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The
Scholastic Connection A
Legacy of Making Old Stories New  he last time
I returned to Hawaii, I visited Volcanoes National Park. A recent eruption
had brought gifts from the locals to appease Pele, the goddess of fire.
Seeing the bottles of rum and taro leaves, I found myself believing again
in the legends from my childhood. I was struck by their ability to shape
perceptions and define reality. Rafe Martin has adapted one of these powerful
legends for The Shark God, the story of two children whose act of
kindness toward a shark leads to their death sentences. Their parents must
appeal to the fearsome Shark God for help. I recently spoke with Rafe about
his newest work.
Jen: Why is it important for children to hear traditional tales?
Jen: What attracted you to this particular story? Jen: Did you adapt the story for this new format? Scholastic
students interview Rafe Martin Rafe Martin's Interview Transcript. hy did you want to become an author?
Because I loved stories. I grew up hearing many family stories and my
mother used to read fairy tales aloud to me. When I got older I discovered
I loved reading on my own. When my children were growing up, I discovered
that my wife and I loved reading aloud to them. Then I realized I had
a lot of stories I could share, and by being an author I could share stories
that I knew and loved -- stories that very few people knew, and stories
that I began creating with the rest of the world. I could give something
back, give a gift that I received back. That's why I wanted to be an author,
because I loved it.
How old were you when you found your favorite author?
One finds a favorite author during every year of one's life. I must have
been in second or third grade when I discovered the Jungle books by Rudyard
Kipling. All the stories of Mowgli and Bagheera, the black panther and
Akela, the wolf and Baloo, the bear. I think Rudyard Kipling's Jungle
books marked the point when a particular author grabbed me. Before then
I didn't know the names of particular authors, but I loved myths and legends
and the stories of King Arthur and the Knights of the Round Table. Those
were the stories that really got me started. I began to get excited about
reading and I discovered authors from there. When I was very young there
was a book that I really loved, Little Fur Family by Margaret Wise
Brown. I must've been very young -- it is a picture book. When I was in
sixth grade I discovered a book that changed my life, Moby Dick
by Herman Melville. It is the story of the great white whale, and I read
that book many times in my life. In junior high school I discovered the
science fiction of Ray Bradbury, and that was very important to me. I'm
still discovering favorite authors now.
Who is your favorite author?
I have many and I'm always discovering new ones. One of my favorite authors
is J.R.R. Tolkien, and The Lord of the Rings is the book.
How long does it take you to write a book?
That's a scary question. Most of my picture books are inspired by tales
drawn from other cultures. I have to research very carefully; from the
first time I find a story that I'm interested in or excited about working
with, to the time that the story itself is written. This might take three
or four or five years or more because I'm thinking about, trying to understand,
and research the story -- before I even sit down and write the story.
The actual writing might take a few months. I have two new books coming
out for Scholastic, one is a novel and one is novel length. The actual
writing for both of those books will be about three or four years, that
includes the research, but most of the material is coming out of me.
When you retell or rewrite a traditional tale, how much do you make
up and how much do you try to be true to the original version?
I'm always true to the original, but we need to understand that in the
world of traditional tales, much of what is really the meaning of the
story may not be down in the versions that we have. My job is not to invent
or make up sections, my job is to spend a lot of time with the story and
open my heart and imagination to what the story is really trying to say
to us. I then try to bring that alive in a new version that can be authentic
to the tradition from which the story comes, but really speak to us today
as well. And that's what I attempt to do with each re-creation of any
traditional tale I work on. It's a very intuitive process. If you take
a look at the note at the back of the new book The Shark God, I
discuss some of this there.
Are all of your stories retold from original stories?
No. Several of my picture books like Will's Mammoth and The
Lost Princess are completely original stories. In my book The Hungry
Tigress, a collection of stories from India, there may be four or
five original stories. The chapter book The Boy Who Loved Mammoths
is a completely original story. My tape Animal Dreaming is all
completely original stories. On my tape Ghostly Tales of Japan
there's another original story. The new book coming out next year with
Scholastic, The World Before This One, is built of Seneca legends
from my area, but it is set within an original framework tale. Finally,
my forthcoming novel, also with Scholastic and Arthur Levine Books titled
Bird Wing, is a completely original full-length novel.
Because Will's Mammoth has so many pictures and so few words,
did you tell the illustrator what you wanted each page to look like in
order to tell your story?
