Author profile: Chloé Valerie Harmsworth
Ancient (and not so ancient) woodlands have bordered my homes since childhood. These beautiful and fascinating places allowed me to discover that I have an affinity with animals (as surely many lonely, only children do) and with the trees and plants that make up these environments. As a child I played and established secret dens there; as an adult (although not necessarily a grown up), they fulfil my need to belong and provide me with endless inspiration.
Although my childhood dream was to become an author and artist, after graduating from university, I became an editor instead. This suited my love of words and learning as well as my eye for details – indeed, one colleague coined the nickname “Hawkeye Harmsworth” for me! My final role was as a development editor for a large educational publishing company, working with authors and teachers to create textbooks and digital learning resources for schools and universities.
Eventually I decided to leave the big smoke in favour of the freelance life and, from 2014, I worked as a freelance editor for various publishing companies. With the flexibility this new life gave me, I had time to go for regular walks in my local woodlands, and as a result got to know them intimately. I was also inspired to pick up my pen and paintbrush again. My creative output since then has included writing articles, poetry and stories – mostly on the theme of nature, wildlife and conservation – as well as painting, illustrating and photographing these subjects. Since 2019, I have kept a nature diary of the wildlife and seasonal signs I observe in my local green spaces, simultaneously recording my developing relationship with them. I intend to illustrate this diary and turn it into a book one day.
But before I do that, I’ve channelled my passion for woodlands and wildlife into a book I’ve written for White Owl, an imprint of Pen & Sword. It is accompanied by my photography and is due to be published in 2022. It will be a guide as to what can be seen in woodlands throughout the seasons, revealing the many wonders of this precious habitat to readers. Hopefully it will also inspire people to hold these places close to their hearts and protect them as they would their loved ones. After all, without the rest of nature, we cannot exist.
Find out more about me and my creative work on my website, chloevalerienatureart.wordpress.com (where you can read examples of my work for magazines such as Breathe, Bloom and Be Kind) and on Instagram @chloevalerienatureart and Twitter @ChloeValerieNA.
Website: chloevalerienatureart.wordpress.com
Twitter: @ChloeValerieNA
Editors – think of us like doctors, Rebecca Bush
Hello – my name is Rebecca, and I’ve just joined Newgen Publishing UK as a commissioning editor. I’m very excited to be here!
Types of editor
I’d like to talk about how to work with your editor. First, let’s take a quick look at the different kinds of editor you might work with as a book author:
- Commissioning editors commission books. This might look like seeking out an author to write a book that’s on their list, or it might look like sifting through submissions to find gold.
- Development or structural editors work on the manuscript at a high-to-medium level – maybe as you’re writing, proving feedback in batches, or maybe all at once when you have a finished first draft. They might help you stay on schedule, keep your book on track, and look at things like “does this chapter belong here, or later?”; “does this part make sense?”; and “does this book connect with the intended audience that way the author wants it to?”. They might pay some attention to small details like house style and spelling/punctuation, but it’s not their main concern.
- Production editors or project editors work on turning a finished manuscript into an actual book! Find out more here or here.
- Copy editors are often freelance, although some publishing houses will keep them in-house. They have excellent attention to detail, and they’ll check the manuscript for adherence to a house style (for example, do you write ‘analyse’ or ‘analyze’?), as well as spelling accuracy, grammar, and some basic fact-checking. They’ll look for consistency, and typos, before the manuscript is ready for typesetting.
This is a very basic intro; your book might not involve every kind of editor, and some editors do more than one role as part of their job.
Working with editors
So how can you make the best relationship with your editor? How can you get the most helpful help and the most reassuring communication?
There are a few key tips to working well with an editor, but the number one Secret to Success I can give is this: don’t ghost us!
