Although some publishers and discourage the practice, many authors refer to their manuscripts as their “babies” or “children”, even going so far as to sending our birth announcements. While this can lead to problems when it comes time to edit and work with a book, it is a good analogy in places. Just as in the delivery room, doctors assess the health of a newborn using the Apgar Test, so, too, do manuscript submission editors evaluate the “health” of a newly sent manuscript.

For a little background, in 1952, Dr. Virginia Apgar devised her test as a quick way to assess the health of newborn babies. The baby is evaluated on five simple criteria, from a score from zero to two. The numbers are added up and can determine the health. For the purpose of her original test, the five scores were, Appearance, Pulse, Grimace, Activity, and Respiration.

The criteria we use come from a similar test established by Nimble Books, and can be found at the following link: http://www.nimblebooks.com/wordpress/2010/01/apgar-test-for-authors/.  Some publishers have actual written submission checklists. At Pink Petal Books, our checklist is mostly a mental one and we don’t ever assign scores to books, but this set of criteria gives potential authors an idea of what we want to see in a manuscript. I also would like to think that our list doesn’t differ too much from those of other publishers.

The way to read this is the first line contains the criteria. The second provides the score and the writing underneath explains our rationale for the scoring system. I think you may be surprised by how some items are scored.

1.  Author has personal media site such as blog or website.
+1
Author has already shown that she needs to have a presence in the marketplace, and by putting content on the blog, may already be driving website visitors to her site.

2. Author’s website is not on an obvious free site such as “freewebs” and has her own domain
+1
Author already treats writing like a business and knows that a strong web presence will only enhance sales.

3. Author is strongly committed to promotion, including an active presence on several loops, including the publisher’s own reader’s loop
+1
Author is willing to sell her book and understands that her job doesn’t end as soon as the manuscript is turned in.

4. Author submits a clean manuscript
+2
Author shows that she takes her craft seriously and reduces time and financial investment by being capable of editing.

5. Author plays a key role in a specialized organization that can be leveraged to market the book
+1
For romances, this is usually being a member of RWA and its chapters. And personal feelings on RWA aside, someone who is a chapter president or other volunteer (Even if it’s just for contests), has a higher visibility than someone who doesn’t.

6. Book is the start of a new series
0 or +1
Publishers love series, and so do readers. The problem becomes when the author doesn’t market the series and the first book tanks. The publisher will be less likely to take on the second book. In this case, an author who shows that she has successfully sold a series, and/or has a strong marketing plan for the series, might tilt this number into a positive territory.

7. Book is in a profitable genre
+1
While I like a variety of romances and want diversity in my catalog, the truth is, something that is in a marketable genre such as ménage, shape shifter or gay male, especially from a new or lightly published author, may be a “safer” bet.

8. Book is in a genre that we’d like to expand into
+1
Even if it’s in an “unprofitable” genre, if it’s an area we’d like to grow for personal or professional reasons, then that may give the book a boost in the acquisition department.

9. Author expresses frustration with publisher response times, seems likely to require substantial “handholding”
-1
Increases cost. Time is money. Simple questions are okay. I certainly wouldn’t want to discourage anyone from asking questions. But daily/hourly emails may be too much, unless required by the situation.

10. Author wants to do cover
-1 to +1
We allow authors to do their covers if they meet our requirements and have experience. Obviously showing samples of GOOD covers and being willing to work with publisher direction would nudge this into positive territory.

11. Author doesn’t follow writer’s guidelines
-2
Book will most likely not get contracted. If an author cannot read and follow simple directions, then chances are the author will not be able, or willing, to follow editorial direction.

12. Author has been published before
-2 to +2
This depends on the author’s other publishers. Some publishers don’t edit. Others are known for attracting authors with the “crazies”. So just because an author has been published before, doesn’t necessary give her an edge when it comes to manuscript submission. However, if the author was published with a house known for quality work, solid editing, and attracting the best authors. Then yes, this will provide an edge.