Yes, I did. But Stephen Gammell, one of the truly great illustrators
today, also brought his own storytelling genius to each page. If you want
to see more of how that particular book developed you can look at my chapter
book The Boy Who Loved Mammoths, which is the way I originally
wrote the tale before it became a picture book. There's an afterward about
that book that talks more about this.
Do you ever use an illustrator more than once?
Yes, of course. David Shannon and I have collaborated on three terrific
books together. Each time I chose David, and he fortunately agreed to
work with me, because we each loved the story and felt we could make the
best book together. These three books are The Rough-Face Girl,
The Boy Who Lived With the Seals, and the brand-new one, The
Shark God. I've also worked with and chose the illustrator Susan Gaber
for the books The Brave Little Parrot and The Language of Birds.
I've also worked and chosen for the same reasons the illustrator Tatsuro
Kiuchi on two books, Mysterious Tales of Japan and The Eagles
Gift. I feel I've been very fortunate to work with all these gifted
illustrators several times each.
Did you ever consider letting your daughter illustrate your books?
My daughter is a photographer and we've talked how we might collaborate
in the future. We're kicking around ideas, but so far nothing has seemed
exactly right. We hope we'll hit on the right combination sometime soon.
Thanks for the question -- I'll pass it on to my daughter.
Do your kids give you ideas for your stories?
My kids are grown now, but when they were younger, I used to try out
my stories on them. I learned a lot from them, but these days they really
have their own interests and I learn a lot about life and the arts and
new good authors that I should be reading -- from them.
You are not Native American. Do people ever question you retelling
tales that belong to another group's traditions?
I've had terrific support from many Native communities. I feel very blessed
by the respect my work has been offered. The Seneca community in my own
area Rochester, New York, has invited me on various occasions not only
to tell stories for them, but on a winter's night in a real longhouse.
I spend several weeks every year as a guest of a Zuni pueblo in New Mexico
telling stories, teaching the children, teaching about writing, and being
able to attend ceremonial dances as a guest -- all of which moves me very
deeply. There will always be issues about who has the right and the responsibility
to tell stories; I try to bring respect, love, many years of careful thought,
and some intimacy with a culture into the work I do. There has been some
criticism, but it has been very minor and I feel very supported in everything
I've done.
Why are most of your books taking place in a Native American tribe
or near the water?
They are not. I think there almost 20 books I published, and of them
several are Native American because I like those stories very much, and
because I think they have a lot to teach us. Several are by water, namely
The Boy Who Lived With the Seals and The Rough-Face Girl.
At least that's what I recall of the books that I've written. If you go
to my Web site, you'll see all the books and that should give you a little
fuller background on how many are actually Native American and how many
actually by water.
How did you tell stories in other countries? Do you speak several
languages?
No, I speak only English. When I was in Japan I spoke in English-language
schools and that worked just fine.
Did you write The Shark God after you went to Hawaii?
Yes, the note in the back of the book discusses some of that process.
But first I had almost 15 years of thinking about the story and several
trips to Hawaii performing, speaking, and researching, before I began
writing the story as a book.
Do you have to be in a certain location to feel confident in your
writing?
No. I tend to do most of my actual writing in my office at home. But
I have found I can edit almost anywhere, under almost any conditions.
And in working on my new novel, Bird Wing, I found myself so excited
about the story and what was happening in it, that my motel room on the
road -- after a full day of speaking and performing in schools -- worked
just fine for me to continue my writing. You can never tell.
Where is your favorite place for ideas?
I like being at home, surrounded by objects and art from the many cultures
I've been able to visit, and that inspires me. I like being out in nature,
I often find great ideas coming, just being by nature, water, trees. I've
discovered that I like to get on my motorcycle and ride through the hills
and I find that many new ideas come to me in this way too.
How do you like to write? Do you use a computer or pen, etc.?
I use a computer because my handwriting is usually so sloppy and it's
slower and more tiring. With the computer I can keep many versions --
I usually go through 20 or 30 rewrites of a story. Having them all in
the computer I can see the whole evolution of my work. It helps me stay
more organized and neater; but it's not necessary even a pencil and a
piece of paper, when you have a good idea, will do the job just fine.
Do you work on more than one book at a time?
