5E’s Roundtable at the Historical Novel Society, part 2

By Leslie Wells and Jane Rosenman

At a recent virtual roundtable with the Historical Novel Society, NYC Chapter, three 5E editors discussed some thorny challenges confronted by historical fiction writers as they work on a novel, inventing and developing and revising in a mostly solo process that can take years. Judy Sternlight discussed how writers can find the stamina to stick with a project over the long haul; you can read her tips in our earlier post, here. In the panel’s second half, Jane Rosenman and Leslie Wells addressed, respectively, questions of craft and the literary marketplace.

How does a writer incorporate detailed historical research into a novel without dragging down a fictional storyline? And how can a writer predict readers’ potential interest in a particular topic or era and know how a work in progress lines up with other historical fiction that publishers are acquiring? 

Balancing Research with Great Storytelling

Jane Rosenman values the importance of careful research, but she pointed out that, ultimately, it isn’t research that makes a novel shine. “Research is a crucial element,” she said, “but a novel also needs to feel lived-in, authentic, and not drowning in facts. A historical novel is a novel, first and foremost.” What Jane looks for is a strong sense of place, of story, characters we care about, and a worldview that throws light on the reader’s world, emotionally and intellectually. “What people wore or ate one hundred years ago is only interesting if the novel itself is compelling. I look for a narrative in which I can sense the author has a true feeling for the period. Editors and readers can sense when the details are organic to the story.”

Jane described working with Lucy Hedrick on Six Days in Reno, recently published by Lake Union. The novel is based on the real-life story of the author’s grandmother, who went to Reno, Nevada, in 1931 to get a divorce. Hedrick instinctively—and of course with the help of research—captured what it would have felt like for a cosseted mother and wife to leave suburban New Jersey and travel alone across a vast country.

At Simon and Schuster, Jane edited Bret Lott’s Jewel, an Oprah Book Club Pick. Like Hedrick, Lott was inspired by his grandmother’s story. His novel centers on a woman in rural Mississippi in the early 1940s. Jewel and her husband have five healthy children. Their unplanned sixth child turns out to be Jewel’s greatest burden but also her greatest blessing—a daughter with what we now call Down syndrome. Lott interviewed his grandmother as part of his research process, but mainly he drew on his own sense of religious feeling and humanity in telling Jewel’s story.

Jane is always looking to nurture a deeply felt, intuitive connection between the author and the milieu that is brought to life. It can come out of intimate family connections. Or it may emerge from an author’s love of history, or intellectual curiosity. Jane recently spoke to the historian and novelist Kevin Baker, who was drawn into fiction writing by the stories of history that had fascinated him since he was a boy. His novel Dreamland was inspired by Ric Burns’s documentary about the world’s first amusement park, the bizarre and rich world of Coney Island. Baker was surprised that a novel hadn’t been set in that world, and he decided to write one.

In short, writing historical fiction requires a deep engagement with the material on all levels. Jane suggested that historical novelists could read the periodicals of the times, travel to the sites described in the book, if possible, and immerse themselves in the customs of the era. But, she noted, E. L. Doctorow famously said that the best historical novels require the least amount of research. Other novelists say that voluminous research is a must. But no matter which way you go, Jane urges authors to “marry quality research with a well-told tale—one that transcends time, place, and culture.”

Tracking Trends in Historical Fiction

Is historical fiction still a popular category, and what’s currently selling? Leslie Wells, a 5E editor who loves this genre, considered one hundred of the historical novels coming out in 2025, to analyze some of the trends.

Certain periods in history, such as Tudor England, the Civil War era, and World War II continue to captivate readers; in fact, at least nine novels coming out this year will be set during the Second World War, including Pam Jenoff’s Last Twilight in Paris. And six novels are forthcoming about the Civil War period. “I admired Dolen Perkins-Valdez’s first novel, Take My Hand,” Leslie said, “and I can’t wait to read Happy Land, about a present-day protagonist who learns from her great-grandmother about a community of freed people in the hills of North Carolina.”

Other forthcoming novels are set in periods that have not been written about as often. And it turns out that fiction set in the 1970s is a current trend. Take, for example, The Women by Kristin Hannah, which focuses on women serving as nurses in Vietnam. “We’ve had some incredible novels about the seventies recently,” said Leslie. “In addition to The Women, there’s Bright Young Women by Jessica Knoll, about Ted Bundy’s attack on young women in a sorority house in Florida, and Kent State by Deborah Wiles, on the 1970 shootings. I like reading about the seventies because it’s a period that’s begun to feature in historical novels only recently.”

From Leslie’s perspective, “Writing about the eras that haven’t been mined as often, or telling stories that capture sociopolitical events from the points of view of characters we haven’t yet seen, can allow authors to stand out in a crowded marketplace.”

Over six years ago, Circe by Madeline Miller kicked off a reawakened interest in Odyssean myth and mythology in general. This year, there are five major books in this vein. There are also two novels about Boudicca, the warrior queen who spurred a revolt in Roman-occupied Britian, and two about Cleopatra, indicating publishers’ continuing interest in the ancient world.

Leslie found five new novels set in Tudor England, and two Shakespeare-adjacent novels. Last year, Jodi Picoult’s By Any Other Name, a dual-timeline novel about two women playwrights, which alternates between 1581 and the present day, topped the New York Times bestseller list. So the trend of historical fiction set in Shakespeare’s time continues. And moving a few years forward on the timeline, Leslie counted three novels that will take place in seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England.

At least three new novels are set in the American Wild West in the nineteenth century, in a sign of renewed interest in this era of American history. And three take place in nineteenth-century England.

Several novels will focus on pre-civil-rights America, including The Sable Cloak by Gail Milissa Grant. Set in the Midwest in the 1940s, it’s a rarely seen portrait of an upper-middle-class African American family in this time period.

At least three novels about the 1950s and ’60s are coming out, including Come Fly with Me by Camille Di Maio, about two stewardesses in this period of air travel, and American Housewife by Anita Abriel, about a rising star in the new world of television in 1950 New York City. 