It’s okay if the author doesn’t hit all of these points. For example, a cleanly written book in a genre we take, but the author hasn’t quite gotten her website up and running yet, may still score higher than a previously published author, with a book in a popular genre, but who turns in a badly written manuscript.

Last week I talked a bit about what I like from the editor in the relationship with the author. This time, I’ll talk about the author. The good thing is the responsibilities for both of them are very similar. An author needs to communicate clearly and professionally about any issues. If disagreements happen, and they will, then the author should stay as calm as possible. Trust me, I’ve been on the receiving end of edits that make you swear every word you know twice and reach for chocolate. But when communicating any displeasure, it needs to be done with as little venom as possible.

The author also needs to listen and learn from any suggestions. That way, when the editor sees the next manuscript, there will be growth, and possibly less edits. The author should ask questions, seek clarification, and be a participant in the process. Hitting “accept all changes” and sending the manuscript back without going through the edits doesn’t do either party any favors.

And the author needs to honor any deadlines as much as possible. Things happen. Sometimes a deadline needs tweaked. Hopefully the publisher sent the manuscript with as much lead time as possible, so any changes to the deadline can be accommodated. And the author should tell the editor if a deadline is in jeopardy. The more notice the better, even if it’s a situation where the author isn’t sure the deadline will be missed. “Hey, I may be running behind, can you give me a couple more days just in case?” If not, the editor will say, but if so, then the editor isn’t wondering where the edits are and the author is working as fast as she can.

And, lastly, the author’s job is also to do the best job she can do.

I’m going to digress a bit from the more grammar and craft-type issues into a professional one: the editor-author relationship. And I’ll be honest. Having been in this business for a really long time, much of it on the author side, I have an idea of what I like in an editor, and that’s the kind of editor I strive to be.

The truth is, most editors find themselves between a rock and a hard place. The hard place is helping authors craft better stories. The rock is the publisher and their guidelines. It is a balancing act. And in the forefront is the editor’s job, which is to make the book a better one. Let’s not forget that. There’s a lot of politics that go into publishing, and a lot of it can land the editor, and the author, smack dab in the middle. But in the end, the editor’s job is to make the work a better one. (Next week we’ll talk about the author’s job.)

So the editor has to read through the work, suggest changes and clarifications along with the occasional grammatical fix, keeping in mind the author’s particular style, the story, house style and any other publisher guidelines. Not only that, but the editor may have to steer the manuscript through several rounds of revisions, then send it off to a copy editor to have the final tweaks ironed out. All the while staying true to the focus of the story and being professional to the author.

I also believe that the editor’s primary responsibility after all of this is to the author.

House style guides and publisher guidelines are pretty inflexible. And I’ll go out on a limb here and say as an author, I have no love of publishers’ house styles which err on the side of grammatically incorrect. If we have one rule here at Pink Petal Books, it is that if you have questions, the grammatically correct answer always wins. (Yes, we sometimes make mistakes, but we try really hard to ensure that doesn’t happen. We will never deliberately choose the grammatically incorrect answer.)

So what does this mean? It means that the author should never feel as if the editor is jockeying between the copy editor and the author, and standing with the copy editor. It means that the editor should accept the author’s reasoning so long as it’s grammatically sound and understandable by the average reader. It means that in a dispute between the author and the copy editor, barring the previous two reasons given, the editor should back up her author. It also means that the editor needs to be firm, yet professional, in making sure the author is using every opportunity to grow.

Finally, the editor needs to communicate. If something isn’t right, or the editor thinks more work needs to be done, then the editor needs to say so. A fluid dialogue is much easier to follow then choppy dictates and mandates. In the end, the editor needs to make the decision that the book is the best it can be and send it onto the next stage. And hopefully, in that same end, the author can feel well-served by her editor and get to work on the next novel. Because she knows that her editor is dying to read it.

Announcing our new releases for January 2010! Pink Petal Books starts the year off right with hot resolutions, sexy cowboys, and adorable kittens with handsome animal control offers to come to their rescue. We have something for every taste, from super hot to sweet. Happy reading!

Pink Petal Books…because love is a beautiful thing
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