Nonfiction Ink

A Lesson Learned: The Publisher Has The Final Say

During a recent interview, I was asked the question “What have you learned from writing your latest book (The Complete Guide To Hiring A Literary Agent)?”

As a ghostwriter of more than 30 published books, I’ve always understood (on an intellectual level) that publishers make the final decisions about an author’s book, but that realization really hit home when I wrote my own book. I was more than unhappy with the title the publisher chose (I wanted “acquire” a literary agent, instead of “hire” a literary agent) and I was devastated with the cover the publisher created for the print version of the book and some of the decisions made about content. In the end, I didn’t win any of the arguments. I thought the choices might hurt my brand and my reputation.

My contract stated that the book would be released in late December 2009. That date came and went and I was given a new date of mid-January, then the first week in February. Alas, another release date change has been announced now for either Spring 2010 or early Summer to coincide with release dates for several “related” books from the publisher. Of course, all my marketing (including the production and distribution of a book trailer and the scheduling of a book blog tour) was planned to coincide with the original release date for my book. At this point, my marketing campaign and book blog tour have been launched without the book being available in bookstores. I did what I could do – I moved forward.

Ultimately I have to recognize and accept that I chose to contract with this particular publisher. It was my decision as an author. If I want to maintain complete control of the book cover, the title, the content, and the release date, then I need to launch a publishing company and release my own books. I learned a lesson that all authors need to be aware of… the publisher always has the final say. So choose wisely.

Tags: book publishers