Also trending are blends of fantasy and history, and romance and history. Likewise mysteries set in the past, several of which are publishing later this year.

In addition, there are upcoming books around disasters: two Titanic novels and one about the Lusitania, and Emma Donoghue’s The Paris Express, about an 1895 disaster at a train station.

Three new novels are inspired by the lives and work of beloved authors: two are Jane Austen themed, and one is about Louisa May Alcott’s sisters. There are no less than six forthcoming novels about librarians or book clubs and societies, so that book-loving theme is continuing in historical fiction.

Novels about women breaking barriers are trending, among them The Eights by Joanna Miller, about the friendship of four of the first women to matriculate at Oxford University after World War I, and Isabel Allende’s My Name Is Emilia del Valle, set in Chile in the 1880s, about a woman who becomes the first American female news columnist. And books that imagine the lives of famous women are always popular. This year there will be novels about Martha Washington, the first first lady; Loulou de la Falaise, the seventies fashion icon; photojournalist Dickey Chapelle; and heiresses Doris Duke and Barbara Hutton.

Six historical novels will take place in Hollywood, and another batch are inspired by Broadway shows and films: The Girl from Greenwich Street by Lauren Willig (Hamilton), Before Dorothy by Hazel Gaynor (Wicked), Ace, Marvel, Spy by Jenni L. Walsh (Wonder Woman), and Let’s Call Her Barbie by Renée Rosen (Barbie).

While it is good to be aware of publishing trends, according to Leslie, the best books will always be based on subject matter that sparks the author’s interest. “When writers ask me what trends they should follow if they want to get published, I always advise them to be aware of what’s happening in fiction, but to follow their hearts. You will always write your best work about what most interests you, whether it’s a year in Henry VIII’s court or three days at Woodstock. Even better, your novel could start a trend in historical fiction or renew an interest in a particular time period.” Leslie listed examples, including The Story of Edgar Sawtelle by David Wroblewski, Cold Mountain by Charles Frazier, Wolf Hall by Hilary Mantel, and Circe by Madeline Miller.

Leslie summed up with this: “It’s good to be aware of these trends in historical fiction, but let your own imagination be your guide for your next amazing book.”

5E’s Roundtable at the Historical Novel Society, part 1

By Leslie Wells, Judy Sternlight, and Anne Horowitz

Great historical fiction is transportive, making distant times and places feel real and immediate. It invites us to emotionally invest in characters whose lives are very different from our own, drawing us in with authentic historical detail, vivid writing, and well-paced storytelling. Reading a historical novel can feel effortlessly immersive, but that illusion belies the hard work that goes into crafting one, what can be a long and lonely process.

How do writers embarking on a daunting historical fiction project find the strength to stick with it? How do they blend research with craft, and how do they know where their book falls on the map of historical fiction being published today?

On March 25, 5E editors Judy Sternlight, Jane Rosenman, and Leslie Wells joined the Historical Novel Society (NYC Chapter) for a Zoom session, to create a little of that community that’s so essential to balancing out the solitary writing life. Judy offered tips on finding the stamina to see a historical novel through, Jane reflected on how to balance research with great storytelling, and Leslie shared fresh intel on recent publishing trends in historical fiction. Their comments were followed by a lively Q&A moderated by the novelist Sarah Relyea.

In this first of two blog posts covering 5E’s HNS presentation, we’ll share Judy’s suggestions for how to stick with a historical fiction project over the long haul.

Finding the Stamina to Complete Your Historical Novel

It can take years to research and write a historical novel—as Karen Russell attests in the March/April 2025 issue of Poets & Writers. It took Russell around fifteen years to complete her new novel, The Antidote. The kernel of an idea struck her back in 2009, while she was writing Swamplandia! She imagined a woman holding “a sparkling emerald-green horn to her ear,” collecting and storing someone’s unbearable secret. Enthralled by the darkness of the history of American westward expansion, she researched the Dustbowl in the 1930s and the relationship between white settlers, the Pawnee Nation, and the land. She did multiple revisions, set the book aside and came back to it. She published other writings along the way. Her perspective evolved over time, as she continued to do research and to build a rich and inventive storyline.

Judy has worked with several historical novelists who took their time to get it right, including Peter Matthiessen (Shadow Country), David Wroblewski (Familiaris), Melodie Winawer (The Scribe of Siena), and Mamta Chaudhry (Haunting Paris).

So how does a historical novelist find the stamina to keep going? Judy offered seven ideas.

1) Build a support system.
Being a member of a group like the Historical Novel Society is helpful, as is joining a writing group or class, finding another writer who is a kindred spirit, or asking family and friends to cheer you on. It’s good to have a circle of people supporting your ambitious task.

2) Work with a freelance editor.
This can often take your book to the next level, but it’s wise to be strategic about when to hire an editor; it’s a financial and creative investment. Judy has worked with writers on partial manuscripts that need further development. But often, she reads full manuscripts that were rejected by an initial round of publishers. She helps the author and agent to figure out what’s not working yet, and how to fix it.

3) Fight the urge to do a quick turnaround.
Trying to address all the feedback quickly so you can throw the book back to your agent or editor is not an ideal move. You’ll miss things; you won’t see all the repercussions of the changes you’ve made, and it will feel rushed. Use that burst of enthusiasm that comes from supportive feedback and make your changes, but then let the story marinate; polish it before you turn it in.

4) Read books that inspire you.
Reading books by other writers can help you to understand and handle challenging craft issues. As part of her editorial feedback, Judy sometimes recommends a book or two for inspiration. For instance, she has recommended Maggie O’Farrell (Hamnet) and Lauren Groff (Matrix); both are excellent at making their characters live and breathe on the page. She recommends Sally Rooney for tight, effective dialogue, and establishing a second layer bubbling under the surface (i.e., subtext). Ken Follett (The Pillars of the Earth) and Emily St. John Mandel (Station Eleven) are both great at sustaining narrative tension, with chapter endings that yank you into the next chapter.

