Editor's Picks: Inside a Fiction Editor's Bookshelf

Know More: Editing, Five Easy Questions, Sam Douglas, Writing Resources 2.0, Editing

What do fiction editors like to read? Most fledgling writers would give an arm or a leg to know that before mailing their manuscript.

Today, we find out what Sam Douglas--an associate editor at Picador--likes to read. His firm has published critically acclaimed novels like Paul Auster's The Brooklyn Follies and memoirs like Running with Sissors by Augusten Burroughs.

This is my deceptively simple feature: Five Easy Questions. In the spirit of Jack Nicholson’s mad piano player, I run a serialized set of weekly interviews with writing pioneers—delivering some practical, unexpected advice about web publishing...

Jason Boog:
Who are your favorite writers? What are your favorite websites to read for work? What are your favorite sites for reading pleasure?

Continue Reading...

Sam Douglas:
Lately I like Susan Sontag, Sigrid Nunez, GK Chesterton, Joan Didion. I don't really read Web sites for work save one: Maud Newton.

I don't read much online. It seems to me like the better writing goes into books, so when I have time I read those. I read Today's Papers on Slate when I can't read the newspaper itself.

Really, I think good, serious writing that matters (to me) takes time and some degree of isolation, some burrowing into one's subject and one's own thinking, and the Web doesn't seem to me to encourage that (not to say it's all that common in magazines or even books either).

Note: If serialized interviews drive you batty, just click here to read the whole interview as it is collected this week...

Thanks for the note. I'm glad you enjoyed the interview. As always, feel free to suggest more authors!

I fixed the broken Maud Newton link, thanks for noticing...

Posted by: Jason Boog | November 2, 2006 1:54 PM | Permalink to Comment

If you've got some free time, you may want to check this writer, J. Daniel Janzen. He's a copyeditor and a very good writer as well. He's also an editor at the now-famous online flak magazine.

Personally, I think that these people are always nice to promote. Why? Because they have something interesting to say and by promoting them, we can only help them to spread their words and thoughts to the world.

Posted by: Khalil A. | November 3, 2006 12:28 PM | Permalink to Comment

Devoted to publishing, publishers and to those who craft the written word

related entries

4 Comments/Trackbacks

submit a trackback

post a comment

Comment Preview

Advertise

Related Resources

recent comments

sponsored ads

topics

subscribe

Current News

resources

Support This Blog

archives

blogroll

Know More Media - Writing / Speaking

know more media network

we support unitus

PRWeb

Influencer

ProductivityGoal

CallCenterScript

AdHurl

TheBizofKnowledge

HealthCareVox

BrainBasedBusiness