{"id":411,"date":"2020-11-26T10:35:28","date_gmt":"2020-11-26T10:35:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/?p=411"},"modified":"2023-03-03T12:59:12","modified_gmt":"2023-03-03T12:59:12","slug":"how-long-does-it-take-to-sell-a-book","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-long-does-it-take-to-sell-a-book\/","title":{"rendered":"How Long Does It Take To Sell A Book?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Before answering this question, let\u2019s assume you\u2019ve <a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/how-to-get-a-literary-agent\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">got an agent.<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Let\u2019s assume that you\u2019ve done all the <a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/types-of-editing-how-to-choose\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">editorial work<\/a> you need to do at this stage. Let\u2019s assume your book is something that has potential global reach, whether fiction or non-fiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n<p>In that case, the process will probably work a little like this.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Your agent rounds up a possible 8-12 editors. That\u2019ll mostly be editors who work at large publishers (though often in semi-autonomous imprints or companies), but there\u2019ll be 2-3 smaller independent publishers, as well, more than likely. Your agent will introduce editors to the book, check they\u2019re available (not off on holiday, etc.), then more or less simultaneously get the book to them. (Books used to be sent on paper. These days, it\u2019s often electronic.)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>You wait. <a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/if-an-agent-accepts-your-work-what-are-chances-of-getting-published-2\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Your agent will be looking for a first offer<\/a>. As soon as they get an offer:<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>They\u2019ll start calling everyone on the list, setting deadlines, coaxing offers, etc. A book auction chemistry is critical and delicate. Get three rival offers from three rival publishers, and you should do well, except many notionally independent publishers are connected (e.g. Transworld, Orion, Hodder, Headline), and these guys don\u2019t bid against each other. A smaller publisher (Quercus, Faber, Profile, Atlantic) may be a wonderful publisher, but they won\u2019t be able to fight the bigger ones on advances, so a financial outcome does depend very much on where interest lies.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Then your <a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/literary-agent-fees-what-you-need-to-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">agent will call for \u2018best and final\u2019 bids<\/a>, then <a href=\"https:\/\/jerichowriters.com\/average-book-sales-figures\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">close a deal<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A contract may take a while to follow. I\u2019ve known it take as long as 6 months, but a verbal agreement is nevertheless something you can depend on. These agreements should never sour.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>So much for your home nation deal (i.e. the UK if you\u2019re British, US if you\u2019re American). Your agent will then start to target major overseas markets. Most agencies will have someone in charge of foreign rights, who\u2019ll be talking to publishers or sub-agents in Germany, Japan, France, Italy, Spain.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Your agent will also have a sub-agent in the US (if she\u2019s British) or the UK (if she\u2019s not). That sub-agent will be also start sending your book around. Note it\u2019s often easier for US authors to get a UK deal, and harder the other way around. What\u2019s more, books that seem obviously US-friendly are oftener ones that make no impact. Ones that seem obscurely British or quirky often do well (Nick Hornby\u2019s&nbsp;<em>Fever Pitch<\/em>&nbsp;is a famous example).<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And once those major markets have been dealt with, your agency\u2019s attention will start to turn to other areas where small but meaningful deals can be done. India and China, by the way, may well buy your book, but mightn\u2019t do so for much money. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This entire process can easily take about a year, perhaps more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And by the time the last paperback publication advance drops into your account, you\u2019re quite likely not just onto your next book, but the one after that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Good luck!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Before answering this question, let\u2019s assume you\u2019ve got an agent. Let\u2019s assume that you\u2019ve done all the editorial work you need to do at this stage. Let\u2019s assume your book is something that has potential global reach, whether fiction or non-fiction. In that case, the process will probably work a little like this. So much<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":481431,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[28575],"class_list":["post-411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-publishing-industry","tag-newsletter"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Jericho Writers<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Here we answer how long it takes to sell and publish a book. What happens after you have a literary agent? 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