On Signing a Good Book

A lot of editors and agents speak of "buying" manuscripts. That's not a word I like to use. Maybe because it sounds so transactional or maybe because I'm traditional enough to not want to view books as commodities.  (Of course, I'm highly in favor of people buying books once they are published.) So I tend to use the word "sign" - as in, "I signed a new book today," or "contracted for," as in "I contracted for a new book today."

The good news for aspiring writers out there, especially the not-yet-published, is that editors and publishers are still taking on new books. I won't bore you with details that you know already: It's a hard market out there - it's tough to make an impression without a name or gimmick - publishers are taking fewer chances in hard economic times. But this is where we smaller/independent publishers shine. Many of us are privately funded and don't have stockholders to answer to, per se; and we can still go about our business because our business models haven't changed all that much. We still spend money where we have to and remain highly reluctant to spend money where it won't do much good. But that means we can still acquire good books when we see them.

I contracted for a new book recently, and because the readers of Mysterious Matters like this behind-the-scenes stuff, I thought I'd talk about the process a bit.

When I got the query and sample materials, my first impression was: This Author knows how to present herself. (I'm not saying it's a she; I'll just use "she" for simplicity's sake). She described her book in that macro, High Concept way that editors like to see. I liked - didn't LOVE - the first few chapters, but I saw many things I found impressive. The dialogue was sharp, the setting (one I'm quite familiar with) very well realized. The characters had the potential to be interesting but were drawn too broadly. The author turned some very nice phrases and made some observations that stopped me in my tracks - for me, this is the mark of someone with the potential to be a very fine writer.  The part of me that likes NEW and EXCITING thought this manuscript might be too much of a me-too book, but I have been working on finding some mainstream books.  So I requested the manuscript.

It wasn't perfect - Everything that I saw in the sample chapters, I saw in the full manuscript. But in the full manuscript I saw an expert storyteller at work. I closed that last page with a sense of satisfaction, marveling at how this first-timer managed to pull it all off. The grammar wasn't perfect. There were spelling and syntax mistakes. (But not TOO many of them). The punctuation that rules my life wasn't always where it needed to be.  But, I thought - all of these problems are fixable with a good edit, if the author is willing to listen - and this author was. 

So, what point am I trying to make here? I suppose it's my belief that there is something to that oft-overused phrase, "born storyteller."  The gift for storytelling is one that can't be faked; I think you either have it or you don't. All the crystal-clear sentences and clever similes in the world can't make up for a boring story that goes nowhere. I could imagine sitting around a campfire with this author and listening to her tell stories, and hanging on every word. That's what I like to feel in a manuscript - and I think it's what readers of genre fiction respond well to (as long as there are some good and/or likable characters in there, too). So many manuscripts come across my desk, and I try to give them all a fair shake, but I know I'm on to something when a voice nags at me, saying "Agatho, you'll regret it if you don't sign this book."

So I took the manuscript to valued colleagues here (we make acquisitions decisions together) and got not just positive responses, but real enthusiasm. Everyone saw the potential; it now becomes my job to help the writer realize that potential. From the conversations we've had, I know she can, because she wants to be the best (and best-selling) mystery writer she can be. I won't say she has slavishly agreed with every word I say (the nerve of her) - but our discussions have been those of two professionals with the same goals. I can't tell you how much I appreciate this type of relationship, how much it sustains me as I see hours and hours of rewarding manuscript work ahead of me (exciting but daunting).

I'm not suggesting that writers should ever send anything to an agent or publisher that isn't perfect. But this is one case where serious talent was apparent behind typos and grammatical errors. Yes, you can be a great novelist without an English handbook crazy-glued to your hand. That's what we editors are for - and maybe, even, we like knowing just a bit more about grammar than writers do, which explains why we have the jobs we do.

Comments

[Sarah]

It's wonderful in these times to read stories like this and to be reminded that good storytelling still wins. Thank you.

[Chris]

I'm glad to know there are still agents/editors out there such as you, who are willing to scratch below the surface flaws to find the diamonds in the rough. Gives me hope as an aspiring author.