Which Writers Get the Most Publisher Support?
Do Fiction or Nonfiction Authors get more publisher support?
TL;DR Version:
Among big publishers, Fiction Authors get more publicity and marketing support than Nonfiction Authors. Why? Because NF authors are expected to already have their own platform for selling their book. ⬇️
Regular Version:
Alright, first things first…
The data was clear. Y’all don’t really care about the Fiction vs. Nonfiction war. Cool. Duly noted. Getting back to more of what you DO like starting on Friday.
But hey, with writing, you’ve got to experiment sometimes, so I’m still glad I did the series as an experiment.
And since I already had this post written as Part V for the series, you’re getting it anyway for those of you who did like the series. So here we go…
New fiction authors get more publisher support/marketing support than new nonfiction authors.
I myself was flabbergasted when I found this out.
After all, nonfiction tends to outsell fiction in terms of sheer numbers, so why wouldn’t publishers want to promote nonfiction authors more compared to a new, totally unheard of fiction author?
It comes down to the philosophy of fish.
New fiction authors are little fish in a big pond.
From a sheer business standpoint, it makes sense for a traditional publisher to invest a little bit of $ on a new author (little fish), in the hopes they become a big fish in the pond. It’s been known to happen…repeatedly. Almost every year brings a new debut author who manages to score the runaway bestseller.
It’s like how an investor may buy up a ton of stocks for various tech startups. Even if 90% fail, if just one of them becomes the next unicorn, they can still net a huge profit.
Publishers know that most of the new authors they pick up won’t be a huge bestseller, but it’s worth the investment for the few who are.
Meanwhile…
New nonfiction authors are big fish…in an ocean.
Many nonfiction authors might be well-known in their industry (big fish, that is), but when you look at the scope of nonfiction titles, they’re a big fish in an ocean. And that ocean has whales in it: your Brené Browns, Adam Grants, and Malcolm Gladwells.
It’s far more expensive to invest in a new nonfiction author, which is why platform is essential in nonfiction.
It’s totally possible to be a new fiction author picked up by a traditional publisher with literally zero following. I’ve seen it happen.
But in the ocean of nonfiction, publishers are keen on whether you’re coming to them with a built-in audience and platform. Otherwise, why should they invest in you?
In many ways, this also factors back in to last week’s topic about book sales. Traditional publishers know that the ROI for a nonfiction author probably isn’t book sales, but that’s where they (the publishers) make their money back. So they have to minimize risk and spending by focusing on big name, celebrity author titles.
Is this double standard fair?
Not particularly.
Does it make business sense?
Yeah. Yeah, it does.
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