Amy Hundley of Grove/Atlantic talks about what grabs her, editorially speaking, and what she’s looking for when she’s looking at your work. She also discusses the importance of voice, noting it’s important to write past your influences to discover your own style. And, of course, she addresses the age-old question of experience:
I’d say it’s pretty irrelevant. I’ve learned over time that there’s no relationship between an author’s experience and their level of comfort with the publishing process—some come into it seeming like old pros, and some of the old pros need more attention. Many of my authors I’ve ended up working with over two or three books. If you mean new acquisitions, one thing that is unfortunately true is that a previously published author with a bad track record is becoming more difficult, in terms of overcoming the bad experience and starting fresh in the marketplace with the new book. But if I am passionate about the book, and as a house we believe the uphill climb is justified, it won’t matter.
