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Shopping Your Book Proposal

Publishing and Business

Last week I received a message via LinkedIn from someone who had just finished a book proposal and wanted to have me consider it.  The description looked interesting so I suggested we connect via email and set up a time to talk.

In the meantime, I see the same book on the agenda for the next meeting from another editor here in the building.  Ironically the book aimed to teach business readers the importance of being “open” and “transparent” in the Web 2.0 Age.  Since the editor had prepared a very nicely done presentation for the book, it was obvious that they had been working on it with the author for quite some time.

Now don’t misread me – I think it is absolutely fine to shop your book proposal around.  This is a very competitive industry, and you absolutely should be sure you are partnering with the right publisher for you.   But if you know you are sending your proposal to multiple editors at the same publishing house, be sure you let them know that.  We aren’t all going to publish it after all and frankly if several of us know we are looking at the same thing we can collaborate to be sure we place it in right group for maximum sales potential.

(Image credit: Mekong Virus)

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  • Thanks brother was very nice of page.
  • Michael A. Banks
    When I read "... the same book ..." my thoughts leaped ahead, thinking you would tell a story about two different authors submitting proposals for the same book. I've seen that happen (and disaster grow from it when editors mishandled the situation).

    But an author submitting the same proposal to different editors? Was he thinking different imprints didn't talk? Or was he impatient with the other editor? No matter what the reason, submitting to two editors within the same house when one of them editor is already developing the proposal ... worse than a bad idea.
    --Mike
  • Hi Chris,
    I think that shopping to multiple editors in the same company is actually despicable, if not unethical. I'm a published author (McGraw-Hill - sorry :-)) and I once introduced a potential corporate author to my editor at McGraw-Hill (buy back involved) with an EXPLICIT caveat that, if I did, there would be no shopping around until my editor made a decision. Needless to say, they promised and still shopped around and I cut them off at the knees, I was so upset. Luckily for me, it didn't hurt my reputation with my editor - but the company involved didn't get my attention for years to come - and part of my work is to analyze companies like that as an "influential" in my industry (CRM). How could I? I didn't trust them because they lied. I think that you're being quite kind and are obviously a good man - since the author shopping around also needs to think of the career of the editors too - you have things that are required of you - including titles - so as collegial as it may be - there are still internal measures that are individual that involve you as an editor. I hope the author is thinking about that when they make such poor decisions.

    Sorry to vent, but the lack of consideration gets to me.

    Best and good luck at Wiley

    Paul Greenberg
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