Hi everyone, and today on the blog I’m delighted to welcome the Publishing Director and the Deputy Publishing Director of Simon Schuster. Claire Hey and Katherine Armstrong bring a wealth of experience to the publishing world and it was a delight to interview them both – at the same time!
It was a pleasure to do this with both of you, so without further ado I’ll hand over to both Claire and Katherine…
1) How did you first become involved in the publishing industry? Did you have any other plans when you left school? Was it something you always wanted to do?
I did an English degree because I loved reading, and when I graduated I really wanted to do something that related to the degree if I could. The two options seemed to be teaching and publishing, and as I’m not great with kids, I plumped for the latter. If I’m honest, it wasn’t a burning desire, it just sounded like an interesting way to keep reading books and hopefully get paid too! I had been doing lots of temp work while at university and after I left I got a job at Sotheby’s inputting data about people’s art collections. So when a job came up as a secretary in the art department at HarperCollins, I think they thought I must know something about art. I didn’t at all but I did have lots of secretarial experience and so got the job.
[KA] Like Clare I did an English degree because I love reading. When I was at school, I was quite interested in journalism, but didn’t really enjoy the few days work experience that I was able to get when I was at school, so (perhaps prematurely) decided it wasn’t for me! When I was in my final year at university and they gave us the big speech – you know the one: ‘you’re about to graduate and go into the world of work, you must know by now what you want to do with your life…!’ Not having a clue but, like Clare, knowing that I didn’t want to go into teaching (!) and I wasn’t keen to jump into a job, I decided to try something connected to books and so did a MPhil in Publishing Studies. When I graduated from my Masters, I worked in Waterstones for a year and then made the move into publishing, starting on a three month contract in the pre-press and design department at Faber, where I was an admin assistant, before managing to make the move into editorial.
2) Can you explain a little bit about your job role, within Simon Schuster?
I head up the fiction editorial team and am responsible for the strategy and direction of the list. I have my own list of authors who I publish, and I manage the rest of the editorial team.
[KA] I’m the deputy publishing director for fiction and I look after the crime and thriller list, working with Clare on the strategy. I also acquire and publish my own authors.
3) Where do your current job roles sit within the publishing process of a manuscript?
My role means I get to be involved with the manuscript and book at most stages along its life. I always do a structural edit and line edit then hand over to another editor to get the book ready for production. At that point my role becomes more to do with the publishing of the book – liaising with all departments on getting the book to readers.
[KA] My role is the same as Clare’s. We are the first point of contact for an agent to send a proposed manuscript to. If we like it, we bring it to the editorial meeting and get more colleagues reading it before – hopefully – bringing it forward to the acquisitions meeting. Once acquired, we work with the author on the structural edit – this is looking at the whole narrative arc of the book, the pacing, characterisation etc (the big picture stuff) – and then the line edit (more the nitty gritty, is the dialogue realistic etc).
Once both the author and the editor are happy with the manuscript, it usually goes to a desk editor who will see it through the pre-press stages of copy edit, typesetting and proof reading, and will send final files to production. While I have desk edited in the past, in my current role I work with great desk editors and that allows me more time to focus on the publishing side of the book. While the editing of a book is very one on one with the author, the publishing of a book involves a whole team of creative people across all departments who focus on bringing the book to as many readers as possible.
4) How have you both been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic? Have there been any limitations to your job roles?
We have all adapted to working remotely pretty quickly. It was a bit of a rollercoaster to start with but our primary aim is always getting our authors’ books to readers and so we focused on that and saw that readers were keen for books to escape into. The hardest thing for me was missing chatting to my colleagues in real life, trying to edit on screen, and learning when to swich off!
KA] I started my role at S&S in lockdown (Feb 2021) and it was – as you can imagine – a bit harder as I didn’t have that proper face-to-face interaction with colleagues and the fiction team. While working remotely was something we were all used to by then, I did miss sitting at my desk and talking to people about the books I was working on, or asking advice on a tricky tagline or title, or even how to navigate the new systems!
What S&S did really well though was having a regular ‘tea break’ session, where anyone who wanted to sign up for it would be paired with someone else – and they could be someone in their team or someone in a different department/part of the business. I found that particularly useful as it meant that I ‘met’ people one-on-one before we went back to the office and also learned about what their role in the company was. In the publishing business though we were comparatively lucky as it was easier to pivot to working from home than it was for a lot of other professions. It was gratifying, too, to know that despite the apprehension about the state of the world, people did want to escape into a good book, so that is what we all worked towards – getting stories to readers to enjoy.
5) What books are you most attracted to? Do you have a favourite genre?
I love books that change me in some way – either emotionally or intellectually. I love to learn new things, visit new places, meet new people, and love an author who can do that. I’m attracted to strong storytelling with a distinct voice – and a strong hook so I can pitch the book to other readers. As a team we hope to have a story foe everyone and for everyone to see themselves represented in the pages of the books we publish.
[KA] I’ve been a crime & thriller fan since I was a kid and first read Nancy Drew. My gran introduced me to Agatha Christie when I was about 10 and I just loved those books. I particularly love the puzzle aspect of crime novels – trying to work out ‘whodunnit’, or even ‘howdunnit’ or ‘whydunnit’. I love books where you think you know where it’s going but then the author completely turns things around.
