WWR: Can you tell us a little about your move from Berkley to Avalon Books? What drove you to change career paths?
Susan: Well, it's the same career path (editing genre fiction), but a different approach. I loved my editors and authors at Berkley, but I wanted to see what it would be like to edit for a small house. Plus, Avalon offered me the chance to work on the production of their books, which was intriguing. I'd never done that before. And I was already familiar with Avalon Books. I started my editing career as an intern here five years ago!
WWR: Could you give us a little background information on yourself? For example, what is your official title at Avalon Books? What are some of your daily, weekly, and/or monthly duties?
Susan: I'm the Associate Editor. My job is really interesting because what I do changes every day, depending on where the books are in the production cycle. Some days I may be writing editorial letters or editing copy, other days I'm going over cover art, sometimes I get to spend a day reading-those are my favorite days! Daily, I make sure that all our books are on schedule for publication. Weekly, I update our production lists, and read manuscripts for our editorial meeting. Every other month, I send our books and covers out to be printed. I also try to read some submissions every day.
WWR: While we know Avalon focuses on the sweet romances, can you tell us what you look for in a submission? And how many new authors have you personally picked up since starting with them?
Susan: We look for a fun, fresh voice or plot. And we love a strong, funny heroine. Avalon romances are special because, to me, they're really what romance is all about—the excitement and uncertainty of meeting someone who amazes, intrigues and sometimes frustrates you. We want that breathlessness, that fun, conveyed in a story. We don't do any romantic suspense or anything with soap opera elements. No dark, secret pasts or homicidal twin siblings...nothing like that.
Also, even though we accept unagented submissions, I always want to see a professional presentation. Every submission should have a cover letter listing the word length of the book, the author's publishing history, and a full synopsis. And it should be a book that fits our publishing program—if it's clear to me that an author hasn't read our writer's guidelines, and has sent us something way off base (a 100,000 erotic romance, for example), I don't even bother reading the submission.
I've picked up a few authors since I got to Avalon last November. Ideally, I will be editing about 30 books per year, and very roughly, one-third to a half of those books will be by new authors.
WWR: What suggestions can you give an unpublished author just starting out in the romance industry? Would you recommend they find an agent first or start submitting?
Susan: It's good to have an agent, but not having one doesn't have to keep you from publishing. Many of Avalon's authors are unagented. The famous saying in the publishing world is: the easiest way to get an agent is to sell a book. It's always good to try to find an agent, but don't let the quest for an agent keep you from your quest for publication, which is your real objective anyway. It's fine, for instance, to send out your work to houses that accept unagented submissions (like Avalon), and also to send your work to agents at the same time. Just make sure you let the publishers and the agents know you're doing this. For anyone who has questions about finding an agent, there's a great weblog called Miss Snark: The Literary Agent (www.misssnark.blogspot.com). Miss Snark is an anonymous literary agent who answers author questions about the publishing world. And she's really funny and fun to read.
Other than that, I would advise a new romance author to join RWA. When someone lists their affiliation to RWA in their cover letter, I know immediately that they've received coaching in how to write, pitch and sell their work. I know I'm reading a partial that has probably been workshopped and revised several times. An RWA membership isn't necessary to be published, by any means, but it does indicate to an editor that you are serious about your craft.
WWR: What is your ultimate favorite romance and/or women's fiction novel, and what did you find about it that captured and kept your attention?
Susan: The oldies are still my favorites: Wuthering Heights, Pride and Prejudice. I loved the stories when I was a kid, but the attention to detail and the high quality of the prose brought me back to those books as an adult. V.C. Andrews was one of the first genre authors I read as a kid, so I have a soft spot in my heart for those books, even though they are pretty melodramatic. They are my guilty pleasure. Also, I just loved The English Patient. Michael Ondaatje is an amazing writer.
WWR: How do you decide what readers want to and/or will buy? And do you ever feel like there's a conflict between what readers want to read and what editors/publishing houses are acquiring?
