Editor Deb Werksman Is In Da Lair!

interviewed and posted by Aunty Cindy

We are excited and pleased today (and Aunty's extra tickled) to have Sourcebooks acquiring editor Deb Werksman as our guest in the Lair! Deb is taking time from a very busy day full of meetings so she will be popping in and out to answer your questions in the comments as time allows.

AC: Please tell us a little about Sourcebooks Casablanca, your job/workload on a daily basis, and your previous experience in the publishing industry.

DW: Sourcebooks Casablanca was started in 1997 with Greg Godek's 1001 Ways to Be Romantic. I've been running it since I joined Sourcebooks in 1998 and it has been the #1 non-fiction romance imprint in the country. Before joining Sourcebooks I had my own publishing company (started in 1989), specializing in political satire. In addition to running Sourcebooks Casablanca, I was also acquiring for the rest of Sourcebooks' list--gift books, humor, women's interest, self help, parenting, calendars and Jane Austen sequels!

(Aunty wipes the sweat from her brow just thinking about all that work!)

We launched our romance fiction list in 2007 and my non-fiction responsibilities have been taken over by other editors and I'm acquiring single title romance, Jane Austen sequels and women's fiction.

My daily workload varies every day, which is part of what I love about my career! If anyone REALLY wants to know what my typical day looks like I'll be happy to give you details!

(Aunty would prefer a cocktail from a cabana boy, or a foot massage from Sven.)

AC: Do you maintain an awareness of what other publishing houses are doing as part of your assessment of what to buy? Do you have certain "specialties"? Or do you buy what you love and want to read?

DW: Part of my criteria for acquiring is that I have to feel we can successfully sell the book, so we're always looking at the marketplace to see what's working. I don't "specialize" per se, although I have more experience with historicals and paranormals than with, for example romantic suspense right now, but I want my list to be balanced across all the subgenres.
My four criteria are:
*a heroine the reader can relate to
*a hero the reader can fall in love with
*a world gets created
*a hook--a 2-3 sentence description that I can use to sell the book

(Aunty scribbles furiously on her Bandit notepad.)

AC: We've all heard that contemporary romances are not selling and that paranormal is over done. What trends do you see in the marketplace?

DW: I think this is such a robust marketplace that there are readers for every subgenre all the time. When a subgenre gets overpublished it's tougher to launch there, but the established authors will continue to thrive. If a book has a strong enough hook, it will transcend what the subgenre is doing.

AC: And any advice for writers about trends? Or what to do if your book is not a current "hot" trend?

I begin to feel like a broken record, but the hook is the most important thing ESPECIALLY if your book is not in a current hot subgenre.

AC: What book did you find recently that you believe will be a hit on the shelves?

DW: Romeo, Romeo by Robin Kaye is one that I think is going to be a hit--because EVERY woman wants a man who's as good in the kitchen as he is in the bedroom!

I'm also really excited about The Wild Sight by Loucinda McGary--an Irish tale of deadly deeds and forbidden love. This one is a hot read with a suspense element and a paranormal element and Ireland is an incredible location for the story.

(Aunty blushes, no small feat, and wonders if she mentioned lately how much she LURVES her editor...)

AC: What kind of submission is guaranteed to receive positive attention from you?

DW: A submission that actually follows our submission guidelines is going to get my attention, because, believe it or not, most don't. But really, it's the hook that gets me--so putting that upfront is really helpful.

And--please include you and/or your agent's contact information (phone number essential) on EVERY piece of the submission and on every page is great (a header in a small font works fine).

You can find submission guidelines on Sourcebooks' website: http://www.sourcebooks.com/

AC: What's your strangest submission story?

I once got a submission with a $100 bill paper-clipped to it. I was horrified.

(Aunty is equally horrified! Sven and the cabana boys also gasp.)

AC: I know you will be at RWA National in San Francisco in two weeks. Anything you'd like to add about it?

DW: I'm really looking forward to seeing many of you at RWA. PLEASE, if you see me, please come up and introduce yourself. I want to meet/talk to as many of you as I possibly can.

Our SPOTLIGHT on Sourcebooks is at 11:00 on Saturday morning--please come and meet me and our publisher and get all your questions answered in person!

