Evan Marshall is a literary agent and owner of the Evan Marshall Agency.

He’s also a multi-published novelist and a nonfiction author, and the creator of The Marshall Plan novel writing software.

Evan was born in Massachusetts. His first job was with the Big Five publisher Houghton Mifflin in Boston. Then he moved to New York and worked with Signet Books and a small company called Everest House, which is no longer in business. He also worked for a very famous old company, Dodd Mead, known for publishing Agatha Christie.

After working with these traditional publishers, Evan became a literary agent. He started working for another well-known agent, Sterling Lord.

Evan started his own literary agency in 1987.

What’s Changed in the Publishing Industry over the Last 30 Years

When Evan started in the publishing industry, there were many more publishers than there are today. There were many small independent publishers that were actually considered major industry players, typically based in New York City.

Over time, the small independent publishers engulfed and devoured each other so that now there are just the Big Five traditional publishers.

• Macmillan


• Penguin Random House


• HarperCollins


• Hachette


• Simon & Schuster

Most of the publishing companies that existed when Evan started in the business are either now imprints of one of these five publishers or they don’t exist anymore.

What this means for agents and traditionally published authors is that now there are fewer places to sell books. Very often, Evan will submit projects to different imprints within a publishing company, but when he does, he has to tell each of the editors that he’s already submitted to that company, because the individual imprints of the publishing company can’t bid against themselves.

That’s very different than the old days, when Evan could submit to truly separate publishing houses, and get more and higher bids. Publishing is no longer a “gentleman’s business.” There are no more midlist authors.

Midlist books were books that were bigger than so-called category books, but not “top of the list books” as they would say in the industry.

Basically, a midlist book is a book that has the potential to perform solidly in the market, earning a good living for its author, but isn’t going to be a massive bestseller. These were the books authors built their careers on, putting out a reliable stream of books and getting a reliable, if not massive, income in return.

Today there is no room for books like that. A book has to be a solid genre category, or has to be able to go out on its own in a big way.

In the past, there used to be midlist thrillers that had modest sales projections. If the book hit those projections, that was great. In order for a thriller to be successful today, it really has to sell in big numbers or, more than likely, that author will be canceled.

Publishing is a much more hard-nosed business today than it was 30 years ago.

Another example of how the publishing industry has changed is that bookstores very rarely want to do signings anymore, unless you are a big brand-name author.

There used to be signings practically every week at local Barnes & Nobles and Waldenbooks, all the brick-and-mortar bookstores that used to exist. Now, many brick-and-mortar stores say it’s not worth their time to have a book signing unless you’re a big brand-name author, like Oprah.

Some small bookstores will hold signings for local authors, but these events often don’t sell many books.

One positive development in the publishing industry are the new independent publishing companies like TCK Publishing. Small publishing companies like TCK Publishing make it possible for projects that don’t have a home with one of the Big Five traditional publishers to be put out in the marketplace, so they can find readers.

Most editors have to play it safe. They’re looking for reasons to say no. They have to buy something they know will work because they know their jobs are on the line.

Ironically, many times the Big Five publishers will try to swoop in and sign an author who has done well with a smaller publisher like TCK Publishing. And yet, when authors are asked if they want to switch to one of the Big Five publishers the answer is often no.

What Are Traditional Publishers Afraid of?

Basically, traditional publishers are afraid they’re going to buy a book that won’t sell very well, and then people higher up in the company will fire them.

Every editor at one of the Big Five publishing companies has a cost-benefit analysis done of them as part of a regular review process. The publishing companies compare:

• What the editor bought


• Whether the projects they bought were profitable


• How profitable those projects were as compared to the editor’s salary

If the books the editor bought don’t make more money (usually a lot more money) than the editor is paid by the publishing company, very often they are fired.

That’s not to say that new things never come out of New York. But when New York tries something new, it does so in a very safe way. A few years ago, 50 Shades of Grey was an unexpected success, so now all of the big publishers want to publish S&M romance. That was a new development, but it was safe and new because the ground had already been broken.

What Should Writers Do if They Want a Big Book Deal?

One approach to getting a good book deal is to work backwards. You find out what the editors are looking for.

You go to places like Publishers Marketplace or the deals page of Publishers Weekly.

You read book reviews.

You read the New York Times book review.

You go to writing conferences where publishers’ staff appear and explain what they’re looking for.

And if you think you would enjoy writing something in one of those areas, you read their guidelines and give them exactly what they want.

Just remember: You have to look carefully at what they’re already publishing so you don’t give them something too close to what they already have.

If, on the other hand, you’re an author who has an idea that’s a little different and doesn’t fit into what the traditional publishers want, there’s nothing wrong with indie publishing.

Indie publishing used to be called vanity publishing, and it was an embarrassment to most people. Generally, it meant that your work wasn’t any good and you had to pay $5,000 or $10,000 to fill your garage with books that usually just got moldy, that you were never able to sell. Typically, the author just ended up giving them away to friends and family.

Everything is different now. You can have your book on sale as an ebook and a print-on-demand paperback in a matter of weeks. Especially if the book you’re writing is in more of a niche genre or subgenre, it makes perfect sense to indie publish your book. Don’t waste any more time banging your head against the wall trying to sell to gatekeepers who aren’t interested.

If your book does well enough, traditional publishers will come knocking at your door after your book has proven itself.

You Can Get a Book Deal after You Self Publish Your Book

It’s entirely possible to get a publishing deal after you’ve self-published a book. Today, self-publishing your book and getting a bunch of sales is a way to prove to traditional publishers that your book as a product, and you as an author, are a safe bet.

Evan has many clients who got a traditional publishing deal after their book sold many copies in the marketplace as an indie published book.

Evan has also successfully sold indie published books to the Big Five publishers after the book sold many copies online without a traditional publisher backing it. Often, a traditional publisher will rebrand the indie book they bought by giving it a new title and new cover.

But remember—the book has to do really well first.

On the whole, unless a self-published book has sold phenomenally well, agents aren’t going to be interested in taking it on to try and place it.

– Evan Marshall

If an indie book doesn’t sell well, publishers believe the book has “had its life.”

For traditional publishers, an indie published book that’s selling phenomenally well is a book that selling hundreds of thousands of copies per year and continuing to do steady sales.

Usually when an indie author is selling that many books, though, they aren’t interested in a traditional publishing contract. The money you can make as a phenomenally successful indie author is far more than you can make as a traditionally published author under contract who has the same level of success.

There are examples of authors who began as indie published authors, got big advances for their next projects from traditional publishers, didn’t sell as many copies as they did with their indie published books, and now have returned to the indie publishing marketplace where they started.