Rocky Mountain Fiction Writers is pleased to welcome Jessica
Renheim to the Gold Conference September 5th through the 7th. http://rmfw.org/conference/
Jess joined Dutton in 2007 and has been there ever since. She edits
both fiction and nonfiction at Dutton, including speculative and paranormal
fiction, mystery/crime, thrillers, narrative nonfiction, and memoir. Among the
bestselling and critically acclaimed writers she has worked with are the #1 New
York Times bestselling authors Richelle Mead and Kelley Armstrong,
as well as New York Times bestselling and award-winning writers
Mark Adams, Dan Savage, Stephen White, Meg Gardiner, Brian D’Amato, Jennifer
Lee Carrell, Raymond Khoury, and David Rich.
We are particularly pleased to interview Jessica because she
apparently makes rare appearances on blogs!
CIR: How important is it for an author to be flexible with
edits? By the way, I’m so flexible my leg is curled around my head as I write
this.
JR: Flexibility with edits is always very welcome, but ultimately
it’s the author’s book so he/she is going have the final say on most things.
The editor’s primary job is to provide guidance where we think it’s needed. Is
a certain character feeling too one-dimensional or predictable? Is it too easy
to guess the mystery at the heart of the novel? Or is there some inconsistency
between the start of the story and the climactic showdown at the end? These are
the kind of editorial questions and concerns that may need to be addressed to
make the book better, and I’ve been very fortunate to work with talented
writers who can step back from their work and assess what’s clicking and what
needs to be reconsidered.
CIR: In just the past few years the major publishing houses
have become very active with electronic publishing. Can and or will this open
the door for more experimental stories to be published in New York from unknown authors since costs
can be saved on printing?
JR: I think so. There are quite a few digital original or
digital only imprints publishing new authors across different genres these
days. One recent example is Tor.com announcing the launch of a new imprint
devoted to publishing original novellas, shorter novels and serializations.
This seems like a natural area of growth for science fiction and fantasy, and a
great way for aspiring writers to get stories published that wouldn’t have been
the right fit for more traditional formats due to length or other
considerations.
CIR: Have you had the chance to meet any celebrities and if
so, who was the coolest?
JR: Dutton publishes the occasional celebrity book, but I
have yet to work on one. There have been few brief encounters. Nick Offerman
has come by our office to work with his editor. John Hodgman gathered a
sizeable group of his (well-known) friend to shoot a scene for his book trailer
at the office once. If you watch the trailer here http://www.funnyordie.com/videos/4cc168ca62/that-is-all
it’s the scene in the conference room. I also worked on It Gets Better and American
Savage with Dan Savage, who is so lovely and down to earth that I sometimes
forget he’s a celebrity.
CIR: Did you always know that you wanted to be in the
publishing business, an editor?
JR: I think by senior year of college I realized that I
wanted to pursue a job in book publishing. I was lucky enough to attend the
Columbia Publishing Course, which not only led directly to my job at Dutton,
but also helped me to decide that becoming an editor would be the best fit for
me. It’s incredibly fun and rewarding to work with an author through the entire
process, from acquisition to well after his/her book hits stores and online
retailers.
CIR: Because we strive to be unique, I must ask a bizarre
question. How do you think Charles Dickens would have felt about E publishing?
JR: Well, Dickens was a prolific writer whose novels were
mostly published in monthly or weekly installments, a format that allowed him
to evaluate his audience’s reaction and use that feedback to shape his stories.
Serializing his novels also made them cheaper and more accessible, so my guess
is that Dickens would have loved the greater flexibility and access digital
publishing affords to readers.
CIR: I have to ask this one because many friends and I have
experienced it a couple of times. If an editor had very encouraging things to
say about a manuscript, but rejected it stating that it would be better as
a…we’ll say a YA, or any number of other succinct suggestions…and the author revamps
it as such, do you think the writer is out of bounds to try a resubmission?
JR: It’s a good question. I think if an editor feels
strongly enough about a manuscript to provide very encouraging and specific
feedback before ultimately rejecting it, then it’s fair game to resubmit the
manuscript if it’s been substantially reworded. There’s always an exception to
the rule, of course, but in general editors are looking to fall in love with a
project and champion it. As long as you’re not submitting a newly revised YA
novel to Dutton—where we only do adult books—chances are the editor will take
another look!
Thanks Jessica!
We look forward to seeing you at the Gold!
Interview conducted by Gusto Dave
2 comments:
Good and knowledgeable interview!
Excellent interview, Dave. I'll be looking forward to meeting Jessica at Colorado Gold this year.
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