Yes, with picture books especially. There can sometimes be several, three
or even four in the works at any one time, but they are all in different
stages. One may be in research, one may be in final edit, one may be in
first draft, and one may be somewhere in the middle. And not being an
octopus I don't work on them at the same time. For a week or so, I may
work very intensively on one and then when I feel it has reached a saturation
point; I can let that one rest and go on to one that feels fresh. In this
way I stay engaged; I never feel that I overdo any one book at any particular
time. With longer books I tend to only work on one at a time, for longer
periods. And then may switch to the other when I feel I have reached as
far as I can on the first one. And I need time off from it. Or it needs
time off from me.
Do you ever get writer's block? What do you do if you get it?
I don't think writer's block exists. Writer's block to me simply means
I haven't yet seen in my own mind clearly enough what needs to happen
in the story. So I'll take a walk, or I'll do something else that gets
my imagination going, like being in nature, motorcycling, cooking dinner,
talking with a friend, listening to music, or do some reading that might
open my imagination to other possibilities. Once I get a sense of where
the story needs to go, I can begin writing again. Sometimes you just have
to be patient, but don't think of it as a block -- think of it as a new
beginning.
Do you have any books you are currently working on to be published?
Yes. There is The World Before This One, which will be Seneca
tales from my area woven together to make one long story, almost like
a novel, about the power of stories and how they change us and our communities
for the good. I'm also working on my first completely original novel,
called Bird Wing. It is a very mythic, adventurous, and hopefully
exciting story that I'm very excited about. If you go to the Books
page, you'll find information on all my books, the new ones that are coming
out and the forthcoming ones to be published in the next several years.
I noticed in a few of your books you have a lesson or moral. Do you
have lessons or morals in all your books?
I have stories, and stories teach us. I never try and add a lesson or
moral to any tale. But I think the very structure of stories is about
meaning, and in the process of bringing stories alive, so they'll be enjoyable,
I also like to remind us that part of the enjoyment is the meaning.
Why do you tell so many folktales?
Because I love folktales and I also believe that they remind us that
each one of us carries the universal inheritance of all of those that
have come before us. It's part of who we are, to remember the wonder of
the imagination's way of looking at our lives. I think folktales do that
for us. Go to my Web site and you'll find articles I've written on this
very topic; feel free to read and enjoy them.
If you could write them over again, is there anything in your books
that you would change?
I don't know. I think at this point I'd have to say that each book stands
on its own merit now. I can't think of anything off the top of my head
that makes me want to go in and make any significant changes. The one
book I might want to cut some of the text and let it stand in a shorter
way is The Eagle's Gift, which was a very challenging story to
work with. But I think it has its own life now, and so I'll leave it alone.
Which book was most challenging to write?
I would say it's always the one you're working on now, so my forthcoming
novel Bird Wing for me now is the most challenging book I've ever
worked on.
Which book was your favorite to write?
I would have to say that each book was a favorite because it began with
an idea or a story I loved and I never knew how or if I was ever really
going to make it work. So each one was a challenge and each one was a
new adventure and each one taught me things I never would have learned,
except by jumping in and trying the best I could to bring this story to
life.
Did you write stories as a child that you saved and rewrote as an
adult?
No. Except there were two or three science fiction stories I wrote in
junior high school, which I'm still very pleased with. I may yet do something
with them. But other than that, as a child I much preferred reading, hearing
stories, and drawing to writing. I think drawing helped me a lot as an
author, because it taught me how to picture things in my own way. And
that for me is the real foundation for telling a story well, seeing it
clearly in your own mind to start with.
What is your favorite genre to read or to write?
To read, I like everything novels, poetry, short stories, it really depends
more on the quality of the writing. Even nonfiction has given me some
of my best reads. As to writing, I love writing picture books, which are
very close to poetry; but I've also written short stories, and I'm now
working on several novels.
Did you ever write a book you did not send to a publisher?
Every author has a drawer some place of ideas that just didn't seem quite
to work, but every author also every now and then opens that drawer and
rewrites the story again. Maybe some day some of those stories will actually
be published.
What are your favorite hobbies and why?
Writing, reading, speaking, and telling stories because I love doing
these things. I feel very grateful that these are also things that others
like me to do and support me in doing them by having me come to their
schools and speak, and by reading and sharing my books. But I also enjoy
being out in nature, canoeing, kayaking, motorcycling, cooking, and spending
time with family and friends. I do these things because I find they invigorate
me, they nourish my imagination, and they just make me feel good.
Do you ever do school visits? If so, what do you share with the student
body?
