Why do I work with so many publishers?
Plus what I read last week, am reading this week, and plan to read next week
The excellent Backlisted is the only podcast about books I listen to regularly. Presented by writer Andy Miller and publisher John Mitchinson, its mission statement is ‘Giving new life to old books’, each episode focusing on a particular title that they feel deserves wider recognition with the help of other writers. In the very first one, the book in question was JL Carr’s marvellous Booker-winning A Month in the Country. Discussing its background, the conversation turned to Carr himself.
Guest Matthew Clayton, a publisher at Unbound, pointed out that the first thing he noticed about Carr’s books was that they were all originally published by different publishers, and he asked the other podcast contributors – including novelist Lissa Evans - what they felt that told us about the man. They all laughed heartily. Andy offered delicately that it suggested Carr “was perhaps a bit of a handful?” and Matthew agreed. John Spiers, who published the first edition of A Month in the Country for Harvester Press, apparently described Carr as “irascible”.
I too laughed at this point, but the truth is that while I have written 13 books over the last dozen years, during that time I have also worked my way through five publishers. As James, one of the subscribers to this newsletter, politely asked a couple of weeks ago, why do I get through so many?
When you are trying to get your first book published, I think it’s fair to say that all authors are just absolutely delighted that anybody believes in it enough to print several thousand copies and lob money at your direction before it’s even in readers’ hands. But there are certainly valid reasons why you might not want to stay with them for the rest of your writing life.
Different genre
Sometimes non-fiction writers specialise in just one subject and if they find a home somewhere that is happy to publish multiple titles along similar lines then that’s great. And some publishers are happy to publish titles which are loosely connected – I’m thinking here for example of my friend Sally Coulthard who has published The Little Book of Building Fires, A Short History of the World According to Sheep, and The Little Book of Snow, all with House of Zeus. They’re all in the nature/history field so they’re a natural fit. However, her craft/design titles were brought out by Jacqui Small which specialises in those subjects.
While roughly half my books are on book-related themes, the other half jump about all over the place, art, music, sheds, food. So in my case, while the British Library was happy to go with my pitch about a book of book lists, I didn't even bother asking them if they fancied taking a punt on a daily almanac on art history. Instead, I went back to Thames & Hudson who had published two of my earlier books and who are art specialists – my experience is that publishers are quite happy for you to do this (although some contracts do say that the publisher has first chance of refusal at your next project).
Same genre, different publisher
Just because Publisher A doesn't want to take your book about gardening, it doesn’t mean it is unpublishable. “Stick to your teaching, Miss Alcott,” publisher James Fields rather pompously advised the author of Little Women. “You can’t write.” Meanwhile, The Wind in the Willows by Kenneth Grahame was turned down on the basis that it was “an irresponsible holiday story that will never sell”. They didn’t give up, JK Rowling didn’t give up, and I don't give up (well, only sometimes). Publisher A’s loss could be a bestseller for Publisher B or C or D or E, or at least taken up by them.
Following an editor who’s moved jobs
As there is in many industries, there’s quite a lot of personnel movement in the book world. Commissioning editors often move about and if you’ve already worked well with somebody, you may well want to work with them again. I’m “in talks” with a publisher at the moment for a history book, and I went to them solely because somebody with whom I had a very good working relationship at another publisher has moved there.
Just want a change
There’s a tremendous range of publishers out there. It could be that you want one which appears to have a better press/PR offering than your current one, or is more international, or is less international, or is more niche, or offers you a lot more money, and so on. I’m lucky in that I’ve had good relationships with all my publishers, but sadly that’s not always the case and it could well be that you’re just fed up with how you’ve been treated, though this does run the danger of a ‘grass is always greener’ scenario.
Publisher wants a change
And of course the reverse is also true. The publisher may simply not want your book (or, less palatably, you) in which case you’re forced to try elsewhere. The trick here is not to take this too personally, less as a rejection and more as an opportunity to find a publisher who really feels strongly about what you want to write about.
Personally, I like working with numerous publishers, but I’m always keen to work with new ones too. Variety is the spice of life!
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What I read last week: The Lamplights by Emma Stonex. Three lighthousekeepers disappear from their lighthouse under mysterious circumstances in 1972. Twenty years later, a writer tries to unravel what really happened. Intriguing and exciting right to the end, written from multiple viewpoints. Definite recommend.
What I’m reading this week: The Continuity Girl by Patrick Kincaid. I'm a big fan of Billy Wilder's film The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes (despite the rather garish 1970s poster above) and only came across the novel - which centres very much on the making of it and then fast forwards to the connected life of a present-day film lecturer - thanks to a conversation on Twitter with Jonathan Coe. I am enjoying it very much and if you like PLOSH then you will certainly like this.
What I’m planning to read next week: Still hoping to get into Waterloo Sunrise: London from the Sixties to Thatcher by John Davis having not managed to last week.
You have your very own open buffet approach. Another feature of your eclectic range of books is that bookshops need to decide which section they should be displayed. Waterstones in Clapham has Rooms of Their Own in the House and Design section. I suggested it would be better displayed in the front window.