Curse of the Orphaned Book

By Jeff Rivera 

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As reports of editors at publishing houses being laid off continues there is another group of professionals that are being affected by this predicament, authors and the agents that represent them. More specifically, these are authors whose books are ‘orphaned’ or as Liz Scheier, former senior editor with Ballantine defines as “a book that is bought by an editor who leaves that publishing house before the book goes on sale.”

One of the results of such an occurrence is with the original champion of the book gone, sometimes the book tanks faster than a submarine. Could the book have tanked otherwise? Perhaps but often times the “orphaned book syndrome” is given the blame.


Sarah Cloots, former editor of Greenwillow Books explains,”It’s true that once an author is published, the sales team will generally look at their track record, and if it’s a bad one, be hesitant to sign the author on again.”

Now marked with a bad sales track record, (also known as the kiss of death) an author can find it difficult to sell their next book, especially if the orphaned book was an author’s debut title. Authors may feel in a sense that their career is in a sense cursed.

What can an author do in such a situation? To find out, we asked a number of literary agents, managers and editors who have helped guide authors’ careers and encountered such a scenario.

Veteran agent, Jane Dystel of Dystel & Goderich Literary Management says, “if the acquiring editor leaves the publishing house, it is the author/agent’s responsibility to make sure the person who takes over is on board in every way with the project. If this doesn’t happen, then there is a very good chance that the book will be lost.”

Ted Weinstein of Ted Weinstein Literary Management advises writers to, “continue to build his or her platform and write (or get written about) in lots more media outlets, so their agent will be able to say to acquisition editors with a straight face that the author is now at a new, higher stage of their writing career.”

And of course, there is another solution, some regard as controversial but nevertheless has saved a career or two and that is having the author write under a pseudonym.

Veteran agent, Bob Diforio of D4EO Literary Agency encountered this situation with a client of his but was upfront with the new publisher. He says, “I sold his next books under a pseudonym to another publisher and before signing the contract, but having agreed on all terms, I explained who the author ‘really is’ and why I was selling the works (it was a three book deal) under a pseudonym. They did not hesitate, loved the book and five books later he is still writing that series for the publisher.”

Writing under a pseudonym is also used when switching genres at a publisher’s request, Sarah Cloots explains, “often a publisher will ask you to write under a pseudonym so as not to dilute your ‘brand’ (or confuse your readership), so that you get a new chance.”

However, Liz Scheier advises to proceed with caution, an orphaned book can’t always be the blame. “Authors in this position should consider the possibilities of why the book tanked; had the best time for the book passed? was another, similar book by a popular author published at the same time? Did that genre never feel natural to the author in the first place, meaning the book may not have been up to par?”