![]() ![]() I repeat: follow the guidelines to the letter. When submitting, follow the agent’s guidelines to the letter. Using resources like Writer’s Market, attending writing conferences featuring agents, and investigating who represents other authors (look in the acknowledgments sections of their books) can help writers do targeted querying to agents who are most likely to be interested. Agents specialize in certain genres just like editors and publishers. How do I get an agent? Research and follow directions. If there are multiple editors bidding on an author’s manuscript, agents run the auction and negotiate which rights the author keeps and which are sold to the publisher-for example, movie, foreign language, or audiobook.Ħ. It’s an agent’s job to know the legal ins-and-outs and represent the author’s interests. They also keep track of what houses editors are working for and research editors’ tastes in books.īook contracts are full of legal obligations, and the Big 5 require authors to have an agent to sign a deal. Agents pitch manuscripts and act as the liaison between the author and the editor and publisher. These days, authors rarely stay with one publisher or editor for their entire career, so agents have become their main point of contact in the industry. What do agents do? An agent’s goal is to place an author with an editor who shares the author’s vision and get the author the best financial deal possible. Big 5 editors rely on agents to pitch potential manuscripts.ĥ. The Big 5 do not accept unsolicited manuscripts, meaning they don’t accept submissions directly from authors. How do I submit my manuscript to the Big 5? You need an agent. While authors need to be active participants throughout the process, the Big 5 are structured to sell as many copies as possible while giving authors the time and resources to write.Ĥ. In-house sales teams pitch to places like Barnes & Noble, Costco, and Target to get books placed in physical stores. In addition to having the resources to provide substantial advances to authors and hire the best editors and designers, the Big 5 utilize in-house marketers and publicists to get their books in front of potential readers with techniques like paid advertising, reviews from major critics, and pitching to large news outlets. What do the Big 5 do? The Big 5 publish on the largest scale in the US. For example, an editor at Crown might bid against an editor at Knopf even though they’re both a part of PRH.ģ. Editors from imprints within a publishing house can compete for a manuscript. The Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group includes Doubleday, Knopf, and Vintage, among others. PRH has so many imprints that they’re organized into nine different publishing groups. A single publishing house can have multiple imprints. What’s an imprint? An imprint is a trade name within a publishing house. They used to be the Big 6, but in 2014 Random House and Penguin merged, making PRH twice the size of the next biggest publisher.Ģ. From smallest to largest they are: Macmillan Publishers, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins, and Penguin Random House (PRH). They are based in New York City and have offices all over the US and world. Who are the Big 5? The Big 5 are the five biggest book publishers in the United States. ![]() Below are answers to a small sampling of the questions that came up. In July, I visited Portland and had the opportunity to host an Indigo happy hour at Tugboat Brewing Company focused on New York publishing.
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