Books that don't sell...?

Status
Not open for further replies.

NeedlesslyAnxious

Registered
Joined
Feb 24, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Hi all,

I'm nearing my 6th month on sub with my first novel, 1.5 months into my second round, and I'm fluctuating between oddly calm and, well, needlessly anxious. I've had a half-dozen infuriatingly close personalized rejections, and a failed R&R (editor left the business after I made the changes). I'm starting to genuinely consider the possibility that this book won't sell, but with that, I'm realizing I really don't know much about that process or what it's like. If there's anyone here who's been through this and wouldn't mind sharing what it was like, I'd love to know:

- How long was your book on sub? How many rounds?
- How did your agent tell you that it wasn't going to sell? Did he give you warning signs, or was it fairly abrupt?
- What happened next with you and your agent?

Thanks all! I'm sure these are silly questions, but even knowing what to expect in the worst case scenario would really calm my nerves.
 

NeedlesslyAnxious

Registered
Joined
Feb 24, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
Thanks, Calla Lily! Given the incredible volumes available online for querying, it's amazing how hard it is to find out what the sub process is like. Guess it must just be so different for everyone!
 

Fuchsia Groan

Becoming a laptop-human hybrid
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 27, 2008
Messages
2,870
Reaction score
1,399
Location
The windswept northern wastes
My first subbed book didn't sell. (I still hope to sell or self-publish it one day, but that's another story.)

If memory serves, my then-agent sent out two small rounds, nine subs total, over about four months. When the first few rejections came, he stayed optimistic. At the end of the four months, he abruptly announced we were running out of options, though he did make a couple more stray subs. A year later, after looking at a few other things I sent him and giving me feedback, he cut me loose. He wasn't interested in my revision of the unsold ms.

Unlike you, I had pretty discouraging rejections ("don't like voice" was a consistent theme) and no second reads or R&Rs. That could have been a factor in how things transpired.

This is completely different from what happened with my present agent. She did an initial wide submission and promised we would have a lot of options for a second round.

Having recently read much of the Next Circle thread from the beginning, I think a lot depends on the particular agent. Some will stick with you for years through multiple unsold books, cheering you on. Others see you as a failed experiment and move on to greener pastures. Others genuinely love your first book but are meh on everything else you write. I don't think it would be out of line to ask your agent: "What happens if this doesn't sell?" And "How many options do we have left?"

And I think it's important to know that if your agent calls it quits with you, that's not necessarily a worst-case scenario. I thought it was when it happened to me, but in a year I had a new book and a new agent. Like Lily says, "never give up, never surrender!"
 
Last edited:

Putputt

permanently suctioned to Buz's leg
Kind Benefactor
Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 10, 2012
Messages
5,448
Reaction score
2,980
:Hug2:

If you haven't already done so, do check out the Next Circle of Hell thread (or is it Tenth Circle?). It's full of writers in similar positions. :)
 

NeedlesslyAnxious

Registered
Joined
Feb 24, 2014
Messages
8
Reaction score
0
@Fuschia: Thanks so much for sharing that, as unpleasant as it sounds. It really does seem like it varies tremendously case-to-case. Congrats on your recent good news! It really shows that you should never give up!

@PuttPutt: Thanks for the recommendation!
 

JoyMC

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Sep 13, 2010
Messages
1,212
Reaction score
181
Location
Seattle-ish
Website
www.joymcculloughcarranza.com
I love this blog series on various authors' submission experiences.

I can't give answers to your questions myself yet, but when I talked to a couple of my agent's clients before accepting her offer, this was a major concern for me - what would happen if the first book didn't sell. I had a CP who'd been dropped by her agent after two books didn't sell, and I had queried five manuscripts, so I wasn't super confident. Thankfully my agent seems to be one who really sticks with authors through thick and thin.

Tangentially, just a couple days ago, Sarah Dessen (a YA author who's had 11 bestsellers) was tweeting about her unsold manuscripts - 13 of them!
 

midazolam

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jun 24, 2010
Messages
190
Reaction score
15
My first two books didn't sell. The first was on sub for about six months, and it was essentially just one big round. I think my agent sensed dystopian fatigue (this was a few years ago), so she ended up pulling it fairly early. I'm not sure that book ever came very close to a deal - she didn't share those details with me. I saw the passes, and some were very specific and positive, but it was still a huge disappointment.

My agent didn't like my next two projects. We went on sub with a third, which was pretty much written to a hot trend, and which didn't suit my style at all. It wasn't even a full manuscript. I didn't expect it to sell, and it didn't. Again, we got some nice, specific passes, with requests to see my next project. I'd say that book was on sub for about six months, with a major revision separating two (unsuccessful) rounds.

I parted ways with my agent at that point, and it was definitely me, not her. She wanted to keep working with me, even though she seemed very "meh" on everything I wrote. Maybe she was encouraged by all those close calls, I dunno. It was tough parting ways. I lost a lot of confidence in my abilities as a writer, but at the same time, leaving her kind of renewed my motivation to try again (I'd stopped writing for a year while that second book was on sub).

I wrote my next book in about six weeks, and I wrote it without any thought toward trends, high-concept ideas, commercialism, etc. I just wrote a very personal, quiet story that kind of came to me as I went. I found an agent after a month of querying, revised it with my new agent for about six months, then went on sub with no real knowledge of who was reading it or what my agent was hoping for. At that point, I didn't really care. I didn't expect it to sell. I was just proud of myself for finishing the manuscript after coming so close to quitting.

It went on sub on Monday, had an offer by Friday. The deal was done by the following Friday. The whole experience was virtually stress-free because, as I said, I didn't expect much. I was ecstatic, of course, that it sold. When my agent called me with the news, I cried in the stairwell at work. It was one of the proudest moments of my life.

Anyway, that's my story.
 

CWHs2

Super Member
Registered
Joined
Jul 22, 2014
Messages
113
Reaction score
5
Location
St. Louis, MO
What midazolam said. Sometimes it works better when you have no expectations at all.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.