Tell us a little about you and your publishing house.

- I acquire mainly for the Del Rey list, which is our science fiction/fantasy imprint, but also acquire for the main Ballantine list. I’m a native New Yorker with a penchant for comedies, travel, biking, cooking, and of course reading! I live in Queenswith my partner and our two rambunctious cats, Elvis and Pisa.

Are your favorite pleasure reads markedly different from the fiction you edit?

- That’s a good question. I read the sorts of books I acquire for pleasure, too, but my pleasure-reading is more scattershot; I read very broadly, based primarily on what is recommended to me by readers I trust. For instance, I read a lot of nonfiction, though I don’t acquire much of it. In short, I guess you’d say that I’m a generalist reader but a specialist editor!

What’s the first novel you remember reading? What impression did it make on you?p>

- When I was three, my eccentric mother, who had taught herself to read when she was two, decided that I was moving too slowly on the learning-to-read track. So she read A TALE OF TWO CITIES to me to address the problem. From that first reading I remember absorbing only the following: a) love is good. 2) war is bad. 3) knitters are shady, shady characters. The first book I remember reading all by myself is Alice in Wonderland, which is a supremely trippy book - which explains why I still love speculative fiction!

What about a manuscript grabs your attention and makes you consider making an offer

- A fresh voice, and a marketable concept. I’m only the first in a long line of people who are going to have to sell a book – to the marketing and publicity departments, to the sales force, etc. – and I need to be able to envision a quick, snappy hook that’s going to get the attention we need, and to have the passion for it that’s going to make my pitch stand out.

What do you look for in a synopsis?

- Brevity. Anything more than a page is too long.

Some editors hate sharks, others hate prologues- is there anything that’s an automatic turn-off for you?

- I don’t like plots based entirely on the pursuit of a MacGuffin – an object that is unimportant in and of itself, but which impels an entire plot. In my field the MacGuffin is usually a crystal, or an orb, or a ring, or any other magical object that will give the user vague and amorphous “powers”. I also don’t like antagonists who are mustache-twirling, hand-wringing capital-V villains, who are evil just for the sake of being evil. An antagonist needs to be working for his or her own goals in a way that seems reasonable to that character; that’s what makes the character interesting.

How do you balance the commercial with the literary value of a book, either in your buying decisions or your editorial approach?

- You know, I think the literary-versus-commercial argument can be a little bit too polarizing; “commercial” smacks of fluffy schlock, while “literary” sounds like navel-gazing, impenetrable prose, and in reality most books fall somewhere in the middle. I look for books that are page-turners, that are entertaining, but that hopefully are thought-provoking and emotionally engaging as well. When I’m working on the story with the author, I’m thinking about how to make that story reach its full potential, whereas I think more in terms of commercial viability when working on the outside of the book, the cover art, the packaging, the format, the blurbs, the cover copy. How to get the book in the hands of the people who will like it best, in other words.

What makes for a great editorial relationship with an author? What drives you absolutely nuts?

- A great editorial relationship happens when the author is able to step back from the manuscript and work on it with me without taking it too personally – which I know is tough to do! What drives me the most nuts is unprofessionality; authors missing deadlines without warning me, presenting themselves in a bad light online, pitching public temper tantrums.

How do feel about authors working with other publishers or in other genres?

If the author can handle it, I have no problem with that. But we frequently are trying to put out series books fairly close to each other, and deadlines can pile up; that’s a conversation I try to have with the agent very early on in the negotiations. I don’t want an author getting in over her head.

What current trends in the science fiction/fantasy business do you find the most interesting/disturbing

After the success of YA fantasy like the Stephanie Meyers series, I started seeing proposals for YA science fiction books, for the first time in years; science fiction has been lagging behind fantasy in sales for a while now, so I’d love to see more young readers get interested.

How do the numbers like sell-through and Bookscan sales influence the offers you make?

If I love a book but the author has a problematic sales history, I’m always happy to look for ways to get around it; one of the most common ways is to use a new pseudonym. Some very successful “second” careers have been created that way!

Do you buy series from proposals? If so, what are you looking for?

From an experienced author, yes; I wouldn’t buy a first novel on spec. (Most editors wouldn’t.) I look for ideas that easily lend themselves to ongoing, interesting storylines.

Is there anything else you’d like to address?

One of the most exciting aspects of working in speculative fiction is that we’re constantly dealing with high-concept, exciting new ideas; without a new plot, there’s no book! So I’m always on the lookout for fresh new voices and new ideas I can help get on the shelf.

What did you think of Liz’s interview? Comment and be eligible for a free book.

Patricia Rosemoor, BlogMistress