The editor you met with at a writers conference liked your proposal and asked you to send it to her after the conference. She was already talking about format and promotional ideas. Or you submitted a proposal and received an enthusiastic response from the acquisitions editor. Four (or maybe six to eight) months later, a rejection letter showed up in your inbox.
What happened?
No matter how much editors like potential books, they don’t have the final say in sending contracts. A lot of other people are involved in the decision of whether to issue a contract or a rejection letter.
Before becoming an agent, I worked 11 years as an acquisitions editor and later as an editorial director for Bethany House Publishers. Most publishers have two physical board meetings to help make the decision of whether or not to publish a book. This process varies from publisher to publisher; each company has its own name for its board meetings. Thus, many authors get confused when hearing different labels.
Some rejections state that “the book did not get past the committee.” This statement can mean a lot of things. It could even mean it didn’t get past stage one below. So take a comment like that with a grain of salt, or at least get clarification if you wish to know how far your book actually went in the process.
Let’s look at the usual stages your proposal goes through in this process (presupposing that you already have a literary agent who has helped you craft your proposal so it will get reviewed by the right person at the right publisher):
Stage One: Editor
The first stage is with the editor one-on-one (usually via email). This editor must decide which book projects he or she wants to sponsor to colleagues. Most rejections happen at this desk. Rarely does anyone else in the company see the rejected proposal at this stage. Some junior editors may show it to a senior editor, but not in a formal presentation meeting.
Stage Two: Editorial Board
The second stage is the editorial board. Editors gather together and pitch their discoveries to one another and to their editorial director. The editors create consensus for the project and occasionally brainstorm a different direction for it. If you get approval at this stage, many editors will call the agent or you and tell you the good news. But this is only a midlevel step.
Stage Three: Publishing Board
The third stage is the publishing board meeting (aka pub board). This is the biggie. Again, each company operates differently, so consider this description as a generalization. In this meeting are the company executives, presidents, vice presidents, sales and marketing teams, and editorial representatives. I’ve heard of these meetings having as many as 20 people in attendance. It is likely closer to 10 at the most.
Most editors have worked hard prior to this meeting. They have put together official documents that show the projected sales and profitability of the project. Likely they have already gone to the sales department and received a sales projection. Some go as far as gathering printing bids for the book prior to the meeting. Each member of the committee receives the proforma (profit/loss projections) and a copy of the book proposal. (I can’t emphasize enough the power of a top-notch proposal.) The executives receive this information before the meeting, but not all of them are able to read it in advance.
It is at this meeting where every objection possible is thrown at the book. Participants come up with reasons why this idea is a failure and why it should never be published. The discussion can be brutal. The editor is the advocate who defends the book against objections. If it survives this gauntlet, it will likely survive the general marketplace. In my time at Bethany House, each project took a minimum of 15 minutes to present and receive rejection or approval. But some discussions lasted an hour.
There were times I went into the meeting expecting smooth and easy acceptance and, instead, got rejected. Other times I thought, This one may not succeed; but it ended with approval. An editor considers it a good day when 80 percent of what he or she presents in the pub board meeting gets approved.
Reasons for approval can be everything from pure economics to personal agendas by an executive. If that executive loves the topic, he can push the rest of the meeting toward approval. If everyone is tired and cranky, then the proposal may be doomed for publishing success. This is a subjective business; nowhere is that more apparent than in the pub board meeting.
At this stage, the editor has company approval for the book. Some publishers authorize the contractual parameters in this meeting. Others have to have a separate meeting with the finance department.
But now is usually when the editor calls you or your agent with the good news. Negotiations begin on the contract, and you are on your way to your next published book.
Originally published in Advanced Christian Writer, September/October 2005. Revised 2009, 2015, and 2023.
Fun Fridays – April 28, 2023
Who’s to blame, and who decides?
Who’s accountable, when it seems a fraud?
Well, hold off tanning people’s hides,
for it’s in, at end, the hands of God.
