For anyone who has taken the journey to become a published author, you know how tough the road can be. Rejection lurks around every corner. Doubt and lack of self-confidence slowly creeps in. You wonder if writing is really the profession for you.
Then, you get that wonderful, magical email that someone wants your book. They tell you how much they loved it and can’t wait to get it into the world for others to enjoy. You find yourself on cloud 9, loving life and reaffirmed that you really are a writer.
Finding a publisher is the best feeling in the world. It gives you validation that what you’ve created is liked by others. But finding a publisher isn’t the be all end all in the publishing game. Things can go wrong. The journey can once again get bumpy.
The relationship between author and publisher should be professional. There should be mutual respect on both sides—after all, neither one of us can exist without the other (unless, of course, you self publish, but that has pros and cons associated with it also). If one person isn’t holding up their end of the deal, the relationship will fail.
Even if an author does their research and due diligence to find the right publisher, things can still change. That publisher may change hands, editor turnover might be high, etc. However, through all of the tough times, the company should stay transparent and let the authors know exactly what is going on. If nothing else, they should stick to the contract and fulfill the duties outlined there.
The author is also expected to adhere to the contract and follow through with expectations. That’s why the contract is in place: to protect the author and the publisher. However, when one party doesn’t uphold their end, then something needs to happen.
I get it: you waited so long for a publisher to come along and say they want your book. You’re willing to put up with a little bit of nonsense here and there because the publisher wanted your book! It’s fine that the deadline was missed for it to be available to the reading public. It’s still coming out—eventually. It’s fine that royalty reports haven’t been sent in 6 months. The publisher is just busy and will get to them eventually.
While it’s totally up to the author how much they are willing to put up with when it comes to publisher shenanigans, keep in mind that you don’t deserve to be treated like crap. The contract you signed with the publisher is always your reference for the way you and they are supposed to behave. If they’ve breached it in any form, you have the opportunity to get out and find someone new.
Again, I totally understand that the prospect of looking for another publisher seems awful—and maybe a bit like you’ve failed somewhere along the way. Plus, who’s going to take a book that’s already been published (if it actually has) because then they don’t get first publishing rights? And I like the cover. And the publisher is just a little behind, but once they get caught up, everything is going to be amazing.
As I said, it’s up to the author to decide how much they are willing to put up with from a publisher, and I understand the fear and loathing that comes with re-querying to find a new home for a book. But look at it from a business perspective: if you were selling toys or clothes or whatever and the distributor was jerking you around, would you put up with it? Would you say that it was okay because they’d eventually get their poop in a group? Probably not. You’d probably say forget you and find someone who was actually willing to work with you and sell your goods.
Yeah, you say, but there are way more toy and clothing distributors than publishers. That may be, but that doesn’t mean the publishers can treat you poorly. Again, it has to be a business decision on their end too. They picked your book because they thought it would bring them revenue, but that only happens if they publish it. They can’t sell something they haven’t published. If they aren’t willing to do that, how are they going to make money? They won’t be in business for long—that’s for sure.
At the end of the day, the relationship between an author and a publisher has to be professional and it has to be based on business decisions. It may be tough to walk away from the one person/company who said they wanted to publish your book, but if they aren’t actually publishing it or if you have no idea how many copies have sold, how can you stay in business? You have to know what’s going on to know that your efforts are worth it.
Walking away from a publisher doesn’t make you a terrible person. It means that you are looking out for your business interest and doing what you have to do to be successful. Is it easy? No. Will there be issues down the road? Maybe. But, again, refer to the contract to find out what is expected of you and of them and fix any issues that arise—even if that means walking away.
When all else fails and you’re not sure what to do, talk to a lawyer or other professional, show them the contract. They can help you decide what’s best for the business.
