I am delighted to welcome my publisher, Larissa Edwards (Simon and Schuster, Australia) to Blog Bizzo.
With the RWA national conference a week away, we thought it timely to chat about the business of pitching from Simon and Schuster’s perspective.
1.You are Head of Publishing with Simon and Schuster, Australia. Sounds like a big job. Can you explain it in ten words or less?
I find the books that readers want to read.
2. What is the key focus at Simon and Schuster? Is Australian fiction high on your acquisitions wishlist?
The key focus at Simon and Schuster is to build our local publishing program, with no more than 15 books per year. This will be a mix of fiction and nonfiction and Australian fiction is at the top of my acquisitions list.
3. How does romantic fiction rate as a genre for Australian readers ? Does one theme stand out more than another, e.g. rural romance vs outback vs city style vs historical?
Romantic fiction is a very broad genre and I think it has something for everyone. You will have seen a huge rise in the number of rural romances published, the biggest of which is Rachael Treasure but with many great writers close behind. I am not sure if there is much room left in the traditional rural romance market for many more debut voices but you never know. I am always open to a great writer with a wonderful voice.
City romances are a little harder to sell at this stage and certainly require more character development. But my personal belief is that there will be a return to the historical saga. It’s been a long time since The Thorn Birds and All the Rivers Run and hopefully there is a new Colleen or Nancy out there.
4. In your blurb on the RWA Conference website you mention the thing that would make you lose interest in a pitch is a lack of passion from the author. Can you elaborate?
If the author doesn’t believe in their work, then why would I? This is the moment when a publisher gets to see into the world that the author has created. I want to be entranced and believe. And it is good practise for the book publicity campaign that the author will have to do. Authors need to be the whole package now, they need to come out of those garrets and into the world and talk to their readers.
5. You say you enjoy pace and tight plotting. What do you dislike?
Waffle. I think authors should always try to distil their writing down to the essentials and focus on the plot. This is certainly the case with commercial fiction, suspension of disbelief is hard to maintain if the reader is bogged down in huge tracts of poorly written description.
6. Do you (or S&S) have a preference when it comes to character point of view? (eg certain POVs – 1st, 3rd person), too many POVs, not enough POVs, etc)
No. I am open to all options. I think that the story gives the author the best pointer as to character POV. And an author may need to go back and change this as the story develops. I would say this about the creation of most books. The book that the author envisages when they start out is often very different to the one that they finally see on the shelf with their name on it. Often a planned trajectory doesn’t work in practice, or a better solution may present itself during the writing process.
7. Do you like submissions that have ‘comparison books/authors’ (eg Barbara Cartland meets J.K Rowling!)
I do find it helpful as a form of shorthand and have been guilty of using such comparisons myself when I was in Sales. And I know that when Sales people have 30 seconds to pitch a book to a buyer it helps to be able to encapsulate it. Having said that, it doesn’t help me get a true insight into the book and I always prefer a lengthier synopsis to get a better understanding of it.
8. A final word, Larissa?
Many people have predicted the death of the book but I am finding this to be an incredibly exciting time to be working in publishing. There are now many more ways to read and buy books and they may look different to how they used to but the one thing that hasn’t changed is the desire of readers for great storytelling. So keep the faith, tell a good tale and you never know, you may just get published. Good luck!
Thank you for coming home to the country and sharing your expertise.
More information about the pitching process at RWA’s 2012 conference.