Sourcebooks Casablanca Romance Authors

  By Deb Werksman  Editorial Manager Sourcebooks Casablanca One of the most wonderful things about my job is being able to make ‘The Call’ to an author—it’s what I live for. It’s very exciting and rewarding, and kind of like asking someone to marry you—or, for an alternative metaphor, since I consider myself to be a book midwife, it’s like taking on a new pregnant mom (I always tell authors that publishing a book is more like birthing an elephant than it is like running a horse race, so patience, patience!). This is about where the metaphor breaks down though, because I also tell authors all the time—the book is NOT your baby—it’s a professional endeavor, it’s a craft, it’s something to be very proud of, but anyone who actually has children will tell you not to be attached to your book the way you would be to your child. (On the good side, while your book may keep you up all night from time to time, it will never throw up in your bed or make you rush to the em...

By Deb Werksman Editorial Manager Sourcebooks Casablanca Next week is Book Expo, the independent booksellers’ big trade show at the Javits Center in NYC, and preceding the show is Publishing University, annually run by the Independent Book Publishers Association. I will be on a panel on EDITORIAL BASICS with Cynthia Frank from Cypress House, and Roy Carlisle from The Independent Institute, who have been in publishing for many years and both of whom both publish and consult with publishers and authors. Roy will be talking about the unconscious parts of the editorial process and how editors are filtering through current events and the trends in current media. Cynthia will be talking about professionalism and some of the practical questions editors ask  as they consider a submission, and I’ll be talking about the conscious part of an editor’s process and why submission guidelines are the way they are. If you’ve heard me on my soapbox about why an author might want to follow submis...