Inside a BOOK auction

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• The publishing industry operates like a high school social structure, heavily reliant on word-of-mouth networking between literary agents and book editors, who act as gatekeepers for a highly concentrated market dominated by the 'big five' conglomerates.  Copied to clipboard!
• Landing a book deal for *Planet Money* involved a competitive, multi-stage 'wedding cake auction' format, where agents strategically managed information to incentivize high bids from publishers.  Copied to clipboard!
• The final decision in the book auction came down to a conflict between a 'whale' publisher offering more upfront money and a 'dolphin' publisher (W.W. Norton) offering a unique, mission-aligned gamble on educational courseware sales, ultimately leading to a 'shotgun wedding' with the latter.  Copied to clipboard!

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Planet Money Book Origin

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(00:00:22)

• Key Takeaway: The impetus for the Planet Money book originated externally when literary agents approached NPR about monetizing existing properties.
• Summary: The narrator initially suspected a hidden economy behind bookstores, noting that books remain influential despite modern media. The Planet Money book project began when literary agents, Laura Nolan and Jane Von Marin, retained by NPR, suggested Planet Money as a viable property. This approach contrasted with typical Planet Money projects, which usually start by investigating an industry rather than being initiated by market opportunity.

Agent Role and Book Concept

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(00:05:28)

• Key Takeaway: Literary agents function as industry spotters, filtering infinite ideas to find sellable book concepts, often leveraging existing audience engagement like the Planet Money Microface comic success.
• Summary: Literary agents Laura Nolan and Jane Von Marin earn a 15% commission by selling author ideas to publishers, viewing everything through the lens of ‘is this a book?’ They were intrigued by Planet Money due to prior NPR successes and the audience engagement shown by the sold-out Microface musical. The initial brainstorming led to the broad concept of a ‘field guide to the global economy’ to ensure mass market appeal.

Proposal Development and Writer Selection

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(00:09:32)

• Key Takeaway: A book proposal serves as both a structural blueprint and a business case, requiring a writer who understands the brand’s voice, like Alex Miasi, who had prior experience with book projects.
• Summary: The book proposal outlines chapter structure and makes a business case for the book’s market viability, treating the book as a product. Alex Miasi, who understood the Planet Money voice and had experience with the Atlas Obscura book, was selected as the writer after a fortuitous outreach. The team spent about a year refining the proposal, including sample writing and an outline, before seeking publishers.

Publishing Market Structure

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(00:11:33)

• Key Takeaway: The publishing industry is highly concentrated, consolidated into the ‘big five’ conglomerates, which increases pressure on publishers to prioritize low-risk bets on authors with existing platforms.
• Summary: The publishing industry is small and interconnected, resembling a high school where information flows between agents and editors. Consolidation over the last half-century resulted in the ‘big five’ conglomerates, whose subsidiary publishers are known as imprints. This structure forces publishers to focus on the bottom line, leading them to favor authors with built-in audiences, similar to Hollywood mining familiar IP.

Editor Acquisition Strategy

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(00:14:25)

• Key Takeaway: Book editors like Tom Mayer at W.W. Norton receive hundreds of vetted proposals annually, acquiring only about 2% based on a desire for the ’tingly feeling’ of reading something undeniably great.
• Summary: Tom Mayer, an executive editor at W.W. Norton (a major independent publisher), receives roughly 500 agent proposals yearly, typically buying only 10 to 12 books. Editors must balance artistic acquisition with the financial risk of each title, viewing their annual list as a portfolio of stocks. Unsolicited proposals are generally not read, emphasizing the gatekeeping role of agents.

Valuation and Bidding Strategy

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(00:27:39)

• Key Takeaway: The two-round ‘wedding cake auction’ format requires publishers to strategically bid to survive the initial cut, using comparable titles (‘comps’) and revenue projections to justify advances against royalties.
• Summary: The auction format chosen was the two-round best bid, where the top bidders advance in tiers, resembling a wedding cake. Publishers like Norton developed bidding strategies based on sales projections derived from comparable titles (comps), such as successful podcast books like 99% Invisible. The advance against royalties forms the lion’s share of the bid, representing the publisher’s initial financial risk.

Auction Climax and Decision

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(00:36:23)

• Key Takeaway: The final round of the auction devolved into a ‘beauty contest’ where chemistry and vision outweighed minor financial differences, forcing the Planet Money executive producer to choose between a safer, high-advance whale or Norton’s educational gambit.
• Summary: When bids became nearly equal after the second round, the ‘beauty contest’ began, focusing on author preference and strategic vision. Norton offered slightly less money but included full color and a unique pitch to integrate the retail book into educational courseware, aligning with Planet Money’s mission. Executive Producer Alex Goldmark ultimately chose Norton, feeling the educational pitch was the right path despite the uncertainty.

Deal Finalization and Next Steps

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(00:40:03)

• Key Takeaway: The winning bid for the Planet Money book was a seven-figure advance, falling between one and two million dollars, marking the successful completion of the agents’ role and the start of the editorial process.
• Summary: The winning advance was confirmed to be in the seven figures, greater than $1 million but less than $2 million, though specific numbers are kept confidential by industry policy. Upon signing, the agents received their commission and handed leadership of the project over to the editor, Tom Mayer, likening the finalization to a ‘shotgun wedding.’ The immediate next step was a kickoff meeting to tackle the actual process of writing the book.