5) Seek out hits of dopamine.
After several years of working on your book, it can feel exhausting—even discouraging—to discover that it still needs more work. This is why some novelists work on shorter pieces at the same time (as Karen Russell did). Getting shorter pieces published will give you a boost; then you can return to your longer project. Sometimes the fresh burst of energy comes from getting to the next level with your novel, whether it’s finding an agent or getting encouraging feedback from editors or publishers. Someone who reads for a living can offer you a new range of options to address a weak spot you’ve struggled with.

6) Liberate your mind.
We often hear how important it is to be disciplined, to “keep your butt in the chair” and stick to a writing schedule. But the opposite is also true. Getting outside can be rejuvenating. Let your mind wander, through exercise, gardening, playing with your dog or kids. Unstructured time in nature will loosen your thoughts and let your brain make connections while you’re focusing on something else.

7) Know when to move on.
Judy has worked with several writers who were brave enough to set aside a well-written project that refused to come into focus. She found it thrilling to watch them land on a new idea with more staying power—and to see these books published. Writers who set an earlier work aside may choose to revisit it later, or maybe they’ll realize the earlier manuscript was a stepping-stone to improve their craft and apply it to a fresh challenge.

5E is grateful to the Historical Novel Society for hosting us. Watch this space for highlights from Jane’s presentation on balancing research and storytelling and Leslie’s presentation on historical fiction trends.

Bookselling in a Changing Literary Landscape

By Patricia Mulcahy and Jane Rosenman

How do booksellers get titles into the hands of eager readers? Are the old ways of buying and selling still relevant in a digitally dominant age? How have algorithms and social media affected how independent booksellers stock their stores? Can indie bookstores still help individual customers find titles they didn’t know they were looking for?

We explored these and other questions in a 5E Office Hours session online with three luminaries of the bookselling trade: Mitchell Kaplan, founder of Books & Books, a major independent retailer in South Florida, and co-founder of the Miami Book Fair; Melanie Fleishman, buyer at the Center for Fiction Bookstore in Brooklyn and for Arcadia Books in Spring Green, Wisconsin; and Andy Ross, now a literary agent, formerly owner and operator of the legendary bookstore Cody’s in Berkeley, California, for thirty years.

From left: Mitchell Kaplan, Melanie Fleishman, Andy Ross

WHAT HAS CHANGED

• Though publishers still employ sales reps, who pitch new titles to book buyers, increasingly book buyers order from Edelweiss, an online platform that provides real-life data about how titles are performing across independent bookstores. “It’s changing everything,” according to Melanie and Mitchell. Melanie explained, “Edelweiss posts most publishers’ catalogues on their site, which is extremely helpful to booksellers. You can sort titles, tag them for event requests, see how much you are spending per publisher if you work with budgets. The publishers submit the ‘tip sheets’ they make for their sales conferences so the bookseller can see not only title information but advance reviews and comp sales to other books by the same author or books with a similar market. Some publishers include the editor in addition to announced print runs, which can make a difference for me.” Melanie added, “On Bookmanager, you can see what and how many copies other bookstores are ordering,” referring to a point-of-sale and inventory-tracking program.

• Distribution is better than ever, which has enabled small presses titles to be much more visible. Andy pointed out that big New York publishers are increasingly reluctant to take risks on literary titles—another factor boosting the visibility of smaller presses. “And we’re seeing stronger jacket covers from these presses, which is a real plus,” he added.

• Pre-ordering campaigns have become increasingly important. At Books & Books, Mitch encourages authors to start the process months before publication date by sending an email blast to everyone they know, as well as posting on social media. Books & Books offers author-signed copies to customers who purchase before publication date. This works particularly well for those with good mailing lists, platforms, and social media profiles.

• Readings and Q&As are not enough. Melanie noted that this format does not attract as many readers as it used to pre-pandemic. Mitch reported that his store holds about four hundred events a year, many off-site at performance spaces, temples, and churches. In 2023, Books & Books launched a nonprofit literary foundation to raise money to expand community programming and bring books to those in prison and into Title I schools. Kids get to “meet an author, build a library.” Both the Center for Fiction Bookstore and Books & Books have robust school reading programs. In short, indie booksellers are constantly innovating vis-à-vis outreach to different communities.

• “Harry Potter fans have grown up and are contributing to a boom among young readers,” Mitchell commented, “Young people are a big presence at the cafés in our stores in particular. Post-Covid, bookstores have increasingly become ‘the great third place.’” Both Mitch and Melanie rely on young staff to take the pulse of what younger readers are looking for. And they’ve found that shelves devoted to staff picks are a great way to draw these readers’ attention to intriguing new titles. Andy approved: “We need bookstores today that feel personalized. Curated.”

• Readers—and particularly younger readers—are embracing a range of genres. There was a strong consensus among our panelists that belonging to a particular genre doesn’t negatively affect a book’s placement or appeal. Mitch commented that “romantasy” titles and speculative and dystopian fiction have boomed in popularity. Melanie added that horror is no longer consigned to a “genre” section at her Brooklyn store.

• Traditional book reviews don’t drive as many sales as they used to. Word of mouth, exposure on NPR, and selection for book clubs like those helmed by Reese Witherspoon and Oprah are more effective, as are prize nominations. As podcasts have proliferated, their impact on sales has diminished.

WHAT HAS NOT CHANGED

• Booksellers like Mitchell and Melanie do not order by algorithms. Instead, they know they need to connect with readers in the moment, which is how they come to fully understand their customers’ tastes. “Book buying is an art,” Mitch explained. Melanie described how ordering for a store in small-town Wisconsin is quite different from ordering for one in Brooklyn, New York. Both Mitch and Melanie appreciate the letters to booksellers that editors at publishing houses often write in the front of advance readers’ copies.

• Authors should not be shy about approaching booksellers ahead of time. Visit stores and try to make a meaningful connection. Melanie urged New York–based agents and editors to do the same at her Brooklyn store. She’s delighted when committed book lovers visit. The personal touch is still alive and well.

