Ask the HarperCollins editor: part 4

Today's 'Ask the Editor' answers come from an editor based in our New York office, who works on an adult fiction list.

Are you more biased towards British authors? (Jemstone/ J E Murphy)
As an American editor, I'm not biased towards certain authors, but I do know that stories not set in America have to be pretty exceptional to succeed in the U.S. market. People like reading about what they're familiar with.

How do you feel about books that have already been self-published? (Jemstone/ J E Murphy)
Depends. Self-publishing definitely has a stigma attached to it, but there have been great books that were originally self-published. If an author is talented, it won't matter if he was self-published first.

How long does the acquisition process for fiction take and at what point is the author contacted? (Anthony Saunders)
It varies. Sometimes it can be a day or two if the submission is read right away and the editor likes it. But it's normally pretty slow. Editors get a staggering amount of submissions, at a faster rate than they can read them, so manuscripts can sit on a desk for up to a year before they're read. If something is deemed worthy of publishing, though, contact will occur right away. Agents definitely help with this process.

Is there still room in the market for Frontier Literary Fiction or have Proulx and McCarthy got it wrapped up? (Windy Two Rivers/Christy Jordan)
This is a tough area. It has to be brilliant. A book in this area would probably have to be good enough to be a publisher's lead title for it to work.

How do you approach novels with controversial topical themes – or do you prefer to avoid them? (Freddie Omm)
If it's controversial for the sake of being controversial or to be sensational, it's a tougher sell. But if it's thoughtful/meaningful/has a point, it's definitely worth considering. Stepping on toes isn't bad; spitting in someone's face is.

Do you agree that it is the role of the literary agent to perform, or demand, substantive market-oriented editing of the book before the publisher’s editor has seen the manuscript? (Seamus33/George LeCas)
It definitely helps. It's only good for the author if the manuscript is in the best possible shape when it lands on the editor's desk.

Is it true that when writing a true life/non-fiction work, it doesn’t have to be complete before a publisher will accept it? (Sue1960/Sue Edwards)
Yes

There is a great deal of rumour flying around in the current economic climate. In your opinion, will it be harder for unknown authors to get published before the economy picks up again? (Lallie/Laura Jarrett)
Yep. Publishers are taking a much more limited approach these days. There's just not the money to throw around that there has been in the past, so we're taking fewer chances.

Would you ever take the risk of publishing a work you loved but that did not fit a pre-existing marketing niche? (Lord Biro/Kevin Lester)
As an editor, I love these types of books. It's hard to convince the publisher, though. This is a business, after all, and the bottom line rules all. It takes a big vision and a lot of passion to sell these types of books to publishers.

Could you try to pin down what you mean by ‘voice’? (Freddie Omm)
"Voice" is the tone/feeling/sensibilities that emerge from a narrative and hold it together.