Interview with Vicki Williams of Talonbooks

INTERVIEW FOR PUBLISHING 201

In April 2015, I had the pleasure of talking with the co-owner of Talonbooks, an independent publisher based out of Victoria, British Columbia. Take a look! As we dive into what it is like to be a co-owner of Talonbooks, working with editors and writers alike, to what her thoughts are on the growing internet-crazed society and what that means for small publishers.

1.) First of all, thank you for taking the time to answer a few of my questions! I guess we can start by asking you what made you want to get into the publishing industry?

Let me first inform you of who I am, I am a co-owner of Talonbooks with my husband Kevin. Kevin is the publisher; I am the office manager (also fulfill PayPal orders and read submissions). We employ two full time editors, one part time editor and currently two free-lance editors. We have separate editors for each genre that we publish, and poetry and drama boards for final submission approval in those genres. As we are a small publisher, we are often doing many different tasks: doing a substantive edit on one title, copy-editing another etc.; our responsibility also involves proofing and layout. Each manuscript does through many stages: editing, copy-editing, page proofs (a total of three proofs), cover and back design, blurb acquisition, source checking etc, the author is usually involved at each step. If a translator is involved as well it is a three-way involvement! We also employ a full time designer (covers and production), a full time marketer and a part time e-book designer. As all of our editors are mad busy working on this seasons last titles, as well as next seasons titles and are unable to answer your questions, I will answer them on their behalf.

Talon editors are generally graduates of a "Masters of Publishing," MPUB, program (either at SFU or Humber) and are registered with the "Editors Association of Canada." As such going into this branch of editing was a career choice—we love books!

2.) What does an average day look like for you? Are there specific tasks you need to accomplish? Or does it depend on the current project(s) you’re working on?

Talon editors are assigned projects, they are quite free to swap amongst themselves and choose projects that excite them, usually when a title is announced at our weekly production meeting, the staff will decide who is doing what. The editors basically work on a title until it is finished, switching to another title when the first is out for author approval.

3.) When going through submissions, what makes you decide whether to accept or reject a piece?

We have several types of submissions; those that come from authors whose work we have published before (our standard contract, like most publishers have, a "first-refusal" aspect), submission re-commendations by other publishers and unsolicited manuscripts. I assume you are referring to unsolicited manuscripts. We have a very clear mandate and very clear submission guidelines available on our website. We ask for just a few pages of the script, to get a feel of the authors writing ability and approach, if we are interested we ask for more.

4.) When rejecting a piece, do you provide suggestions for improvement?

When rejecting a piece we typically do not make recommendations. If a piece is exceptional but not for us, we will sometimes suggest they submit to an appropriate publisher and provide names. In order to make suggestions for improvement we would have to hire another staff member as we get about ten unsolicited transcripts a week! As it is, it takes about twelve hours each week to read and respond to the unsolicited we receive.

5.) Do you think writers make good editors and vice versa? Or does each job have a specific and unique skill set?

I have never met an editor that writes or a writer that edits. Writers that teach... yes! Editors that copy-edit... yes! But any combination of writer and editor... no.

6.) How would you say our growing Internet and social media-crazed society is affecting the publishing industry? Is it positive or negative?

The growing internet and social media craze has both positive and negative aspects. Positive—it forces publishers to keep their web page current. It allows us to reach many more people. Many of our titles are adapted for university courses in the U.S.. Our U.S. sales have grown significantly, and this wouldn't have been possible without the Internet and social media (mind you, we do have a FANTASTIC marketeer!). Negative—we have had to hire staff to do Twitter, Facebook, and daily website updates and create e-books. The financial outlay is significant.

7.) What has been your most rewarding/difficult experience as an editor?

Our editors all agree, the most rewarding aspect of the job is to see a fine finished book.

8.) What advice could you give to up-and-coming writers and/or editors?

Advice to writers would be to take courses, associate with other writers and to read a lot of books. Advice to editors would be to enroll in an MPUB program. The "Editors Association of Canada" offers courses. Take them—the only way to be sure of a decent wage is to be certified.