faxed proposal to about 15 editors. It took all of a morning.
Amy Berkower:
The quickest sale I ever made was for a picture book called SALT IN HIS SHOES by
Delores and Roslyn Jordan. I was charmed by an anecdote Mrs. Jordan tells about putting
salt in young Michael's shoes every night at bedtime so that he wouldn't worry about being
tall enough to excel at basketball. Acting upon a suggestion from one of my colleagues
that the story would make a great children's book, I called Rick Richter, then head of
Simon & Schuster's juvenile department and told him the story. Ten minutes later he
called back to offer a six figure advance.
Lisa Swayne:
Back in the mid-90s when Internet titles were beginning to heat up, I sold a book about
children and the Internet to HarperCollins in about 15 minutes.
Stuart Krichevsky:
People love to read about overnight deals, and certainly quick sale can be gratifying.
Last fall, not long after Nathaniel Philbrick won the National Book Award for IN THE HEART
OF THE SEA: THE TRAGEDY OF THE WHALESHIP ESSEX, which was a New York Times
bestseller for 20 weeks, we approached Viking with his new proposal. Within 24 hours we
had a deal at our asking price. In the past two years, the pace of sales has picked up
enormously, and whenever I submit a major project I know I’ll be hearing from editors
the next morning. There is such pressure to acquire list leaders, pre-emptive offers have
become the norm, and publishers feel they have to act immediately or the good ones will
get away. While this can (and often does) work to an agent’s advantage, I don’t
think it’s a healthy sign for the industry.
Naturally I’m not opposed to big advances, but many bad investments have been made in
haste, and nothing puts the damper on an author’s career more effectively than a book
that doesn’t meet expectations created in the heat of the acquisition. Also,
sometimes times the material is not perfect (or simply is not obvious in the kind of way
that is instantly recognized around the table) and could benefit from some in-house
developmental work before the sale. In those cases times an editor has to be patient
enough to recognize what’s good in the material, and has to proceed carefully to
build support in house. An editor who brings up something half baked, or without support
from colleagues, or at the wrong moment, might get shot down for reasons having little to
with the ultimate value of the book. So speed isn’t everything. It has nothing to do
with the ultimate success of a book, and sometimes it’s more important to slow the
process down, and help an editor to build his case.
Loretta Barrett:
I’ve never made a quick sale. There’s no such thing as a quick sale from my
viewpoint. I’ve had books that everyone wanted, and offers that came in fast and
furious, but negotiations have always stretched things out. As a matter of fact, sometimes
the quickest sales have had the most complications.
Linda Mead:
Nancy Ellis-Bell, another colleague of mine, sold WALKING WITH GIANTS based on a pitch
and the author's background. Usually a sale takes planning and a lot of time, but
sometimes, you just have to be ready for the opportunity.
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