Hey everyone! A huge thank-you to all the people who sent me their questions! I’ve answered them to the best of my abilities, and I hope you find this post helpful and informative.
As with my previous Ask the Editor posts, I humbly ask that you take my comments in the spirit in which they’re intended. The advice here is meant to be friendly and helpful; I sincerely hope that no one finishes reading this post feeling vulnerable or discouraged.
I’d also like to add a general disclaimer that my thoughts are my own; I do not speak on behalf of my publisher or the publishing industry in general. I would not be at all surprised to learn that you’ve heard an editor or agent say something that directly conflicts with my perspective. Everyone in publishing has their own opinions and preferences, and I can only be honest about my own.
If you have any questions about writing, editing, or publishing that aren’t addressed here, please reach out to me. I’m always happy to gather questions for my next post!
Thank you, and happy reading!
If an established children's author (who’s been traditionally published) had a relationship with an editor, do you think the editor would look at their manuscripts, even if the author was currently without an agent? What if the editor's house was closed to unsolicited manuscripts?
I would guess that for most editors the answer’s probably yes (I know it would be for me!). Even if the publishing house doesn’t normally accept unsolicited manuscripts, if an editor has a relationship with an author, especially one who’s already been published, then I’d think they’d be happy to look at the author’s manuscripts as long as they’re a fit for what they publish.
If you’re still unsure, it definitely doesn’t hurt to reach out to the particular editor and ask if they’d be willing to take a look at your new project. My guess is that they’ll probably answer in the affirmative.
Is there a way for an author to know how their book is doing? Short of pestering their publisher, is there a place to find out a book's sales totals?
Excellent question, but asking your publisher is actually going to be your best bet for accurate sales numbers. Publishers keep careful track of how well/quickly their books are selling, so they should have that information handy for you. Across the entire book industry, NPD BookScan provides the most comprehensive look at sales data, but it’s still not perfect—it only captures about 85% of print book sales, so your BookScan numbers will almost certainly be lower than your actual copies sold—and a BookScan subscription can be prohibitively expensive.
I've been hearing since the first of the year that editors are even more backed up than last year, and that often there's not enough time to even read a query/pb manuscript through to the end, unless it piques their interest in the first couple sentences. Would you say that’s accurate? As writers, we'd like to think our manuscripts get read, but as an editor, what's your reality?
Other editors will probably have different stories, but for me, the first few months of the year are usually busy just because everything seems to ramp up post-holidays. So, the pace is definitely fast these days, but so far it doesn’t feel markedly different from previous years (knock on wood!).
As for how much time we get to dedicate to queries, every single editor is juggling multiple priorities and deadlines, so we all have to be extremely judicious with our time. Editors and agents receive so many submissions, and they can only say yes to a small percentage of the queries that come in. So reading every single word of every single query usually just isn’t feasible.
Personally, I tend to skim through the query letter—gathering the essential details but not lingering over it—and then turn my attention to the manuscript itself. For picture books, I do read the whole manuscript, unless it’s poorly written or clearly wrong for our list. Some editors will change their approach depending on how busy they are—skimming through manuscripts when they’re swamped that they’d normally take their time with—but my approach is usually the same regardless of what else is on my desk. I’m just slower to respond when I’m busy!
The effects of the pandemic seem to be ongoing and never-ending. Can you comment on how things stand currently? It would help to get an insider's viewpoint regarding issues, problems, and silver linings if any.
As far as issues go, publishing’s been hit hard by supply chain issues and the rising cost of product, just like so many other industries. Because books tend to be more price-sensitive than other consumer products (you need bread and eggs, but you don’t need a book), publishers are trying to navigate their way through the extra costs while passing as little of that burden on to the consumer as possible.
But there is a strong silver lining that comes with that: the book industry has actually been seeing record book sales since the pandemic started. After an initial drop in March 2020, book sales started to climb as people remained at home and suddenly had more time on their hands, with noticeable jumps in eBooks and children’s nonfiction (since schools were closed). Sales are starting to plateau across the industry now, but the numbers are still higher than they were pre-pandemic. I like to think it’s because people are rediscovering a love of reading!
Are certain areas of the market oversaturated right now? What are you wishing you'd see more of, if anything?
I’ve been seeing a lot of books (for both children and adults) centered around mental health hitting the shelves, with topics covering anxiety, stress, coping, mindfulness, meditation, self-care, etc. Unfortunately, with the extra burden people are shouldering these days, I think that’s a felt need that’s going to stick around for a while.
If you've written a nonfiction manuscript that's most appropriate for readers ages 8-10, but your topic can be supported with lots of available photos, graphs, maps, drawings, etc., and you see it coming to life in a traditional 32-page picture book format, is it okay to let the editor know what you're imagining, or is it better to let the manuscript stand on its own and hope the editor sees what you see?
I’d suggest looking at your word count and subject matter; if the manuscript is text-heavy and can’t really be condensed, or if the subject matter isn’t very kid-friendly (addressing something violent or technical, perhaps), then I’d suggest using a middle grade age range and letting the publisher know that you have visuals that could be included. But usually, nonfiction picture books sell better than middle grade nonfiction, so if you could make your manuscript fit into a picture book that’s appropriate for 6-10 year-olds, it may increase your odds of getting published.
Either way, it’s totally fine to let the editor know how you envision the book in your query letter. I will say though that sometimes an editor will have a different vision for the book, based on what they think will sell, so it’s best to know before you send out your queries how much you’re willing to change things, in case someone asks. Good luck!!
Great questions and answers. It's good to hear that you don't focus exclusively on the query letter. I hope other editors read some of the manuscript too like you.
ReplyDeleteGreat post, Katherine! Thanks for the helpful info
ReplyDeleteThank you for all of your words of wisdom and insights! Much appreciated.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much, Katherine! Such good questions and carefully considered answers!
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