Wanted: Flexible Authors

So, this happened yesterday.

One of my authors got an email from her editor. The editorial team decided that they wanted to go a slightly different direction than my author had planned to go when we put the contract together. It was very clear, from the wording of the email, the editor was "treading lightly" and spent a lot of time justifying why they wanted to take a different approach. 

So what did the author do? 

She adjusted. She went with the change. 

This is something I hear a lot about from people as to why they decided to self-pub and refused to go in the direction of traditional publishers. "I want complete control over my writing!" "I don't want anyone telling me what to write and what not to write."

I get it! But here is the thing. The editors DID NOT tell her what to write or not write. They are still allowing her to craft her own stories, but wanted to take it in a slightly different direction.

So my author did that. 

And here is what the pay off is going to be. First of all, she got a great project in exchange for making the changes and now has a coveted Christmas time release. This is ALWAYS great for sales. But more importantly, because she worked with the editorial team and because she did not whine and complain about the things she wanted to do and how she was not going to get to do those things, the editorial team likes her more. When special projects come up, who will get those slots? She will! When there is a prime position in the line up, like her Christmas story, she will get it. 

The key is to play nicely.