Charlie Sheppard of Andersen Press explains why being published is just the first challenge
Charlie Sheppard
For the 11th feature in our series on publishing houses we spend some time with Charlie Sheppard, Editorial Director of Fiction at Andersen Press. Charlie has recently joined the company from Random House Children’s Books and tells us about her plans to develop the fiction list at Andersen Press and make it “the envy of the children’s publishing world.”
What inspired you to become an editor?
I first knew I wanted to be an editor when I was about eight. I hated it when teachers put red marks on my stories to correct spelling or make comments. I used to try so hard not to make any mistakes because I wanted my stories to remain clean and look professional.
I remember asking my dad ‘Who makes sure there are no mistakes in grown ups’ stories?’ and when he told me about editors I decided there and then I wanted to be one. A lot of my authors over the years have been teachers, and I get some pleasure from now correcting their grammar and spelling, and sometimes scrawling red marks over their work.
Did you receive any formal training?
No. But being in Editorial is rather like doing an apprenticeship. You learn on the job by following and watching people more senior to you. I had the pleasure of working with really great editors like Miriam Hodgson and Delia Huddy, and good publishers like Gill Evans and Annie Eaton.
They all taught me stuff that I carry with me and use in my day-to-day. At each stage of the career path you take on more responsibility and learn more of the craft.
I believe you can’t be a good copyeditor until you can proofread. And you can’t be a good editor until you can copyedit. With every book I publish I learn something new. How to do things, how not to do things, techniques that work and so on. Every book is different and every author is different and experience really helps in a job like this.
What makes Andersen Press different to other publishing houses?
The independence and the size. I’ve recently joined and I find it liberating to be working in a publishing house that has the power of Random House selling its books but is able to make independent decisions about commissioning, design, marketing and so on.
Too often in large corporations books are published by committee and the individuality and flair can be diluted in the process. And in big publishing houses it takes a long time and a lot of meetings to get things off the ground. In a house this size where all the departments sit next to each other, we can make a decision quickly and creatively. I love that.
What kind of books does Andersen Press publish?
Andersen is famous for its fantastic picture book list, but we actually publish children’s books from baby books to teen. We’re now in the process of growing the fiction side of the list and making it the envy of the children’s publishing world - well that’s the plan anyway.
What happens to a submission once it reaches your office?
At first our Assistant Editor has a look and then if there’s anything promising she passes it along to Rona Selby who does our picture books, or to me or Liz Maude (Editor) if it’s a promising fiction submission.
What do you look for in a submission?
Two things: 1) A good story and 2) an exciting/original voice telling it.
How can a new author get past the slush pile?
See above. Many people have a good story to tell but they don’t have the skills to make it special or different or readable. A smaller minority write well and make publishers sit up, but they have nothing to say.
The ones who stand out and move from the slush pile and hopefully get published are those who can do both.
There’s not really any hope for people in the first category. People in the second category are the ones you keep an eye on in case they find a story worth telling in the future.
Once you have accepted a manuscript for publication, how do you prepare it for publication?
We edit it, which can be a long or short process depending on how new the author is and how close to being publishable the book is. We’ll discuss changes to plot, character, pace and so on.
Once this is done someone else copyedits the book. It’s their job to get the book ready for the printer. They make sure all the spelling, grammar, punctuation and continuity are correct.
The book is then typeset and we have to proofread it.
Along the way the editor has to work with the designer on the cover and inside setting, write the blurb and work with the sales team to give the book the best chance.
What is your favourite part of this process?
The best part is telling a new author that we’re going to take them on and publish their first book. A real x-factor moment.
I then love editing the book especially if it involves a long editorial meeting with the author as we thrash out ideas and they take a small germ of something and run with it.
What is the most challenging part of it?
Having to console authors when they can’t find their books in shops or they’re not selling as well as we’d all hoped.
Whose writing has excited you recently?
In the last few years at Random House I’ve published Markus Zusak (The Book Thief), Keith Gray (Ostrich Boys), Matt Haig (Shadow Forest), Mary Hooper (Newes from the Dead), Joseph Delaney (The Spook’s Apprentice) and Tabitha Suzuma (A Note of Madness). They, and all the other wonderful authors I have worked with recently, have made my job a joy.
The person I’m excited about at the moment is a new find of mine - Jason Wallace. His first book Out of Shadows will be published in February.
What would you say the main challenges are for an aspiring author?
Finding a publisher obviously, but that’s just the beginning and many authors don’t realise that. There are over 10,000 new children’s books published every year in the UK and there are only a few outlets selling them, most of which have a central buyer.
So just because your book is being published, even by a big publishing house, does not automatically mean it’ll be chosen to be stocked in WHS or Waterstone’s. That comes as a huge blow to authors.
What advice would you offer an aspiring writer?
If you are given some encouragement by an editor or an agent or another author, cling to it and don’t give up. But being published isn’t the be all and end all to life. If it doesn’t happen for you then don’t sacrifice your life to it.
Take pleasure in writing without believing you’re only any good if you’re published. People all over the country take and give pleasure from singing and playing instruments. No one says they’re a would-be musician because they don’t have a record contract.
Keep writing only if you enjoy it. Being published can sometimes be a poisoned chalice so don’t pursue it to the detriment of other good things in your life
For further information please visit www.andersenpress.co.uk
Other publishing houses and imprints interviewed for this series include Parthian Books, Tonto Books, Dedalus Books, Alcemi Books, Gomer Press, Trapdoor Books, Seren Books, The Friday Project, Chicken House and Wild Wolf Publishing
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“Being published can sometimes be a poisoned chalice so don’t pursue it to the detriment of other good things in your life.”
:-D Great advice, Charlie. I’m trying, I really am!!!
Great interview btw. xxx