OK, you’ve gotten an agent, your agent has submitted your graphic novel pitch to multiple publishers, editors have taken it to editorial meetings, and now, finally, an editor is bringing your book to acquisitions.
So what does this mean, and what are your chances—at this point—of landing a book deal?
In my former life as an editor, I’ve been present in—and presented in—hundreds of acquisitions meetings, and I’m about to tell you how they work, what happens behind those closed doors, and what hoops your project has to jump through to land that elusive publishing contract.
First, the caveats: Though I’ve been involved in acqs meetings at a handful of publishers and heard a lot about meetings at many others, that doesn’t mean I know how all publishers work. Meetings are different in different places; personalities are involved; and things change over time. I’m not going to list publishers or tell you something that is specific to any one publisher. But I will tell you the elements all acquisitions meetings share (in my experience):
They are probably the most difficult meetings editors have to attend.
They are unpredictable.
There is (almost always) one decider.
I’m going to break these down, but if you want a longer and more detailed (and potentially more colorful) description of these elements, check out the fireside chat I did with Janna Morishima over at Kids Comics Unite (you don’t have to be a member of KCU to view, but you should be! It’s free!).
OK, so an editor is bringing your book to acquisitions. What do they have to do to get ready? First they have to create a P&L (which stands for profit and loss) document that is an estimate of how much the book will cost to acquire and produce, how many copies might get sold in the first, second, and (sometimes) third year of publication, and how this all rolls up into profit for the publisher. The P&L is basically the financial story of the book. Or the financial story the editor is telling about the book. This is one way the editor shows the acquisitions team that acquiring this book is a good business decision.
The other way they do that is through the acquisitions memo. These are different everywhere, and are usually imprint specific, but they are essentially a document that covers the following:
Why publisher X should publish this book (for instance, because books about animals are selling well and we don’t have any on our list yet)
Who the consumer for the book is (pet lovers, fans of X TV show or movie, people who live on farms, etc.)
Where the book will sell best (schools and libraries, big box stores, online, etc.)
What is the hook of the book that will connect with consumers (for instance, harried cat sitter learns that her feline charges are actually pet detectives and they need her help on their latest case)
Any editorial notes (this helps head off any criticism of the pitch; an editor can say they know the B plot needs to be developed more, or the character designs for the protagonist should be aged up, etc.)
Comp titles (these should be titles that will appeal to the same audience as your book, and have sold well, but not too well. Choosing comp titles is an art)
Finally, your editor needs to present this title in the meeting. Their presentation must be succinct, passionate, clear, and not repeat the information in the memo or P&L.
So it’s a lot of preparation, and the stakes are high. Your editor has to do a lot of work just to get to this meeting and there are no guarantees that it will get the book approved. I think most editors find acquisitions meetings to be the most nerve-wracking part of their jobs. I know I did!
I’ve found that acquisitions meetings are also very unpredictable (and I’ve had editors at a number of houses confirm this in their own experiences). Books you think are slam dunks will get turned down. Books you thought had only a sliver of a chance are enthusiastically endorsed. Every acquisitions team has scoffed at a project that went on to be wildly successful. For another publisher.
Even so, acquisitions meetings generally have just one decider. Though the attendees are some makeup of sales, publisher, creative director, marketing, publicity, editorial leadership, sub rights, school and library, finance, and managing editorial, and all of these roles are there to share thoughts and recommendations on the project, there is just one person who really says yes or no. That person can often be swayed by the other voices in the room, but it’s not democratic. There is no voting. And there is no one thing that a book needs to have to succeed.
I personally think a lot the decision comes down to things that are peculiarities of each publisher. Whether they already have a book that is similar; whether they don’t think they do well with this type of book, whether they don’t think anyone is interested in the Cold War. [I can’t imagine any publisher agreeing with me here; they would say it comes down to numbers, marketing potential, and sales opportunity, or some combination of those things. And yes, it comes down to those too.]
And only once your editor has made it through all of these hoops is an offer extended to you. It’s a lot! But somehow hundreds of graphic novels still get published every year, so if you are in the trenches, don’t despair! Publishing wants to publish books, and once an editor is exciting about yours, you really do have a shot.
I enjoyed watching the KCU replay! Will spread the word.
Great explanation! I’ve always been curious about how this works.