How To Be An Author For Hire
The world of traditional publishing can be a beast to navigate. But one of the ‘lesser taken paths’ many writers are unaware of in this industry is IP work. Essentially, an IP project is when a writer is hired by a publisher to craft the copy, and in some cases, also produce the visuals for a book concept an editorial team already has in mind. Securing a book deal like this is similar to selling a manuscript and/or nonfiction book proposal: the contracted author will receive a portion of the specified advance after signing the contract, then the remainder after the final draft of the book has been accepted—plus confirmed as completed—by the assigned editor she/he/they have been working with.
However, one BIG difference is the writer-for-hire does not receive royalties from sales of the book because the book's overall theme and subject matter originated with the publishing company. It’s additionally worth noting that IP deals can often be more straight-forward than negotiating standard traditional publishing contracts. This may mean a writer gets paid sooner, or has the ability to secure a larger advance for their services.
My first children’s book with Capstone (“Floods”) and my first cookbook (“Macro Cooking Made Simple”) with Chartwell Books were both IP projects. The first helped me solidify a reputation for myself as an author prior to, and shortly after, finding a literary agent. And the second fast-tracked a professional goal that may have taken me another decade to accomplish solo—the ability to create a book that includes dozens of my own recipes and showcases my food photography skills. Jennifer Kushnier is the editor I worked with at The Quarto Group, the publishing company that Chartwell Books is an imprint of. And she graciously agreed to answer a few questions for this month’s blog to provide more insight for writers interested in pursuing IP opportunities:
For a writer new to the concept, can you give a bit of context around what IP work is in the world of traditional publishing?
At its most basic, IP, or intellectual property, is the idea for the book. Usually in traditional publishing, an author would approach an editor (or agent) with their idea, and the publisher would decide whether to take a chance on that idea. The author would get advance money, and they will receive royalties once the book earns out that advance. Obviously, terms would differ by contract, and copyright comes into play (which I’m not going to get into here). But that’s essentially the gist.
With “IP work,” the idea comes from within the publishing house. Think of it more like how a magazine editor works: I’m noticing this trend, or I think there’s a lack of material out there on X-topic, so let’s see if there’s something worth writing about—except in our case, we’re commissioning a 20,000-word book rather than a 200-word article. And because it’s our idea, we want to retain the rights to it. But we still need someone to write it for us. We might fully flesh out the idea and say this is exactly what we want, or we might have a more general idea and will give the writer some leeway to write it as they deem best. It then becomes a work-for-hire arrangement with a flat fee and no royalties.
There are benefits to both parties for IP work. For the publisher, we would be able to reinvent our backlist as new frontlist titles with little origination costs. For example, let’s say we had a crochet book that’s out of print. We could simply give it a new title and cover and sell it in a fresh way. Or we could decide to do a “how to crochet” kit and pull a chapter on basics and a few patterns from that original book. Then package this new instruction book with some yarn and a crochet hook.
Another example would be if it was a large Italian cookbook and half of it was pizza recipes. We might decide to republish just that “pizza half” of the book and sell it with a new title and obviously a new angle. Or maybe it’s a coloring book that we reduce in page count and sell at a lower price, so that it can go into certain stores and reach more customers. We could do all this without having to renegotiate contracts or paying additional money to the writer, so it gives the publisher ultimate flexibility to maximize that content. Ideally, it’s also quicker since it doesn’t have to be written from scratch, so we can respond to trends much faster than traditional publishing (which can take up to two years from idea to bookshelves). The other benefit to the publisher is that a work-for-hire writer is most likely a working writer, whereas an author with an idea oftentimes has another profession (such as a psychologist, marketing executive, chef etc) so the project might require either a ghostwriter or heavy lifting by the editor to help shape it.
For the writer, there’s the benefit of getting paid and the exposure. Sometimes their name goes on the cover; sometimes it’s on the copyright page along with the editor, designer and publisher. If the arrangement works for both parties, the editor can and likely will go back to the writer for other projects or recommend them to other editors. And while the advance could be less for IP work than for author-generated content (though not always), it’s important to note that even modest advances don’t always earn out. Let’s say an author was paid $10,000 for their book; if, after paying all the fees associated with producing the book, the publisher doesn’t earn back that 10k, no royalties will be paid to the author. Of course, the author would get to keep the advanced 10k, but the publisher might pause before buying another idea from them (even though there could be a variety of reasons that book didn’t earn out).
As an editor, what are 2-3 tips you have for writers interested in pursuing these types of projects?
Know what you’re getting into—i.e., the stuff I noted above. If you’re expecting a flat fee and no royalties beyond that, and you understand that your words might appear in other contexts or formats (with or without your name attached), then you’re ahead of the curve.
Have a conversation or two with the hiring editor to see whether you can work together. You’re going to be in each other’s lives for at least a couple months! They should be up front with you about what they want, what the schedule is and what to expect through the process.
Manage your expectations regarding the text and design of the book. This is true with many contracts. But with IP work especially, it’s the editor’s call on how they edit the text, and you won’t have a say in how the book looks since the finished product is entirely at the discretion of the publishing house.
How do you continue to network as an editor—particularly in regard to discovering new writers to work with?
I don’t do a lot of new networking anymore. Because I used to be an acquiring editor for traditional publishing, I have a few contacts that I feel comfortable reaching out to. There are various writer groups on Facebook that I subscribe to as well, plus I put old-fashioned sleuthing skills to use looking for people online who have a background in what I’m looking for. When I myself was a work-for-hire writer and ghostwriter, all my work came from word-of-mouth referrals.
Do you think writers should make an effort to promote IP books they have helped create? If so, why?
I think promotion, in whatever form, is always a good idea. Even traditional publishing relies heavily on author self-promotion. It doesn’t have to be so lofty as getting on a morning talk show. Simply include it in your bio if you’re doing a speaking engagement or teaching a class; mention it during a podcast; and/or add the book’s cover to your website. These are all great ways to promote the title. It’s important to keep the publisher informed of your promotional activities to avoid duplicate efforts as well as to offer the publisher a chance to piggyback on whatever it is you’re doing. Remember that in whatever form the book originated, the better it sells, the more likely the publisher will be to offer you another project—or maybe even accept a project of your own IP.