The Balance between the sensitivity of art and the ruthlessness of business

Last week, I had an appointment with a publishing house owned by someone related to the founder of one of Mexico’s leading bookstore chains and publishing houses.

This company is so well-known across Latin America that this man’s family name has become synonyms with literature in many Spanish-speaking countries.

The situation is a bit confusing, though, because this publishing house (let’s just call it GERP) is not an official part of this huge company, in any capacity whatsoever.

Then again, if I was related to the founder of a monster business (in any field), I’d try to take advantage of the family name too.

A few years ago, as I was writing The Keeper of the Balance, I made sure to learn as much as I could about the business side of the literary world. I was lucky enough to have Betty Meyer, a talented and experienced author, as my neighbor at the time. And Betty was kind enough to let me know how traditional publishing works.

I’ve also had the support of other fellow authors who have told me of their personal experiences when trying to get their books published in a traditional way (through a publishing house as opposed to being indie, self-published authors).

All in all, I must say that most of these stories weren’t pretty. Almost all these fellow authors and friends had run into all kinds of bumps and obstacles when trying to publish their books through the traditional route. And so this is why I chose to self-publish my books.

However, self-publishing is an extremely hard endeavor. Writing your book is nothing. You have to hire an editor and a designer (unless you can design your own covers, which I’m lucky enough to be able to do myself). And then you have to find the right channels and invest money to promote your book(s), of course.

All of the above demands a considerable investment in time, effort and money. And, well, not every aspiring author has that much time and money at his/her disposal. At the end of the day you might end up spending a fortune just to reach a few thousand potential readers. And success isn’t guaranteed, no matter how much money, time and effort you put into marketing and promotion.

This is why I decided to try my luck with a publishing house, after a friend of my mother’s told her that GERP is actively looking for new, talented authors to help promote reading and the arts in general in Mexico.

I sent a Spanish copy of The Pinnacle of Power to GERP. About a couple of weeks later I got a phone call from one of their representatives, telling me that she would like to meet with me. This person turned out to be a real friendly woman, certainly easy on the eye, quite polite and smart. It was clear to me right away that she knows her business.

It’s also no secret that all artists have a huge ego. I’m not the exception in this sense. And so it doesn’t hurt when a nice, attractive woman speaks wonders to me about my work, I must confess. It was also exciting to think that a publishing house was interested in my book, of course.

This woman told me that GERP can publish my book(s) in printed and e-book formats and make them available in 100s of physical and virtual bookstores in Mexico and Latin America. GERP also promotes their authors and books through book signings in different bookstores, author appearances in book fairs and other kinds of literary events across Mexico, and even through national TV, on a 1-hour show that GERP has in a certain news channel.

This was pretty cool in and of itself, but it was nothing. Because when she told me that GERP pays authors 50% royalties, I had an eargasm. I thought I had heard wrong. I couldn’t believe it! Simply because no publishing house pays authors that much per copy.

That’s when I started having this bad feeling. Everything sounded too good to be true. And, sure enough, an alarm went off in my brain, getting louder and louder with every word that GERP’s representative spoke next.

She said that GERP and I would become “partners”. But for this, I must cover 100% of the printing costs for the first 1,000 copies of The Pinnacle of Power that GERP would be publishing, distributing and promoting in Spanish.

Okay. Fine. I’m an open-minded guy when it comes down to business. I’m always flexible when I hear an offer that I consider intriguing and appealing. And this offer definitely qualifies as both, I thought. Or at least it would, if it truly were a 50/50 partnership that GERP is proposing.

It is not.

When you become 50/50 partners in any kind of business this means you share everything equally, expenses and revenue and income and risks. In this case, I would be investing and risking much more than GERP, simply because I wrote the book, damn it. In the end, that’s what matters most. No book, no sales, no business, no partnership, no nothing.

GERP is investing on cover design and book formatting, edition and revision, distribution and promotion. That's quite impressive, and it’s a considerable investment for certain. But my books don't write themselves.

I pour my blood, sweat and tears into the damn thing. Besides, it’s not as if I’m living off my work as an author. Not yet, at least. I write my books whenever time permits, and I do my best to check for spelling and grammar and continuity errors and plot holes and inconsistencies in my stories.

