Ask a Publisher: Ben Horlsen, Editorial Director at Puffin

@BenHorlsen  talks to @HouseRowena

Recorded June 20th 2014 in London
at Penguin Random House

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Rowena House is a journalist by trade - an ex-Reuters foreign correspondent in Europe and Africa, now a sub-editor specialising in international affairs. She turned to writing fiction for young people to meet a deep desire to tell gritty stories that are true in an emotional sense, without being constrained by ‘the facts’. She's recently been published by Andersen Press in the War Girls anthology with her short story The Marshalling of Angelique's Geese. Rowena lives in rural Devon with her remarkably tolerant family and their less tolerant dog, a grey-and-white sheep dog called Fletcher.

Ask a Publisher: Ali Dougal, Editorial Director for Egmont Press

@AliDougal  talks to @HouseRowena

Recorded June 20th 2014 in London at Egmont UK

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Rowena House is a journalist by trade - an ex-Reuters foreign correspondent in Europe and Africa, now a sub-editor specialising in international affairs. She turned to writing fiction for young people to meet a deep desire to tell gritty stories that are true in an emotional sense, without being constrained by ‘the facts’. She's recently been published by Andersen Press in the War Girls anthology with her short story The Marshalling of Angelique's Geese. Rowena lives in rural Devon with her remarkably tolerant family and their less tolerant dog, a grey-and-white sheep dog called Fletcher.

Ask a Publisher, Brenda Gardner, Publisher, Piccadilly Press

@baegardner talks to @HouseRowena

Recorded June 19th 2014

in London at Piccadilly Press

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Rowena House is a journalist by trade - an ex-Reuters foreign correspondent in Europe and Africa, now a sub-editor specialising in international affairs. She turned to writing fiction for young people to meet a deep desire to tell gritty stories that are true in an emotional sense, without being constrained by ‘the facts’. She's recently been published by Andersen Press in the War Girls anthology with her short story The Marshalling of Angelique's Geese. Rowena lives in rural Devon with her remarkably tolerant family and their less tolerant dog, a grey-and-white sheep dog called Fletcher.

Ask a Publisher, Amber Caraveo, Editorial Director, Orion Children's Books and Indigo

@AmberCaraveo talks to @HouseRowena

Recorded June 20th 2014

in London at Orion Children's Books

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Rowena House is a journalist by trade - an ex-Reuters foreign correspondent in Europe and Africa, now a sub-editor specialising in international affairs. She turned to writing fiction for young people to meet a deep desire to tell gritty stories that are true in an emotional sense, without being constrained by ‘the facts’. She's recently been published by Andersen Press in the War Girls anthology with her short story The Marshalling of Angelique's Geese. Rowena lives in rural Devon with her remarkably tolerant family and their less tolerant dog, a grey-and-white sheep dog called Fletcher.

Ask a Publisher: David Fickling, Publisher, David Fickling Books

David Fickling, @DFB_storyhouse talks to @CathJacobNews

This interview was recorded at

David Fickling Books, Oxford
on 20th June 2014.

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Catherine Jacob is an award-winning journalist who has worked for ITV, Five and Sky News. She is also an Honorary Mention for Undiscovered Voices 2014 with her MG novel The Perigree Moonlings. Her first novel was shortlisted for the Northern Writers' Crime Competition 2012 and her short story, Child's Play was shortlisted for the Asham Award 2011. She juggles working with being a mum to two little girls.

Ask a Publisher: Karen Ball, Publisher at Little, Brown Young Readers and Atom

@karenball talks to @HouseRowena 

Recorded May 10th 2014at Oxon Hoath Manor House in Kent.

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Rowena House is a journalist by trade - an ex-Reuters foreign correspondent in Europe and Africa, now a sub-editor specialising in international affairs. She turned to writing fiction for young people to meet a deep desire to tell gritty stories that are true in an emotional sense, without being constrained by ‘the facts’. She's recently been published by Andersen Press in the War Girls anthology with her short story The Marshalling of Angelique's Geese. Rowena lives in rural Devon with her remarkably tolerant family and their less tolerant dog, a grey-and-white sheep dog called Fletcher.

