Debut Author Interviews

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the "dream editor" you wanted?

• Ruth McNally Barshaw on...Dream Editors
• Heather Tomlinson on...Dream Editors
• Paula Chase on...Dream Editors
• Carrie Jones on...Dream Editors
• Melissa Marr on...Dream Editors
• Greg R. Fishbone on...Dream Editors
• Joni Sensel on...Dream Editors
• Suzanne Selfors on...Dream Editors
• Jay Asher on...Dream Editors
• Rose Kent on...Dream Editors
• G. Neri on...Dream Editors
• Jeannine Garsee on...Dream Editors
• Laura Bowers on...Dream Editors

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the “dream editor” you wanted?

My editor is the dream editor I didn’t know existed. She affirms me, she supports and defends me. I adore her. She’s brilliant and fun and warm and insightful. I can’t imagine a better editor.

My agent chose her — she pitched the book to Victoria Wells Arms at Bloomsbury, and Victoria was out of the office for a while and liked the sound of my book, and suggested we pitch it to Melanie Cecka at Bloomsbury. We did, and Melanie loved it, and bought it.

I’ve become a big fan of Melanie Cecka.

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the “dream editor” you wanted?

I pitched Swan Maid to my editor at Holt for two reasons: she had edited Clare Dunkle’s YA fantasies (The Hollow Kingdom; Close Kin; In the Coils of the Snake), which I adore. Also, she works with a critique group buddy on the Melvin Beederman, Superhero series. While our genres are very different, Greg sang her praises, and with good reason.

Fortunately, she saw enough promise in an early draft to give me really thoughtful and smart suggestions for revision, and liked the result enough to buy it!

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the “dream editor” you wanted?

I’m right in the middle of edits and am witnessing first-hand how a novel transforms from a story into a good/great/better/fill-in-the-blank story. It amazes how my editor is able to look at the story and pick out things that need more definition or inconsistencies.

I did not pick my editor. My agent and I agreed that we’d so small rounds to a pool of editors. She chose them. I did not have enough background to have any significant impact on the editors she chose. I rellied heavily on my agent’s expertise, contacts etc..when it came to the pool of potential editors/publishers.

My editor, Stacey Barney, had recently moved from a very large publishing house to Kensington’s Dafina imprint to launch their YA line. My assumption was she wanted to be in the forefront of something new. It’s exciting to be in on the ground floor with her on this new line. It’s also pretty nerve-wracking. I feel the pressure - even if I’m the one putting the pressure on - to make sure the line gets off to a great start so it can make it’s mark in YA literature.

Now I’m a little more aware of the different editors acquiring YA. I read Publishers Weekly to stay abreast of moves and such. But, ultimately, I’ll continue to rely on my agent’s perspective here. There are so many components that need juggling - writing, publicity, marketing, etc…it’s nice when someone else can take the lead on the industry issues.

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the “dream editor” you wanted?

I am absolutely in love with my editor, Andrew Karre, of Flux.

Why?

It is not because he is a cute boy.

Okay. It is partly.

No, really, I love him because his suggestions make me go play. His suggestions make me go into rapid revise mode, adding depth to my novels. I love him because he will talk to me about random things such as the butter sculpture of pagent queens FOR AN HOUR!!! And he will. Really.

I submitted to Flux blindly. I submitted something barely written. He took it and ran. He’s incredible. I am positive he’s spoiled me and it will be hard, hard, hard to adjust to anyone else.

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the “dream editor” you wanted?

My editor, Anne Hoppe, was one of 10 who looked at the text. She received it Friday, skipped breakfast Saturday to read it, and called my agent that weekend to say she wanted in on the bidding. (My agent was setting up an auction.) On Monday, when I heard that she was that enthusiastic, I wanted her and none other. But later that day the first offer came in. I was traumatized. I wanted Anne. We turned down that offer (not because of Anne), but then several others started calling. By Thursday, we knew we had other four more editors interested, a verbal that a pre-empt offer was en route … I was a wreck. It was so exciting, but I wanted Anne. Fortunately, Anne wanted the book enough that she contacted Michael Stearns in London. By Friday we had the official offer for three books. It was so much more incredible than I could’ve dreamed.

Several of the other editors wowed me, but Anne skipped her caffeine for my characters. She moved all sorts of things to make this happen, dealing with an emergency meeting, cross-continental discussions, et al. It really was the perfect fit for both of us. She’s come to DC to see me, made me feel so incredibly comfortable with everything, and offered so many insightful ideas of the books as a whole.

As icing, afterwards, I learned that I had a second editor—Nick Lake—since the book is being co-released with Harper UK. Dual editors seemed pretty daunting, but fortunately, Nick is almost as enthusiastic as Anne and offers a very different perspective on the text. I am so very awed by my editors.

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the “dream editor” you wanted?

I had a dream editor in mind for THE PENGUINS OF DOOM. I did my research. I saw her speak at a writing conference where she described her background, tastes, and preferences—and I took copious notes. Then I read some of the books she’d edited just to confirm that mine would fit in perfectly with the rest of them. It was like fate!

