Happy Halloween (Spooky and Scary Tales of Publishing Inside!)

In the past few weeks, I’ve seen ad after ad for scary movies and shows. 

And though the only horror movies I like are the Scream franchise, I wanted to share some of my own scary stories with y’all this week.

So here are a couple publishing industry horror stories for your entertainment and benefit. 

First — a story from my time as an editorial assistant. 

My boss was working with a famous actor’s wife who had written her first novel. Everything was fine until we sent the author the cover designs that the in-house team had done. 

Not only did she hate every option, but she continued to protest after round and round (and round) of revisions. At one point, she hired her own designer — and of course, our in-house team hated those options. 

We were stuck. 

Out of nowhere, I got a call from the security desk in our office lobby. When I went downstairs, the author was there. She handed me a personal check. The amount was the exact amount of money that had been paid from her advance. On the left corner, like any other person’s check, was the famous actor’s name — Mr. and Mrs. Famous Actor You Definitely Know.  

The book was canceled after that — but the book did get published elsewhere. And the famous actor’s wife has had a long career as a novelist, publishing multiple books with great covers. 

Next — a more recent tale.

You may know that I only work on book proposals with people who are ready. 

Generally speaking that is someone with expertise and/or proven content, as well as a large and established audience that overlaps with who will read their book. 

Though I do my own research and due diligence, often I have to trust that what the author is telling me on our initial call is accurate. That’s especially true when it comes to their content.

When I started working with Entrepreneur E, she seemed to have everything I look for: 

• A successful, scalable business with a growing audience  

• Expertise and stunning testimonials, including from several celebrity clients

• Partnerships with major brands that sold to her book’s readership

• A deal for a reality TV show with a Hollywood production company

But as we worked together, it became clear to me that she didn’t have enough content or stories to write a 300 page book. Could we write a proposal? Sure. 

But if and when she got a book deal, we could be in trouble.

As we developed the proposal, though, her marketability began to collapse. 

The production studio canceled her deal. 

She lost key brand partnerships. 

Negotiations for her to create a physical product for a major retail chain stalled. 

She still had celebrity clients, but her direct reach was small. 

I did my best, but I’m not a genie. It was obvious to everyone — me, Entrepreneur E, her literary agent — that getting a deal with the current proposal was unlikely. To my knowledge, she still hasn’t succeeded at finding a publisher for her book. 

What happened on that project is the absolute worst outcome, and I wouldn’t wish it on anyone. 

But it’s also preventable. 

The mistake that Entrepreneur E made was that she was relying on others — the production company, the retail chain, the brands, the celebrity clients, and even me — to create the successful book that she wanted. 

What I advocate for instead is for entrepreneurs and experts to understand how to create their own path to success in publishing. By doing that you ensure that you always have options — just like the famous actor’s wife had.