Along with greeting cards from her authors and works of art by her young granddaughters, Deborah Brodie's bulletin board is adorned with a trio of her favorite quotes:
"Always read stuff that will make you look good if you die in the middle of it." (P.J. O'Rourke).
"The art of being wise is the art of knowing what to overlook." (William James)
"Don't look back. Just go ahead. Give ideas away. Under every idea there is a new idea waiting to be born." (Diana Vreeland)
That last sentiment, says Brodie, the Executive Editor of Roaring Brook Press, is one of her guiding principles. Give ideas away. That's her niche in a nutshell. Brodie is an author's editor, someone who lives to bring out the best in her writers and their work. She's been described as warm, witty, generous and fearless. Her authors practically swoon at her name.
Kathleen Jeffrie Johnson, author of The Parallel Universe of Liars and the harrowing Target, is among many that praise Brodie's instincts.
"She's eyeball to eyeball with all my characters, noting every twitch of an eyebrow, every inflection of speech, every crumb left clinging to the chin," Johnson says. "Knowing them so well, she catches every false move I make.
"Plus, she instinctively understands the arc of whatever story I send her way; and isn't afraid to say what she doesn't like. I suppose all this adds up to gut-level honesty about my writing, which I find bracing and dynamic. She also laughs a lot—a critical ingredient in any relationship I'm in."
Brodie, who has taught writing in the Master of Fine Arts program at The New School University, joined Roaring Brook Press in 2001 after a 22-year career at Viking Children's Books.
Roaring Brook is headed by publisher Simon Boughton, with titles ranging from joyful baby books to the edgiest YA. Both Brodie and editor Neal Porter oversee their own imprints. Roaring Brook launched its first list in spring 2002, and with it, quickly gained a reputation as a haven for writers. Its author-centered attitude is something Brodie relishes.
"You're not buying a book—you're adding a person to your life," Brodie says.
Barbara Odanaka interviewed Brodie, who works out of her home on New York's Upper West Side, by telephone.
Barbara Odanaka: Tell us how you came to Roaring Brook.
Deborah Brodie: Roaring Brook was a chance to start something from scratch, a small place, working from a totally blank slate—no backlist, no books that you inherit. I needed to be in a small place, not so corporate, and also one that had a vision. When Simon started to talk about his plans for an author-centered, rather than a market-driven, new house, I was there!
Simon is in Connecticut. I work from my home office in New York. One of our designers is in New Jersey. Lauren Wohl, our "rainmaker" marketing person, lives half the year in Florida, the other half in the Berkshires. We don't meet as a group that often—you have e-mail, Fed Ex, fax. There's an art to a phone conversation, and we have learned to use the phone as effectively as if we were together. You take people who love what they're doing, who know what they're doing, and you just let them work, and exciting things happen.
Odanaka: What is the easiest thing about your job?
Brodie: Making a phone call to a person who has never been published [to acquire a manuscript]. Oh, it is a wonderful moment! That phone call that moves someone into the next stage, that opens doors. We've been able to do that a lot at Roaring Brook, and it's exhilarating. Several of the writers who published their first books with us are now working on their second or third.
Odanaka: When did you first think about a career in children's books?
Brodie: I grew up in Kansas and my dream was to live in New York—I learned about the city from adult novels. At the age of 12, I decided I would go to New York and never leave. So I did. I graduated from high school early, just so I could get here. I also decided then that I'd become a journalist (I really meant an editor, but hadn't yet heard the term).
Odanaka: Did you ever want to be a writer?
Brodie: I am not a writer. I think I'm a better editor because I'm not.
Odanaka: Why is that?
Brodie: First, the impulse to write is so strong, it overrides most other things. An editor who writes becomes a writer who edits, and the writing takes precedence. I only want to be the best editor I can. I get an idea and I give it away. This is what I do. A blank piece of paper sends me into a panic [laughs]. I want you to put it on the paper and let me move it around.
When I teach or lead workshops, I start by saying, "I cannot teach you to write." Of course, everyone wants a refund [laughs]. But I do say that, if you do the work, we can make your writing better, bring it up another level or even more. Revising is the most interesting part of the process anyway.
Odanaka: OK, let's talk about revision.
