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Fri, 11/30/2007

Penguin Imprint Focus: Editorial Assistants Danielle Stockley and Cameron Dufty Interview Each Other:

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Strange things have been known to emerge from the slushpile. In its depths are known to reside remarkable and sometimes dangerous creatures. Following the zombie outbreak of ‘06, the Editorial Assistants have been tasked with guarding it each night to ensure that nothing else emerges to wreak havok amidst the offices and cubicles of the 5th floor.

I crept up to the containment room last night, and while I lacked the bravery to actually enter, I managed to crack open the door and tape the conversation taking place within…

Cameron Dufty: Like most New Yorkers, I bet you spend a lot of time on public transit. What is the latest book you have read while en-route?

Danielle Stockley: I am currently reading Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, by Chuck Klosterman. While I am enjoying it, it is not the most practical subway book. I am having some trouble holding the pages open with one hand while maintaining my balance with the other. Each page turn only increases my fear that I will end up on someone’s lap. Ease of subway reading is a factor that I consider before I buy any book. Does it figure into your purchasing decisions, Cam?

Cameron Dufty: I am definitely harder on books since the subway became a part of my life. I do tend towards paperbacks now, since you can fold them back easier for one-handed reading (don't tell the NYPL I do that). The latest book I read on the subway was actually a comic book: Wolves, Book 7 of the Fables series, by Bill Willingham. I love this series, and I often try to read comic collections on the train, if only because after a day of staring at white pages and black 12 pt fonts, it's nice to get some color and word bubbles into my eyes. Though New Yorkers are kind of pretentious about subway reading, I think. People judge you on your book cover. You know what I mean? I bet you've gotten some second glances at the title Sex, Drugs and Cocoa Puffs, Danielle. Have you ever seen anyone on the subway reading a book you worked on?

Danielle Stockley: Now I feel I should admit that I am a notorious over-the-shoulder reader, but only on those rare occasions where I find myself sans reading material. Since I’ve only been working as an Editorial Assistant at Roc since August, none of the books I have worked are in stores yet. I have, however, seen someone reading a book by an author I have talked to, which gave me a little thrill. You’ve been here longer than I have, Cam. Have you had any truly memorable moments?

Cameron Dufty: I have to admit that just seeing a book by an author I work with in the real live bookstore makes me a little giddy. Being around all these books all day I forget sometimes that other people actually read them. You know? I think it would be like seeing your little brother suddenly become a movie star, or something . . . a sense of hey, I knew that book when it was just a manuscript! And there it is all grown up, with other people loving it too! Awww. I’m not explaining it well, but it’s a nice kind of happiness for the book (and its author) that I watched progress through all the stages. A few upcoming books even have me listed in the acknowledgements, which is excessively super-exciting for me. I plan on highlighting my name and signing 5 copies for everyone I know and using them as Christmas presents. Danielle, do you think you look at books differently now that you’re in The Biz?

Danielle Stockley: I think at some point in the past I imagined publishing as this near-mystical experience where an author’s vision somehow appeared fully realized on a bookstore’s shelf. What I have learned is that, like everything else, editorial work involves, in large part, spreadsheets, paperwork, and deadlines. People who are considering a career in publishing should know that while my love of language and literature is important, my ability to make lists, keep deadlines and maintain a filing system are also critical. Would you agree, Cam?

Cameron Dufty: Hm, I never imagined rubber bands would be such a large part of my life. My skill in keeping the same size rubber bands in order together is very important to keeping me sane amid 100s of pages of manuscripts all at once. Too big of a rubber band wrapped around a manuscript, and it comes loose. Too small, and there’s the risk of snap-attack. But yeah, I agree that in general, publishing is as much about office-work as any other job. I think my idea of editor came from movies and TV, which, surprise surprise, make it seem a lot more glamorous. Not that it doesn’t have its glamours, but day-to-day, I worry much more about getting alphabetical orders right in the filing cabinet and making sure that contracts department knows the pseudonyms of all “my” authors. I guess we should talk about what attracted us to editing in the first place, aside from the glamour. Give me a run through of how you became and EA, Danielle. What did it take for you to break into publishing? Other advice for those considering a career in this, aside from being able to make lists and meet deadlines?