• The ripple, word-of-mouth effect is still the number #1 driver of sales—although these surges may originate in new and unexpected places. Mitchell explained that he’ll sometimes see a particular book spike in sales that seemingly come out of nowhere. He investigates and discovers an Instagram post by someone with a large following. Once, he received a mysterious call from a woman named Laufey, who introduced herself as an Icelandic singer with an online book club and asked him to buy merch for a one-day event on which she would send her fans around the world to local bookstores to buy her recommended titles. Skeptical, Mitch bought a small amount of merch, only to arrive at work on the appointed day to discover a line of five hundred young women waiting to get into his store! At first, he admitted, he was unnerved by the power that such influencers wield—but he’s come around to celebrating the developing pathways by which young readers are introduced to a new world of reading.

The session included plenty of humor. A highlight was Andy’s story about urging a clever client to write a whole scene into a novel featuring none other than Mitchell Kaplan. The writer did just that, and Books & Books stocked the book! While it’s unlikely that all writers will include scenes starring their local bookseller, what’s certain is that authors, agents, and booksellers will always dream up creative ways to get worthy new titles into the hands of readers. This illustrates a maxim Mitch laid down for the group: “We live in a passion economy. The economics of owning a bookstore don’t make a lot of sense, but it is passion that fuels us.”

5E Welcomes Anne Horowitz and Sulay Hernandez!

5E, the collective of independent editors, is very pleased to announce the addition of two new members, Sulay Hernandez and Anne Horowitz, who join Patricia Mulcahy, Jane Rosenman, Judy Sternlight, and Leslie Wells. Our valued colleague Liz Van Hoose now turns her focus to her own editorial business.  

With our new lineup, we look forward to helping both fiction and nonfiction writers craft their visions as well as adapt to the realities of a rapidly changing publishing landscape in a time of unprecedented challenge, but also opportunity. We also hope to support and foster a sense of literary community among all lovers of good writing.

Sulay Hernandez worked for several top publishers over two decades, including Simon & Schuster, Penguin, Kensington, and Other Press. She also worked for the Vigliano literary agency. In 2014, she established Unveiled Ink to work directly with writers, literary agents, and publishers. Projects include literary and genre fiction, narrative nonfiction, and books in translation. A recent project, Olympic champion Caster Semenya’s memoir, A Race to Be Myself, was critically acclaimed and a New York Times Editor’s Pick. Her latest project, actor Jaleel White’s memoir Growing Up Urkel, is forthcoming in November 2024. She was an adjunct professor at City College of New York and taught the Editorial Process course for their publishing certificate program.

Anne Horowitz got her start as an editor at Counterpoint/Soft Skull Press. An independent editor since 2010, she works with publishers, literary agents, and authors, focusing on literary fiction, narrative nonfiction, memoir, and the occasional science or history book. Since 2011, she has worked as a freelance editor with the literary agent Renée Zuckerbrot at Massie & McQuilkin Agency. She also mentors emerging writers at the Center for Fiction and other literary organizations. She has worked with Shani Mootoo, Chantal V. Johnson, Mark Moffett, Lee Gutkind, and Jillian Weise. Anne is also a copyeditor, whose clients include Knopf, Tin House, Spiegel & Grau, Creative Nonfiction, Grove/Atlantic, and Milkweed Editions.

As she leaves 5E, Liz Van Hoose comments: “I am immensely grateful to everyone in 5E for lighting a path for independent editors in our growing part of the literary ecosystem. It has been a great privilege to walk arm in arm with them. I am transitioning from 5E member to 5E friend.”

Click HERE to view our updated website and check out our upcoming Office Hours session on  October 16!

Wishing you a happy and productive fall season,

The 5E editors

Juggling Multiple Time Periods in Fiction and Memoir

By Judy Sternlight and Leslie Wells

How do novelists and memoir writers travel through multiple time periods while keeping readers on board and engaged?

5E editors Leslie Wells and Judy Sternlight explored this question in a recent 5E Office Hours session with two seasoned writers—Dinitia Smith and Charles Salzberg—and veteran editor Anne Horowitz. Here are some highlights: 

On How a Story’s Central Question or Theme Shapes Its Structure

Dinitia Smith’s novel The Honeymoon is the story of the English novelist George Eliot, who married her young financial advisor, John Cross, near the end of her life. On their honeymoon in Venice, Johnnie leaped from a hotel window and begged the gondoliers who rescued him to let him drown. What led up to this remarkable moment? This question captivated the author, as well as her readers. “I wanted the reader to ask questions that would propel them through the novel,” Dinitia explained. In each chapter, she built suspense, creating questions that could be answered by shifting to the past, and then returning to advance the present action.

Charles Salzberg agreed. “Whether or not a book falls into the mystery genre, you need mysteries in any book, so the reader keeps turning the pages.” His novel Devil in the Hole is based on the true story of John List, a New Jersey man who killed his wife, his three kids, his mother, and the family dog, and then disappeared. List remained a fugitive for almost two decades, and the mysteries surrounding the case opened the door for Charles to invent what really happened and why. Each chapter is narrated by a different character, shedding fresh light on the killer’s past, his family life, and his recent circumstances. Picturing himself as an invisible journalist interviewing all the key players, Charles was free to move through time, chapter by chapter, building a full picture.

Anne Horowitz recently copyedited Shanghailanders by Juli Min, a novel about a wealthy, complicated family living in Shanghai. The father is a scientist interested in the nature and predictability of the universe. At the core of this story is a question: How well can we ever really know each other, even those we are closest to?

According to Anne, “The structure of a novel should be in service to the book’s themes.” Juli Min’s high-concept novel is a great example of this, as—taking the father’s questions about the universe as its central metaphor—it moves backward in time, from 2040 to 2014, each chapter capturing the family in an earlier “universe,” to retroactively reveal more about their motivations in the opening chapters, all while rotating among the points of view of the various family members.

Anne’s challenge was to see this complex novel as a single universe, tracking the histories of all five family members on a timeline to make sure there was continuity from chapter to chapter. Anne created a detailed spreadsheet to track all the story threads over a twenty-five-year time span, and she shared it with the author.

On Methods of Juggling Time

According to Charles, memoirs are almost always set in the past, yet they’re also anchored in the present as the writer reflects back on what happened. He offered several options for handling time travel (which work for fiction, too!):

• When a new chapter opens, a writer can move to a fresh point on the timeline.

