First, my thanks to Cheryl for starting an interesting conversation that seems to be resonating with editors, agents and authors. I’m enjoying the discussion!

Last night, Cheryl responded to my response here.

I think my issue with the proposal remains the same, though Cheryl is quite right that this enterprising editor making an offer after a few days wasn’t following the terms. Without every agent and every editor following these guidelines, I think we run into some major issues. Say I do give everyone four weeks before accepting offers. If another agent comes along with another great project without that limit, my client’s material will fall to the bottom of the pile to accommodate the no-time-limit project. And again, unless everyone is participating in the proposal, procrastination will reign and the material won’t get read until the end of week four. The fact that someone else might scoop something up is often what makes an editor pick up a manuscript in the first place. While I truly believe that Cheryl would give priority to such manuscripts (she wouldn’t have proposed it, otherwise), I can’t say that I think other editors would react in the same way.

Also, and I’d love to hear from other agents on this, sometimes we DO wait for editors. Sometimes the offer on the table isn’t quite what we were looking for, or another editor pleads for more time. My experience suggests that the editor who needs more time usually doesn’t wind up coming to the table. Their lack of speed in getting to the project often indicates an ambivalence or disinterest. Also in my experience — only once has an editor told me they couldn’t make it to an auction I held because they didn’t have enough time. She explained that she’d really need to get someone from paperbacks to read, because the book was rather literary for them. And you know what? It was too literary for them, and they wouldn’t (and shouldn’t) have acquired it, anyway.

(It’s important now to point out to the authors reading: most books don’t sell at auction, and this isn’t an every day issue. Most offers aren’t made in 48 or 72 or even 168 hours! This is a rare, exciting, you-can-only-dream-of scenario.)

All of this said, I really do want all interested parties to have enough time to come to the table if they’d like to. I want an author to be able to see all of the options, to speak with the offering editors, and to make an informed decision about who would best publish their book. I do not want to generate a feeding frenzy based on hype, as I think most of us can agree that it’s bad for both author and publisher. Though I’m going to continue to submit as always, I do hope I can hold out long enough to have a project land with Cheryl soon. As you’ve probably figured out, she’s brilliant and thoughtful, and she cares deeply for the books she works on. (Speaking of which, please read Marcello in the Real World by Francisco Stork, which she gave me the ARC for some time back when we had lunch — you won’t regret it!) Thanks again, Cheryl!

– Michael

In scanning tweets this morning, I came across a link to this, from editor extraordinaire Cheryl Klein at Arthur A. Levine Books. I was curious, when I saw her tweet, what her modest proposal might be. Instead of summarizing her points, I’ll ask that you read it, as I don’t want to be seen as putting words in her mouth. Finished?

And, as much as I’d like to help Cheryl and her fellow editors out here, this comes down to just one question for me: what do I tell the editor who manages to read the manuscript and get the in-house support to make a good offer on a book in 48 hours? Clearly, in that situation, the editor and the house are enthusiastic enough to get their ducks in a row very quickly. They want the book, and they want it badly enough to beat other people to the punch. Editors, would you be willing to let a preempt sit for weeks while I tested the waters with slower editors? I think not.

For me, finding the best fit means finding an editor with the energy and enthusiasm to make a book happen. Doing all of the work necessary to make an offer in a short period of time is one (though certainly not the only) measure of that. While I understand that sometimes outside factors (vacations, illnesses, sales conferences and other meetings) may negatively impact an interested editor, it’s just an unfortunate reality that we all miss out on things because of timing. In an industry as challenging as ours, a bird in the hand is always worth more than vague interest.

Not that any agent worth their 15% would go around selling books to the highest bidder even when the highest bidder isn’t a good match for the project. We carefully select the editors we approach for each project; I know there are times that I agonize over which editor at a house full of amazing talent I’ll submit a particular project to. If you’re in an auction for one of my books, you are someone I want to buy it. You wouldn’t be reading it otherwise.

Now, this isn’t to say that I entirely disagree. I know that editors are rightfully frustrated when agents call auctions for projects too early — before they have the offers to truly justify it. I know that moving quickly can lead to a lemming mentality that then leads to unjustifiably high advances offered in the heat of the moment, and that helps no one. But I don’t think putting artificial time lines on projects helps, either. In fact, for most editors, I think that will mean putting something to the bottom of the pile.

In the end, my interests are those of the client, not of the editor, and I don’t think timelines benefit authors. So, I’ll continue to operate without them.

– Michael