Trios: Devil’s Gold, by Julie Korzenco—The Editor’s View

Julie Korzenko, author of Devil's Gold, has been kind enough to round up a trio of articles about her book. Last week, Julie described how she found a home for her book; this week Emily Steele, Julie's editor at Medallion Press, discusses the editorial process; and next week we'll learn how Medallion Press markets its books. But first, a note from Julie.


As a first-time author, waiting for my line edits was excruciating. I had no clue what to expect and imagined all sorts of nightmarish situations from rewritten plot lines to insertions of killer pandas instead of wolves. Much to my delight, edits were a piece of cake. There was one item, however, that threw me into a bit of a tailspin. My environmental watchdog organization ZEBRA needed a new meaning to its acronym. Originally it was Zoological Ecological Biological Research Agency. I was a bit “ogical” happy which didn’t sit well with my editor. I had no problem changing it and now prefer the new organization name of Zoological Environmental Bio Research Agency. Shortly after submitting my edits, I woke up in the middle of the night in a panic. ZEBRA had to be changed not only in the manuscript but also on the jacket flap (which had already been created and approved and finalized by the art department) and all websites and online bookstores where my “blurb” was posted. Medallion immediately corrected it everywhere, but it was a momentary challenge to figure out exactly where we had the name posted. I still chuckle when I read the reviews written from my ARC’s as they all refer to my “ogical” ZEBRA.



Within every publishing house is a wicked, horrible editor just waiting for the next aspiring author to send a manuscript into her evil lair so she may dash his hopes and dreams to the ground . . .

Oh, wait.

No.

That’s not actually true.

The truth is that editors are always seeking the next great text, and one of our greatest rewards at Medallion is discovering fresh talent. Reading every manuscript we receive is one step we intentionally take to fulfill our mission to publish well-written products.

Julie Korzenko’s story is a great example of the necessary effort involved in becoming a published author. As an editor at Medallion, I bear witness to the fact that every step Julie took toward publishing Devil's Gold brought her memorable character Dr. Cassidy Lowell to the point at which she was ready to engage her audience through print.

At Medallion, our editors strive to discover and produce works written with passion and an apparent dedication to excellence. Currently, we receive approximately thirty-five manuscripts per week, and we read every one. We don’t want to miss a single opportunity to discover a solid manuscript with a unique twist.

When a manuscript captures our attention, we analyse whether it is well prepared and how much editing the manuscript will require. We check grammatical and structural concerns to see whether we have time within our production schedule to adequately edit and produce the manuscript.

Next, we work with the marketing team to determine whether a market exists for the title. We do this by checking whether comparable titles are selling. This task is initially the author’s and ultimately the publisher’s. If research indicates that a book will produce the sales we need, then we begin working with the author to set the publishing process in motion. If you are passionate about creating and sharing unique stories, keep working hard. Research your market by reading comparable titles and discovering how and why they’re selling. Write with passion. Edit your manuscript well to present your hard work in the brightest possible light. Do these things well, and yours may very well be the next great novel on our readers’ shelves!



My thanks to Julie, for organising this mini-series of blog posts, and to Emily Steele of Medallion Press for her contribution: I'm hoping she might be able to drop by to answer any questions, so do speak up if there's anything you'd like to know about Devil's Gold or Medallion Press.

Meanwhile, Julie has kindly offered to give away a free copy of Devil’s Gold. To be in the running, all you have to do is email her at “jkorzenko at gmail dot com” and answer this simple question: what is P3? You’ve got until 12 May to get your emails in: after that date, Julie will select the lucky winner at random from all entrants who answer correctly.

On Illustrations

If you’ve written a book for children which needs illustrations you’d be wise to submit just your text, and leave your publisher to commission the illustrations.

Like much of publishing, this seems counterintuitive to many new writers. They feel that their work needs those illustrations in order to realise its true potential. But there are good reasons for leaving that side of the work to the publishers.

What if you go to great expense to commission a series of illustrations and you don’t manage to sell the book? Good quality illustrations don’t come cheap, and you’ll be substantially out of pocket.

Can you be sure that you’ve calculated the pagination correctly? Illustrated books have very specific page-counts and if you’ve committed to a single spread over or under the necessary amount, you’ll be in trouble.

What if the publishers you submit to don’t like the pictures? It could put them off the whole book, whereas if there are no illustrations at all, they are free to imagine it as they prefer.

What if a publisher likes the book, but the illustrator decides to hold out for a further fee before he’ll allow his pictures to be published? Or you find that you’ve not covered all rights in your contract with the illustrator, so your book can’t be licensed or sold in translation?

There are all sorts of problems involved in commissioning your own illustrations and really, it’s best not to encounter them at all. Write your text, and leave it up to your publisher to find and commission the right illustrator for it.