While we love to celebrate the publishing industry – amazing authors, essential books, and a whole world full of readers – sometimes it can feel like an uphill battle. In today’s BFLA Open Week Question of the Day, we asked the team:
What is the most challenging part of your role?
Please take a look at everyone’s answers below, and come back tomorrow for the final instalment of this year’s Open Week!
Isobel Dixon, Head of Books
Agenting requires a great deal of intelligent nerve, in fighting for your authors, in tricky negotiations, and the mettle required to deliver bad news – rejected submissions, editor departures, frustrating reviews (or lack of them). The trade’s rate of change is swifter than ever before – editor moves, corporate mergers, retailer shifts – and we are the steady point for our clients, supporting and strategising in response to perpetual publishing flux. Physical stamina is required too as we don’t control publishing schedules – several client titles can be published on one day and we have to be prepared and there for each unique scenario.
Sian Ellis-Martin, Associate Agent
There are times where we have to share disappointing news with an author – perhaps their book hasn’t sold as well as we’d hoped, their publisher isn’t going to offer for the next book, or we haven’t been able to secure any supermarket slots. There are so many steps in the publishing process and things don’t always go the way we hope at every stage; it can be really difficult to have to communicate those messages with an author who has worked so hard to get to that point. But we always support the author the best we can and try to find ways around the obstacles!
Ane Reason, Senior Contract Manager
One of the most challenging parts of my role as Contracts Manager is finding the right balance between perfectionism and pragmatism. Paying careful attention to details is an essential part of my job but, at the end of the day, a contract is a functional legal document rather than a piece of art. I constantly have to ask myself whether the changes I make serve a purpose by making the meaning clearer or substantially improving the terms. Walking that tightrope between focusing on details and the big picture can be tricky, but it’s also very rewarding.
Kate Burke, Senior Agent
Sharing bad, disappointing or unexpected news with clients – it’s always so hard as we just want great things for them. This industry is hard and not all books reach the sales or success they deserve – all the stars need to align for success: right book, right editor, right publisher, at the right time – so it’s hard to navigate disappointment but peaks and troughs are part of any job.
Nicole Etherington, Rights Manager
Different markets have different challenges at different times, but things like inflation, paper costs and a higher cost of living all have an impact and can make selling translation rights in certain territories trickier which makes it all the more important that we build and maintain our international relationships, and support our authors’ international publications.
Leyla Hattabi, Film & TV Department Assistant
Time management is the most challenging part of my role. Finding the balance between reading material, submissions and contracting, is key.
Juliet Pickering, Vice Head of Books
Delivering bad news – rejections, disappointing sales, lack of publisher support etc. Being published comes with a lot of potential pitfalls. But it’s a long game, so hanging on in there is half of it!
Julian Friedmann, Chairman
Having to convey lots of rejections for projects I love. The markets (books, film and TV) are risk averse and the biggest challenge for agents and writers is everyone raising their game. As some wit in Hollywood said: good enough is not good enough. That’s the biggest challenge. Never submit a first draft. Submit after numerous people you trust to tell you hard truths, give you tough love, have read and commented. Then submit once you have taken advice and done some rewrites.
James Pusey, Head of Rights
Encouraging publishers to adopt a long-term commitment to an author’s career over multiple books, not all of which might meet with the success they undoubtedly deserve!
Finlay Charlesworth, Agent’s Assistant
There are so many parts to an agent’s role – one minute a sales-person, the next an editor, then a lawyer, accountant, secretary, and back again… jumping from spreadsheets to emails to meetings to manuscripts, across all kinds of different contexts can make your head spin sometimes!
That’s why, for me, in order to stay grounded it’s so important to try to stay focused, and keep people – whether authors, readers or colleagues – at the centre of everything you do.
Tabitha Topping, Book Department Assistant
Time management! There’s always so much to do and not enough hours in the day.