Yes, I do a number of visits every year. I find it one of the great pleasures
of my work to go in and speak directly with teachers and students. I like
to speak about the power of the imagination; words are only sounds on
the air, or squiggles on a page. But each one of us takes those sounds
and those squiggles and creates a world with our imaginations. Television
makes us all see the same things; stories and words empower each one of
us to find our own creative way of seeing the world. Not only do I speak
about this in my sessions with students and teachers, I demonstrate it,
which I love to do because I'm not only an author, but also a professional
storyteller. One of my real joys in appearing in schools is actually telling,
not reading some of my award-winning stories, so that listeners can see
the difference between the told tale and the way the story comes out when
I finally finish writing it as a book. The third component of my school
visits is that I like to answer questions as well about the writing process,
my work as an author and storyteller, and anything else that teachers
and students might be interested in. You can go to Contact
page for full information on author visits, as well as all other aspects
of my work. An Interview with Arthur A. Levine, editor and publisher of the Harry
Potter books
Editor
as Writer Levine credits his success as an editor-identifying authors and illustrators
who will make a lasting contribution to children's literature-to having
"been there." He is himself the author of six picture books: All the Lights
in the Night, Bono and Nonno, The Boardwalk Princess, Pearl Moscowitz's
Last Stand (all Tambourine), and Sheep Dreams and The Boy Who Drew Cats
(both Dial).
Anna Olswanger: Did you start out wanting to be a writer or an editor?
Arthur Levine: I started out wanting to be both. I discovered
as I worked at both that they're two complementary activities. Being a
writer is an internal, self-oriented activity. You write to express your
personal thoughts, stories, and feelings. Being an editor is an externally
focused activity. It's about listening, about helping other people tell
their stories, and about providing feedback. Writing is something you
have to do alone, and editing is something that you can only do in relation
to another person. So I find that doing both creates a balance for two
parts of my personality.
Olswanger: Did you plan from the beginning to have a career in children's
books?
Levine: I went to the Radcliffe Publishing Course, and one of
the most helpful things they did there was push you to examine what books
you have the most passion for. While I read broadly and love adult books,
when I thought about the books that had been the most important to me,
what came up were children's books. Radcliffe also kept sending you into
the bookstore and saying, "Where do you find yourself?" I was always winding
up in the children's book section. That clearly indicated to me what I
wanted to do.
Olswanger: Did you always want to write for children?
Levine: I don't think I had children's books in mind in college.
But after I was in publishing for a while, I started thinking about writing
children's books myself.
Olswanger: Is writing an important part of your life now? Do you set
aside a certain number of hours each day to write?
Levine: Writing is important to me, but I don't have time every
day. I belong to a writers' group that forces me to produce on a deadline.
I have to produce something at least once a month, for instance. So I
don't just write whenever I feel like it, but I don't put pressure on
myself to write every day, either.
Olswanger: How did you land your first job in publishing?
Levine: I answered an ad in The New York Times-very straightforward!
Margaret Frith, who hired me at G.P. Putnam's Sons, had also gone to the
Radcliffe Publishing Course, so my being a graduate indicated to her my
seriousness about publishing.
Olswanger: Do you have a mission as an editor?
Levine: It's a broadly defined one. Every book has an impact on
a lot of kids' lives, so my mission is to publish great books for children.
Olswanger: Can you define a great book?
Levine: A great book is any of the books that you remember reading
and loving, that made enough of an impact on you that you remember them
thirty years later.
Olswanger: In your own life, what were some of those books?
Levine: Charlotte's Web, The Mouse and His Child, The Little House,
and The Little Red Lighthouse. These are books that I still remember loving.
Olswanger: Do editors want to find new writers?
Levine: Sure. The lists get full, but there's always room for
a new, special voice. There's nothing more exciting than coming across
that. I can't imagine a point where I will have covered every possible
form of great writing, not only serious literary fiction but humorous
literary fiction, fiction from many different cultures, and mysteries,
and . . . you know, there's so many genres and so many types! I can't
imagine a time when I would have a writer that is the last word in every
possible form of writing. There's always going to be room for somebody
new.
Olswanger: Do editors go out looking for new writers?
Levine: That depends on the editor. When I'm at writer's conferences,
certainly part of the excitement is the people you meet in the halls,
people who say, "Oh, I think this is somebody I could get along with,
somebody who could help me in my writing." Then they may choose to send
me something. So this is a form of going out and looking for a writer.