Ask a Publisher: Sarah Odedina, Publisher, Hot Key Books

@sarahodedina talks to @CathJacobNews

This interview was recorded at Hot Key Books
on 13th March 2014.

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Catherine Jacob is an award-winning journalist who has worked for ITV, Five and Sky News. She is also an Honorary Mention for Undiscovered Voices 2014 with her MG novel The Perigree Moonlings. Her first novel was shortlisted for the Northern Writers' Crime Competition 2012 and her short story, Child's Play was shortlisted for the Asham Award 2011. She juggles working with being a mum to two little girls.

Ask a Publisher: Venetia Gosling, Fiction Publishing Director, Macmillan Children's Books

@neeshed talks to @CathJacobNews

This interview was recorded at Macmillan Children's Books, on 13th March 2014.

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Catherine Jacob is an award-winning journalist who has worked for ITV, Five and Sky News. She is also an Honorary Mention for Undiscovered Voices 2014 with her MG novel The Perigree Moonlings. Her first novel was shortlisted for the Northern Writers' Crime Competition 2012 and her short story, Child's Play was shortlisted for the Asham Award 2011. She juggles working with being a mum to two little girls.

Ask a Publisher: Liz Cross, ‎Head of Publishing, Children's, OUP

@LizJCross talks to @CathJacobNews.

This interview was recorded in Oxford, 

at Oxford University Press, on 12th March 2014.

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Catherine Jacob is an award-winning journalist who has worked for ITV, Five and Sky News. She is also an Honorary Mention for Undiscovered Voices 2014 with her MG novel The Perigree Moonlings. Her first novel was shortlisted for the Northern Writers' Crime Competition 2012 and her short story, Child's Play was shortlisted for the Asham Award 2011. She juggles working with being a mum to two little girls.

Ask a Publisher - Q&A with Sara O'Connor Editorial Director at Hot Key Books

Publishing expert, Sara O'Connor returns with another set of answers to your questions this month. This time she's focusing on the definition of 'literary, time limits for film options and perhaps Hot Key's favourite 'genre' 'something amazing'!




Happy New Year, Words and Pictures readers. I hope you've all set yourself some New Year's resolutions for writing amazing books, and then sending them into Hot Key.

I read on an agent's wish list that they like a crossover something with a younger protagonist but an older heart like Wonder or My Sister Lives on the Mantlepiece - YA subject matter but an MG MC. How easy is it to sell books that don't easily fit into an age group or genre? Are they always 'literary'? And how do you define literary?

I don't know the acquisition story behind WONDER, but I know MY SISTER LIVES ON THE MANTLEPIECE was a title that was fought over by many publishers. And, at Hot Key, we're quite interested in books that don't easily fit into categories. Often, books like that stand out. "Literary" is such a flexible term, often used as an opposite to "commercial" as in "mass market". "Literary" can also be used to mean sophisticated or unusual, complicated and perhaps not quite so plot driven. But your two examples show that the opposition of "literary" versus "commercial" gets lovely and blurred when the out of the box become huge hits. Don't worry too much about the labels - just write something amazing.

When you've given a debut author a two or more book deal how do you decide whether subsequent books are continuations of the debut or further standalones?

Gut reaction, I would say. It depends on the first book, how stand alone it is. We usually decide it at the time of acquisition and work it into the contract.

When you sell film rights is there a time limit for options? For example if production hasn't started within 3 years can another film company buy it? Does the author have any involvement in the process?

This is not at all my area of expertise. My understanding is, yes, there is usually a time limit for options, that can be renewed with an additional payment. But both this and any kind of production requirement clause would have to be stated in the contract. The author's involvement also depends on the contract. Most definitely, there should be an agent or film option contract expert involved in this kind of deal for you!