I am a sci-fi/fantasy novelist. As such, I rack my brains so I can tell an entertaining, interesting, fun tale. I don’t know if I’m succeeding at this or not (as always, that’s up to the reader). But if my books fail to succeed, it isn’t for a lack of trying on my part. And this is quite the investment too.

I understand that the royalties I’m being offered are extremely generous, not to mention that this is quite uncommon. Nobody pays you more than 5/7% per sold copy of your book. Then again, it’s not as if you’re going to cover any expenses to publish and distribute your book among bookstores, either. Traditional publishing houses take care of that for you.

I’m also aware that publishing a book is a business. Neither GERP nor I are sisters of mercy. I won’t hand them the rights to publish my book for free any more than GERP will give me 100% of the royalties. But the human and artistic sides to any and all kinds of creative works should never take a backseat to the business side of things.

I think the best way to become 50/50 partners with GERP (or any other publishing house that may be using this same business model) is this: They put the design, editing, distribution and promotion, I put the book(s), and we share printing expenses 50/50.

I still don’t know if this is possible, though. Because as it turns out, GERP decided to meet with me before they had even finished reading my book, if you can believe it. At the end of the meeting, GERP’s representative told me that she would let me know if/when my book has passed through their vetting process.

I have no idea why GERP contacted me before knowing for a fact if they want to publish my book. I mean, this woman didn’t even know what the book is all about!

At this point, I’m not even sure if I’ll get the call from GERP. Something tells me I was summoned to this meeting just to see if I had the money to invest on these first 1,000 copies of my book, as if I were being offered to buy into damn Time Share or something, and not actually there to talk about my book and its true potential.

I’m supposed to get the money back as soon as those first 1,000 copies have been sold, by the way. But money isn’t the issue here. The important thing is that I don’t feel appreciated. I feel as if GERP is seeing a $ sign etched on my face, instead of actually believing that my book(s) are a good investment.

Because, after all, GERP hasn’t even read my book yet. And they aren’t assuming the slightest of risks on this thing. They have all the elements in place already. It’s not as if they have to hire a designer, an editor, a driver and a truck, to design, edit, distribute, promote and sell my book(s).

They already have all these people on their payroll and their delivery schedules are set, I reckon. And if it’s not my book they’ll be working on, it’ll be someone else’s; somebody who’s willing to pay the money that GERP is asking for to print the damn first 1,000 copies.

So, why the hell should they care if my book doesn’t do well, right?

I’d be the one shelling out $3/4,000 dollars to get the ball rolling, with no idea whatsoever of when/if I could recover my money. And if the book doesn’t sell enough copies to cover that considerable initial investment (this might take years), then it is I who will lose out in the end, not my “partner” GERP.

Don’t get me wrong. I’ve got no problem with covering my part of the initial printing run’s cost and becoming partners with GERP. That sure beats the hell out of getting paid only 5-7% royalties for all of my hard work, or having to spend 1,000s of dollars on promotion, trying different blogs, sites and such as an indie author, until I can find the best way to get my name and books out there.

This is why the possibility of having GERP promote my books through different channels is intriguing. But I want to be 50/50 partners for real. This means I would be much more than a published author. I would become owner of 50% of this enterprise. I must have an equal voice as GERP in every matter, discussion and decision involving my book(s).

When it comes down to business, I can be as ruthless as the next businessperson. I demand results and I push people hard until I get them, just as the next business person. Because we're not talking about art and sensitivity any more. We're talking about business. And there is no room for feelings in business.

This also means that GERP and I both have to take the same risks. This is how true, equal partnerships work; it’s just like getting married. When one party marries for love, and the other marries for money, the marriage doesn’t last long. Speaking of which, where is the love?

If I were GERP, and I found a book (not saying mine, but any book) that gets me excited, I’d be willing to make exceptions, to take risks, and to adjust my business model to suit authors who might not be able to shell out a huge amount of money just to get their books published.

Otherwise, GERP is just in it for the money and artistry be damned. It simply isn’t fair that a potentially great book is left gathering dust on a bookshelf, never getting to see the light of day and becoming as successful as it might become, just because, you know, money.

This is exactly what I’ll tell GERP’s representative if/when she contacts me for a second meeting. I will provide her with several options to make this work as a true 50/50 partnership (including what I expect to see out of GERP as a demanding business partner) and see what happens.

If I get a negative response, I will make sure to let her know how cold and ruthless I can be as a businessman. Stay tuned. This story will continue . . .