Once you have some idea of what might be negotiable in a book publishing contract, it is time to do some serious sleuthing. Negotiations are ultimately influenced by which side knows the most about the other side's positions. The editor starts this contest with an advantage gained from experience in the market, experience doing other similar deals (undoubtedly many more than you have done), and the benefits of your perspective as reflected in your proposal. The way you get on an even footing with your editor and publisher is by knowing what to ask, and just as importantly, when to ask it.

What follows is a list of 20 questions (more or less) that you can employ to learn more about your publisher's plans for, and expectations of, your work -- information that will help you evaluate your leverage and your editor's weaknesses. Ask them in the context of negotiating a book contract and the editor will evade them, hedge, or refuse to answer. Ask them after the editor has indicated an interest in your work but before you engage in active contract-focused negotiations -- in the context of learning more about your editor and publisher, more about their list and their business, more about the market and your potential competition -- and you may catch the editor still in his or her selling mode. Ask them yourself and in person or over the phone. Negotiations may be formal and may be best handled by your attorney or agent in order to preserve your relationship with your editor. But information gathering will be most effective if you do it in person. A question perceived as innocuous when asked by you will be viewed with suspicion if posed by your agent or attorney. It may take some prodding, probing, wheedling, and cajoling, but the information you gather will prove valuable so take copious notes.

Your first task is to loosen up the editor with some questions about his or her background. Get the editor talking freely and you are well on your way:

• ONE. How long have you been with the publisher ? Editors move from house to house and it will be helpful to know how long your editor has been in his or her current position.
  
  
• TWO. Where were you before? The experience editor gained at other houses will tell you something about his or her knowledge of the market and the business.
  
  
• THREE. Did you come up through the sales side or through editorial? The editor with a sales background will have a significantly different negotiating focus from the editor with an editorial background.
  
  
• FOUR. Tell me about your current list. How many titles are there? What disciplines? What curricular level? What are your lead titles? What sort of market share do they have? Are any of them market leaders? The answers to these questions will tell you something about your editor's place in the pecking order and about how much attention your project is likely to get. Next, find out how important your project is to the editor's bonus. No editor will knowingly tell you, but the answers to these questions may provide a few clues):
  
  
• FIVE. How many new books do you sign in a typical year? The answer to this question will tell you something about the editors annual signing goals.
  
  
• SIX. How many new books have you signed so far this year? The answer to this question will give you some idea of where the editor is in relation to his or her goals. If the editor is close to his/her annual average, it could well be that signing you will make the difference between earning or not earning a bonus. You will probably never know for certain how important your project is, but you may at least get a clue.

Find out where your book fits in:

• SEVEN. How would you envision positioning my book vis-ˆ-vis the competition? This will tell you what your editor sees as your work's competitive advantages -- information that will prove useful should you decide to approach other publishers with your project.
  
  
• EIGHT. Who are your principal competitors in this market? If you have not already submitted to these competitors, you should seriously consider doing so immediately. The best leverage you can have in negotiating a book contract is to know that there is another interested publisher in the wings.
  
  
• NINE. Do you have any titles (published or signed) similar to mine? For obvious reasons, you want to know if the editor will have divided loyalties. Moreover, when it comes time to talk about the scope of your non-compete clause, it is very helpful to be able to point out specifically that the publisher is not similarly constrained.
  
  
• TEN. If the proposal or partial manuscript has been reviewed, check the reviews to see who is identified as a competitor. Again, you want to know about the other publishers who might also be interested in your work.

Get the numbers. The answers to the following questions will help you back into a reasonable advance against royalties:

• ELEVEN. How big a market are we talking about? This will give you a sense of how the publisher views your book and whether you both see it the same way.
  
  
• TWELVE. What sort of market penetration does the publisher generally expect with a new book? In combination with the answer to Question 11, this will give you a way of corroborating the editor's sales projections.
  
  
• THIRTEEN. How many units would an average book do in the market for which my book is targeted? First year? Lifetime? How many do you think the market leader does? The answers to these questions, once you know the cover price, will let you estimate revenues and royalties so that you can make a credible, objectively supportable request for advances.
  
  
• FOURTEEN. How many units does a book like mine have to do to break even? The answer to this question will tell you at what volume the publisher covers its costs.
  
  
• FIFTEEN. How many units would my book have to do before you would consider it a roaring success? The answer to this question will tell you at what point the publisher has made its customary margin. The break-even volume and the volume necessary to a target margin are natural break points for a sliding royalty scale. Consider accepting the rate first offered up to break even, but ask for a higher rate up to the target margin, and ask for the moon beyond that.
  
  
• SIXTEEN. How would you see my book priced? As noted, this information helps you project revenues and royalties, but it also will tell you something about the titles your editor views as competitive -- because they will necessarily fall in the same price range.
  
  
• SEVENTEEN. Do you think it would travel well? If the editor says no, then it will be very hard for him/her to push for exclusive, perpetual foreign and translation rights.
  
  
• EIGHTEEN. Tell me about your foreign sales ability? Sub rights licensing (translations and adaptations)? New media capability? Again, rights that the editor is not positioned to aggressively exploit should not be part of the package.

Get the promotion plan:

• NINETEEN. What would you envision doing to promote a book like mine? How many pages in the promotional brochure? Full color? How big a mailing? How many review copies and comp copies? Presentation at sales conference? Author appearance? Journal ads? Anything else? Most publishing contracts say very little indeed about what the publisher will do to market and promote your work. If you get a sales pitch from the editor, make an effort to reduce it to writing and reference it in the publishing contract.

Check the back door:

• TWENTY. Roughly what percent of the titles you sign actually make it into print? The answer to this question will tell you how important it is to introduce an objective acceptability standard into the manuscript delivery clause.
  
  
• TWENTY-ONE. Is there anything else I should know about you or about how you see my book fitting into your list? If your editor is still talking, you should still be taking notes.

You will not get answers to all of these questions. And you will not get answers to any of them without a fair amount of prodding. But the time and effort you spend will tell you volumes about your editor and will pay many dividends when the time comes to negotiate that contract.