• Within a chapter, a writer can create a space break and then jump to a different point in time.

• Writers use exposition to provide context (back story), but it’s generally good to limit this omniscient exposition, to sustain the sense of pacing and keep readers engaged in the immediacy of the storytelling.

Anne pointed out that “where you position yourself on the timeline” is an essential question, affecting everything from verb tenses to your perspective on the events you are narrating. “Memoir can navigate between time periods in all kinds of ways. The structure often emerges through successive drafts. But there tend to be two levels: the chronological order of events as they occurred, and the order in which they are told.” She added that while editing a novel entails tracking the consistency of the underlying timeline, editing a memoir is more about streamlining and ensuring that those transitions work smoothly.

On Propulsion

Dinitia noted that “a lot of writing is instinctual, not schematic.” Inspiration comes from “a punch or a physical feeling that makes the writer want to write the book, and then craft kicks in.”

Anne talked about helping writers “to create a smooth and propulsive reading experience.”

We touched on some tools writers utilize to weave the past into a present-action storyline while preserving a consistent sense of momentum. These included exposition, quick memory fragments, and dialogue that illuminates events that happened in the past.

One participant asked how long a flashback can be, noting that she’s enjoyed some books with long flashbacks. Charles and Anne both felt that if a flashback is too drawn out, it can pull the reader away from the main storyline. One alternative is to create a separate scene or chapter for the flashback, but whichever approach you take, make sure that the digression to the past connects to the main plot or theme in a fundamental way, and that placing it there is instrumental to keep the story moving forward.

Dinitia added that flashbacks, scenes, and chapters should have an internal structure that propels the reader, just as the main plotline does.

On Knowing Where to Start and End Your Story

Where a writer opens the story is an important choice. Charles noted, “The first page is the DNA of the book.”

Dinitia said that in The Honeymoon, she was interested in a particular period of Eliot’s life—her marriage—rather than in telling her subject’s whole life story. Anne agreed that that in locating a beginning, it’s crucial to know which particular arc or theme of a character’s life you are focusing on.

Dinitia admitted that lately, she has come to believe that endings should be less cut-and-dried. Rather than leaving the story neat and tidy, it’s more interesting to leave readers with a sense of forward motion, and questions about what the characters will do next. 

On the Writer and Editor Partnership 

Charles explained that while some writers—like Jeffery Deaver—work best with an outline, he, like Dinitia, relies on his intuition, letting the story develop organically. But ultimately, “putting a story together is like putting together the pieces of a puzzle. You need to get each piece in the right place.” And often, this means bringing in a skilled editor.

He recounted how his friend Roy Hoffman wrote a novel that was edited by Joyce Johnson, who returned the novel to the author with the first chapter missing. She told him that he, the author, had to know everything that happened in that early chapter, but readers didn’t. Some editors describe those early pages as “throat-clearing” or “getting a running start.”

When Dinitia was revising The Honeymoon, editor Judy Sternlight encouraged her to focus on “What does George Eliot want?” which led Dinitia to develop a heightened through-line for the famous novelist, connecting the past and present storylines.

Leslie Wells spoke about the role of the editor in shaping and organizing a narrative structure; a scene that occurs in the middle of a novel might be better placed at the start of the book, to set the plot in motion.

Anne concluded the session by describing how writers (using creativity and intuition) and editors (bringing in a fresh pair of eyes) come together to refine a book, removing what’s extraneous, heightening what’s there, and pinning down the right structure.

What Do Publishers Want?

By Leslie Wells, Patricia Mulcahy, and Judy Sternlight

How do publishers decide what to acquire? With so many books published every year into a crowded marketplace, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all answer to this question. But with the help of guest speakers Helene Atwan, Melody Guy, and Anjali Singh, all experienced, savvy publishing professionals, we recently teased out some core principles that apply to a range of acquisitions.

Of course, a book must be excellent to begin with, in order to excite an in-house editor and the whole publishing team. 5E editor Leslie Wells described reading thirty-plus submissions per week when she was at Hyperion, looking for books that were so good, they would keep her up past midnight. “This is what most editors dream about: finding that memoir or novel that is so compelling, you can’t put it down. What we seek is somewhat ineffable; something unique about the writing that makes it stand out. That incomparable essence comes from the author’s experiences and imagination.”

Anjali Singh has been a literary agent for eight years; before that, she was an editor at Simon & Schuster, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Vintage Books, and Other Press. On the subject of what writers should be aiming for, in order to see their work published, she posed these questions:

“Do you know who you want to be? Are you following writers you admire; writers you would love to have as your peers? Read books you love. Study them and aspire to having your book be on a similarly high level. Be able to say how your book is similar, and yet the ways in which your book is also unique.”

Every publisher starts out by asking, “Does this material have a place in bookstores? If so, do we have a clear idea of how to create a readership for it?”

Helene Atwan, former Director, and current contributing editor of the nonprofit Beacon Press (she also serves on the boards of MIT Press, Johns Hopkins Press, and the Bellevue Literary Review) said that while publishing has changed in recent years, strong writing is still essential, as is the author’s sense of authority, whether in fiction or nonfiction. Readers (and publishers) need to be able to trust that an author will deliver what they’ve promised. The publishing landscape has evolved as our culture has evolved. She defines authority as something connected to experience, education, and roots, and noted the current demand for authentic voices.

Melody Guy, Editorial Director of Hay House, observed that her publisher has a clear vision and mandate with a mind-body focus on wellness, spirituality, growth, and entrepreneurial spirit. In terms of acquisitions, Melody looks for credibility and platform. It’s not enough for a writer to have numerous followers on social media; she cares just as much about their level of engagement with their followers. The content of the proposed book needs to match the interests of the writer’s followers. To keep an eye on current and future trends, Melody follows social media, and notices when certain topics cross her desk in waves, which is a tip-off that a subject is in the zeitgeist.

According to Anjali, before approaching publishing houses, both agents and writers need to establish an identifiable readership for the book. Having a platform is good, but she also considers whether the writer has a true connection to the literary community. Fellow writers and literary organizations can be valuable in providing blurbs and helping to bring attention to a new book.

