Sunday, March 14, 2010

Editor Interview Goodness

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As I am trying to install order [I have decided I want to do way too many things, so chaos is not going to cut it], I will direct to author Mark Charan Newton. He has posted an excellent interview with his editor Julie Crisp from Tor UK. It is informative and shows an angle not every person can glimpse so easily.

Here is a minor clip:

It gets asked all the time: “What are editors looking for in a submission?” But what writers might not realise is that every editor is in fact a different human being. What does Julie Crisp look for in a submission, and what’s the best bit of advice for a writer?

Editors are all different and we all have varying tastes but I think the one thing we all look for – no matter what the genre – is someone who can tell a story.

At heart, I’m a fan first and foremost, so I look for books that I’d read for pleasure and that I’d want to recommend to other people. We also have to be quite pragmatic about it though, and keep an eye on what’s doing well in the marketplace. It’s no good being a huge enthusiast of, oh I don’t know, dwarven adventures with magic ponies, if there’s a demonstrated sales record that proves this doesn’t work. So it’s a balancing act between passion and business.

2 comments:

Charles Gramlich said...

THat's true for me too. I'm still primarily a fan. And I write the kind of stuff I want to read myself. True, certainly as well, every editor is different, which is why when one rejects it you send it to the next one.

Harry Markov said...

It is a great interview and Julie is a UK bigshot [goddess, really]. :)