If you have any questions for Sara, you can either submit them in the comments section below or you can email them to writers@britishscbwi.org.

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Sara O'Connor is the editorial director, print and digital at Hot Key Books, acquiring books like The Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week Shrunk! by Fleur Hitchcock, Tribute by Ellen Renner, Boonie by Richard Masson and Clockwise to Titan by Elon Dann. She looks for books that are brilliantly written, that stand out and that have lovely authors behind them, with a slight preference towards the 9-12 age category.

She's also in charge of the digital strategy for Hot Key, working with a brilliant digital team to produce projects like the interactive iBook of Costa-award-winning Maggot Moon.

Ask A Publisher - Q&A with Sara O'Connor, Editorial Director at Hot Key Books

Publishing expert, Sara O'Connor returns with another set of answers to your questions this month. This time she's focusing on New Adult, switching genres as a writer and offering her tips on how to get a job in publishing. 

There'll be a break during December, but please continue to send your questions in and Sara will answer these in the January Ask a Publisher Q&A.

How easy/difficult is it to get a job in the publishing industry? Does it matter what degree you have, and is the best way in to get an internship?

This is a topic I have blogged about a lot on the Hot Key blog. In short, it is pretty difficult. No, degrees don't matter as much as demonstrated commitment. Doing an internship can be a way in, but just as valuable is a project that you've done on your own initiative: publish an ebook, put together an anthology of writing, an online magazine, a regularly updated blog with a decent audience, volunteering in your library, putting on a local lit festival, etc. What you want to do is have a great letter, and then have assets to put on the table once you get your interview. You want to put something awesome down on the table and say, "I did this."

The much longer answer, including tips on cover letters and interviewing, plus a practical example of how one BookTuber broke into the industry can be found on this link.

Is the New Adult genre becoming more popular/widely accepted? And do you think it is just a fad or is New Adult here to stay? 

I think the genre is very much an industry term - publishers and writers might know it, but the general reading public isn't really paying attention to those labels. And, yes, I do think publishers will want to continue publishing books with 18-25 year old protagonists, with a bit of racy content.

What are your thoughts on switching audiences and genres as a writer - e.g. as JKR has moving from children's to adult's and fantasy to contemporary. Does it make it harder for the publisher in terms of marketing or does it just give a wider reach to potential readers? 

Yes and yes, is the answer. It does make it harder for publishers, and I tend to advise writers to stick with one genre for three books, to get a hold in one, before trying another. But if you can write for different age groups, do! Another strategy is that if your current publisher doesn't want to publish you in a different age category, you can always try another. Several authors publish with one age group at one house and a different at another.

If you have any questions for Sara, you can either submit them in the comments section below or you can email them to writers@britishscbwi.org.

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Sara O'Connor is the editorial director, print and digital at Hot Key Books, acquiring books like The Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week Shrunk! by Fleur Hitchcock, Tribute by Ellen Renner, Boonie by Richard Masson and Clockwise to Titan by Elon Dann. She looks for books that are brilliantly written, that stand out and that have lovely authors behind them, with a slight preference towards the 9-12 age category.

She's also in charge of the digital strategy for Hot Key, working with a brilliant digital team to produce projects like the interactive iBook of Costa-award-winning Maggot Moon.

Ask A Publisher - Q&A with Sara O'Connor, Editorial Director at Hot Key Books

Sara O'Connor, Editorial Director, Print and Digital at Hot Key Books, answers yet more of your publishing questions. This month she offers advice on how to choose a publisher, what to include in an author website and whether you need a platform before getting published.

But first, a message from Sara - 'I can’t believe that the summer is almost over! After six months of maternity leave, I’m back to work in two weeks. Your questions have reminded me how much I love my company and what I do, so thank you!'

What should a prospective author look for in a traditional publisher? In an independent publisher?

Great question! But I don't think an author should look for different things depending on whether the publisher is independent or traditional or a bit of both.