Anjali explained how comparison titles can help a publisher to envision where on its list a book would belong. She cited Bridgett M. Davis’s The World According to Fannie Davis. Bridgett came up with Fairyland: A Memoir of My Father as a comp, though her memoir about a Detroit childhood with a mother who was a numbers runner was different from a story about growing up with a queer dad. But the structure and approach in both books had something in common: being raised by an unusual parent in an interesting time and place.

Anjali also stressed the need for new perspectives. One of her most successful acquisitions as an editor at Pantheon was the graphic novel Persepolis by Marjane Satrapi, a young girl’s take on the Iranian Revolution. Anjali believed in the book, but what took it over the top was the publisher’s full support, including the academic marketing department. A publisher’s “buy-in” is crucial to making a book take off. This year is the twentieth anniversary of Persepolis, which has sold three million copies.

Participant and marketing consultant Bridget Marmion added that Persepolis established a new model for memoir in the graphic novel genre. She cited booksellers' success with it in an acquisition meeting where Fun Home by Alison Bechdel was discussed, a title which became another classic in the genre.

In talking about books that exceeded a publisher’s expectations, Helene mentioned White Fragility by Robin DiAngelo, which came into Beacon Press without an agent (a rarity: a good-sized publisher that reviews direct submissions). They had modest expectations for this paperback original with an estimated print run of 5,000, but the editor and marketing team worked hard and really sold the book to the Penguin Random House sales team (PRH distributes Beacon). The initial printing jumped to 20,000, and the book went on to sell three million copies. Helene added that success for a book involves timing, culture, and platform. White Fragility stayed on the bestseller list for weeks in the wake of George Floyd’s murder.

Melody cited Fast Like a Girl by Dr. Mindy Pelz as a title with unexpected legs. Hay House initially expected midlist sales, but it took off. Published in December 2022, it benefited from “New Year, New You” marketing attention and strong social media buzz.  

Some writers have studied the marketplace and set out to write “a huge bestseller.” Our 5E colleague Judy Sternlight brought up Caleb Carr, a military historian who surprised his editor Ann Godoff with The Alienist, an excellent historical mystery that did indeed become a big bestseller.  Helene pointed out that it is very hard to strategically “write a bestseller” because so many factors are involved (luck, timing, passion, authenticity).

Participant Michelle Mathai asked whether Substack newsletters are more effective than Instagram, TikTok and other social media in expanding an author’s platform. Helene’s opinion was that Substack takes more effort but can be more effective if a writer is dedicated to it. Some writers thrive on social media with shorter, quicker posts, if they are willing to frequently engage with their followers. She mentioned an example of a poet who had a big following, but not much actual engagement. This echoed a point made earlier by Melody: numbers matter, but real engagement with readers or followers is more important.

A participant asked about self-publishing: Do publishers ever pick up these titles and republish them?

Melody observed that Hay House has taken on some self-published titles, but there are thresholds. If the sales are modest, Hay House probably won’t jump in.  But sales of 15,000 or more might be persuasive, as long as the book and author are a good fit for the publisher’s overall vision. Melody also stressed the difference between printing books and publishing books. The house looks at sales levels and platform; they look at whether the self-published book is backlisting, or only had an initial bump and then went quiet.

5E member Patricia Mulcahy concluded with the observation that author commitment cannot be underestimated. “It is so much work to publish a book: editing, copyediting, proofing, designing a cover, as well as coming up with a sales and marketing strategy. Is the author in it for the long haul? Will he or she write other books? Will they work closely with the publisher?”

As Bridget Marmion noted, "Authors must commit to being a strong partner in their own success."

Book Publicity Demystified

By Jane Rosenman and Judy Sternlight

The work of a writer never stops, even after the manuscript has been sold, revised, and published. Down the road, all writers will face this question: How do you garner the most effective publicity for the book you’ve written?

5E recently hosted an online Office Hours session with legendary literary publicist Kimberly Burns of Broadside PR. Kimberly has worked across the publishing field—running author events at A Clean Well-Lighted Place in San Francisco; serving as an in-house publicist for Alfred A. Knopf, Pantheon Books and Random House; to being part of the team that launched The Penguin Press. After starting her own freelance literary publicity company in 2003, she co-founded Broadside PR in 2015, and now leads media campaigns for publishing houses, literary organizations, and magazines (The New Yorker Festival, Granta, The Moth) as well as promoting individual authors. Salman Rushdie, Angie Kim, Zadie Smith, and Laila Lalami are just a few of the luminaries she has worked with.

Kimberly gave us an honest and entertaining overview of what independent publicists do. She described herself as a guard dog for the writer, and talked about how she augments an author’s in-house publicity team. She noted that in-house publicists are often working on a number of books at the same time, so having a dedicated freelancer can help maximize the possibilities for coverage.

After the session, Marina Budhos, author of YA novels including We Are All We Have (Wendy Lamb Books/Penguin Random House), told us, “There were so many nuggets that were useful, even for seasoned writers: the importance of blurbs, how to talk to one's in-house publicity and marketing team, the importance of creating a media Q&A, and planning a full year in advance.”

Obviously not all the writers at our well-attended session will be hiring additional freelance publicists to work on their books. But writers will find value in the takeaways Kimberly passed along.

KEY TAKEAWAYS:

* Develop a short media Q&A. The purpose is to intrigue people (readers/media) to want to know more about your book. In just a few sentences, explain what is most important to you about your work.  What are the questions you want to be asked about it? What are the three most important aspects of your story? If you’re asked, “What inspired you to write this book,” don’t answer with a generalization. Try to be as specific as you can to separate yourself and your book from the rest. Kimberly described getting hooked by an author’s description of how she came to write her novel. The author was captivated by an old photograph of a girl sitting on a brownstone stoop in the 19th century and wanted to know more about who she was. Interviews are edited down by the media, so you want to make sure your essential message remains intact.

