A Year as a Publisher’s Reader
About a year ago I signed up to be a publisher’s reader for a children’s book publisher here in Japan; each month I read ten YA and middle-grade books, mostly from U.S. and U.K. publishers. Then for each book I submit a written summary, a brief critique, and a rating on a scale of 1 to 10, with ten being the best. The publisher uses these summaries, critiques, and ratings, as well as comments from editor-reader meetings, to help determine which books are translated into Japanese.
I was hesitant to take on this side job on top of all my other commitments, but I knew this opportunity would force me to read over 100 books a year in two of the age groups for which I am currently writing. Editors often urge writers to read at least 100 recently published books in the genre in which they write, and I had done this deliberately with picture books and adult books, and I had even spent an entire year in which I read nothing but short stories. But I had not yet managed this with young adult books. Being a publisher’s reader would be a perfect yearlong assignment for me as a writer. Now, having passed the one-year mark, I have read over well 100 books—almost all novels, plus a few nonfiction works and graphic novels.
Beyond providing me the opportunity to read recently published or soon to be published books from some of the top publishing houses for young adult and middle-grade fiction, the task has benefitted me in other ways. Writing summaries forces me to discover and articulate the central plot and conflicts in a story. This paring down of a tale to its bare essence is an important skill for all fiction writers to develop, particularly essential for creating one’s own novel synopses. Writing critiques forces me to look closely at a book’s merits and weaknesses in order to attempt to fairly evaluate it. I learned to zero in on aspects of a book that might render it less likely to succeed in Japan, be they matters of language, relevance to readers, cultural bias or cultural specificity. The ratings challenged me to be selective and gave me a far better sense of an editor’s vantage point when faced with stacks of manuscripts.
Of the 100 books I read over the last year, the following are some of the selections that I rated highly: Feathers by Jacqueline Woodson, Tales from Outer Suburbia by Shaun Tan, Defect by Will Weaver, Skin Hunger (part one of a trilogy) by Kathleen Duey, The Name of this Book is Secret by Pseudonymous Bosch, The Entertainer and the Dybbuk by Sid Fleischman, Where the Mountain Meets the Moon by Grace Lin, Wilderness by Roddy Doyle, and What I Was by Meg Rosoff.
I wasn’t sure if I would be able to continue with this work beyond a year, but now I find I don’t want to stop. I’m thinking, if I benefited this much in one year, surely I’ll benefit more in two.
Comments
Do you provide any comments on how translatable the book is? For example, excessively long names (strings of katakana), unexplained cultural referents, etc.
Edward Lipsett
http://www.kurodahan.comPosted by Edward Lipsett on 07/29 at 09:38 AMReading 100 books in your own genre? That is a *lot* - and it’s a good piece of advice.
Do you make your comments to the publisher in English or Japanese, by the way?
Posted by Hugh Ashton on 07/29 at 09:55 AMI could not do it, so you are brave! I turned down a job similar to yours as I do like to read books that I pick myself, rather than books that I am told to read. I can not even force myself to read bestsellers for money, unless I really want to read those myself.
>>I had even spent an entire year in which I read nothing but short stories
This kind of reading would not be good for my personal balance of my right and left brain. Reading for work is good, but there is also life out there apart from work, for me anyway. A few years ago I started making a real effort to have a good balance of topics in my reading.
>>if I benefited this much in one year, surely I’ll benefit more in two.
We benefit from whatever we do. We have to decide if we want to learn in a broad way, or in a deep way. I always look for a balance lately.
Posted by Natalia Roschina on 07/29 at 07:10 PMThanks for this post, Holly. I’ve done a similar job for years now, and as a fiction writer, I’ve found it’s very useful to glimpse the publishing world from the other side of the desk. Writing a succinct synopsis is an art, and not a task many can handle well, but once you get the hang of it, it can hone your critical eye. With a YA reader in my home, I’m also glad that you took the time to list up some of your favorites—a very nice touch. Thanks again.
Posted by Kit Pancoast Nagamura on 08/18 at 10:01 AMHow did you get a job as a publisher’s reader? I would love to do this while writing my own stuff. Thanks
Posted by Kristina West on 03/17 at 08:36 PM
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