Stay in touch
Seriously – it may sound silly, but writing a book can be a difficult and sometimes lonely process at times. It can be very tempting, when you are behind a deadline, or you’re stuck on a chapter, or you’re having a bad mental health patch, to avoid emailing your editor until you have good news for us. After all, you rationalise, it won’t be that long until you’re caught up… no need to write an awkward email or worry anyone when you’re sure you’ll be back on top before you know it…
This is the biggest mistake I see first-time authors make. Think of your editor a little like your doctor – we won’t judge you, and we can’t help you if we don’t know what’s going on, so it’s best to be honest! I promise, we would all far, far rather have a slightly awkwardly apologetic email telling us that you’re not going to be able to meet the agreed deadline than just not hear from you as the deadline cheerfully sails past and our calls and emails to you get increasingly desperate! We’ll do whatever we can to help you and make sure your book remains on track, but we can’t help if you don’t keep us in the loop. We’re much more interested in fixing the problem than telling off authors!
Tips for success
Other than the Cardinal Rule of keeping the lines of communication open, here are some good tips to bear in mind about getting the best from an editorial relationship:
- Try not to take offense: It’s our job to make your book the best it can be. This might sometimes look like changing something that you feel strongly about, or suggesting things that you’re not as keen on. It’s ok – and encouraged! – to have discussions about these things, but please don’t take feedback or critique personally. If you were doing bad work, we wouldn’t be working with you; it’s because it’s good work that we want to help make it even better!
- Ask the stupid question: There’s really no such thing, after all. When we’re working on lots of books at once, it can be easy to forget sometimes that this may be your first or even only book, and therefore you might not understand every part of the process perfectly! If you’re unsure about something, no matter if it seems silly, please do ask.
- Use version tracking: Whatever tool you and your editor use, try to keep track of the various iterations of your book. If you simply send us a whole new manuscript, with no comments or tracked changes or sticky notes or anything, then it’s impossible for us to see the bits that we gave feedback on the first time around. If you’re not comfortable using the editing tools your editor uses, please speak up and ask for their help (or to use another version) – it will be infinitely smoother if you can both keep track of changes.
And that’s it! Remember, we’re just people – and we want your book to be the best possible book it can be. Good luck!
Center for Fiction, Alan Bradshaw
Hello—My name is Alan Bradshaw and I’m a new Newgenian (a Newgenic? a novice of the Newgenae?). After roughly two decades working with and admiring Newgen, I joined the company in June as an Editorial Operations Director for Newgen North America. I’m based in Brooklyn, New York.
Paradoxically, after working in nonfiction for so many years, my favorite bookstore is the Center for Fiction.
Situated in the high-rising junction of several great Brooklyn neighborhoods (downtown, Fort Greene, Boerum Hill), a 5-minute walk from the place (now part of Fort Greene Park) where the British General Howe could have but mysteriously didn’t squash the American Revolution, near Long Island University and the Brooklyn Academy of Music and two train hubs, the Center is much more than a bookstore.
It sponsors a literary prize (with live readings of the winner’s work) and promotes books in translation and new writers. It has programs in schools and awards for kids—and it gets free books into kids’ hands and questions into their heads. In multiple ways, it fosters the art and practice of writing—low-cost workspaces, workshops, classes, encouragement.
And it marks the literary events of our lives. When Toni Morrison died, the Center held a program in her honor, with a short film and readings by notable writers (accompanied by a jazz band).
I love how it actively promotes both story-reading and storytelling as vital endeavors. And yes, it sells good books.
Website: https://centerforfiction.org/
Location: Brooklyn, NY, USA
Facebook: www.facebook.com/thecenterforfiction/
Twitter: @Center4Fiction
Writing inclusively: tips for authors, Rebecca Bush
In order to make sure your book is read by as wide an audience as possible, it’s important to write in a way that is inclusive; that is, to not exclude anyone with your writing. Most authors, of course, will not deliberately offend or alienate. But because we are all different, and we all have different experiences, different viewpoints and different kinds of privilege and challenge, it can be easy to let unconscious bias go unchecked.
Unconscious bias is where a person’s held beliefs, or a choice of words they use, is exclusionary, offensive or simply wrong – but that person is not aware that their beliefs are influencing the way they speak or write. Everyone holds unconscious biases to a certain extent – having unconscious biases does not make someone unusual or a bad person. However, it is important, as an author, to work towards becoming aware of your own unconscious biases and try to stop them impacting your writing – because it’s just the right thing to do, and because it will not exclude any of your readers!
