THE CAREER NOVELIST
have drawbacks, too. Young editors may find their lists playing sec-
ond fiddle to those of editors with more clout and savvy. Being
sometimes in a hurry, young editors can also tend to change jobs
more often than their older colleagues. While that is good for them,
it is often bad for the authors whom they leave behind. This aban-
donment is so common in the industry that there is even a term for
it: being "orphaned."
Given these pluses and minuses, I try to balance reality with my
clients' needs and arrive at a selection of potential editors that
offers my clients the greatest opportunities and the least risk.
After that, there is the question of what the client will most need
once the contract is signed: sensitive editing or marketing savvy and
support? Some editors work brilliantly with text. Shaping a novel
through revision suggestions, then refining it with adroit line edit-
ing is truly an art. Some say that art is dying, but I have seen pow-
erful evidence to the contrary.
Other editors are better at in-house politics, writing jacket copy,
obtaining cover art, schmoozing with salespeople, and so on. An
author whose work is "clean"—that is, which needs little editing—
is a candidate for an editor with this kind of business head. Then
again, all authors need a strong advocate on the inside. As always,
I try to strike a balance, weighing the author's relative needs against
the prospective editor's relative strengths.
Beyond the author/editor match there is the question of publish-
ing companies. They are big or small (and, these days, rarely in-
between). They may be oriented to hardcovers or paperbacks or to
both. Most companies are comfortable with some sorts of fiction
but not others. And no publisher is perfect.
Once a list of likely editors is chosen, I look over the publishers
for whom they work. Here experience and staying abreast of indus-
try changes are important. For instance, many authors whose work
is high in literary integrity will ask for submission to Alfred A. Knopf.
That is natural enough, given Knopf's legacy. However, over the last
ten years Knopf has evolved. While still a house associated with
quality, and on whose list one can find authors such as Ann Beattie,
Albert Camus, Kazuo Ishiguro (Remains of the Day), and Elie Wiesel,
Knopf's list is also chock-a-block with such popular writers as Anne