I have friends in many areas of publishing and other worlds who may suggest
that I look somebody up. I have a friend who was senior editor at Harper's
Magazine, for instance, and we were always talking about great writing.
Occasionally I would think, "Oh, I should contact that person." So I definitely
do both.
Olswanger: Do you contact both fiction and nonfiction writers?
Levine: It's tricky to approach somebody who does fiction. I don't
believe in approaching somebody who is being happily published by another
house and saying, "Oh, why don't you publish with me?" The example I gave
about Harper's is a good one because that's reading short fiction published
in a magazine and saying, "Oh! This is wonderful. Have you ever thought
of writing a novel?" That's how I might do it in fiction, seeing an excerpt
or seeing a work of adult fiction that indicates sensitivity to writing
for a younger audience. Or, reading nonfiction and you think, "Wow, this
is really amazing. I wonder if they have ever written a novel in this
setting."
Olswanger: Can you mention a particular writer that you approached
and ended up publishing?
Levine: I did a book with Lynn Sharon Schwartz at Dial that came
from my having read a piece of hers in a book called Congregation: Contemporary
Writers Read the Hebrew Bible. I had an illustrator who had created a
haggadah which didn't work. I felt that together maybe we could create
a book about Passover that did work, and so I approached Lynn and she
wrote a picture book called The Four Questions. She's well-known as an
adult novelist so this wasn't an incursion on the turf of her adult editor.
Olswanger: How does a new writer best approach you?
Levine: By first showing that they are approaching me because
of me, and not because of my title. A writer should approach me because
of other books they know I have edited, or because they have a piece they
think is particularly going to appeal to me. I am an individual. I think
that's true of every editor I know, but yet it's funny, writers forget
that. They are used to the idea that this person sits in judgment and
therefore they forget that it's just another human being who has likes
and dislikes. Spend the effort to find out what that human being's history
is.
Olswanger: By looking at the books he's edited?
Levine: Yes. Most human beings don't have a published record of
their tastes and interests, the way editors do. It's much easier in some
ways to get to know the taste and style of an editor than it is to find
out about a person you might want to date.
Olswanger: What kind of cover letter catches your eye?
Levine: A great thing to do in a cover letter is to phrase it
positively. I'm thinking of one cover letter from a fellow who had written
a nonfiction picture book about a nutcracker. He started off with three
fascinating facts about nutcrackers, and he talked about why he was submitting
to me. He mentioned an illustrator that was published on our list so he
was clearly thinking visually. He gave a brief synopsis and then he listed
his published books. He was impressive. I immediately requested that book.
Olswanger: What's an example of a bad cover letter?
Levine: The mistake that people make in cover letters is that
they spend a lot of time apologizing for their lack of credits, which
they don't have to do, or they ignore the fact that the way the cover
letter is written, as much as what is written, is important. People are
sometimes overly matter-of-fact and without style in their letter, like:
"This is a story about a dog and his doghouse. Are you interested?" Or:
"In my story a girl goes to the store and she buys some groceries and
comes home and surprises her mother." I would never be interested in that
kind of dead, matter-of-fact prose. The idea of a cover letter is to give
the editor a feeling for what the manuscript is going to be like, and
you do that not only by saying what the content of the manuscript is,
but by the style of the writing. Think about letters that friends write.
Some people write letters that are full of their personality and when
you read that letter, you can hear the person's voice and imagine him
in the room next to you. Some people write really boring letters that
don't have any of their personality. It's the same thing when people write
cover letters.
Olswanger: Suppose a writer is approaching you as a second publisher.
How should she explain in her cover letter that her first publisher rejected
the new manuscript?
Levine: My first response is that you don't have to explain or
apologize. You don't have to talk about it at all unless it's particularly
relevant. It's common enough that people have published a book with one
publisher and then the second book happens to be different. If you've
published a nonfiction book, and this is a fiction one, that makes it
obvious. You say, "Knopf is publishing my first book which is a nonfictional
treatment of blah-blah-blah, but I'm looking for another publisher to
do my fiction and I think you're right." Just market it in a positive
way. You don't have to do full disclosure. It's a relative of the statement
that you don't have to apologize for no publishing credits. You also don't
have to say, "This editor rejected my manuscript." I think they'll assume
that you are either choosing to publish with this other house because
you want two publishers, or that there was not agreement about the second
manuscript. As a writer, I have a publisher and they haven't taken everything
I've written. Sometimes I think they have turned down some of my best
things so naturally I understand that somebody may have published a very
nice book and then the editor just didn't see eye-to-eye on the next one.