Susan: Readers are writers, and writers shape the market, so I don't think, especially in romance, that houses ever put out books that readers won't buy. They're putting out books written by their readers. Romance sales make up something like 58% of the fiction market right now, so I'd say especially in romance, the editors and the readers are pretty well in sync. It's true that editors can shape or influence the market, but almost always it's because they are picking up on something that readers have loved. A very good editor will be able to anticipate the market by nine months to a year, which is approximately how long it takes to publish a book after an offer is made.
At conferences, people often ask what they should be writing, what's hot right now. The truth is, what's hot right now was bought a year ago and written two years ago. Really, what you should write is what you love to read.
WWR: Have you ever acquired a manuscript that you know fits well into the market, but that you didn't personally like? And along the same lines, have you ever liked a manuscript but decided to pass on it because it didn't fit the market? Don't worry, we're not asking for names! :-)
Susan: I can't remember ever buying a book I didn't like. There are so many great books out there looking for a publisher, why waste your time on something you don't love? I suspect this may happen in non-fiction, since often what you're selling there is the idea, not the writing. But with novels, it always comes down to the story. If you can't tell a story, I'm not going to buy you.
On the flipside, I think one of the toughest things about being an editor is passing on projects you love because they don't fit the market or would be very difficult to package and sell. This is definitely true at larger houses. At Avalon this doesn't happen. Our guidelines are so specific that only something that already fits all of our requirements gets past our first readers. So anything I'm reading already fits our market.
WWR: Outside of reading submitted materials, are you an avid reader? If so, what types of books and which authors do you like best?
Susan: Yes, I'm always reading. Every editor and agent I know grew up with a book firmly in hand. I read mysteries, westerns and romances for work, and I read titles in those genres from other publishing houses. But when I really want to unwind, I read short stories. I'm a short story writer, and I just love to read them. I think, in some ways, they are the most pure and perfect form of fiction. Plus they're a nice break from the novels I read for work. It's satisfying to be able to start and finish a story in one, brief sitting.
I adore Alice Munro, Lorrie Moore, A.M. Homes, Pam Houston, Denis Johnson, Adam Haslett...the list goes on. Right now I'm reading Voodoo Heart by Scott Snyder, which I'm loving. He's got it all—great plot, sympathetic and emotionally complex characters, a playful and intelligent understanding of language.
I also try to read non-fiction when I can, to keep some semblance of reality in my life. Recently, I read Animals in Translation by Temple Grandin, an autistic woman who designs humane slaughterhouses. She seems to be able to understand what animals think and feel. The book was about the emotional lives of animals. It was fascinating.
WWR: What is a typical day like for you?
Susan: I usually get to work 10 minutes late (curse the train!) and promptly go to the deli for fortification (i.e. iced coffee and an egg sandwich). I get back to my office, read and respond to emails, take a quick glance at the New York Times front page, then get to production work. I save the reading for later in the afternoon when I've worked hard all morning and need something a little more laid back. At lunch I try to leave the office and take a stroll around the neighborhood. I also try to eat a salad. Some days I succeed, but some days it's a working lunch with Wendy's at my desk. After work I go to yoga, which is a good break for my eyes. Then it's back on the train and back to reading. I get home, play with my rabbit, Kevin, then read some more.
WWR: If you could give authors submitting to you one piece of advice, what would it be?
Susan: Always, always, always look at our guidelines first. We publish short, sweet historical and contemporary romances, mysteries and westerns. I can't tell you how many times I open mail and immediately put the partial in the "To Reject" stack. People send their autobiographies, their 150,000 word science fiction odysseys, their how-to books, none of which we can even consider. We also don't do time travel romances, romantic suspense or YA of any kind. It's the worst at conferences, where people are actually paying for their time with me, and they go to pitch something and I have to stop them and say, "I'm sorry, that's not something we will publish." That's a very good rule in general: if you're sending something out, or you're pitching something to an editor, make sure they buy what you're selling before you waste your time and money. Although, the caveat to that is that every pitch is useful, even a mismatched one, because it's all good practice.
We would like to thank Susan for taking time out of her busy schedule to talk with us.