Danielle Stockley: My first job out of college was as a social worker for the Pennsylvania Department of Welfare. (Actually, I’ve met a few former social workers who are now in editing. I wonder if this says anything about the nature of the author/editor relationship.) Three years into my career the only thing I was sure of was that I did not want to be a social worker any longer, so I made my escape by enrolling in a graduate program studying children’s literature. The program gave me ample opportunities to pick the brains' of authors, critics, and editors. Degree in hand, I packed and moved to New York City, took a position as a summer intern at a children’s publisher, and began sending out resumes with the starry-eyed hope that I would find a job within three months. Thankfully, it worked out. How about you, Cam?

Cameron Dufty: I’ve been employed with some kind of editing job since college (and in college). First at a local magazine in Idaho, then for a medical journal, then at a reference book publisher, then finally at Ace/Roc. Being in fiction was my goal all along; the other stops were just to get me experience and maneuver my way to the east coast. And I love it, especially the sci-fi/fantasy genre. The community is so tight-knit and fun to interact with, let alone read. I didn’t get any education solely in editing per say . . . I know a lot of people here came through one of the publishing institutes, which is why I just want to make the point to say, to aspiring editorial-types, it’s ok if you don’t go to one of those schools! Just do as much as you can to get into editing, for wherever and whoever, and the ladder to climb will seem much less intimidating. Anyway, Danielle do you have any special connection with the sci-fi/fantasy genre? Or what made you choose this, after studying children’s literature?

Danielle Stockley: I’ve always devoured fantasy, SF and horror. As a kid I read Madeleine L’Engle, Frank Baum, John Bellairs and, of course, Lewis and Tolkien. Then in junior high I discovered Ursula K. LeGuin’s Earthsea series and Anne McCaffrey’s Pern books. After that, I was off -- Mercedes Lackey, Piers Anthony, Frank Herbert, Robin McKinley, H.P. Lovecraft, the classics by H.G. Wells and Jules Verne. Nerd alert: I re-read Journey to the Center of the Earth about once a year. I am endlessly fascinated by its pseudo-scientific explanations. But children’s fantasy always remained a strong interest. Peter Pan is a favorite, although I didn’t get to it until I was an adult. If you haven’t read it, you should. The narrator is wonderful.

One of the reasons working at Roc and Ace appeals to me so much is because I am sure that 13 year old Danielle would have thought it was the coolest job in the world. I nearly gave my mother a heart attack, though, when I told her I was going to be working in “adult fantasy.”

Cameron Dufty: Ha, your poor mom! I hope you’ve sent her some examples of your books so she understands better now? I always like describing my job, and the fact that I read about werewolves and aliens for a lot of my day. Unlike you, I wasn’t as much of an early bloomer with science fiction and fantasy . . . I always had it in my rotation, but usually just read stuff that my hardcore friends recommended to me, and didn’t seek it out myself. Except for zombie or apocalypse literature, I've always been oddly attracted to any kind of zombie and/or end-of-world and/or monster fiction, in movies and in books. I was really getting into the urban fantasy genre right before I got this job, and of course have turned the office bookshelves into my personal library since working here.

Danielle Stockley: That’s the best perk of the job!

(At this point their conversation was interrupted by what sounded like a landslide of papers and manuscripts and a gurgling croon as something began to emerge. This was followed by the whisk whisk of the Editorial Assistants drawing their Standard Issue Machetes, so I wisely closed the door and tiptoed away, leaving them to their work. Check in next week as Assistant Editor Jessica Wade blogs about the glamorous life of an editor as Roc and Ace!)

--Philip Tucker, Online Producer