I won’t tell you the editor’s name, but I do have to say that her rejection letters are exquisite.

It was another editor, a couple years later, who pulled my book out of the slush pile and made her entire publishing house fall in love with it. So really, you just never know.

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the “dream editor” you wanted?

My editor, Reka Simonsen at Holt, would have earned the dream editor title if for no other reason than that she’s willing to read slush and picked me out of the pile. She also took the time and effort to give me extensive feedback in the rejection that followed so that I could try again, and she could eventually convince the rest of the acquisitions committee to say yes. Yippee! I was lucky enough to meet her in person and she’s great. I hope to make her sorry that she rejected my second novel, hee hee, but she’s just agreed to buy the third, so that’s dreamy, too!

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the “dream editor” you wanted?

My agent sent my manuscript to six houses of her choosing. Two editors read the manuscript over the weekend and made offers on a Monday. My agent called the others and they scrambled to read and by the end of the week we had five offers, one of which I turned down right away because I stubbornly wanted hardcover for my first novel.

So I ended up with the editor whose offer I liked best. Turns out she’s delightful and I really enjoy working with her. I’m very fortunate.

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the “dream editor” you wanted?

I was lucky enough to have three editors interested in Thirteen Reasons Why. Because of that, my agent set up an auction, with one guideline being that I got a chance to speak with each editor on the phone. One editor was from a fairly literary house, one from a very commercial house, and one from a (ahem) random house. I felt like Goldilocks, searching for the one editor who would suit me “just right.” All three editors had different ideas regarding the strengths of my manuscript…as well as what needed tweaking. It’s weird to imagine that the book that’ll be on bookshelves across the country would’ve been different, in small but significant ways, had I gone with a different editor.

In the end, I went with the editor who seemed most excited about my manuscript—Kristen Pettit at Razorbill. And yes, she turned out to be more than “just right.” Her ideas improved my manuscript tremendously (I felt a little embarrassed that I hadn’t come up with some of the ideas myself). When you read the book, hopefully you’ll have no idea which parts were in the original manuscript and which were added after it sold. If one particular scene or character stands out as your favorite…that was my idea!

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the “dream editor” you wanted?

In a sense, my editor is a “dream editor” because she’s grounded in reality. She has the ability to see not only the forest through the trees for me, but the footprints that lead me through to the other side of the woods.

I suppose we all choose our editors and they all in turn choose us, but I’m certainly grateful we have chosen each other. An award-winning author at a conference once said that a good book is due to an author, and a great book is due to an editor. Given the magnitude that falls under the term “editing,” I’d agree.

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the “dream editor” you wanted?

My editor, Jennifer Fox at Lee and Low is my dream editor. She picked me from the slush and had revision notes to me a week after I sent her my story via snail mail. She always answers my emails the same day with really long, extremely thoughtful replies. I cannot recall ever having disagreed with her (and I will bow to NO idea unless it is better than my own). She has the magic touch in her editorial skills—able to identify the issue without telling me the solution, but in such a way that the solution comes easily to me. She is constantly making me a better writer and we push the story higher and higher with each round of talks. She had never done a graphic novel before, but allowed me to educate her by having her read what I thought were great graphic novels, until our tastes completely converged. She has included me in every step of the way with our illustrator, from choosing him to allowing me to give editorial comments on everyone of the 700 or so drawings in my graphic novel.

She then asked me to write her pet project—a book she’d been trying to get off the ground for years—without a single suggestion of story, character or format, just a notion that there was a great story to be had about the world of inner city chess and troubled teens. And she encouraged me as the story grew from a picture book to something completely new and untested: a free verse illustrated novella.

If that’s not a dream editor, I don’t know what is.

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the “dream editor” you wanted?

I found my editor through my agent—or, rather, I should say she found me. :-)

What makes her a dream agent is the fact that, no matter how much we might disagree on a point, she always takes the time to present her side, to listen to my own—and if she’s right, she doesn’t gloat (and I try not to pout), and if I’m right, she concedes. Not only do we have a wonderful working relationship, but I feel we’ve also developed a friendship as well. We dash off emails to one another every now and then that really have nothing to do with writing at all. She’s brilliant, she knows the business, and I know how hard she worked to help me make my novel the best it can possibly be. In fact, some of the best scenes in the book are scenes she insisted I add!

How did you choose your editor and was he or she the “dream editor” you wanted?

Before selling my first book, I would have defined my dream editor as someone who was supportive, encouraging, and was more of a friend, rather than just my boss. I wanted an editor who respected my voice, and yet wasn’t afraid to push me beyond my own expectations.

My agent, Rosemary Stimola, was the one who decided which editors to submit Beauty Shop to. I had total faith in Rosemary’s selection, and in the end, found my dream editor when Karen Grove from Harcourt offered me a contract. I adore Karen and couldn’t imagine working with anyone else!