What an editor wants her writers to know

by Vaishali Mathur

Have you ever heard of the adage: “Everyone has a book in them”?

I know there’s a strong possibility that you are writing yours.

As an editor I will encourage you to. That’s our instinct – we never say no to a book. You don’t know what might work, and with great subjectivity comes great uncertainty – you cannot afford to not hear a voice.

But how much does a writer know about how the publishing business work? How well-informed is she – and, worse, how MISinformed?

Picture this: I’m at a party trying to relax after a day’s work. As I stand talking to a couple of acquaintances I notice a gentleman circling our group, looking specifically at me. I wonder if he’s someone I’m supposed to recognise.

Suddenly he catches my eye and joins the circle. After a few minutes, he tells me that he’s just come to know that I’m a commissioning editor. I nod. “So I have these book ideas, actually three…” he sighs thoughtfully and looks at my face. I smile uncomfortably. think I know where this is going. “I’ll send them to you,” he says.

“Sure” I say encouragingly. He leaves.

After a while he’s back. “Do you have a team of editors?”

“Yes, we do.”

“Oh good. Then they can write.”

“I’m sorry, I didn’t understand.”

“When I give my ideas, they can write the book.”

When I explain that editors edit books that writers write, he again nods thoughtfully. One would think this is obvious. But I can see he’s in despair because suddenly the books no longer seem possible. Sure enough, he vanishes.

You might think this is a single, unusual incident. Hang on. There’s more.

One of the strangest and the most absurd memories I have from my life in publishing is of an aspiring author. She came through close contacts, so it was imperative that I meet her. The first thing I noticed at our meeting was that everything about her was pink. Pink nails, pink shirt, pink diamonds (yes I’m sure there were some) and even a pink laptop. I patiently heard her story as she talked about her life and delicately opened her laptop to show me some of the text that she’d written.

“Okay, send it to me,” I said.

“What!” She exclaimed. Then she explained. Her idea was too brilliant to be shared over email – a medium of communication that could not be trusted.

“All right then, how do you suggest I evaluate it?” I refused to do it on the spot, as she wanted. After much discussion, better sense prevailed and she decided to email a sample to me. I said I would look forward to receiving the manuscript.

“About that…” she said, raising a perfectly manicured, diamond-dripping finger. “So if you like the idea of my book, who will write it? Do you have editors who will finish it for me?”

I swear I couldn’t breathe this time. “Editors edit, they don’t write,” I said with a straight face.

“Oh okay, I will write it then.”

Thankfully there haven’t been many instances like this, but this disconnection between what the editor wants and what the writer delivers continues.

For instance, when I say after evaluating a manuscript, “It doesn’t work for our list,” some authors turn around and demand, “So explain your list. I will write something for it.” No, that doesn’t work.

A publishing company uses certain criteria to decide whether a book fits in or not. The more your writing – and your profile – match those, the greater are the chances of your manuscript’s being accepted. So my advice would be: send your books where they seem to fit. Trust me, it’s not that difficult to figure out.

Let your writing be an organic process. You cannot write to a list. Your book should always play to your strengths. You cannot copy and paste others. Pretentious and unoriginal writing is easily discernible and will go against you. Believe in what you write. Many a times you’ll be the only one supporting you.

Lastly, a bit about what an editor looks for in a book proposal

1. A clear idea: If you are not sure of what your book is about, believe me, the editor will not get it either. Your synopsis, sample chapters and covering letter should reflect that.

2. Your readership: I know most of us don’t write with the reader in mind, but when you’re done, you will know who your reader is. It won’t harm you to put that in the proposal as well.

3. Sample chapters: These are very important to attach. A lot will depend on your style and your language, so do attach as many as 10 chapters if possible, or at least three if you can’t do more.

4. Visualise: Add any information that might help the editor imagine your book. If you can see your book, so will they.

5. Patience: Send reminders but don’t pester. It’s always helpful to be reminded. Also, it’s your book, you have a right to know.

Vaishali Mathur is Executive Editor and Head of Language Publishing, Penguin Random House.