II. SUBMISSIONS

Queries, Craft and Critiques

a) Queries

Many agents and publishers are closed to unsolicited submissions. Do you consider unsolicited queries; i.e., those without a referral (not a workshop attendee, etc.)? What are your usual response times to queries and requested manuscripts?

I don’t consider unsolicited queries. There are sadly not enough hours in the day to do so.
I try to get back to an agent within one month of a requested manuscript, but many times it takes up to two months. The market may control response times, so if a manuscript is being circulated that has great interest from multiple publishing houses, I will stop everything I’m doing to read it.

Are query letters peripheral for you, or are they an important reflection on the author and manuscript?

I would say both. I’m not going to dismiss a manuscript with a poor query letter, but I do appreciate a well-written query. I also appreciate queries that are warm and friendly over ones that are more businesslike. Publishing isn’t as buttoned-up as the rest of the world and I enjoy that; be creative to grab my attention. I will definitely think more highly of a query, and subsequent manuscript, if you have comp titles of books that have been published within the last few years. It’s very important to know the market for your book.

How many pages do you usually read in a manuscript before deciding to continue reading, request a full, or reject the manuscript? 

I start with 25 pages. After that, the author needs to give me a reason to keep reading, and there’s a multitude of ways to do that. But each subsequent page is time I don’t have reading something else, so if I’m not hooked early, I’m going to pass.

b) Craft and Critiques

Voice is often touted as a desirable element in fiction, yet it’s difficult to pinpoint (“I know it when I see it”). What does voice mean to you? How can it help create and define a character?

It’s subjective, which is probably why it’s so hard, and it’s why many times we say, “editorial opinions will vary.” We’re all human and certain elements of a narrative voice will resonate with one person over another. To me, voice is everything. If you don’t have “it,” I don’t feel that connection with your characters and don’t want to follow them throughout their journey. This is the basis for which all of my novels are acquired. It envelops the storyline into a living and breathing being—it’s a part of you as the author reaching out to the reader—and that’s a very special kind of storytelling. Characters, even though they may not be real are real in one’s story, and if they don’t contain all the characteristics and nuances of a real human being, they’re not doing that character justice.

Sarah Dessen says, "I never start a book until I have the first scene, last scene, climactic scene and first line all in my head." Cheryl Klein’s Second Sight references arcs (such as climax) within each scene. What tip do you suggest for making scenes emotionally satisfying?

I would say this answer is twofold. We, as readers, need to be emotionally invested in your characters to understand how they’re feeling throughout the course of the novel, especially during emotionally trying scenes. To do that, the characters need to share their thoughts with the reader; we need to know where they’ve been and where they strive to go throughout the course of the narrative. That way, when situations arise that derail their journey, we’re screaming at the book.

To experience that gut-wrenching force, there needs be something at stake. There needs to be a purpose for each and every scene or else the reader will lose interest. No one wants to meander without a sense of purpose and direction. If this happens in a novel I’m working on, I always ask my author, what is the purpose of this scene? Why did you flesh out this moment instead of another?

I find if you’re coming across a road block with certain chapters and moments, it helps to create a chapter-by-chapter outline that focuses on the goal of each chapter and the scenes contained that help to illuminate the driving plot; many times this highlights scenes that aren’t essential to the story, and new scenes emerge.

If the scene is in the story just because, and the purpose isn’t concrete, readers can immediately tell and they’ll feel that itching desire to flip through the pages until said scene is over. No one wants this to happen to their story.

Our enrollees critique peers’ full novels. However, many writers are experienced only in critiquing excerpts. What helps you keep track of everything in a novel? What tips can you offer for whole-novel critiques? 

I keep a running list of major topics I wish to discuss with my author while I edit a manuscript. These are broader picture items that depict the line edits I’ve incorporated directly on the manuscript pages. After I’ve edited the entire manuscript, I go back through the document to make sure I haven’t missed anything, or to cite a specific example. By keeping a running list, I know exactly what has happened and the holes that may have surfaced right away, or ones that have opened up later on in the story and can easily be addressed. There are a lot of working parts; my job is to streamline these parts so the author can clearly see what’s not working in the current draft, or what remains questionable on the reader’s part.

Do you read the synopsis before or after reading a manuscript—or do you bypass the synopsis entirely? (Why?) How and when might a synopsis prove useful to you?

I do read the synopsis before reading a manuscript, usually not afterward; I usually only re-read a synopsis when doing a critique on [a short partial]. A synopsis is useful to see where the story is going and your goal as a writer for your characters and plot development. There are times when I re-read a synopsis, and the character’s journey in 500 words differs from that on the manuscript pages; this could be due to many reasons, but the author needs to go back and rectify this so that the synopsis mirrors their new story.

What kinds of craft flaws do you commonly see in otherwise well-written manuscripts? In general, what self-editing tips do you suggest?

Word repetition. I’ve seen it in the strongest manuscripts as well as ones that are much earlier on in the process. Revise, revise, revise. Have other writers whom you trust read your manuscript and keep an eye out for this. Repetitious physical descriptors and reactions are another facet I see very often: “she flicked her hair, he played with the hair on the back of his neck, goose bumps spread across his/her arms”… Readers will pick up on this. Every reaction shouldn’t be described in the same manner.

How would you describe your working relationship with your authors?

The editor/author relationship is unlike any other business relationship. It’s another form of marriage. You write a beautiful story; I encounter said beautiful story and spend a few days (dates) with it. I love your story so much I can’t live without it. I propose for your story’s hand in marriage. Your agent officiates our literary binding. And then we’re officially a team! We honeymoon chat and I re-read your story to get to know it even better; I present you with gifts: editorial letters, manuscript line edits, cover concepts, promotional plans, hopefully many lunches and champagne dates.

Then we have some rocky times, hopefully we don’t, but like every relationship it’s bound to happen because of external forces: you hate one of my ideas, you wish we could send you on a 10-city tour, but we come out stronger in the end and afterward we produce the most beautiful book baby out there on the shelves.

This all goes to say that my relationship with my authors is a close one. They will learn more about me during our different editorial stages and subsequent books than my husband may, since I spend more time at the office than at home. It’s fun and challenging and it’s what makes every day special and unbelievably rewarding.

I recently had the opportunity to share with an author that he was invited to a French Children’s Book festival. I joked with my co-worker in subrights that I would know his exact answer in advance. When I let him know, it was a matter of minutes before we were squealing over email (and I don’t even get to go!). That’s the relationship I strive for with all of my authors.

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