- You want an acquiring editor who is utterly passionate about you and your work. It's a long process and you want someone who will be promoting you internally and keeping people excited throughout.
- You want to understand the level of publicity and marketing attention you are going to get, so that expectations are met. The answer may be none, so you'll want to be prepared for that. At a smaller house, it is unlikely that the answer will be none because the list will be smaller and so more manageable for the marketing team, but you still want to know what to expect.
- Look at the front list. Do you want to be in the company of those books? How are those books doing? Check out some of those authors social media and get a sense of how and if their publisher is interacting with them and if the authors are happy.
- Check out the publisher's social media. Do you like how they do it?

It's hard to imagine it but I do think it's better to turn down a deal and remain unpublished if you don't get that great vibe from the people you're talking to. You will be signing over the rights to your work for many years. Make sure you want to do it!

You want an acquiring editor who is utterly passionate about you and your work

Do you help to set up school visits, festival appearances etc. for authors or do they organise these themselves?

Festival appearances are very competitive, so we definitely pitch like crazy for appearances, in competition with all the other publishers. I think it would be quite tricky for an author to pitch themselves to the big festivals. School visits are done by both us and the authors themselves. We'll support any visit by organising books for sale or providing materials. We also pitch for newspaper, TV and radio coverage for our authors.

Do you brainstorm ideas for new titles with existing authors?

Yes! If the author wants to.

Do you look at whether a potential author has a platform or not - twitter, FB, blog, website etc, and does that ever influence whether or not you'd take an author on. Does it matter if a potential author has absolutely no online presence at all? Would you advise an unpublished author to set up a website or is it better to wait until they have a deal? What should they include in the design?

A "platform" can be a bonus, but it isn't necessary. We are happy to get people started if they want, or to plug them into our networks if they are already started. We'd never not acquire a book we love because there is no social media.

I can say, though, that there IS a potential downside. I do Google potential authors and if he or she shows that they might not be a nice person to work with, I would not acquire them.

My advice for setting up a website is to know why you are setting it up/who you are setting it up for. Is it to get published? Then post content with that aim, for publishers to find. To attract your audience? Then it's age-appropriate content you need. Is it to bond with other writers? Then focus on that.

Show your personality, what makes you, you? Whatever you put up, keep it maintained. Don't have a news section if you're not going to update it for six months. I'd recommend a mailing list set up - something free like MailChimp - to capture interested people as they find you, even if you aren't published yet.

A "platform" can be a bonus, but it isn't necessary. 

How would you describe a typical Hot Key author? Are there characteristics that are common to most of your authors? Would you actively seek authors from ethnic minorities or older or younger authors for instance, or is it all about the story or the writing?

It is all about the writing, yes. We do actively seek younger writers with our Young Writers Prize  for 18- to 25-year-olds – but it is most certainly about the books. I think Hot Key authors tend to be lovely people. Just have a look at them on Twitter.Committed, passionate, clever, with something unique to say.

So, my question to you flips the first question around. What do you look for in a publisher?
 
If you have any questions for Sara, you can either submit them in the comments section below or you can email them to writers@britishscbwi.org.  Sara will return with her answers on the 7th October.

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Sara O'Connor is the editorial director, print and digital at Hot Key Books, acquiring books like The Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week Shrunk! by Fleur Hitchcock, Tribute by Ellen Renner, Boonie by Richard Masson and Clockwise to Titan by Elon Dann. She looks for books that are brilliantly written, that stand out and that have lovely authors behind them, with a slight preference towards the 9-12 age category.

She's also in charge of the digital strategy for Hot Key, working with a brilliant digital team to produce projects like the interactive iBook of Costa-award-winning Maggot Moon.

Ask A Publisher - Q&A with Sara O'Connor, Editorial Director at Hot Key Books

Welcome to our monthly Ask A Publisher feature, hosted by Sara O'Connor, Editorial Director, Print and Digital at Hot Key Books.

