Agent rejections:
The missing ingredient in most cookbook proposals
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The image above is the beginning of the template we use for rejections/passes when people pitch us for representation. Have you gotten a similar email from an agent? Or maybe you have gotten a personalized version of this actual email from me. If so, thanks for reaching out. I see you!
When I started at The Ekus Group, Lisa Ekus (my mom/boss, aka my moss – shout out to retired life) taught me a version of this template. It goes on to offer detailed and specific information about how the author can improve their proposal. Nine times out of ten, the writer lacks a comprehensive proposal. Meaning there are elements missing or needing to be elaborated on for me to feel confident offering representation.
Usually, a key section that could use some dialing up is the marketing and promo part:
“I will post behind the scenes of writing this book on my social media.”
“I will ask my colleagues for support on their platforms.”
These are examples of overused generalized marketing ideas. Both lack specificity. You’re going to post on social? Yea, I mean, that’s the bare minimum when it comes to an author’s promo plans.
I don’t want fluff. I want to read a detailed, super-creative, very specific marketing and promotion plan.
I once had an author who negotiated with a travel company to wrap a tour bus with their face. This author had both the platform and the relationships with brands to facilitate and underwrite a cross-country book tour.
Ultimately, the book went on to sell upwards of 75,000 copies.
Should you wrap a transportation vehicle with your face? Probably not. But this is an example showing the level of detail agents look for. We want to read about how you’ll leverage your unique ability to speak directly to your readers.
Don’t know what this should look like? Then you’re not ready to write a non-fiction cookbook. That’s okay. Do your research, take your time, and get ready. I promise right, not rushed is going to serve you better in the end.
We receive MANY queries, so it can take 4-6 weeks for us to reply. But we read and reply to every query we get. We always have. I know this is an industry outlier.
Unlike other genre agents who are drowning in hundreds (yes, hundreds if not more) of unread full manuscripts, as a cookbook agent, I am only inundated with one category of pitches. And they are proposals, not full manuscripts.
I can usually tell within the first few sentences if the proposal is for me. -- Okay try not to freak out -- I promise I read past the first few sentences!
At the end of the day you want to find the RIGHT cookbook agent for you, not just ANY agent.
I’m not going to pass on a book proposal if I love the idea or author just because it lacks some key details in marketing. But I have been in this game long enough to be able to read between the lines. If you’re half a**ing your proposal or simply not putting in the time to break down your own marketing plan, you’re not the client for me.
I want to read details, I want to read the labor you have put into your book proposal. I want to be floored by how much thought you have put into how you will reach your reader AND convince them to pay somewhere between $19.99-$34.95 (or more!) for your book.
Key takeaway: Your book proposal is your business plan for your book.
Yes, publishers will support your book, but not like you will support your book.
Authors should prepare to be the #1 champions of their book for the entire life of their book.
Rejection is a part of the publishing process. Has your book proposal faced rejection? Did you get helpful feedback and then revamp? Comments will be turned on for this post, so leave a comment and share where you are at in your publishing journey.
Your Not So Secret Agent,
~Sally~
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Behind the Book: deal insights to educate, enable, and empower your own publishing journey
Publishers Marketplace key for book deal ranges:
The fastest deal I ever negotiated was 24 hours. It was a Good Deal per the key above.
This project was an exclusive submission in that the author had their heart set on publishing with this particular publisher. I had planted the seed with the interested editor while the author was working on the proposal. The pitch almost felt like the last step in the process that began over a year earlier. After submission and subsequent negotiations, the deal was done, within one day.
The book has sold over 15,000 copies in its lifetime so far.
The longest a book proposal ever took to sell was five years. It was a Nice Deal per the key above.
The proposal was “too cheffy” and “ahead of its time”. However, we knew which publisher was the right fit. Even though they rejected it on the first submission, five years later, we sold it to them. Gut instincts and timing had a lot to do with this one. Timing is a component of cookbook publishing that I will go into a lot more in future newsletters. It is a HUGE and very underrated part of book deals IMO.
The book has sold about 20,000 copies in its lifetime so far.
Not So Secret Agent Shout Out:
Hey Rachel Ciordas, thanks for that GF croissant recipe and for also being an all-around awesome champion of this industry!
This is the EXACT conversation I've been having with a few clients recently. It always stumps them about what they should include in their promotional plan, but I tell them to start where they are. Who are the people and places already supporting them? What's something super cool (not generic) they could do to get people to raise their hands for those pre-orders? Think of the book launches you admired—what was it that really spoke to you? Chances are the promotion was specific to that person, and you were excited about what they were offering. It didn't feel cookie-cutter; it had that person's name written all over it. Surprise and delight, and then do it again.
And to your point about being your book's #1 champion, a former sketch director of mine would tell the cast constantly: You have to fight for your work because no one else will.
I feel like sometimes we're afraid of making a big move, like wrapping our face around a bus because we're afraid to even ask for something that big, or we're afraid of what people will think. But I'd also love to see people find their own version of their face on a bus because their ideas are more interesting than they believe.
A great primer on a missing piece of a great proposal. I struggled to beef up the marketing component, but then I saw it as another place to get creative. Plus, if you spend years working on a project you should be able to spend just as much effort selling it! Especially if you believe in it and love it.