David Shelley, CEO of Hachette US and UK (one of the Big Five publishers, ~220M books/year, $3.5B revenue), explains how publishing works and how writers should navigate it, drawing on 30 years in the industry.
What publishers actually do
Publishers’ core purpose is making people realize they want your book amid ~200,000 new US titles annually.
Key functions: editorial development to make the book as good as possible; sales to get bookstores to stock it; marketing, publicity, and advertising to create awareness; physical manufacturing (printing, paper quality, typesetting, special finishes like sprayed edges); and global distribution/warehousing (Hachette ships 150M books/year from Indiana to 220 countries).
Manufacturing expertise matters: paper longevity, color fidelity, and specialty editions (e.g., Twilight sprayed edges with dual character reveals) are difficult for self-publishers to replicate.
How to get your book published
The landscape has shifted from gatekept (hard-copy slush piles, agents required) to more open: digital-first imprints (e.g., Bookouture) accept unagented submissions, publish ebook/audio first, then print if successful; self-publishing is viable and low-cost.
Publishers don’t know everything: many bestsellers (e.g., Cali Hart’s Quicks) were rejected, then self-published successfully, then acquired.
Advice: don’t be deterred by rejections; trust your gut if you believe your story resonates; self-publish if you have the resources and conviction.
What literary agents do
Most submissions to Hachette come via agents; direct submissions are rare due to volume.
Good agents: identify marketable books, match them to the right editor/house, negotiate deals (royalties, film/translation rights), and mediate author-publisher disagreements (e.g., cover disputes).
Agents’ hit rate is no better than publishers’; many successful authors never had an agent.
How to deal with disagreement
Shelley advocates radical candor: be direct and polite about concerns (e.g., cover dislike); frame discussions around “how do we sell the maximum copies?” not personal taste.
James Patterson’s cover philosophy: “I see it, I want it” — covers must pop in 2–3 seconds of browsing; a literal cover may not be the best Trojan horse.
Compromise is possible (e.g., literary hardcover, commercial paperback); rudeness damages relationships, straightforwardness does not.
Making money vs making art
Writers’ motivations span a spectrum: some (e.g., Ronald Firbank) write for artistic integrity with no market; others (e.g., James Patterson, Lee Child) aim for widest reach.
Both are valid; commercial success can be artistic (Warhol analogy: making art accessible).
Even “product-like” books (e.g., Hessayon’s gardening guides) require artistry — “the best possible words in the best possible order.”
Know your aim honestly: if art-first, ignore commercial concerns while writing; if reach-first, study bestsellers, covers, reader reviews, and pick agents with commercial track records.
Avoid over-consuming feedback; a good agent can act as a north star.
Choose the right editor
If you have a publisher, you don’t need a freelance editor — the house editor’s job is shaping the book.
Freelance editors (often ex-publishing) can help pre-submission; many agents also do 3–4 editorial rounds before submission.
In a bidding war, meet every bidding editor and publisher (who runs the creative unit); chemistry and passion matter more than money long-term — you’ll work intensely together for years.
Publicists join at acquisition but engage heavily near publication: securing reviews, podcasts, TikTok/BookTok, bookstore buzz.
Should you market your own book
Publishers have unique distribution leverage: endcaps, front tables, billboards, retailer relationships.
Authors excel at grassroots: podcast tours (James Clear did 80 launch-week podcasts), social clips, BookTok/Twitter.
High-resource authors (celebrities, CEOs) may layer freelance teams on top; but if a publisher says you must hire marketing, that’s a red flag.
Publishing adapts faster than perceived, but outside disruption (new channels) is healthy and authors often pioneer it.
The biggest money trap
Don’t automatically take the highest advance. A celebrity memoir took the biggest offer (no clear vision) and sank; another author chose a lower offer with a passionate editor who fixed the ending — the book sold a million copies.
Large advances with poor fit hurt long-term careers: weak track record, compromised next deal, publisher loses interest.
Passion, vision, and editorial insight often outperform raw advance size.