I especially love books that push the limits of the genre and authors who aren’t afraid to think outside the box. Fiction has to constantly grow and adapt to the world we live in and I want to read something that feels fresh and different. I also have a secret passion for travel writing as I love to learn about other countries and cultures; and if someone says they have a book about a book, or a bookshop, then I’m in!
6) What do you look for in a debut novel? What is it about it that entices you? Is it plot, character, theme or somet, mes is it all about the writing?
Plot, voice, an ability to make me forget everything else. Easy!
[KA] Similar to Clare, I’m looking to immediately be engaged by the voice and to be drawn into the plot and carried through from beginning to end. I want to have that stay-up-to-4am-reading experience – and I want the story to stay with me long after I’ve read it.
7) How can an author develop a hook for their idea? How difficult/easy is this to do?
Every author does this differently, so it’s hard to advise. I’d suggest taking a step back from the nitty gritty and thinking about the main theme or inciting incident that is integral to the story. Then editing to make sure this hook actually relates to the book itself, rather than being something that’s tagged on at the end.
[KA] I agree with Clare. It’s dependent on how each author works, but I’d also suggest thinking about which authors you see your book sitting with and if you have any TV/movie/book comparisons in mind. If it’s X meets Y then what do X and Y provide people with – what’s their USP – and take it from there. Think big picture rather than line by line definitely – and also if you’re really struggling talk it through with any writer friends or even family. You pitch the plot to them and sometimes just that act of explaining can help coalesce the hook in your mind.
8) For an author who has finished their first book, as a publishing house, what happens next?
Every book has an in-house editor who will do a structural edit, working on the overall shape of the story. This could go through one edit or many. When author and editor are happy, it goes to a freelance copyeditor and proofreader. Meanwhile, the editor liaises with teams across the business to look at all elements of the publishing process – the cover, the selling copy, the publicity and marketing plans. It’s a real team effort.
[KA] Nothing to add here, she’s covered it! 😊
9) Do you have any advice for unpublished authors?
Have a strong sense of what you want to write and write primarily for yourself to start with – don’t try to chase trends as you’ll never catch up. Treat your writing time as a job and carve out regular space and time for it. And read a lot.
[KA] Keep at it. Try and write a little every day if you can – even if you decide the next day to delete it all. This is a wonderful business but it can be bruising, so remember that all you need is for it to get in front of that one agent and editor who completely gets your vision for the book and feels as passionately about it as you do. If an agent or an editor doesn’t offer for it, then they’re not the right agent or editor for you. Know what area of the market you want to write in – and importantly what area of the market you are writing in. Write the book that you would want to read yourself. Join a writing group and go to book events. There’s a fantastic writing community out there with other writers in the same position as you, which is always great to have on those days when you’re not sure what you’re doing – they’ll be there to help support you and can give feedback on your WIP and are a good sounding board for any tricky plot points. Above all, HAVE FUN!
10) What is a typical weekend for you and what do you enjoy doing away from work?
Lots of reading! Either submissions or edits. Outside work, I love music so I spend a lot of time going to gigs and music festivals.
[KA] Lots of submission reading, edits and reading non-work books! I love seeing friends, cooking, hiking and, now that we can again, travelling.
Thank you to you both for your time, it has been a pleasure to interview you!
Bios: I head up the adult fiction team at Simon & Schuster UK, and oversee the strategy of the list as a whole. My career has taken me from HarperCollins, to S&S, to Orion and back to S&S, and my passion is finding brilliant authors and bringing their books to as wide an audience as possible. I am drawn to strong storytelling, fresh voices and interesting hooks, and publish primarily across women’s fiction, reading group fiction and historical fiction.
I have been lucky enough to work with authors such as Tracy Chevalier, Joanne Harris, Erica James, Cathy Kelly, Milly Johnson, and Libby Page, plus many more. I love discovering debut writers with a career ahead of them, and also working with more established authors on growing their brands.
I am currently looking for strong hook-led reading group/general fiction that bucks the trend, a big love story, commercial fiction from diverse voices, and a big-ideas novel that will change the way we think. I like to be surprised, but will respond best to plot-driven novels with great writing. I am always looking for new voices and great storytellers and want the S&S Fiction list to be the home of a story for everyone, representing the lives and stories of all people in the pages of the books and the writers we publish.
[KA] I started my career as a bookseller at Waterstones Ocean Terminal in Edinburgh. I then moved into publishing and have worked at Faber & Faber, Sphere (part of Little Brown Book Group), Bonnier Books UK and am now deputy publishing director at Simon & Schuster UK. I support the publishing director for adult fiction and oversee the crime & thriller fiction list. I love crime & thrillers that push the genre and books that are full of puzzles, codes and mystery. I enjoy all aspects of the genre and I want to be so engrossed in a book that I miss my tube stop. There’s nothing I like more than shouting about a brilliant book and pressing it into everyone’s hands! Authors I’ve worked with include award-winners and bestsellers such as Chris Whitaker, Caz Frear, Chris Carter, Nicci French, Alex Gray, Chris Ewan, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Ruth Ware and Louise Candlish, among many others. I’m currently looking for intriguing crime that explores new aspects of the genre, including hook-led and high-concept thrillers; also diverse stories that shine a light on a different culture or way of life. I like crime that educates and entertains, but above all keeps me engaged.
jsclerkauthor.co.uk 