Here’s my interview with a digital publisher, talking to Peta Nightingale, who is Contracts, Rights and Author Development Director at leading digital publisher, Bookouture.
Hi Peta and thanks for doing the interview!
What would you say are the most significant differences between digital and traditional publishing in terms of author experience?
This is such an interesting question, and thank you for asking it!
I don’t feel it would be fair for me to answer from the perspective of other digital publishers. It’s probably not fair for me to answer on behalf of our authors, either! I can tell you what I hear anecdotally.
We have a huge proportion of authors (well over 50%) without agents. This is very unusual in mainstream publishing. But it’s something we love, and we take our responsibilities to our authors very seriously.
I was an agent for 17 years – as well as a publisher for 11 years before that – so I brought a lot of experience to my job at Bookouture. From both sides of the fence. I use that experience to demystify the contractual and publishing processes as much as possible for all our authors. This is especially important for those who don’t have agents to refer to.
We work on a principle of transparency and good communication, and I think our authors really appreciate that. They talk about joining the Bookouture Family, and we are very proud that our authors think of us like this!
I send out regular Author Newsletters, communicating good news, difficult news, exciting news – any news – whenever we need to. And I get regular emails back telling me how important and (sadly) how unusual these are.
We have a Bookouture Author Guide that I send out to every new author once their first contract is signed. This helps them navigate those important first few months, mapping out how we work and what they should expect.
After more than three decades in the publishing industry, the thing I’m most proud of is that Bookouture authors are making a proper income from writing books.
I don’t think that’s something that most mainstream publishers can claim.
In a nutshell, Bookouture authors enjoy all the benefits of commercial success with bespoke, boutique publishing. How we achieve this is outlined in my answer to your second question.
Bookouture has seen significant growth in profits and sales over the eight years of its existence. Why do you think its publishing model has been so successful?
The main differences between Bookouture’s model and traditional publishing (aside from the fact that we’re a digital publisher) are:
1. Global
All titles are published throughout the world in the English language;
2. Direct to readers
We are not reliant on the decisions of sales teams and retailers on whether or not to take a title;
3. Analysis
We collect hard data on all our processes in order to make continuous improvements wherever possible;
4. Quick changes
Because we are a digital publisher, we can make changes if the performance of a title falls below expectation. We can change metadata, retailer descriptions, titles and even covers, before or after publication.
5. Dynamic pricing to maximise revenue
We price dynamically, but monitor sales and revenue on a daily basis in order to maximise revenue rather than rankings;
6. Continual improvement
Work constantly to improve all our internal systems, aiming to automate repetitive tasks wherever possible so that our whole team has more time to work creatively and profitably.
7. Add value
Our aim is to add value – and to find new ways to add value – for all our authors, wherever possible.
How does Bookouture recruit new authors?
In as many different ways as possible!
Unusually, for a mainstream publisher, we have an open submissions policy. We welcome submissions direct from any author, anywhere in the world at any time.
We have great relationships with agents in the UK and in the US and have many submissions through these avenues as well.
Our editors approach authors direct, and we hold partnerships with other organisations. These include Dahlia Books and the Asian Writer, Black Girl Writers and The Word to encourage submissions from underrepresented writers.
We are constantly looking for ways to increase our outreach to authors, agents and writers’ groups. Our aim is to increase the quantity, quality and diversity of our submissions.
How does the submissions process work and how do you decide which editor will get to work with each author?
We have an in-house submissions platform onto which our direct submissions are made.
Any submissions that don’t come direct onto the platform via the portal on our website are added onto the platform manually. In this way, we can manage and track everything that we’re considering at any one time.
We make a commitment to respond to all submissions within four weeks, and our response time is usually faster than this.
Submissions are distributed across the editorial teams, according to who has the space to acquire and the opportunity to read and consider at any one time. If an agent submits a novel to a specific editor, but somebody else is better placed to consider it, I will reassign and make sure that everyone is in the loop.
Genres seem to ebb and flow in popularity – what are Bookouture specifically seeking to acquire at the moment?
You’re right that genres definitely cycle in and out of fashion, and there are all sorts of factors that influence that.
At the moment, escapism seems to be key – for obvious reasons – and we have seen a lot of success with our historical novels.
1. Regency-era historical novels
You can’t fail to be aware of the enormous success of Bridgerton on Netflix, which has brought Julia Quinn’s wonderful novels back into the bestseller charts. So undoubtedly we’ll be seeing more Regency-era historical novels following this in the charts, and we’ll be hoping to add something competitive to this to our list.
2. US market appeal
More than half our revenue is from the US, so we always have an eye on how our submissions will sell in that market. Something that is very UK-centric or wouldn’t travel well in terms of the US market, is less likely to do well for us.
3. Compelling hooks
We are always looking for stand-out commercial fiction with a cracking hook.
It’s worth remembering that the Bookouture model relies on being able to pinpoint the pitch and positioning to an almost forensic degree. This enables us to optimise our marketing. So something that could be described as ‘different’ or ‘genre-busting’ or a mix of genres, is probably not going to work for us.
Give me three top tips for authors – what makes a successful submission?
Your submission needs to stand out from the crowd and there are several ways you can do this.
Do you know your market? Do you know what is currently doing well and therefore what we’re likely to be looking for? Does your submission sit well alongside these bestsellers?
It’s really helpful if we can immediately see from your submission that you understand both the market and what you have written.
1. A brilliant, pithy pitch
Give us a brilliant, pithy pitch in as few words as possible. Here are a couple of recent good examples from Bookouture authors. See if you can work out which books they describe:
Everyone is going to the housewarming party.
All the same people who lived on the street the day Abi vanished…
Will her mother finally learn the truth?
She’s been waiting her whole life to meet a man like Alex. But he’s been waiting too. And once he has her, he’ll never let her go…
2. Comparisons
Tell us which authors you think compare well to your writing, or which bestselling titles you think are similar to yours
3. Standout hook
We’re looking for commercial fiction that is recognisable in terms of the pitch and positioning of books that are currently selling well. It needs to have a brilliant hook that marks it out.
Thank you so much for taking the time to answer my questions and here’s hoping it stimulates some fantastic submissions!
I hope you have enjoyed my interview with a digital publisher. I am doing a series of interviews with people in the publishing industry and you might enjoy my interview with a literary agent.
You might also like some of my other posts relating to writing and publishing:
Do I need a literary agent to get published?