Brodie: Revision? It's the best part! What is hard is keeping up with everything so you have time for the pure work. I would not be doing my job if I didn't do some of the peripheral things—marketing, going to conferences, meeting agents, reading submissions, negotiating contracts, checking proofs, networking.
But the process of revising—that's the core of the work. I'm not the right editor for someone who thinks every word is sacred and [the writing] doesn't need work. I think everyone has ideas, many people can write, but what makes the difference is who is willing to revise intelligently and revise vigorously. And more than once. I don't run out of energy for revising. I will go as far as the writer is willing to go.
Odanaka: Can you give an example of a slush-pile discovery you have made?
Brodie: In the 1980s, [Barthe Declements'] Nothing's Fair in Fifth Grade, the book of that decade. It was from the slush and it became a genuine bestseller, staying in print for years. That was quite exciting. A [slush pile success] story is heartening, but in a way, it's deceptive.
We get hundreds of manuscripts a week. One day [at Viking], I asked an assistant to actually count [unsolicited manuscripts]. It was 100 a week, 200 a week. In my 22 years at Viking, we probably published a dozen? And of those, only two were truly bestsellers. Statistically, [the number of accepted submissions] is minute. It's so hard for authors, I know. But it's hard on editors to say no, too, and keeping up with the workload is impossible. The happiest moment is a "yes" for both author and editor.
Odanaka: What's a typical day for you?
Brodie: Well, I work at home. Some days, I start at six in the morning, maybe take a break in the afternoon, then work till eleven at night. Other days, I'm taking time off to meet people or even to play. Sometimes the boundaries between work and life blur, but I love the flexibility. Every day is a bit different.
Odanaka: How is Roaring Brook different from other publishing houses?
Brodie: [Pause] Sometimes, there's a failure of courage when you have to answer to a lot of layers of management, and it's hard to try new things, definitely hard to spend enough time developing unpublished authors and illustrators. We have an amazing amount of editorial independence and few meetings, minimal paperwork, so we've been able to focus on a small but eclectic and varied list, trying for edgy teen fiction and an individual approach to art and format. You've seen our catalog, that's all Simon's fresh eye.
The market is tough; it's not an easy time for anyone. But we try to honor our promise to ourselves that we'd do something for every book. When we first started Roaring Brook, our hope was that we'd have no midlist, but that wasn't too realistic. [Midlist] isn't a curse word with us; it's just something that happens. But we do something to promote every book. We're author-centered.
Odanaka: Can you expand on that?
Brodie: It means authors come first. It means we're not looking to publish series. We don't do merch [merchandise].We're not looking for some genre. The writing comes first. We're seeking long-term relationships with our authors.
Odanaka: Sounds great from a writer's point of view.
Brodie: [Laughs] On this side of the desk, it's pretty yummy.
Odanaka: Can you give us some insight as to your taste in books?
Brodie: It's really from one extreme to another. From young baby books that are deceptively simple to middle grade fiction with humor to a book like Target [young-adult novel with both sex and violence] that pushes the limit. We are known for not being afraid. I never say no to anyone who says I want to write about "x." You just have to write it really well and with a point of view that is suitable.
Odanaka: Can you take us through your thought process when editing?
Brodie: When I look at a picture book text, I am not always 100 % sure about what this book can become, so I'm fortunate to have an energetic and thoughtful designer, Jennifer Browne, to brainstorm with. When I look at the manuscript of a middle-grade or YA novel, I know what its potential is. I see what it could become. I'm more sure of my instincts. I'm about potential—that's what I'm about.
But it depends on the book. I try to work with the person the way the person needs to be worked with. Some people must have a deadline or else they can't do it. Others get too panicked with a deadline. One of my favorite things to do is brainstorm with an author or illustrator and find out what they're thinking about, even when they're not always sure themselves. It's a privilege to work with an author at an early stage.
It's a high-energy way of working. Sometimes I know something is there and sometimes I can pull it out of the author. Sometimes we discover it together. Sometimes we're both surprised.
It's what I love. And I hope I'll be able to do it for a long time. I was born to do this work. If I weren't doing this, I'd be a teacher. The nurturing and helping people reach their potential. That's the heart of it.
