Authors Lunch

Authors Guild CEO Mary Rasenberger Prior to joining the Authors Guild in November 2014, Mary practiced law for over 25 years in roles that spanned private practice, the government and corporate sector, as a recognized expert in copyright and media law. Could you briefly summarize why a writer should join Authors Guild, especially since so many of us struggle financially? The first reason to join is for the many benefits you receive for $135 a year, including free contract reviews and legal advice on a number of issues, all our free educational and other programs, our online forums where you […]

At the antitrust trial, marketing and publicity expenditures were discussed mostly as a way of determining the level of support for Anticipated Top Selling Books (those acquired for $250,000+). While there are exceptions and surprises—the social media influencer whose posts promote the book for free; the modest acquisition that becomes an in-house favorite or hotly anticipated by readers—most publishers agreed that there was some correlation between advance level and promotional spend. Marketing Vs. Publicity In broad terms, marketing is paid for (i.e. advertising) and publicity is not, and they are usually handled by two separate departments. For marketing, in addition […]

Since the Penguin Random House antitrust trial hinged on author advances, witnesses explained publishing contracts, advances, royalties—and when the author sees that money. Agents also broke down how they’re paid. Author Compensation Hachette Book Group ceo Michael Pietsch explained that an author’s contract “includes a grant of rights of the ability to sell it in a particular territory, often North America, sometimes around the world, including translation rights,” plus a royalty to the author for every copy sold. There are also royalty rates for licensing or translating the book, or for excerpts being published in magazines (called “first serial” rights). […]

In the Penguin Random house antitrust trial, agents testified about what happens after the submission process: receiving offers, sometimes in heated auctions for top dollar. Here, we’ve compiled their thoughts on pre-empts and auctions. Ayesha Pande at Ayesha Pande Literary said that her methodology to sell a book “depends on how many editors at different publishing houses have expressed interest. The preferred scenario is if there are several interested publishers so that I can move toward a competitive closing. If there’s just interest from one publisher, then I have to try and negotiate in good faith with that publisher.” Pre-empts […]

Zain Khalid’s debut novel is BROTHER ALIVE (Grove Press, July 12, 2022. Editor: Peter Blackstock, VP, Deputy Publisher, Grove Atlantic. Agent: Kent Wolf, Neon Literary.) He has been published in the New Yorker, The Believer, the Los Angeles Review of Books, McSweeney’s Quarterly Concern, and elsewhere. He has also written for television. He lives in New York City. How did you find your agent? He found me! He reached out after reading something of mine in The New Yorker. We ate a ribald lunch and discussed an idea for a short story about three orphaned brothers that would go on to become Brother […]

As it became clear in the trial, economics experts made analyses that no one else ever has, because they had access to data from multiple publishers. Similarly, the trial itself highlighted information across the industry that is rarely spoken aloud or compared between companies. Here’s what we’ve learned about publishing from a wide swath of industry players. All About Agents As an expert witness testifying about the role of literary agents, Jennifer Rudolph Walsh gave the court and the public a primer on agenting—information that can be helpful for writers or aspiring industry professionals. “The literary agent finds the author, […]