Overzealous Is Your Middle Name (Which Makes You Just Like Most Authors)

I submitted three chapters and a synopsis to two editors I met at a very small regional SCBWI event. When I sent the 3 chaps, thinking I had a minimum of 4-6 months wait ahead of me, I was aware my MS still needed a last copyedit and a proofread. When Editor A requested the full MS, only three weeks later, complete with scribbled smiley face on her note to me, I was elated.... and horrified to find my story wasn't as ready as I thought. The second half (at least) had some serious issues which suddenly became glaringly obvious to me now that someone actually wanted to see the full. I'm sure I made a complete gaffe of the situation: I sent Editor A the first half of the MS, and explained what had happened, with an assurance I was committed to fixing the issues. Editor A quickly rejected my half MS with a form letter. No real surprises there, I guess, a sharp rap on the knuckles, and a hard lesson learned.

Ah... well, I can't speak for all editors, but if I had the first half of a novel and was really excited about it, I would let the author know that I'd love to see the rest when it was done.
Unless it was about vampires, zombies, or angels. Only manuscripts ready to be sent to the printer can have those in them right now. Damned angels.

At the same time, you're right, you shouldn't be submitting a novel that isn't finished, so I'm glad you're taking this as a lesson.

I'm wondering what's the best way to handle Editor B: just to send her a letter and withdraw my MS from consideration at this point? I don't want to waste her time. But I'm not expecting that she will request the full. And I don't want to come across as Stupidity Exhibit A to someone whom I admire. How is an author, if she's silly enough to be there, expected to handle this kind of situation? Talk about arguing for one's limitations....

Let her know that you feel you've noticed a couple problem areas and want to send the manuscript to her once it's really as good as you can make it. She should appreciate that. And give her an idea of how soon that might be: a month? A couple months? I don't mean to pressure you, but we like people who have a new book every year or two.

You Don't Hate Me! You Really, Really Don't Hate Me!!

Do good reviews matter? If one's first book sold few copies, but received excellent reviews from Kirkus, Publishers Weekly, VOYA, and others, will a publisher take that into consideration when deciding whether to offer a contract for a second book?

Yes. As long as we're in agreement about what "excellent" means.

I know some authors who think the world is ready to crack open and give them an oyster the size of Hong Kong if a reviewer simply refrains from impaling their book on a bloody spike.

Most really glowing reviews are starred reviews, and that's what really makes a difference to how ready I am to overlook bad sales history.

In Which I Am Proud of My Bruises

Do you know why some really, really prominent children's books - like the last volume of a certain boy wizard series - are edited so badly? I'm certainly I'm not the only person who read through the last few installments of Harry Potter thinking OH MY GOD CUT CUT CUT!!!!
The obvious explanation is that a bigshot author can demand their immortal prose be left untampered with, on threat of decamping to a different publisher.

Yes, in large part.

Another still more depressing possibility is that the publishers just don't care and skip the editing process in order to get the big-name book out there bringing in all that lovely money as soon as possible.

Yes again.

But if the latter, that seems short-sighted, as a well-edited book is surely more likely to stand the test of time and keep making money for the publisher in future (if, of course, that publisher retains the rights - if not, maybe they don't care.).
It's certainly difficult to imagine that Bloomsbury couldn't find someone competent and willing to work on HP. Was there some poor editor weeping in her office over being prevented, by authorial ego or sales department supremacy, from doing her job properly?

Yes, that's possible. There are also a few editors who, unfortunately, just don't really give a crap.

I agree with you that there are further books in certain series that could have done with a sh**load of editing beyond the editing I know they received. (Never assume they weren't edited at all--they were.)

But I'd like to say a couple things about the short-sightedness of publishing, to provide some context, without actually defending it.

For one thing, for 99.99% of books, publishing is about the now. Being able to sell 500,000 copies now is the very best most books can ever hope for. Trying to create a book 'for the ages'--a book that will last past the author's own lifetime, nevermind just making it to two years from now-- is playing with such long odds it's ridiculous. That's a fact of the industry, and something to bear in mind.

