What Authors Can (and Can't) Control in Traditional Publishing
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Views from the Midlist is our ongoing new series of articles from award-winning and bestselling author Chris Humphreys. Chris has published eighteen books over his two decade career, with such illustrious houses as Doubleday, Knopf and Orion. But the fact is that traditional publishing just isn’t what it used to be – even for the midlisters who have found success within the system. Views from the Midlist is a monthly feature in which Chris pulls the curtain back on his experiences in traditional publishing, his adventures in indie publishing, and the craft of writing.
It is one of the biggest existential questions I wrestle with in my daily life: what can I control? Given my genetic makeup, my upbringing, my education, the influence of relatives and teachers, and every choice I have made that precluded every other choice, do I actually control anything?
I know you’re not here to read my philosophical maunderings, but in publishing, it’s important to go in knowing what you can control and what you can’t. When you hold that finished book in your hands, just how much of it was really up to you?
Today, I am going to look at five different elements of the traditional publishing process and examine each for the power of an author’s influence. Though I will state this at the beginning: the people I have dealt with at the big houses, from the CEOs through each editor down to the publicist, have been unfailingly smart, caring, and knowledgeable folk. They have always wanted the best for my book. Where control comes in is the disagreements we might have over what we feel is “best.”
Do authors have creative control over the story itself and the words on the page?
I think this is what causes some confusion for new writers who may have signed their first deal: how much of my vision and my actual writing will I have to change?
The key words here are “have to.” You won’t “have to” change anything. There’s nothing in any contract that dictates you shall slavishly make changes at the editor’s behest. By the time you’ve signed the contract, you will have gone through a series of discussions about what the book is, what story you are telling, and the style in which you are telling it. The editor knows what they have bought.
As I have discussed in another post, the editor is your ideal reader. They are trying to help you tell the story you want to tell. They are there to help you clarify your vision and — this is the key — not impose their own. (Summed up in a wonderful old English expression: you don’t buy a dog and bark yourself!) Sometimes a new writer, uncertain of their talents, feels that every editorial note is a command. It is not. It is advice you’d be wise to listen to. Or a writer will get overly protective of their “baby” and fight every suggestion. Again, resist this reaction. I knew of a young author who fought our shared (and super smart) editor on every single note. Every line. The editor conceded but knew that the book was not “clear” or nearly as good as it could have been. So you can guess how much effort he put into its marketing and promotion. He did his job, but you want an editor to be your cheerleader both within the house (it’s vital to get a buzz for your book “in-house”) and outside it. Hard to be that when he doesn’t believe in it.
So creative control? Yes. It’s your dog. But bark wisely if you want to be heard.
How much creative control do authors have over the design of their traditionally published book?
You have none. There, I’ve said it. This is the publisher’s turf and they have departments dedicated to making sure your design is the best — the most attractive, the most eye-catching — that it can be.
That said, where in content the editor has influence but no ultimate control, here it is the reverse: the author can influence design. It’s that dog again, right? No one knows your book better than you. No one understands the themes that are expressed within it better than you. How to express them, especially how to make them visual, is not a skill most authors have. But you are able to say: Look, I think the book is this. And the sensible editor and designer will heed you.
I could give you so many examples of when I influenced the cover. I would say probably every single one. But I was always in the position of the editor here. I didn’t offer the designer thoughts until they’d presented me with a concept. I then influenced that concept’s development.
Here is the cover of my latest traditionally published novel. The Coming of the Dark is Book Two of the Immortals’ Blood trilogy, in which Book One, Smoke in the Glass, set the tone. This was decided in-house as the best way to lure hard core fantasy readers, based on market research and comparison. You are trying to appeal to a certain type of reader. In this case it is probably a Game of Thrones reader.
The original cover of Smoke had a whirling globe filled with static electricity — and nothing else. I said it made it seem too sci-fi, not epic fantasy. We needed a figure. They agreed and came up with a man in a hood. I commented that a clear face was wrong, that the mystery at the heart of the book is a kind of living drug called Sirene (hard to explain in a sentence, you’ll just have to read it!) and that a reader should be lured in by a question (no face under a shroud) rather than a statement (a face). They agreed.
But a cover is not just about image — it’s also text. The title is vital. But the shout line (the callout line) is almost equally so. With Smoke, I agreed on my editor’s pick: Four Lands. Three Heroes. One War. Suitably epic. But for Book Two, when he wanted to repeat it, I said “Look, the true lure of this book, this series, is that it is about immortality. The pay off — and the cost.” So, I offered: Immortality has a price. And they agreed.