* Which writers have inspired you, and which media outlets cover them? What radio shows or podcasts do you listen to? Which critics do you pay attention to, and at which publications? Answering questions like these will help you place yourself on the media map, which will be instructive for your publicist.

* For published writers as well as writers who are not yet under contract, it’s helpful to get your name and writing out there by writing essays, op-eds and reviews that tie into a subject in the news or on a topic you’re passionate about.

* The importance of blurbs/pre-publication quotes. Kimberly said, “People in the industry often say blurbs are not important, but I think they are. When you see which other writers are lending their support for a book, it sends a short-cut message to readers and acts in the same way a comp title does."

* Be what Kimberly calls, “A good literary citizen.” Get to know your local booksellers. Be supportive of other writers and people in the publishing community. Review someone else’s work in which you have no personal investment. Lead with authenticity in your social media, not with the sole purpose of drawing attention to yourself.

* If you want to explore hiring a freelance publicist, one good resource is the annual roundup from Publishing Trends:  https://publishingtrends.com/2023/09/freelance-publicists-contact-sheet-2023/

Fae Myenne Ng, author of the memoir Orphan Bachelors (Grove Press), called the session “a master class” on book publicity. Mamta Chaudhry, author of the novel Haunting Paris (Nan A. Talese/Doubleday), agreed, adding, “I wish I had known all this for my last book, but now I’m better prepared for the next one.” Kimberly’s passion for writers and determination to get them traction in a crowded marketplace are a testament to why publicity is the coin of the realm.

Five Takeaways from 5E’s Office Hours Session on Small Press Publishing

With editors Leslie Wells and Patricia Mulcahy, and writers Dawn Raffel, Gwen Florio, and Diane Bergner.

1: Small Presses are not on the sidelines of the book business. As books like Braiding Sweetgrass from Milkweed in Minnesota sit atop bestseller lists, and Seven Stories and Transit Books publish Nobel winners, small presses are increasingly seen as viable alternatives to the corporately owned Big Five.

2: Small Presses, many of which are based across the country, enable authors to get out their books, even if they don’t have an agent or contacts in New York City. They democratize the publishing process. Said Juliana Roth, an Emerging Writer Fellow at the Center for Fiction re: the 5E Office Hours session:

“I learned so much about the power writers have to get their own books out in the world, and I was inspired to hear of all the avenues to do so.”

Hybrid publishers such as She Writes Press are also an option, for those who have the funds to invest. Many small presses pay royalties only—no advances. 

3: Authors today have to do a great deal of their own marketing and publicity or hire a professional in these fields, no matter where they are published. Some books that are not high-profile at Big Five houses get little attention. Small presses that market well to niche audiences can often sell effectively, but the author will probably still need to be proactive on social media and elsewhere. Dawn Raffel described the experience of her volume of short stories, which was published by a Big Five literary house, being passed over by a major review medium because they didn’t want to devote the whole issue to books from that particular publisher, and she was competing against big-name authors from her own house; instead they wanted to showcase at least one from a small press.

Gwen Florio said, “The relationships I’ve developed over the years with booksellers and librarians are an unexpected benefit of having to do my own publicity. Not only do they stock my books, but often they contact me for readings and events when a new book comes out. Equally important, what began as business relationships have turned into lasting friendships.”  

4: Given the hundreds of small presses now in operation, it is essential to do solid research before deciding which one might be right for your work. Dawn Raffel described going to a small press fair to make connections. She also ordered some twenty small press books to evaluate before finding a publisher for her latest, Boundless as the Sky. Author Diane Bergner was similarly pleased with Meridien Editions, which is based in Westport, CT. For those who are not represented by an agent, Gwen Florio emphasized the need to have a lawyer review any contract with a small press.

5: There is no single publishing solution that works for everyone. The better financed big houses with strong sales forces are powerful merchandizing machines, but may not be best for more niche or literary material in particular. Many fiction writers, memoirists, and essayists—whose work attracts major awards when published by a small press—might continue with that press, or opt to go with more money and clout from one of the Big Five. Success stories abound. 

University presses also publish some excellent fiction, notably the University of Nebraska, Northwestern University, and West Virginia University Press, whose collection of short stories The Secret Lives of Church Ladies by Deesha Philyaw received the PEN/Faulkner Award, and garnered the author a major new deal with a larger publisher.  

Additional resources:

https://blog.reedsy.com/independent-publishers

https://www.pw.org/small_presses

Diane Bergner mentioned an informative article on hybrid publishers by Barbara Linn Probst, from Jane Friedman’s blog:

https://janefriedman.com/everything-youve-always-wanted-to-know-hybrid-publishing/

Announcing Fall 2023 Office Hours with 5E

Fall is finally here, and we’re happy to announce a couple of exciting new entries in our Office Hours series featuring some excellent guest authors to enlarge the conversation.  

On Wednesday, 10/18/2023 at 11:00 a.m., Leslie Wells and Patricia Mulcahy will be joined by Dawn Raffel, Gwen Florio, and Diane Bergner to talk about Small Press Publishing. Are small presses a solid option these days as the Big Five publishers continue to consolidate? Do they pay? And what about reviews? Sign up for what should be a very timely and informative session. 

Jane Rosenman and Judy Sternlight will address The Psychology of Revision on Wednesday 11/15 at 11:00 a.m. This is an issue of perennial concern: When do you stop tinkering? How do you best incorporate thoughtful feedback on your work? Authors Melodie Winawer and Kerri Maher will share their tips and insight into the often-fraught process.

Click HERE  to sign up for these FREE one-hour sessions. Spread the word and Zoom along with us and our featured guests!

Many thanks, 5E  

Growing Your Readership, Part Two: How to Get Your Work Out

Growing Your Readership: How to Get Your Work Out

Patricia Mulcahy and Judy Sternlight

In a recent Office Hours session (5E hosts free monthly sessions on Zoom) we revisited ways for writers to gain exposure by publishing stories, essays, or opinion pieces online or in print. Publishing short pieces is a great way to establish a base of loyal readers, to experiment with new styles and subjects, and to get feedback on your work as it develops in tone, voice, and narrative reach.  