It's also worth remembering that as long as the first book in a series is in good enough shape to keep hooking readers, it doesn't matter so much how badly plotted, excessively adverbialized, and padded with filler the last books are. Readers will still want them. That's a fact of the reading public.

So yes, sometimes authors prevent editors from doing their jobs. Sometimes publishers prevent editors from doing their jobs. Sometimes editors just don't do their jobs. And sometimes it's a combination of all three.

It takes a lot of fight to be a good editor. And it also takes knowing what fights are worth fighting.

Definitions for the Perplexed: Assistant- Associate- Senior- Executive- Editor -in Chief -ial Director etc etc

Could you explain exactly what an Editorial Director does? Where does she fit in with the general hierarchy of a publishing company? (I assume she is more senior than a Senior Editor, but is there anyone more senior than her?) Does an Editorial Director have to go through a committee to acquire, just like everyone else, or is she more autonomous?

Ha-ha! I will never tell. The industry is conspiring against you to make this information inaccessible!

Ok, I don't mean that. But I can't tell you the answer, because what an editorial director does, how she fits in the hierarchy of the company, and how she acquires will vary unpredictably from one house to another.

So if I told you what "editorial director" means at my house, my colleagues might be able to figure out which house I work for. Every company uses titles to suit their specific needs and interprets titles according to bureaucratic whim. There's no communal chart for what a particular title means in publishing.

Perhaps some of my publishing readers could give anonymous examples in the comments of what "editorial director" means at their houses.

The Importance of Community and Research

I have a sister who has written 3 tween girl books. She recently sent me a contract she received from an agency for my review. In researching this agency it was not hard to uncover that it is a fee based scam sort of operation. I would love for my sis to have a real opportunity to get some healthy and professional critique on her writing. Unfortunately my rolodex is a little thin on literary industry folks. What's the best way to obtain information on reputable children's/ tween freelance editors that I could hire to work with her?

She should join the SCBWI to start with-- that will put her in contact with a whole community of people whom she can ask for advice. My readers may have suggestions in the comments, too.

How to Illustrate for Children? Oh, That's Simple.

I'm currently studying Illustration at the Arts University College at Bournemouth in my second year. I've been given a brief where I need to design 5 rough ideas and 3 final images for a children's book. The brief is that I've got to pick 5 religions and pick one section from their story about creation and illustrate it for a child. I've been given no text as of yet so I need to be mindful that the text will take up at least a third of the double page spread I've got to design for each image.

And so as I was reading through your blog and all your posts, i was wondering whether you had any advice about how I should go about this and if you could give me some information about what's successful in the realm of children's books.

I don't know how to answer this. For one thing, I'm an editor, not an art director. And for another thing, it sounds like you don't know what your question is. Which part of this assignment are you confused about? If it's the whole assignment, you should talk to your teacher.

I'm sorry not to be more help, but specific questions engender specific answers.

Fragile: Contains Dreams. Please Do Not Bend, Fold, or Crush.

Do children's book editors know that they hold children's book author's dreams in their hands?

Yes. But long acquaintance with the slush pile has convinced us that we are also holding authors' crack-induced fantasies and psychotic delusions in our hands.

Also: No.

Here's the thing we'd like more authors to be aware of: we don't hold your dreams in our hands. You do.

What we hold in our hands--what you've sent us-- is your work, not your dreams.

Any reasonable person expects to work hard to make their dreams come true, right? Getting rejected and writing and rewriting and writing some more and getting rejected some more is all part of that hard work.

No editor should be able to crush your dreams by telling you the piece of your work they looked at wasn't good enough. Because it's just one piece of your work! And you have lots more, right?

When you receive a rejection letter and feel your dreams being crushed, BE AWARE: it's you crushing your dreams.

That's what happens when you forget that dreams are achieved through your hard work, and not through the miraculous intervention of others.

We are not your fairy godmothers; we are your colleagues. We will be so grateful if you will treat us as such.