BYUWIFYR 4: Margaret Miller from Bloomsbury

Tuesday Plenary, Margaret Miller (Editor, Bloomsbury): “Working with an Editor: What to Expect Before, During and After”

In NY, there is now a “Taxi Riders Bill of Rights.” This will be about your rights as writer through the process of submission to publication.

BEFORE you send it out, you have the right to:

-submit ms acc. to rules
-get an agent
-hear a courteous response within timeframe specified
-sub. to multiple houses if you say so
-consider multiple offers if you receive them
-to bargain

Follow guidelines carefully. Send to appropriate house for genre. Send your very best work.

Don’t write long cover letter. Just one sentence about book, brief summary, a little about you. Don’t send SASE against house policy. Don’t Fed-Ex your ms. Don’t follow up by telephone. Don’t obsess. (My take: assume no.)

When you get an offer, you can expect:

-a clear letter with the offer stating exact terms of offer.
what happens to your rights
what the advance level is
what the royalty level is
-a reasonable response to bargaining. You can always ask for more, and you might get some.

Evaluating an editor and publishing house:
You should have a good personal connection with your editor, similary vision.

A higher advance might be best—they might be more willing to put money behind your book if they pay a big advance.

Agent?
I think they’re worth it. They take care of your rights, get you a higher advance. Then you don’t have to talk to editor about money. So your relationship with your editor is better.

After you have a contract, during revision process:
you have a right to:
editor’s careful attention
editor’s honesty
an editor who has your and your book’s best interest
environment where editor is helping you realize YOUR vision

After you send first draft, editor does a macro edit and sends a “macro edit letter;” it addresses issues such as plot, characters, climax. Give it some time, be honest with yourself. Blog, “editorial anonymous,” has a great article about what to do when you disagree with your editor. Keep in mind that when an editor makes a suggestion, it doesn’t mean the solution is necessarily the best but at least it means that there is a problem that you should address.

Next stage is line editing. Language, tightening, detail, repetition. Then you send the file to your editor. From then on, the work is out of your hands.

Next is copy editing. You get changes back to you, then accept them or not.

Next is page proofs. You sign off on it. It’s off to the printer.

During this, the jacket is being worked on. You might be consulted on this. Publisher has the final say.

Next stage: after the book has been printed.
You have the right:
to know what is being done to publicize the book
to work with a publicist
to an editor who will champion your book in-house
to submit your next book to this editor for consideration

We love it when authors self-promote:
school visits
blogging
bookstore visits
Be sure to keep editor and publicist informed.

What I do:
talk about the book to my colleagues.
write all the copy that will go with your book (flaps, catalogue, etc.)
tip sheets, title sheets. We send them to our sales team.
attend Launch meeting to present your book.
record an audio cd that tells about it for salespeople.

An editor: advisor, champion, therapist, cheerleader, careful reader.

Bloomsbury:
Began as Harry Potter publisher in UK. Shannon Hale, Jessica Day George. We like things that are both literary and commercial. High-quality writing but very readable. Quirky picture books, more concept-driven.