More publishing insider talk

Probably only interesting if you're a writer or in publishing, an interview by Rachel Kramer Bussel of an editor at one of Simon & Schuster's imprints. The interview is a behind a password wall, but I subscribe to the service and if you're a writer who really wants to read it, I'll send it to you. (Mediabistro can think of it as me promoting their service). Here are a couple of interesting excerpts:

[I receive] 60 manuscripts a month and glance at everything that comes in. I look at everything that comes in from an agent but that doesn't mean I'll read it from beginning to end. Sometimes I'll know from the cover letter that the project isn't something I'd be interested in. Sometimes, if it's something that I don't think is right for me but I'm a little less certain, I'll ask my assistant, who has a really good eye. ... The writing has to be top notch: strong voice, clear, so I don't find myself skipping ahead because I'm bored, nor going back a page or two because I've lost the thread of what the author is trying to say. If the writer is able to keep up with me, if we're reading at the same pace as the manuscript, that's always a very good sign. Sometimes I'll see something and it's good -- it's just not good enough, and that usually comes down to the writing. The story has to really stand out and has to be something I feel there's an audience for, even if it's a story that's been told before. In some way or another, it has to have a new slant on it.

Rachel Kramer Bussel,publishing