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Advice to Authors: Give Acquisition Editors What They Want

Written by: Cheryl Kaye Tardif

Article Overview: Authors: Ever wonder what acquisition editors at book publishing houses are looking for? Want the "inside scoop"? Here's some advice for authors from a 25-year publishing veteran--Jerry D. Simmons.

Advice to Authors: Give Acquisition Editors What They Want

I came across some notes I took at a writers’ conference last year, where former Warner Books Vice President of Sales and book marketing expert (and a good friend of mine) Jerry D. Simmons spoke about publishing and what acquisition editors are looking for.

First, Jerry gave us a brief summary of the publishing world. He said, “There are 6 major New York publishers; 5 are foreign owned, with Simon Schuster being the only US owned company.”

He also said that it was important for authors to understand the overall picture. “Approximately 90% of the revenue comes from 10% or less of the actual titles they publish.” This is why that top 10% usually receives far more promotion and buzz than the other 90%, which are fillers to keep bookstore shelves stocked.

Because of the reality of the book publishing industry, acquisition editors―the people who make the decisions on which books to publish―“are aggressively looking for marketable books.” You may be surprised to know that these editors often search for author web sites and blogs.

Acquisition editors are looking for books that fulfill 3 important criteria:
1. Books must be informative, whether fiction or nonfiction
2. They must also be entertaining
3. And they must enlighten the reader in some way

Once an editor is interested in a manuscript, he or she must then decide:
1. Can we increase distribution? (Is this book worth the risk?)
2. Is the timing right for this book? (When the book comes out will it still be an appealing topic?)
3. Can we promote the author? (Does the author already work hard to promote? Is he or she an asset?)

“Once a book is published, it has about 6-12 weeks to show some sales movement.” Of course the more, the better. “The author absolutely must be part of the marketing endeavor.” Everyone must work consistently at promoting the book online and offline.

Above all, if you’re an author who is trying to get his or her foot in the door of one of the big publishing houses, you must “learn to separate yourself from everyone else…and learn your market.”

I found Jerry’s candid observations to be very enlightening. He knows the ins and outs of the book publishing world and I happen to be one author whom likes to know as much as possible about the industry that I am extremely honored to be a small part of. If you’re an author looking for marketing tips, I highly recommend you sign up for Jerry’s newsletter.

Jerry D. Simmons is a 25-year veteran of New York publishing, working for Random House and the former Time Warner Book Group. He has worked with hundreds of New York Times bestselling authors and thousands of bestselling books. During his career he created hundreds of millions of dollars of sales. His book is titled What Writers Need to Know About Publishing.

©2008 Cheryl Kaye Tardif

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Article Tags: acquisition, author web, book marketing, book publishing, bookstore shelves, brief summary, buzz, editors, endeavor, good friend, manuscript, nonfiction, publishing houses, risk 2, simmons, simon schuster, vice president, warner books, writers conference, york publishers



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