The Gatekeepers of Book Publishing

Literary agents, and acquiring editors, and publishers are considered often considered the gatekeepers of book publishing. Writers must get “through” them to get their books traditionally published.

A literary agent is a professional who represents authors and their written works to publishers, film producers, and other potential buyers. The role of a literary agent is to act as an intermediary between an author and the publishing industry, helping to secure book deals, negotiate contracts, and manage other aspects of an author’s career.

An acquiring editor is an editor who works for a publisher. They acquire manuscripts. The task involves reviewing manuscripts, selecting which ones to publish, and negotiating contracts with authors. Acquiring editors work closely with authors and other stakeholders to develop and refine book ideas, oversee the editorial process, and bring books to market.

A book publisher is a company or organization that specializes in the production and distribution of books. Publishers are responsible for all aspects of the book publishing process, from acquiring and editing manuscripts to designing book covers and distributing books to bookstores and online retailers.

There are other gatekeepers, too, including the people who determine how books are distributed and sold: distributers and booksellers. Some might even call librarians gatekeepers.

It is also worth noting that some of these entities don’t like being called “gatekeepers,” as is the case of literary agent Rachelle Gardner, who says this in her post “I Am Not a Gatekeeper”:

Anyone who acquires authors for an agency or for a publisher is totally 100% focused on bringing in books they believe they can sell.

That’s IT.

You wouldn’t call the women’s wear buyer at Nordstrom a gatekeeper, because you know her job is to bring in clothes she believes her customers will like. Her job is not to keep out the bad, but to bring in the good.

Still, there is no denying how many writers the above entities do end up keeping out by bringing in only the supposed “good.” Even good writers producing good-quality content get left outside the gate.  

How does the publishing process work for writers?

If a writer wants to get their book published, they must first seek out an agent to represent them by querying that agent. To query a literary agent, a writer must usually have either a completed fiction manuscript or a proposal for a nonfiction book. Once an agent has reviewed the query and agreed to represent the author, that agent will have to seek out an acquiring (or acquisitions) editor. Once a manuscript is acquired by an editor at a publisher, it still must undergo other rounds of review by other stakeholders at the publisher. Here is what this process can look like:

Sometimes, a writer may be able to skip one or more of these gatekeepers. For example, some acquiring editors and publishers accept unsolicited manuscripts from authors. These are manuscripts by authors who aren’t represented by literary agents. This means that a write can directly submit their manuscript for publication. However, most acquiring editors and publishers do not accept unsolicited manuscripts. Also, some publishers, specifically smaller publishers, might not have acquiring editors, or at least the person who acts as an acquiring editor might have a different title or alternate roles.

Sometimes, a writer might get through one “gate” in the gatekeeping process only to be barred at the next gate. For example, an author may find representation, but their agent might not have success querying acquiring editors. Even publishers can reject books that their acquiring editors have already accepted. This can happen when other stakeholders in the publishing process may have different perspectives on the manuscript, and they may have different priorities or concerns. For example, the marketing team may believe that the book will not have strong commercial appeal, or the publisher’s leadership may feel that the book does not align with the company’s overall strategy. Publishers have even rejected manuscripts that have been accepted by acquiring editors due to budget constraints or other business considerations.

How do the gatekeepers of book publishing decide which manuscripts to champion?

Literary agents, acquiring editors, and publishers receive countless submissions from authors, and they must carefully review and select the manuscripts that they believe have the best chance of success in the market. They base their decision on:

Quality. Publishers, literary agents, and acquiring editors are responsible for ensuring that the manuscripts they publish meet certain quality standards. They may provide feedback to authors to help them improve their manuscripts, or they may choose not to publish a manuscript if they believe it does not meet their standards.

Business considerations. Publishers, literary agents, and acquiring editors are also responsible for making business decisions about which manuscripts to publish. They must consider factors such as market demand, potential sales, and profitability when deciding whether to publish a particular manuscript. Political factors may come into play here; for example,

Industry expertise. Publishers, literary agents, and acquiring editors have extensive knowledge and experience in the publishing industry. They are said to understand the market, the trends, and the preferences of readers, and they use this expertise to make informed decisions about which manuscripts to publish.

Overall, publishers, literary agents, and acquiring editors are considered the gatekeepers of publishing because they play a critical role in deciding which manuscripts get published and ensuring that the published works meet certain quality and business standards. They are often seen as the key decision-makers in the industry, and their decisions can have a significant impact on the success of an author or a book.

This is why gatekeeping remains an important issue for many authors and content creators. The gatekeepers of publishing are often seen as gatekeepers of culture, with the power to shape public discourse and influence the ideas and values of society.

Because of the power they wield, there is ongoing debate about just who should have access to these gatekeeping roles and how they should be held accountable for their decisions. This has contributed to the push for more marginalized people to fill these roles to ensure the publication of meaningfully diverse content.

After all, how many good writers are being left behind while quote-unquote “good” writers make it? If writing quality is subjective, how can gatekeepers truly know what’s “good,” anyway? Does a prioritization of profitability mean that some authors (especially diverse authors) will never see publication simply because the people who hold gatekeeper roles think the market won’t like or buy their content? How can gatekeepers determine if content that has never been published will sell when they are relying largely on sales data of previously published books? How much harmful content is being published in the name of “what will sell”?

Book-publishing controversies (like the American Dirt scandal) have put a not-very-rose-colored spotlight on gatekeepers and continue to feed this discussion of who should hold gatekeeper roles.

Will the book-publishing gatekeepers retain their status?

Despite their high level of industry knowledge, the gatekeepers of publishing might not always fully understand book markets, emerging trends, or true preferences of readers. This is evidenced not only by the failures of traditionally published books that publishers predicted would do well (see: the recent failures of books written by people with large social media followings), but also by recent digital developments that have weakened their gatekeeper status.

These digital developments include self-publishing platforms, like Wattpad, that are harnessing the power of data and learning about trends and reader preferences to predict which books will succeed the most and to prop up their writers who are championing those books. These sites don’t rely on sales data, like traditional publishers do; they have access to other, perhaps-more-telling metrics that comes from their user data, including engagement metrics (like “which parts of a story generate the most intense reaction from the community and the specific genres certain demographics prefer”). Furthermore, social media applications like TikTok spawn organic, word-of-mouth marketing—some which has turned viral—that can get new readers reading even non-traditionally published books. These platforms allow authors that might never have gotten through the many gates of traditional publishing the chance to find writing success.

How will the gatekeeping status of literary agents, acquiring editors, and publishers change as the digital world continues to change the way readers learn about and consume books? The world continues to evolve, so we’ll just have to see.