with Lynne Marie Zerance

LZ: Tell us a little about your background. How long have you been with Random House and did you work in the business before this?

AK: I’ve been with Random House, Inc. for about 3 ½ years. The last 2 ½ years have been spent at “little Random,” working on Random House and Villard books. I spent the first year at the Crown Publishing Group and was part of the Associate’s Program. As an Associate I was rotated through the different departments including editorial, marketing, sales, publicity, subsidiary rights, finance, promotions, and production—spending time in each one to get my feet wet. Before this, I worked for a medical publishing company.

LZ: If you could sum up the market for first fiction today in a single word, what would it be?

AK: Promising. Random House had a much better this year than last year and it seems to be very promising going into the new year.

LZ: What are you most encouraged by in the industry?

AK: Looking at the hundred best books of 2005—the New York Times bestseller list—there is an obvious juxtaposition of young talented authors and older authors who are still at the top of their games. There’s a lot of great writing coming out, particularly from authors under the age of 35. People seem more inspired than ever; there’s an abundance of imagination and inventiveness being displayed, and I have no reason to believe that this will change.

LZ: What are you most discouraged by?

AK: I think it’s still extraordinarily difficult to market fiction titles. The writing is great, the marketing is difficult. Other than getting great publicity reviews in The New York Times, it’s difficult to market novels effectively, and sales aren’t where they should be. I think the state of the economy is the primary reason for this. People have less disposable income. Take young writer who’s writing for a young audience--it’s hard to get that readership to spend $25 for a hardcover book. I think there’s a misconception that people of that age don’t read. I think it’s more likely that they can’t afford it. That’s why we launch some of the young-author titles in paperback.

LZ: Speaking of hardcover vs. paperback, how does a publishing company decide which way to launch?

AK: Young writer’s books seem to do better in paperback. Traditionally, trade paperback originals (TPOs) have gotten less review attention, but reviewers are starting to pay more attention to paperbacks. We had an extraordinary TPO in Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell, which published in 2004 and got a lot of review attention resulting in solid sales figures. Authors sometimes show a reluctance to publish in trade paperback first because of the literary prestige that goes along with a hardcover book. But the question is really would you rather sell 6,000 copies in hardcover or 30,000 copies in paperback? As a young writer, you have to be open to launching as a trade paperback original. I mean, if you’re 27 years old, how much of a platform can you have? The person is an author and he has a book. Period. He doesn’t have an illustrious career behind him, necessarily. So as a publishing company, you’re acting as a young writer’s personal publicist, not just a book publicist. We only do a few of those a year, because it’s inherently an uphill battle, but they do get special attention because they’re on such a short list--and rest assured that if a young author’s debut fiction is published here, we deem it of the highest quality.

LZ: Is there anything about the publishing industry that you would modify if you could?

AK: I’ve noticed a big difference between American publishing and European publishing. In America, there’s a stress on quantity. In Europe, if there’s a highly promising book written by an author with a bright future, a prestigious house will often buy it, even if the publisher predicts a sale of only 2,000 or 3,000 copies. They) are publishing authors, not just books, as one of my friends, who is an author from abroad, says. It seems, from this side of the Atlantic anyway, that it’s all mostly about quality in Europe. I think it’s just more ingrained in their culture than it is in ours.

But the editors I work with have gifted minds, and they thankfully publish with a lot of heart in addition to financial acumen. Our editor-in-chief, for example, has an extraordinary literary mind, he’s quite representative of an old school way of publishing.

LZ: One of the main complaints about movies these days seems to be that Hollywood prefers to recycle old ideas rather than investing in new ones. To what extent do you see this mirrored in publishing, and to what effect?

AK: I think that’s what we’re sort of built on in our publishing industry. Authors have a formula, it works, and they sell lots of copies—that’s commercial publishing. In all fairness, readers often expect a certain formula from their favorite authors, but I believe the younger writers are constantly reinventing themselves, ideas are changing, and they’re exploring new territory. And I think that’s a sign of the times. E-mail is symbolic of our culture at large--it’s fast, and everything is always changing.

But on the more commercial side, thriller writers, romance writers—they have a formula that works and they have their audience. Once you’re a Stephen King, you can do what he’s doing now and explore different types of writing and introduce people to different genres

LZ: Do you have any predictions to share about the direction of traditional publishing in the next few years?

AK: I think it’s going to be very difficult to say without knowing what the economy is going to do. The future of publishing is about as predictable as our economy. Once the economy gets better, I think you’ll see publishing houses giving more writers a chance. First fiction is difficult right now. Readers have to trust a reviewer or an imprint that this writer is going to give them as much satisfaction as their favorite writers. People tend to buy more books from writers they already know. But if they had an extra $25 in their wallet, they might give a new writer a try.

On the corporate side of things, once people start buying more books, we’ll have more money to take chances on new and inventive writers.

LZ: In terms of the different aspects of your position, what do you spend the bulk of your time doing on a daily basis?

AK: During the day I’m am mostly working with the Random House and Villard authors on our list doing editorial, marketing, and publicity work, processing contracts and other administrative tasks and talking with authors and agents. I’m on the phone or writing/responding to e-mails for a large chunk of the day. But I like to talk, so I don’t mind!

LZ: Tell us about the process that a manuscript you love goes through once it’s in your hands. What are the next steps you have to take to get approval to acquire it?