Olswanger: In your opinion, how does a writer grow?
Levine: I think writers grow by pushing themselves to be more
honest and revealing about themselves in their work. They grow by reading
and turning outward, not by turning inward and becoming self-referential.
The writer who says, "Oh, I only concentrate on my own writing. I don't
read other people's books" is missing out on the opportunity to be exposed
to new voices and approaches that help one grow.
And taking risks. That's another way that writers grow.
Olswanger: Is editing a good job for you as a writer?
Levine: It's healthy for me because it gives me all sorts of perspective
about the publishing business. I know firsthand not to take rejection
personally. I know that it's just a matter of a story that didn't quite
hook up to the editor's taste. And I think it helps keep me in the world.
It keeps me from becoming too isolated and anxious-things that are challenges
to writers. So in all of those senses, being an editor has been a good
job for me as a writer. And vice versa. Being a writer is good for me
as an editor.
Olswanger: In what ways?
Levine: It's helpful to me as an editor to be reminded of what
challenges authors face. I am an author. I know what it feels like to
get a rejection letter. I know what it feels like to send something out
and wait for a response. I know what it feels like to get feedback. I
know what feedback is helpful to me and what feedback is not helpful to
me. I know what pisses me off as a writer! And I try not to do that to
my authors.
Olswanger: What's your day like as an editor?
Levine: My day varies a lot. Usually when I get in, 9-9:30, I
read some of our circulating things while on my first coffee, things like
Publisher's Weekly, reviews, maybe sales reports. A typical day would
involve meetings with other editors to talk about projects. There are
a lot of off-the-cuff, nonscheduled meetings. So, "He's in a meeting,"
would be the art director called me over and said, "A sketch came in.
I'd like your opinion on it." I jump up, run over to her office and take
a look at the sketch and we talk about it. Then one of my other editors
says, "Arthur, can I ask your opinion on this manuscript? This section
isn't working." I'll go down and we'll talk about it for a few minutes.
I may have a little time to work on catalog copy or jacket copy, something
usually due the next day! I will probably have some kind of scheduled
meeting, like a production meeting where the editorial, production and
art departments get together and discuss books that are on a schedule.
I will probably put out five or six fires, as we say. Somebody's called
up, and they didn't receive their check for some reason. I have to find
out why they didn't and make sure that a check either gets out to them
immediately or tell them when the check went out. Or, I may have a conversation
with an agent.
Olswanger: We hear about agent-editor lunches. Are those important
in children's book publishing?
Levine: It's definitely important to go out to lunch with agents.
I think that may happen once every couple of weeks. It's much more likely
that I will spend time with an author at lunch, which will include conversations
about their manuscript and where they're going, usually because somebody
is coming in from out of town. But I'd say nine lunches out of ten I spend
with a tuna fish sandwich while I'm trying to read a manuscript. The times
that I get to read manuscripts are with that tuna fish sandwich at my
desk, or on the bus, or at home. I don't really get to read much in my
office.
Olswanger: What time does your day end?
Levine: I tend to work until around seven, or seven-thirty, unless
I'm staying late!
Olswanger: And you still take manuscripts home?
Levine: Yes, I read them on the bus or at night. There are periods
when I can't do that as much, and I fall behind. That's a problem.
Olswanger: What are some of the things that can sour the author-editor
relationship?
Levine: An editor will try very hard to be perfect all the time
because so much of their job is nurturing and caring and being the perfect
reader of a manuscript. And you really do try to be there for the author
all the time. It's a selfless relationship, which is as it should be,
and yet sometimes editors have flaws. They will take too long in responding
to a manuscript or they'll get a phone call when they can't spend the
usual amount of time on the phone because of deadlines and pressures.
Once in a while an author may not understand that. They are used to the
editor seeming to have all the time in the world. You do want an author
to feel that you are there for them, but occasionally you are not going
to be able to be, and tension can arise.
And it's helpful even in people anticipating an author-editor relationship
to remember editors are just people and they are people in high pressure
jobs who are doing the best they can, and sometimes they fall behind like
anybody on a job. You hear a lot of complaints about editors taking too
long with submissions and I understand that completely from an author's
point of view. It is frustrating to wait. And I also understand how it
happens with editors. Sometimes an editor will intend to write a lovely
letter right away and they'll just put a manuscript aside for the half-hour
they are sure they are going to have that afternoon to compose a letter.