Sara can't keep up with all your great questions, but please keep sending them in! This week it's about how long the publishing process is right down to some contract nitty gritty. Next month, Sara's got a backlog to catch up on, tackling questions like what authors should look for in a publisher.

With more and more stories about successful self-published authors being taken on by traditional publishers, and the publishing industry rapidly evolving, is Hot Key looking at self-published books that do well?

We aren't trawling the self-published best-seller lists ourselves but we are acquiring agented self-published books like our #1 bestseller THE VINCENT BOYS by Abbi Glines. We've also considered self-published work sent to us directly.

The publication process is very very long! How do you work with an author during the interim stages from book being acquired to publication, if at all? Does the author solely work on revisions, marketing etc for upcoming book, or are they left alone to work on something new?

It is long! I liked it during our first year when we published books in mere months. But retailers carefully schedule their purchases and promotions, so we almost always have to have at least nine month lead times.

If editing isn't happening between acquisition and publication, then yes, the author will likely be writing a new book. But there are lots of stages that the author needs to be involved in: covers, cover copy, web description copy, biography... Plus marketing discussions will happen about three months pre-pub, so there are things to keep the author busy besides more writing.

Are publishers still looking for books with trilogy/series potential, or are they veering more towards stand alone books now?

Publishers are looking for amazing books and talented authors. Write one or be one and you'll get published. Ignore trends. Write what you write.

Ignore trends. Write what you write.

How do you think the Penguin Random merger will affect the publishing industry?

I think it is a huge opportunity for smaller publishers to offer a more intimate and experimental style of publishing. And it is an opportunity for some ballsy negotiation with other behemoth companies. Here's an article that may interest you.

Most of us first time authors don't feel like we have any choice really when presented with a book deal. DO we have a choice? What reasonable questions can we ask that won't offend our prospective publisher?

Your publisher shouldn't be offended. Of course, they have the right to say no, just as you have the right to ask. And you always have a choice - it's your work! Moreso than ever you can choose not to agree to the terms, walk away and do it your own way. But if you want those people as partners in your publication journey, you have to come to an agreement.

Everything is negotiable, but you should figure out what really matters to you. No one wants to go back and forth for ages, so pick your battles.

Things most often negotiated in my experience beyond the advance and royalties are: - rights splits: what percentage goes to the author

• rights granted: for example, is film/TV included 
• ebook royalties: a very hot topic 
• high discount clauses: if the book is sold at a high discount, there can be a different royalty rate 
• out of print sales thresholds: you don't want a publisher sitting on the rights to your story and not selling any books, the out of print clause should protect you against that 
• cover consultation: you can try to ask for this to be in the contract 
• marketing commitments: the contract is unlikely to have specifics but you can try for some wording 
• option clauses: as in what happens with submissions of your next book 
• payment splits/scheduling: payments will be set out against various stages and in varying percentages of the agreed advance 

Don't ask for everything to change and be prepared for give and take. A great resource is the Society of Authors, who will look over any contract for you, before you sign, even if you aren't already a member.

Do any of you published SCBWIers have contract tips?

Finally, Nick asked in my last blog about whether big-hitters demand cover approval. They do, yes, but. Think they have to be very very big hitters to get it. More people can get cover consultation which means the publisher has a contractual obligation to show the author the cover for feedback, but the publisher isn't obligated to do what the author wants.  

If you have any questions for Sara, you can either submit them in the comments section below or you can email them to writers@britishscbwi.org.  Sara will return with her answers on the 9th September.

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Sara O'Connor is the editorial director, print and digital at Hot Key Books, acquiring books like The Sunday Times Children's Book of the Week Shrunk! by Fleur Hitchcock, Tribute by Ellen Renner, Boonie by Richard Masson and Clockwise to Titan by Elon Dann. She looks for books that are brilliantly written, that stand out and that have lovely authors behind them, with a slight preference towards the 9-12 age category.

She's also in charge of the digital strategy for Hot Key, working with a brilliant digital team to produce projects like the interactive iBook of Costa-award-winning Maggot Moon.