February 2025 - Speaker Report

                                                                            Georgia Hughes  (February 2025)

                                                                Tips for Working with Traditional Publishers

“Professionalism is key for authors who want to work with traditional publishers,” according to Georgia Hughes of New World Library, “so it’s important to educate yourself.” Traditional publishers include the Big Five (Penguin Random House, Macmillan, Simon & Schuster, Hachette, HarperCollins) and their imprints, small independent publishers, and university presses. When determining whether to acquire a manuscript, traditional publishers ask: “What’s in it for the reader?” Writers (especially non-fiction writers) should ask themselves: “Why me, why now?” That is, why are you the best person to be writing this particular book at this moment?

“The first door to traditional publishing is the agent,” Hughes said, “as they rarely consider unagented work.” Publishers Marketplace (publishersmarketplace.com) is a great place to look for agents, she added. Agents receive a 15% commission on the earnings of a book, but they also offer invaluable help with publishing contracts, finding the right publisher for your book, understanding “positioning” (that is, which genre best describes your book), and providing authors with a network of other writers and connections. 

Agents market your manuscript to traditional publishing houses and an acquisitions board considers all issues and costs related to producing the book. If interested, the publisher offers the author an advance with a contract, acquires the book, and schedules and pays for all production and marketing. The book is edited in-house and the cover and publication date are decided—then the marketing department takes over. “For marketing, all traditional publishers these days consider metadata—the key words that will lead writers to your book online,” Hughes said, noting that sometimes in-house disagreements arise between editors (who like fresh and new) and the marketing department (who likes tried and true).

Hughes advised writers to keep the following things in mind when working with agents and in-house editors at traditional publishing houses: 1) follow the rules, 2) keep a clear line of communication open, and 3) listen but speak up when you have a serious concern. “These professionals have a lot of experience and institutional knowledge," she said, “so it’s important to listen to their advice. Remember that agents and in-house editors all want your book to succeed—their salaries depend on it!”