Posted with Permission - From Steve Laube, Literary Agent
Before becoming an agent I worked 11 years as an acquisitions editor and later as an editorial director for Bethany House Publishers. Most publishers have two physical "board" meetings to help make the decision whether or not to publish a book. This varies from publisher to publisher and each company names their board meeting differently. Thus many authors get confused when hearing different labels. Some rejections state that "the book did not get past the committee". This can mean a lot of things. It could even mean it didn't get past stage one below. So take a comment like that with a grain of salt, or at least get clarification if you wish to know how far your book actually went in the process.
Let's looks at the stages in the process:
The first stage is with the editor, one-on-one. This person must decide which book projects they want to sponsor to their colleagues. Most rejections happen at this desk. For some reason it didn't click. Rarely does anyone else in the company see the material rejected at this stage. Some junior editors may show it to a senior editor, but not in a formal presentation meeting.
The second stage is the editorial "board". This is where the editors gather together and pitch their discoveries to the other editors. The editors create consensus for the project and occasionally brainstorm a different direction for the project. If you get approval at this stage many editors will call the agent or author and tell them of the good news. But this is only a mid-level step.
The third stage is the pub board meeting. This is the biggie. Again, each company does it differently, so see this description as a generalization. In this meeting are the company executives, president's, vice-presidents, and is usually populated by sales and marketing folks in addition to editorial. I've heard of these meetings having as many as 20 people in attendance. Likely it is closer to 10 at the most.
Most editors have worked very hard prior to this meeting. They have put together pro-formas that show the projected sales and profitability of the project. Likely they have already gone to the sales department and received a sales projection. Some go as far as gather printing bids for the project prior to the meeting. Each member of the committee receives the proforma and a copy of the book proposal (can't emphasize enough the power of a top notch proposal!!!). The executives receive this info before the meeting but not all are able to read it prior to the actual meeting.
It is in this meeting that every objection possible is thrown at the book. They come up with reasons why this idea is a failure and why it should never be published. It can be brutal. The editor is the advocate and defends the book against objections. If it survives this gauntlet it will likely survive the general marketplace. In my time at Bethany House each project took a minimum of 15 minutes to present and receive rejection or approval. But some discussions lasted an hour.
There were some I went into the meeting expecting a slam dunk and got rejected. Other times I thought I'd get shot down but ended up with approval. An editor considers it a good day when 80% of what they present in the pub board meeting gets approved.
Reasons for approval can be everything from pure economics to personal agendas by an executive. If that executive loves the topic they can push the rest of the meeting toward approval. If everyone is tired and cranky then the meeting is rather doomed for publishing success. This is a VERY subjective business and nowhere is that more apparent than in the pub board meeting.
Now the editor has company approval of the book. Some publishers authorize the contractual parameters in that meeting. Others have to have a separate meeting with the finance folks. But now is usually when the editor calls the agent or author with the good news. Negotiations begin on the contract and you are on your way.
Hope that was somewhat helpful!
Steve
The Steve Laube Agency
5501 N. 7th Ave., # 502
Phoenix, AZ 85013
(office) 602-336-8910
(fax) 602-532-7123
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