He’s the Dude who opens doors
that committees cannot shut,
and He goes and wipes the floors
with each whiny and naysaying b***.
But I guess you’ve now supposed
that, also, reverse is true,
and there are doors that must be closed
(a bummer, happening to you!)
to facilitate His long-term goal
of saving your immortal soul.
Happy Monday and happy May Day (or for those praying for publication, maybe that’s mayday!!)) Steve, that’s hair-raising and enlightening info— seems like it would be a miracle if anybody got a book published.
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Amen, Andrew!
Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we will remember the name of the Lord our God.
Jesus was known to glide through some locked doors Himself—if He opens it, great. If He closes it, great. Blessed be the Name of the Lord. 🎉
Karen, I’m so tired. Every step, every breath is in His hands.
Andrew, do you have specific prayer requests that we could lift up for you? I would love to cover you with prayer, and I know others would too. You are so dear to us all. I am so sorry you are hurting.
Jenny, thank you, and yes, a couple.
First, that I could breathe just a bit easier, with a bit less pain. Being able to walk across the room without the need to pause for breath more than once would be good.
Second, that I could find a way around the metastases in my right femur and left humerus, to be able to function reasonably well (like, sitting down and standing again with reduced risk of a fall). Just being able to cope better with pain, that’s enough.
And Steve, thank you for your forbearance, in advance, for letting me post these specific requests for prayer. I can no longer get to church, and this is my faith community.
Andrew, I’ll be praying as you ask, dear brother. Tonight is our small group and I’m going to ask them to specifically pray these requests. Please know that you are being upheld not only by this far-flung faith community, but also by His everlasting arms. 🙏🏻💕🚀
Thank you, Andrew.
Thank you, Steve.
I’ll also put you on my prayer list Andrew.
Praying for you, Andrew!
Andrew, I resonate with how you point to The Big Editor — of our lives and His good purposes; and the need for writers’ kindness of responses.
Thank you,
Thank you Steve for a glimpse into the “inside” brains and guts of publishing.
Thank you, Mr. Laube, for your excellent post. While I have been through the traditional publishing process and have a fairly good understanding of each step, seeing it presented in such detailed, chronological order as you have presented it enlightened me even more. Thank you!
What great information, Steve–I wish I had known all that years ago! Two of my books got all the way past the editorial board of a prestigious, multi-national publisher, who then invited me to come to an in-person meeting with illustration samples. At the end of that meeting with the full editorial board, there was a handshake and promise of a contract for me to be both author and illustrator to be sent within the week. No mention of another board. A week went by, and another, and another. My inquiries to the editor got no response. I finally got a terse email from the secretary of the publishing board, who said they didn’t think my books were a good fit for their long-term goals and there would be no contract. Apparently the editorial board was a bit overconfident!
My heart hurt for you reading this, Linda!
A good reminder that publishing is a business. (And I love the picture!)
Thank you for the detailed explanation of what goes on behind the scenes once an author submits a proposal. It helps us see why the process can take so long.
Thanks for this insiders. Look at the book proposal and acceptance process, Steve. Very helpful indeed.
Thank you for this inside scoop, Steve. Helpful info for this newbie hoping to traditionally publish in the near future.
It is so good to see a bit of the behind the scenes craziness that happened before we get those rejections. Makes the idea of a yes feel like a miracle. Still, we are all working hard towards those miracles. Time to get to typing!
Thank you for illuminating the stage so clearly Steve. Despite the darkness lurking in the background, I guess the show must go on.
Thank you for this post Steve. I’ve read through the guideline page on submissions. I was reading through blogs and posts. I know I am not ready for submission in any way, so I am just trying to learn the next best step. Step one: I have a book idea/book in progress. Step two: Do I hire an independent editor to help me with this processes? Where does the editor come into play and do you have suggestions for editors? This book/message is so important. I know God has asked me to write it, get it out there, sent me through this journey with a message. I just don’t know what that next step is to further the journey. Suggestions encouraged!!