A Real Offer Letter Example
This is what an agent receives before you get The Call about a book sale!
Okay folks, as promised, let’s talk about Offer Letters! This is the memo that your agent gets from the offering editor that outlines the basic terms of the deal as a starting point for negotiation. That part is crucial—this is what the publisher is asking for. That doesn’t mean they’ll get it. From this point, your agent will dive in and start trying to get you better terms. More on that after we look at the example offer letter
The usual caveats apply: Things vary a ton from publisher to publisher, various agents and agencies handle things differently, and so on. I never even saw the offer letters for several of my books, but I’m glad I know about them now.
I’ve tweaked a few things here to keep my publishers from getting mad at me, so please note that the advance amounts are fictional, imprint/title/etc. are redacted, and so on. I’ve combined some things from both letters to anonymize and provide a more complete picture.
(And before we get to that, I’m obligated to give you a quick reminder that Player vs. Player 2 is out next week, and I have an event at Bluebird & Co. in Crozet, VA! Firefly: What Makes Us Mighty is also now out in paperback.)
NOW, without further ado, here is the redacted version of my offer letter for one of my soon-to-be-announced deals! I’ll explain it below.