Given the plethora of outlets for short pieces—both fiction and nonfiction—it requires dedicated research to find editors who will respond with real enthusiasm to your submission. In our recent OH session, we brought up the fact that many of today’s best-read and respected magazines, like Granta, Ploughshares, and The Paris Review, are run by millennial staffers, many of whom are drawn to voices from “underserved communities,” however you define them. So where do you fit in?

Where are your people, as it were? It’s critical to read and subscribe to publications that speak to you both as a reader and a writer. Which magazines or sites showcase an editorial vision that may align with yours? Can you envision your story, essay, or op-ed on the site or in the magazine?

Just as you would research an agent’s client list and submission requirements before submitting a query, you should look into how a magazine or website operates, and the type of writing they seem to encourage and appreciate.

In our recent OH session, poet/novelist/nonfiction writer Diane Mehta talked about working for years to craft certain poems and essays and placing them with the right publication at the right time, taking the time to deeply research publications that felt like a good match and establishing relationships with editors whose sensibilities she admires.

Is all this effort worth it? Editors in 5E who built their reputations at major publishing houses have admitted that when pitching possible acquisitions, listing a writer’s credit in The Hudson Review, for instance, was not going to compel our colleagues in the sales department to jump up and down. Still, read on!  

Reason #1 to publish in literary journals: As articulated by Ruth Mukwana, a UN aid worker and fiction writer, publishing an occasional short piece while your main focus is on a longer work can give a writer a terrific emotional boost: “There’s real joy when you see your work out there.” Is there any better reason?

Reason #2: Some agents do look at literary publications in search of talented writers who don't yet have representation. Speaking of agents…

Reason #3: Multiple publishing credits boost your chances when you query agents and editors. It shows that you're serious about your writing, and that other editors have already embraced your work.

Reason #4: You can showcase short excerpts from longer works-in-progress to increase exposure and give yourself a boost. You might even make some money. Fiction writer Zeeva Bukai talked about her success in extracting short excerpts from longer novels-in-progress and shaping them into self-contained short fiction. She sets aside a modest sum, maybe $200, annually to dedicate to entering writing competitions, and consistently has several pieces out on submission while also developing longer works. Zeeva has found good leads in The Masters Review and Erika Dreifus's newsletter.

Marcia Butler, author of two novels and a memoir, pointed out that the gems you remove from your memoir or novel (killing your darlings) can prove useful when you're publishing short pieces around the time that your book comes out. It’s all about showcasing your material at just the right time for maximum exposure.

Let’s get back to that research. The recent shutdown of the respected online magazine Catapult drew attention to the fact that some literary publications are subject to the whims of well-off sponsors. It may be best to focus on those with a longtime, established base, many affiliated with university writing programs: The Sewanee Review from The University of the South; Ploughshares from Emerson College in Boston; The Missouri Review from The University of Missouri at Columbia, MO; The Antioch Review from Antioch College in Ohio, to name just a handful. Be sure to observe the stated requirements for submission: word count/length, timeframe, and format. The platform Submittable is frequently used.

There are myriad ways to narrow down your options; logging onto literary Twitter is one. Despite the controversies afflicting the platform since Elon Musk’s acquisition, many writers, publications, literary agents, and publishers still post. And some publications, especially those that operate online only, like The Rumpus, put their submission deadlines up on Twitter threads. Writers on Twitter will pose questions such as: “What are your favorite places to submit?” The flood of responses can tell you a great deal.

Another tried and true method is to peruse not just the winning entries in Best American Essays, but also the long list of sources for “notable” pieces listed in the back of the volume. In the 2021 edition, “winning” essays came from publications ranging from Harper’s Magazine, Granta, The New York Times Magazine, and The Threepenny Review, to Salmagundi (from Skidmore College), The Virginia Quarterly Review and The Point, started by grad students at the University of Chicago.

The “notable” sources were equally far-ranging, from Ecotone to the Nashville-based Turnip Truck(s) to The Margins (for Asian-American writing) to The Iowa Review, High Desert Journal, and The Dead Mule School, a twenty-six-year-old publication from North Carolina that requires a “statement of Southern legitimacy.” Even the titles will give you an idea whether or not to give their submissions process a try. All have their own requirements, editorial perspectives, and designated submissions seasons.  

It’s also noteworthy that the prestigious Whiting Foundation just gave out a series of prizes to literary magazines like Latin American Literature Today, The Bellevue Literary Review, which started with an emphasis on medical themes, Kweli, a relatively new forum for writers of color, as well as One Story, which sends one short story a month to subscribers in the mail, to be opened “like a letter from a friend.”

There have been some cutbacks in the world of literary magazines, including The Believer, whose demise was much lamented by writer Leslie Jamison, who had her first piece published there. But there’s been a big increase in online outlets, many with targeted markets (African Americans, Asian Americans, mothers, people with disabilities), which has also increased what you might call the echo effect. Memoir Monday, a weekly newsletter and reading series now hosted by Narratively, and supported by Granta, Tim House, Catapult, Narratively, and Guernica, selects entries from across the web, not just the host publications. Recent installments have picked up pieces from sources like Oldster, The LA Review of Books, and a Brooklyn-based site called Pigeon Pages (“We are proud of the eggs we nest.”)

A piece in any of the above, or elsewhere for that matter, might be “echoed” in the newsletter and help expand your base of readers.

One participant in an earlier Zoom session recommended a $5/month subscription to Duotrope, a database of publishing resources with extensive listings of magazines, agents, and publishers large and small. The service also offers to keep a running list of all of your submissions. Many publications operate on a shoestring with small staffs and can take months to respond. So, lots of writers submit simultaneously if allowed. It’s useful to have a current list of the status of your efforts.

Poets and Writers (https://www.pw.org) is an excellent source of information not only on literary publications, but also writing programs, contests, residencies, and literary agents.

Growing a readership requires persistence, patience, some old-fashioned literary sleuthing, and most importantly, a belief that your work does deserve readers. Having a thick skin is absolutely crucial. Publishing your short pieces can take as much time as writing and crafting the work; but in today’s outpouring of words, opinions, and perspectives, you have to relish the challenge.