But it turns out they don't have that half-hour that day, so they think
that they are going to do it the next day, but it doesn't happen the next
day and sometimes something can get buried. It's all with the best intention.
The bottom line, I guess, is that it's miscommunication and lack of empathy
on either side that can sour the author-editor relationship.
Olswanger: Are editors comfortable with authors who want to promote
their own books?
Levine: Editors love that. It's important for an author to take
responsibility, and maybe even take charge of the promotion of their book:
getting out there, exploiting all their contacts to the fullest.
Olswanger: Are appearances effective?
Levine: Usually not, because in general for them to work, you
have to be famous. I was a huge hit at my parents' Jewish Center. I'm
not joking-I sold like 300 copies of various books the time that I appeared
there because everyone knew me from when I was a little kid. But I did
a signing at a Barnes and Noble in New Jersey and five people showed up.
Every author would like to have an author tour and appear at book stores,
but sometimes it's an ineffective way of promoting a book.
Olswanger: What is effective?
Levine: There are general things that are done for every book,
but every book and author are different. An author like Rafe Martin, for
instance, is an amazing performer and storyteller. Every time Rafe appears
he makes 500 new devotees because he is magical in the way he tells his
books. So for him, the best possible way to promote his books is by personal
appearance. Some authors are very shy and are not comfortable in public,
and for them the best thing to do might be to generate a mailing list
of personal contacts who might want to know about their book.
Olswanger: If a writer is good at promoting herself, does that
affect your decision whether to publish her?
Levine: Not usually. I buy a book based on the writing, but promotion
skill can't hurt.
Olswanger: Are you ever concerned that you might lose an established
author by asking for revisions?
Levine: I would think I would lose an author by not caring enough
about their work to give them honest and helpful feedback. Questions come
up at writer's conferences about, "Later, are you allowed to refuse to
make changes?" That reveals a belligerent and immature attitude about
the publishing relationship. The relationship I would like to have with
an author is a collaborative and positive one. I am just giving somebody
feedback about how their story has affected me, and hopefully giving them
feedback in an articulate and understandable way. That gives them the
chance to think about the book before it is final and goes out to the
public. That's an opportunity. As an author I would hate it if an editor
didn't give me feedback. I would think that they didn't care, or that
they hadn't paid enough attention.
Olswanger: As an editor, do you prefer to negotiate contracts with
the agent or the writer?
Levine: It depends on the agent and the author. Some agents are
wonderful to work with, and some I'm less comfortable with in the area
of contract negotiation. The same thing is true with authors.
Olswanger: What's it like to be the editor of the Harry Potter books
in the States?
Levine: It's made me more visible, but that's a temporary visibility
that will fade with time.
Olswanger: Do you think beginning writers can emulate J.K. Rowling's
success?
Levine: I think it's a fantastic bit of reinforcement to write
what you truly want to write, without regard to "saleability." J.K. Rowling
could not have been thinking that her complex, long fantasy novels would
be so financially successful. She wrote them because she wanted to.
Olswanger: Do you believe good writing always gets published?
Levine: "Always" is too strong a word because nothing happens
always. But I think if a person is determined, smart and professional
enough, in addition to having that piece of writing, then they have a
great chance of getting published. With enough persistence, they will
wind up getting published.
Text copyright © 1995 and 2001 Anna Olswanger and Arthur Levine.
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Copyright ©
Rafe Martin, 2000. All rights reserved. |
graduate of
Brown University, and later the Radcliffe Publishing Course, Arthur Levine
landed his first job in publishing at G.P. Putnam's Sons. After a stint
at Dial as senior editor, he worked as editor-in-chief at Putnam's and at
Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers. In 1996 he joined Scholastic as
publisher of his own imprint, Arthur A. Levine Books. Among the wide range
of books he has edited are Philip Pullman's The Golden Compass, Rafe Martin
and David Shannon's The Rough-Face Girl, Jerry Spinelli's Crash, Barbara
Bottner's Bootsie Barker Bites, Gary Soto's Chato's Kitchen, Tomie dePaola's
Tomie dePaola's Book of Poems, J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter books, and two
Caldecott winners, Peggy Rathmann's Officer Buckle and Gloria and Emily
McCully's Mirette on the Highwire.