What is a sensitivity read?
One of the most important ways this can be done in book publishing is through editing and sensitivity reads. An editor can act as a second pair of eyes – someone with different experiences and beliefs who can help pick up any harmful unconscious biases that have crept into a text. A sensitivity read is a special additional type of edit – where someone with the lived experience to have a greater awareness of various unconscious biases reads through your manuscript to highlight any potentially problematic areas, such as unintentionally racist, sexist, homo- or trans-phobic or otherwise harmful words or ideas.
If you are writing for or about a historically disadvantaged or oppressed group of people to which you do not belong, a sensitivity read can be an important stage in addition to standard editorial processes. For example, if you are a white person writing Black characters or about Black culture, it will be important to make sure that you take into account the actual thoughts and feelings of Black people themselves. Or if you are a cisgender man writing for or about women, trans people or non-binary people, again you might want to get a second (or third, or fourth) pair of eyes to bring their lived experience to benefit your writing and check it for anything harmful. Sensitivity reads are a skilled and important job, and if you think your book could benefit or your editor recommend one, it is definitely worth factoring one into the process.
Challenge assumptions
Many books do not require a specific sensitivity read (although not as many as go without one, sadly). With or without this step, there are a number of things that you, as an author, can keep in mind during the writing process to help avoid any unintentional exclusion. The main principle to remember is this – don’t assume that your readers have the same experience of life as you do.
This means you need to check assumed knowledge in your readers and assumed commonalities. Practically speaking, you need to be able to rely on making some assumptions about your readers, of course – otherwise writing becomes pretty well impossible! You don’t need to pander to or patronise your readers by over-explaining every tiny thing… but you do want to double check that your assumptions are both reasonable and fairly accurate. For example, are you assuming that every reader has been to university? Is that fair and reasonable for your target readership? Are you writing for women? Have you assumed that all women experience menstrual periods, or want children, for instance? Are you writing for an English-speaking audience outside your home country? Have you double checked that idioms and informal words translate properly – like “thongs” in the UK vs Australia? Are you using a sports metaphor, assuming that all of your readers are familiar with the rules of that sport?
Some of these assumptions are absolutely fine in the context of particular books, and some are probably not fine in most contexts (e.g. it is not correct that all women experience menstrual periods, but maybe you are writing a parenting book and therefore it’s safe to assume that your readership are all parents). The point is not that all assumptions are bad, it’s to make sure all assumptions are challenged; some will be helpful and necessary, some will be harmful and many will be somewhere in between.
Some inclusive writing tips
Of course, the whole point about unconscious bias is that it is unconscious, so please don’t beat yourself up if your editor catches something that you missed. Remember: this is absolutely part of the human experience, and none of us know what we don’t know until we know it! To help you out, here are some common ways that exclusionary language or ideas show up in writing and more inclusive approaches to consider instead:
- Consider using the gender-neutral singular “they” instead of a default male pronoun or s/he; there’s more about writing inclusively for all genders here.
- Avoid using outdated terminology to refer to disability, race/ethnicity and so on, instead making sure you take the time to use the language that members of each community prefer (e.g. most disabled people prefer not to use person-first language, such as “person with a disability”).
- When using examples or case studies, try to ensure you avoid homogeneity and instead use an inclusive and diverse range of people. Try to include a cross-section of genders, races/ethnicities, socio-economic backgrounds, education levels, disabilities and neurodivergences.
- Be particularly thorough in interrogating any slang or idioms you use; often these can have offensive roots that you may not be aware of. Or, perhaps they are phrases that are absolutely fine when taken in context by those who know you, but might be exclusionary to readers who do not have that context. For example, phrases such as “black sheep”, “man up” or “grow a pair”, and “it’s crazy how…” are all phrases that have roots in various prejudices and, as harmless as they are meant to be, can exclude or offend.
