Strategy session II: midcareer damage controlThe same goes for editors. Publishing conglomerates are politi-
cal jungles in which only the strongest survive. In that atmosphere
you need a knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide. If your editor
does not know the ropes, or is not inspired enough by your work,
then the thousand and one obstacles in your way become insur-
mountable.
WHEN THE AXE FALLS
Sometimes even a ton of prevention is not enough. The axe falls
anyway, oftentimes through no noticeable fault of the author's.
What can be done in these situations? Some ideas follow.
Being "orphaned" is a common and devastating disaster that
overtakes midcareer authors. This problem is not preventable, but
the odds of being abandoned are higher when a novel has been
acquired by a junior editor. Junior editors tend to job hop, either for
more money, opportunity, or escape from their mistakes—occa-
sionally for all of those reasons.
When one's editor departs for another company, one option is to
follow that editor to her new home. Indeed, when a powerful or
exceptionally well-loved editor moves on there is often fighting over
authors. When Henry Ferris, an editor known for spotting and grow-
ing young authors, moved from Bantam to Houghton Mifflin a few
years ago, Bantam allowed two authors to go with him but prevent-
ed two others from following. The tug-of-war can be especially
intense over best-sellers.
Should you stay or should you go? That is a tough question to
answer. If you are inclined to go, consider the fate of your backlist.
Backlist is crucially important in building an audience and cushion-
ing large new advances (see Strategy Session III). If you migrate, will
your backlist stay in print? If your books are doing well you would
think so. It would be logical for your prior publisher to piggyback on
your success with your new publisher by exploiting the books of
yours that are tucked away on its list. That is logical.
Unfortunately, what seems logical is not necessarily what hap-
pens. History shows that publishers tend to sell stock on hand and
then give up on most departed authors' backlists (unless a top best-
seller is involved). Why? The reason may have to do with reprinting