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Editors hungry to make their mark after moving to a new publisher propped up the rights market in the first half of the year, literary agents have told The Bookseller.
Job changes have made editors more “acquisitive”, according to Juliet Mushens of Caskie Mushens, with agent Jenny Brown adding: “The market does seem pretty buoyant, helped by all the recent editorial changes and more positive bookshop sales.” Marjacq’s Philip Patterson said a “whole new generation of editors coming through” presented an “opportunity”, but added that “a bit of stability would be nice. That author-editor relationship is central”.
Advances have held firm, agents reported, but editors are demanding more “bang for their buck”, Patterson revealed, adding: “We are still seeing good five and six-figure deals for débuts. However, publishers are asking for more bang for their buck - more rights, more territories. Advances are holding up, and it feels like publishers are consolidating on their investments after a period of writers being dropped.”
In fiction, Eugenie Furniss believes the market is becoming “more polarised than ever”, while RCW m.d. Peter Straus sees it more as a “feeding frenzy - or famine”. He added: “There is either a huge amount of interest immediately, or it takes a while. In some ways advances are more conservative... they aren’t like the football transfer market.”
Deals for psychological suspense are still “going strong”, said Curtis Brown’s Karolina Sutton, although advances for such titles have “plateaued”, she admitted. Mushens revealed that aside from one or two standout manuscripts in the genre, she was not taking any such novels on. “I think publishers are getting crowded when it comes to psychological thrillers, so while they are still looking to acquire them, they are getting pickier. The title has to really stand out for them to sign it... or they [risk] cannibalising their own list,” she said.
Patterson said it felt like the market was in transition. “Crime continues to thrive, although everyone is looking to what’s next,” he said. “Psychological thriller and domestic noir are still selling, but a number of publishers are talking about saturation and the genre falling off a cliff.”
Well-written non-fiction by experts is enjoying a boon, said Straus (“there is more interest in English non-fiction than before... people are interested in finding out about things”), a point echoed by United Agents’ Jon Elek, who said hardback non-fiction was doing “extremely well” for his agency. “In the US, the appetite for high-quality, British writers is undiminished,” he said. “When I submit proposals [for this type of book], they make a real splash.”
As ever, literary fiction and more experimental works remain harder to sell, rights professionals lamented, although Waterstones has been praised for helping to create a market for some such books. “We are cheered by how Waterstones champions individual titles, often against all odds and trends,” said Sutton. “This has given confidence to literary publishers who are willing to experiment and commission books for the Waterstones readership.” Caroline Michel, c.e.o. of PFD, agreed that while her business was “trending up by just about every metric that we have”, some of its “most hard-won sales have come in literary fiction in the UK market, which remains challenging”. Jenny Brown added: “Literary fiction continues to be very tricky... smaller independents are the most likely to take risks.”
Other opportunities have come in the growing audio, film and TV rights market, agents said.
Agencies on 2017
Furniss Lawton
“Genre début novels, particularly psychological suspense, are selling for big money across the globe. Publishers, however, seem less willing to invest in novels that are more experimental, or that aren’t easy to categorise. In non-fiction, we’ve seen
a resurgence of the middle market. Non-fiction feels really healthy right now, and we’re enjoying the depth and variety to be experienced there.”
Eugenie Furniss, co-founder
Curtis Brown
“Over the past few months Curtis Brown has seen an enormous range of deals, from top-level deals for lead titles to more modest advances. The market remains polarised, and advances reflect that. Psychological suspense is still going strong, although UK advances in this area have plateaued.”
Karolina Sutton, literary agent
PFD
“We’ve had a buoyant half year, with new business across adult and children’s books, foreign rights, book-to-film/TV, stage rights, documentaries and public speaking. Much of our buoyancy is due to a raft of big deals and terrific international deals for some of our début authors, but our most hard- won sales have come in literary fiction in the UK market, which remains challenging.”
Caroline Michel, c.e.o.
Marjacq
“We are still seeing good five and six-figure deals for débuts. There seems to be more opportunities for publishing [manuscripts] with a new player in Zaffre/Bonnier, good digital publishing, new lists and a whole new generation of editors coming through.”
Philip Patterson, literary agent
Caskie Mushens
“Quite a few editors have moved recently, which always makes them acquisitive. We are finding editors to be hungry for new material right now - of the 19 UK book deals we have done, six have been for débuts, and four of those have been auctions. The US is also a land of opportunity. Finding US agents you trust, and partnering with them to sell titles, is a real boon to the business.”
Juliet Mushens, co-founder
The Bent Agency
“Advances are buoyant for the right book, but in general I think publishers are being quite selective, particularly in the adult market. They all want the really big breakout début. In Young Adult and Middle Grade fiction, there seems to be more openness to take on different kinds of titles.”
Jenny Bent, founder
RCW
“There are still six-figure deals but there is slightly more caution from publishers - but when they have a big appetite for a book, they still have a big drive for it. Non-fiction by experts, not laymen or journalists, continues to grow and, in terms of opportunities, the audio market is getting stronger. That’s exciting. There is also more interest in translated fiction than before.”
Peter Straus, managing director
Madeleine Milburn
“We started 2017 determined to exploit the increasing desire from film and TV companies for book adaptations, and we have seen a good amount of growth in this area. Our foreign rights have sold well, and the number of foreign deals in our backlist has also grown. Publishers increasingly fight for audio rights, and they also often make it difficult for the author to hold onto translation rights.”
Madeleine Milburn, founder
Jenny Brown Associates
“The market does seem pretty buoyant. Black & White is publishing Ann O’Loughlin brilliantly in the UK and selling her very well internationally, but in general the market for women’s fiction seems challenging. Literary fiction continues to be very tricky.”
Jenny Brown, founder
United Agents
“Hardback fiction is doing really well for United Agents - extremely well. I have seen a big appetite for young, British writers of non-fiction who have something interesting to say and an interesting way of saying that.”
Jon Elek, agent