Enjoy the process
Diversity, equality and inclusion is a very big topic and can be filled with tension. As an author, writing inclusively shouldn’t be something that stresses you out unnecessarily or saps all the joy out of writing. You should definitely feel free to express yourself in your writing, and primarily, your focus is going to be on getting your message across well to the people you want to reach. These tips are all about simply keeping the full range of your potential audience in mind, because not everyone you’re writing for will be exactly like you – and that’s the exciting thing! Yes, you want to keep differences in mind, and try to use inclusive language wherever you can – but that certainly doesn’t mean you can’t have fun with it. It’s all about making the fun accessible to as many folks as possible – so enjoy!
Book club pick: Epitaph for a Spy by Eric Ambler, Mary McCormick
Epitaph for a Spy is a mystery thriller that many, such as thriller behemoth John Le Carré, credit with revolutionising the spy novel genre. Set in 1939, Europe is on the cusp of war as language teacher Josef Vadassy goes on holiday to the Hotel de la Réserve in southern France. When collecting holiday photographs developed by the local chemist, he is met by the French police and accused of being a Gestapo agent spying on the French naval defences. Over the course of the past two days, his camera was accidentally swapped for another: the spy’s! He is given 72 hours to find the true culprit among his fellow guests at the hotel or he will be arrested and deported.
Epitaph for a Spy revolves around the concept that Vadassy, the protagonist, is a political refugee. Born in Hungary, his region was incorporated into Yugo-Slavia after the First World War, who promptly expelled him for having socialist family members and causing him to be stateless. With the police threatening to block his application for French citizenship and expel him from France if he does not comply, Vadassy is desperate to find the true culprit to exonerate himself from the investigation. This is where the root of the tension lies. As time thunders on, Vadassy becomes more and more desperate to prove his innocence, leading him to make increasingly outlandish decisions as his paranoia grows. Although Epitaph for a Spy is written in first person, due to his state of mind Vadassy is not a reliable narrator. While facts are laid out clearly for the reader, it is how Vadassy processes the information and moves the investigation forward that amplifies the tension the most – particularly when they (spectacularly!) backfire. Increasingly, the reader is left to wonder: will Vadassy’s next move reveal more information, or will it land him in more trouble?
Perhaps bizarrely for a spy thriller, Epitaph for a Spy utilises humour as a weapon and is genuinely funny when it intends to be. This isn’t always the case with older books: either our (perception of) humour has changed too much over the decades since it was published, or a book has been lauded as a comedic masterpiece to the extent that when you actually settle down to read it, it becomes lacklustre compared to your expectations. It becomes clear that as a man with nothing, and thus everything, to lose, Vadassy uses humour to cope with the stressful situation. The book club agreed that the inclusion of humour was necessary to help relieve some of the tension prevalent throughout, though there was some debate over whether Vadassy’s frantically planned actions were to be viewed under a comedic or sympathetic light. For instance, if you had paid over 5000 francs to buy a camera – the most expensive possession you owned – wouldn’t you notice if it had been switched?!
Finally, we discuss the ending. Interestingly, Ambler provoked many differing opinions on how Epitaph for a Spy ended. With the continually building tension and the high stakes reveal, it almost seemed to land with a squelch that Vadassy merely returned to the hotel to stay one more night before returning to Paris. It came across that for the adventure that the language teacher had been forcibly embarked on, there had been little pay-off: his life had returned to normal, and he seemed unchanged by his experience. Yet, that was Ambler’s point. Happy ever afters are not a universal ending, and for some visitors at the Hotel de la Réserve they meet quite different fates. One such resident’s fate is commented on in an almost casual, off-hand manner, which makes the horror of their situation so much worse. That is the crux of Epitaph of a Spy: that while Vadassy attempted to save himself from the situation he had found himself in, his success did impact those around him, who were also unknowingly part of this scheme constructed by the law enforcement to discover the spy. Perhaps we hear this tale from Vadassy’s perspective not only due to the interesting nature of his tale, but also due to the fact that he is arguably the only character to not come out of the story much worse than he went in.