One last influence: a book is a journey that a reader undertakes. Once past the cover, you need to keep luring the reader deeper into your world. I asked for a map; I like them and feel they give a sense of reality to a world — plus they are useful for the reader to refer back to. The publisher agreed but grudgingly, developing a map almost entirely taken from my rough drawings. And I am no artist! I allowed it for the first book. But insisted on something better for the second. I had to source it, finding a wonderful fantasy artist (and writer) who also happens to work for FriesenPress: Astra Crompton.
Here’s one of the original maps — ugh!
And here’s Astra’s – Hooray! A reader starts a journey into a fully realized world.
Click to see the full map
Click to see the full map
Control in Design? No. Influence: Yes!
Can you control when and how long it takes for your book to be released?
This is very much up to the publisher. You’ll have negotiated your deadlines in the contract: delivery of first draft, delivery of final edits, etc. The publisher agrees to publish the book within a certain amount of time after final “acceptance” of the manuscript, i.e., after all the edits have been agreed upon. That usually takes twelve months.
But as to the actual publication date, the author has no control. This is decided by the marketing department, who will put you in the queue when they think you’ll sell the most copies. Your publication date will also be impacted by what else they are publishing. This is a problem because — unless you’re a frontlister like Stephen King or Margaret Atwood — they are not going to find a superb, clear date for your book to stand out. It will be slipped into the pack of publication, allowed to sink or swim.
Which of course brings me onto the biggie:
What can authors control about marketing and promotion at a traditional publishing house?
The biggie… and yet there is not much to say in terms of an author’s control except that you have none at a publishing house. Here’s the clause from my contract:
The Publishers shall decide and control all matters of production, design, publication and marketing. If specifically requested and where practical the Proprietor shall be consulted about the cover design and jacket copy but the final decision shall be the Publishers'.
About sums it up, doesn’t it? They decide how much they are going to spend marketing your book (usually very little) and no amount of whining can change that. I can — and do — nag my publicist. They will try to accommodate my requests, to get the book out to specific influencers, for example. But since they are also handling another 20 books released that week… well, you can see how much control you actually have.
Of course, this is where the biggest change has come with the advent of indie publishing and the importance of social media and web content. Authors are encouraged (required, really) to do their own promotion. Post on Facebook, Twitter, and other social media platforms. Organize their own launches. Seek press opportunities. Create and maintain a professional-grade website. Very different from the old days when as an author I was basically invited to a party to chat a bit about the book and drink warm Chardonnay.
So control in marketing: with the trad publisher, none. On your own: limited only by desire, time, and money.
Can authors control their publishing contracts and royalties earned?
Finally, there are two last aspects of control in traditional publishing that should be addressed.
Contracts? Well, hopefully you have an agent who will negotiate these. If you haven’t got one before, a deal with a trad publisher should land you one keen to take on a successful client. Their job is then to get you the best deal. The “best deal” may not be more money — indeed, advances have dropped a lot in the last few years. Rather it may be about terms, or the rights you retain. I always make sure I keep audio and film rights. Those I need to control to make more money down the road.
And royalties? Again, the rate is negotiated. A certain percentage per sold copy. But it is hideously complex, as the rate changes depending on how discounted the book is. Few books sell for list price these days. And you have to “earn out” your initial advance (meaning you must sell the number of books it takes for your publisher to recoup your advance) before you earn any future royalties at all! Again, best left to the agent.
So control, in contracts and royalties…pretty minimal.
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I realize there is a quite simple answer to the question “how much control does an author have in traditional publishing?” And that is: almost none. Certainly in terms of design, marketing, sales, and promotion. You can have influence and, as stated above, a wise editor will want to hear your opinions because it is your book.
The only place you do have control is in the actual writing. Not total. Like that young author I mentioned before, if you fight your editor on every comma and simile, you create ill will and your book will not go very far. But you do have the final say and the ability to make a reasoned argument for your choices and have that argument accepted. In my experience — 18 trad published novels — only once did I go toe to toe with an editor over a central idea. I won the argument… and she still published the novel beautifully.
Strangely, that novel is the very one I am now reissuing with FriesenPress: The Hunt of the Unicorn.
And I am still right!