How bookstores came back
James Daunt (Waterstones, Barnes & Noble) revived big stores by making them beautiful destinations (wooden tables, inviting atmosphere) and curating based on customer knowledge, not paid placement.
Retailers often know local customers better than publishers; Daunt’s teams sometimes request cover changes for their market, which Hachette usually accepts.
Why moral sense matters
Great writers often have a strong moral anchor/subtext (Mitch Albom, C.S. Lewis, Tolkien, Sally Rooney, Paglia, Houellebecq, Nietzsche) — a coherent worldview that compels readers.
Strongest IP (Narnia, LOTR, Harry Potter, Disney) all have clear moral universes; justice prevails in mysteries (villain caught); even Talented Mr. Ripley has its own inverted morality.
Readers gravitate to integrity and a sense of right/wrong, even if subtextual.
Mystery and thriller rules
Mystery: crime (usually murder) + puzzle (who/why) + protagonist solver (amateur, PI, police); high artistry within strict structure (haiku-like).
Thriller: “most dramatic moment of an ordinary person’s life” (Jeff Abbott); domestic, spy, or action; twists, adrenaline, fast-paced, cinematic; good doesn’t always win.
Horror: visceral dread (pit-of-stomach feeling); fewer rules — good needn’t prevail, shock is deliberate; ripe for subversion (queer horror, feminist horror); likability/relatability optional; conceptual and visceral.
Kids books sell forever
Children’s = picture books, middle grade, YA — each distinct; anchoring in a coherent, safe universe is key.
Beloved picture books exhibit unique backlist dynamics: sales grow over decades as childhood readers buy for their kids (mushrooming effect); a 1,000-copy launch can become 10M copies in 40 years.
Kids’ backlist accounts for far more revenue share than adult backlist; feast-or-famine for authors.
US, UK, and French markets
UK/US fiction markets very similar (Connelly works in both); nonfiction similar in self-help; sports/cookery differ regionally (Garten US, Oliver UK).
Format preference: US loves hardcovers (bigger margins, higher author royalty); UK loves paperbacks; US hardcover window ~9–12 months (extendable if selling well); UK paperback-first.
US mass-market paperbacks (small, snap-shut) discontinued — consumers prefer trade paperbacks/hardcovers that lay flat.
France: more cerebral/intellectual; philosophy-centered; distinct tastes (some authors huge only there); culture taken seriously (book minister); but also loves romantasy/sprayed edges.
Paperbacks, ebooks and audiobooks
Bundle idea (ebook + hardcover + audio in one purchase) appealing but no compelling economic model yet; consumer demand mainly from top 1% bookish.
Streaming models (Kindle Unlimited, Spotify audio) growing: reach new readers (younger, non-book-buyers); Spotify data shows many James Patterson audio listeners are first-time book consumers.
Ebook growth plateaued; audiobook growth strong.
Gen Z’s return to physical books
Early ebook boom sparked “end of print” fears; instead Gen Z/Alpha embrace physical books (e.g., Heartstopper graphic novels: overwhelmingly physical sales).
Ebook niches: prolific readers (cost deals), older readers (font size), portability; audiobook growth driven by younger men — only segment with rising male readership.
Most books lose money
Power law economics: 85% of authors never earn out advance; top 2% of deals (advances $250K+) = 70% of advance spend; ~35% of books profitable; top 4% of profitable books = 60% of profit.
Publishers as angel investors (Marcus Dohle, PRH CEO): invest in thousands, few hit big.
Low-advance books can smash records (Where the Crawdads Sing — modest deal, UK published by Hachette); high advance ≠ guaranteed success.
Why publish with Hachette
Widest spectrum of imprints: ultra-specialist (Jessica Kingsley: autism, gender diversity, Chinese medicine) to blockbuster (Connelly, Patterson, Fielding).
Diverse business models: Bookouture (unagented, digital-first, 45% net receipts royalty, no advance — bet on yourself); traditional advances/royalties; global coordination (US/UK CEO unified, increasing global deals, France/Spain collaboration).
Strong marketing, publicity, covers, distribution; innovative on digital; global reach.