AK: If I love it, I find two or three other editors on the staff who I think would appreciate this type of project, and I solicit their opinions on it. If they agree with me that it shows great promise, then I take it to the editor-in-chief. If he likes it, then I might be inclined to bring it up at the next acquisitions meeting, and they’re held daily.

But I have to be sure to get my ducks in a row before the meeting. First, I have to do some basic research, find a comparable book, something similar that sold so I can make a projection about what I think this book might do. I gather all the information I can find and then talk to the marketing/sales VP and he gives me an idea of how many books we can print, how many he thinks it can backlist, and whether it will have a paperback life too. Then, assuming a marketing/sales person agrees the project is viable, I send everything to finance. The finance people crunch the numbers and give me a P & L statement, which tells me if the numbers match my goal for the book. It has to make a certain profit percentage. If it looks good, then I go on to the meeting. Most of the department heads are there, including the publisher and the associate publisher. It’s basically a thumbs-up/thumbs-down type of meeting, with the publisher making the ultimate decision, but that decision comes out of a very candid team discussion.

Then finally, if I get approval, I’m able to make an offer to the agent, and then, if the agent and author accept, we work out the specifics of the contract.

LZ: How would you quantify the number of books you pitch vs. the number you’re actually able to acquire?

It’s low. In this business, the higher your title and the greater your experience, the more clout you have. And as an assistant editor, you have to prove your muster—more so than if you have a strong track record of success. But in the end, it’s all a matter of taste, really.

LZ: How is the editing done? Do you acquire and edit, or are there other editors there who do the line editing?

There’s an apprenticeship here for acquiring and editing, and most editors do both. You have to dedicate time to watching what your boss does and honing your craft. As a young editor, you’re in school here. You have to consider the readership and learn how to not only decide what looks like it will sell from the outset, but how to dissect a manuscript.

LZ: Have you ever taken on a novel you really thought was crap from a literary or artistic standpoint, but signed anyway because you thought it would sell?

Not crap, no. There is nothing we’ve signed that we didn’t feel warranted its publication. I’ve worked on things that weren’t up my alley, personally. And there have been projects that haven’t worked out, but we don’t publish any crap. Random House has a lot of integrity regarding the projects it takes on.

LZ: What about timing? Is there any particular season to publishing? Any time of year that is better for agents to submit manuscripts?

It’s always best to send things when there’s no imminent or extended holiday. After Labor Day is probably the best time to start sending manuscripts out. People are back from vacation then.

LZ: Do you prefer to deal with only established agencies or are you willing to consider submissions from smaller agencies or independent agents?

We accept manuscripts from all agencies. Some editors have their favorites, but I think younger agents are great too. The older agents won’t be around forever, after all. Established agents may get more attention because they’ve proven that they have great taste. So as a younger agent just starting out, it’s wise to be selective.

The only thing we don’t tolerate is deception. I once had an “agent” who kept sending me manuscripts from one writer—different manuscripts, the same writer—for a year. Finally, I met with him when he came to the office to drop off yet another manuscript. It turned out he was representing himself, and he’d kept up this charade for a year. I strongly advise writers against taking this type of deceptive approach. Rather than being clever, it’s creepy.

LZ: Can you tell us about some first fiction you’ve acquired for Random House?

I just did a book titled Not Me. It’s literary fiction with a holocaust hook. It’s about a 40-something comedian who reads his dying father’s journals to discover that his dad may have been a Nazi accountant. He embarks on a journey to solve the mystery of his dad’s past. It’s very well written, and this book was a true labor of love for both the author and myself. It’s the author’s first novel, and as with other first literary novels, in order for it to succeed, it’s going to be up to enthusiastic readers to spread the word. Not Me gives me hope and makes me believe that there are still new paths to take and a lot of promise of great literature to come. It’s gotten stellar reviews so far—it just came out on November 1^st 2005.

LZ: How much of marketing and publicity is on the marketing teams’ shoulders and how much of it is on the author’s shoulders?

The marketing and sales teams work very hard. It’s all about strategy when it comes to marketing. When we see something taking off, we might take out an ad, for example. For a young author, we hit the younger websites and list-servs on the internet.

As for the author, if we’re considering publishing a genius writer who it turns out is impossible to deal with and not publicity savvy, we have to think twice about signing them. It’s important to have a writer who is amenable to publicity and who will put up a website and help market themselves. It’s also great if the writer has connections.

LZ: Do you have any advice you can offer to aspiring authors?

AK: Yes, I have two main pieces of advice. First, from the practical standpoint, go through the proper channels. Don’t send your manuscript to publishing houses unsolicited. If you get any response at it all it will be to get an agent. And find an agent that matches you. Do your research. Make sure the agent is in good standing with publishers. Some are not. When you’re soliciting an agent, make sure you follow their submission guidelines.

Second, from an encouragement standpoint, I advise writers to get their work seen by as many people as possible. Try to get published in literary magazines. Get as many people to endorse your work ahead of time as you can. Get a preliminary editorial opinion from a company such as yours. Make sure the editing service is reputable. Don’t over-edit the manuscript, but make sure it’s fine-tuned. Make sure your work is inspired. As I see it, this is what’s most important. You have to have something you can stand by during the process. Sometimes your last line of defense—the only thing you have to fall back on during the entire submission process—is your inspiration.