AC: Oh, you will NOT be Nigella NoFriends, Deb. Rest assured! And I have the Sourcebooks Spotlight highlighted on my color coded agenda (thank you Tawny-Depp)!

And now it's time for everyone to chime in! If you have a question for Deb, please ask away. If you have read any of the Sourcebooks Casablanca romances please give us your opinion. Also, please tell us what subgenres are your favorites and why. Anything you'd like to see more of on the shelves?

Aunty, er, um that is Loucinda McGary and her Sourcebooks sister Marie Sullivan Force will each give away an IOU for their new fall releases. Marie's contemporary romance Line of Scrimmage will hit the shelves on September 1st and Loucinda's The Wild Sight will be out in 75 more days, on October 1st!
UPDATE: Robin Kaye is also generously offering an IOU for Romeo Romeo, another 75 day wait, but WELL WORTH IT!

SCANDAL'S DAUGHTER Blog Party--Leis Pederson tells us 5 Quirky Things

My other special guest for today is Leis Pederson, my editor at Berkley, a division of Penguin, USA. Leis acquires romance, young adult and women's fiction as well as mysteries and thrillers.

Leis, thank you for joining us! First of all, can you tell us what drew you to SCANDAL'S DAUGHTER? And yes, I am begging for compliments!

SCANDAL'S DAUGHTER is a great new historical romance that no reader should miss. I was drawn to Christine's fresh voice and the way she creates characters. This is a novel full of friendly banter, sexual tension, and a romance guaranteed to make you swoon.

Thanks for that glowing recommendation, Leis! Now, let's talk about you. What are five quirky or unusual things about you that our readers might not know?

Let's see, I am sure there are a ton of unusual things about me, but here are a just a few that I came up with.

*I have nine brothers and sisters.

*I like mustard on my popcorn.

*I love really cheesy movies.

*My educational background is in clinical psychology --- comes in handy when working with authors (hahaha!)

*My roommate and I adopted two kittens from a local shelter - a black/white girl named Pippi (as in Longstocking) and an orange male, Milo, who thinks he's a dog.

Mustard on popcorn? Sounds just awful enough to be tasty! And I'll let that comment about the clinical psychology pass!

You work with Cindy Hwang as well as editing your own list. Sometimes I wonder when you sleep! Can you give us a run-down of a typical day?

A typical day generally involves all sorts of things but I’m most likely to spend my day in the office taking care of the various administrative tasks that come my way, dealing with endless amounts of paperwork and talking with agents and authors. Most of my editing and reading gets done in the evening.

So, let’s start with the submissions that come to you. What excites you about a manuscript? Do you have any automatic turn-offs?

Getting new submissions is always exciting but I would have to say I am always looking for that one that I just can’t put down. Something that would automatically turn me off would be a poorly put together proposal. When submissions come in with lots of typos, missing pages, etc. it definitely gives a bad impression.

Once you decide you would like to buy a manuscript, what process do you have to go through before you can make the author an offer?

This process can vary somewhat but generally it involves getting secondary reads and presenting it to our editorial team. We of course also consider where the book would fit into our list and how we would be able to package it.

What part of your job do you enjoy the most?

I love all aspects of my job but I guess the best part about it is getting to work with the authors. I’m a people person and getting to know the people behind the books I love to read makes them that much more special to me.

With so much reading in your day job, do you still read for pleasure? What (non-Berkley) book did you most recently read and enjoy?

I do read for pleasure as often as I can. Most recently I read the new Harry Potter and I absolutely loved it.

I must be the only person in the world who hasn't read the latest HP yet. But I've been writing! (she says, polishing halo)

Lately, there have been rumours that historical romance is making a comeback. Do you think this is true?

Every genre goes through its ups and downs. Historical romance has always been a favorite for our readers and I don’t think it ever really goes out of style.

Amen to that! Thank you, Leis, for a fun interview!


Leis will pop in during the day to chat, if she can fight her way through the submission pile to get to her computer. *g* Once again, there's a WONDERFUL prize for one lucky reader who comments on this post. A signed copy of Scandal's Daughter and other assorted goodies from Bandita Christine Wells

And don't forget to check out Jessica Faust's post (below) Jessica will swing by to answer questions and comments today.