III. NOVEL GENRES AND TRENDS

Our workshop focuses on realistic, literary youth novels. Among these, which genres and themes are you soliciting?

I tend to be attracted to strong writing of all sorts rather than to specific themes, or even genres.

What’s one dominant (perhaps elusive) story quality that hooks you, that makes a story distinctive and memorable?

A strong, distinctive, narrative voice.

How do you define “voice”?

Voice is the difference between the way Hemingway and Faulkner write individual sentences. You would never mistake the vocabulary, sentence structure, ordering of details, and use of language of one for the other.

Does your text sound like anyone could have written it? Or are the sentences, their nuances, their order, unique to you and you alone? Personality should come through in even the most mundane passages, just by your use of language.

Common plots in YA novels include the quest or journey, adventure and survival, coming of age, the underdog and bullied, romances, and mysteries—interwoven with friendship and family. Are these elements timeless?

Yes—it’s the way they are written about that can date a book.

Do raw, edgy, issue-driven teen novels sell well? What, if anything, is replacing them?

Nothing is replacing them. If this is a genre, it is ever-green.

In Writing for Young Adults, Sherry Garland notes a paradox: “The more unique and controversial your story and characters, the more likely the book will be acclaimed. Yet... the more difficult it will be to find a publisher, given the risk of censorship and resistance by schools.” Which kinds of controversial books, if any, will you represent?

First, I think it is a fallacy to claim that “the more unique and controversial your story and characters, the more likely the book will be acclaimed.” This is hardly a guaranteed equation, and most people who set out deliberately to write something “unique and controversial” don’t write very good books—especially if their prime emphasis is on controversy. Writing something just for the sake of being controversial rarely results in books of high enough quality to be acclaimed by anyone.

Good books, honest books that grow naturally out of the author’s passions, interests and experiences are what get the acclaim—whether or not an element of controversy is involved. Of course, there’s an important difference between “acclaim” and “publicity”—the latter simply being noise and the former being critical accolades.

A workshop enrollee asks: “We’re taught that novelists must balance narrative, dialogue, characters’ thoughts and action. Many recent acclaimed children’s books are heavy on narrative. Examples: E.L. Konigsburg’s The View from Saturday and A. LaFaye’s Edith Shay. Also, Karen Cushman’s The Midwife’s Apprentice and Catherine, Called Birdy (in diary form) are full of excellent period detail. The Midwife’s Apprentice had lots of narrative and almost a fairytale quality. I didn’t get a strong sense of the main character’s personality in these books, though I like them. Many acclaimed books seem to break the rules.” How effective is narrative that tells instead of shows the story?

“Showing” is always always always best. “Telling” amounts to one person’s opinion. If readers are in sync with that one person, they might enjoy the book. But that requires a specific kind of reader. Readers are automatically drawn into a scene in which they are “shown” the action—their own judgments are engaged in deciphering what has happened (and in some cases whether or not they agree with the main character’s assessment or reactions). This process of bringing yourself to what you are reading—of actively entering into the story and using your brain to interpret what’s been described—makes reading itself a deeper, more involved and more satisfying experience.

IV. ON A PERSONAL NOTE

What background and interests do you bring to editing?

I like words and I like good books. I set a high standard for my authors and myself, and this informs every aspect of each book I publish. As to other interests: I enjoy trips to art museums and concerts.

What do you like most about your job as an executive editor?

I like making books. All stages of making books, from brainstorming with authors to line editing to working with designers to get the right cover image and interior type. I love the physicality of it as much as the cerebral engagement.

There’s nothing special about being an executive editor. The only part of the title that matters is “Editor.”

What are some distinctive youth novels that you’ve edited in the past few years? What aspects grabbed you, made them stand out from other submissions?

Repossessed, by A. M. Jenkins, features an unusual hero who has a distinctive voice. The story asks important questions about religion and beliefs with a very light hand, and it is also quite funny.

Wicked Lovely, by Melissa Marr, was a manuscript whose strong characters, compelling action, and seemingly unsolvable conflict forced me to finish reading it in one sitting.

The Wee Free Men, by Terry Pratchett, is a hysterically funny and subtly thought-provoking book that features a believable and tough, no-nonsense young heroine

What do you enjoy about meeting writers at events?

I enjoy talking with writers about their ideas and the books they are intrigued by (either positively or negatively). The opportunities to discuss writing itself and the creative process are remarkably few inside the walls of publishing houses where we are all frantically trying to get the piles of work on our desks taken care of. Spending time with writers gives me the opportunity to put the business side of publishing on hold and concentrate on the books, their creators, and their audience, that make it all worthwhile.

What would you like writers to know about you, the individual who scrutinizes (and sometimes rejects) their literary labor of love?

I put a very high premium on professionalism. Being businesslike doesn’t have to mean leaving personality out of correspondence or interactions, but it does mean being clear, direct and respectful of other people’s time and attention.

Editing is a subjective business. All editors say that, but it is a hard thing for writer to believe and remember. What is right for one editor is not right for another, and you truly truly want to work with an editor who “gets” your book. When we say something “isn’t right for us,” we mean it subjectively—and it is truly the case that other editors will feel differently about the work, just as you yourself have a personal reaction to pieces of art, flavors of food, and the people you meet.

Two of my very favorite books from my own list, books that won major literary prizes of the sort guaranteed to drive sales to stellar heights, were rejected by other editors before they landed on my desk. I loved them from the first read; another editor didn’t. That doesn’t mean that I was right and that the other editor was wrong. It means only that I was the right editor for each project.

No one editor should ever have the last word on whether your work is publishable—unless, of course, what they say is YES!

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