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BIO
I have been in the book industry since 2013, having worked previously as a bookseller in an indie store in Chicago; at a book distributor in their sales department, working with the corporate buyers from Barnes and Noble and Books-a-Million; as well as holding an editorial associate's position at an academic press. I am the Acquisitions Editor for one nonfiction and one fiction imprint at Chicago Review Press: Lawrence Hill Books and Amberjack Publishing.
WHAT INSPIRED YOU TO BECOME AN EDITOR?
To be honest, being an editor is the only thing I’ve ever wanted to be, outside of an author. I used to edit my friends’ and family’s papers for fun as a kid; I was always helping people with words in some way, shape, or form, and collecting journals for future stories. But really, the impetus of my wanting to be an editor happened when I was fourteen. I had finished Robert McCammon’s SWAN SONG and Anne Rice’s THE VAMPIRE LESTAT in a back-to-back reading binge and a lightbulb in my head just went off. I said “This. This is the industry I have to be a part of. I want to find stories and help authors and work on books like this!” And I’ve been on this path ever since.
WHAT’S REWARDING ABOUT BEING AN EDITOR?
There’s a ton of rewarding things about being an editor, but my favorite thing is what I call That Sparkly Feeling. It’s that moment when you’re either reading a proposal or a draft manuscript or submitted edits and everything in me just says “Yes. This is it. This is exactly it.” Just knowing that the project you have on your hands is special, that you’re excited about it, that you get to work with an author who is just incredible…it’s the best feeling in the world.
WHAT DO YOU FIND CHALLENGING ABOUT BEING A BLACK EDITOR IN PUBLISHING?
Being heard. There are times where I, in a room full of non-Black people, have to say, “This topic is important to my culture because X” or “That’s not how Black hair works” or “That may be how you operate in the world, but for Black folx it works like Y”, then not being believed or disregarded. It’s tough and frustrating, but I do it for the Culture. I do it for Us. And I always will.
WHAT ARE THE TOP 3 THINGS YOU LOOK FOR IN A SUBMISSION?
Voice, Prose, and, frankly—salability. Publishing is a very subjective business, which can be frustrating to many of us, but I try to keep in mind these three things at all times. Does this author have something to say that strikes me and others? Is the writing itself workable, if not beautiful, in a way that the readers’ interest will be maintained? And, because we are, again frankly, in the business of making money, is this book either following a trend or filling a hole in the market that implies that sales will be healthy?
WHAT KEEPS YOU MOTIVATED IN PUBLISHING?
Seeing us succeed. Seeing more and more Black folx on the shelves and getting accolades, and being best sellers, and just having our books, and words, and ideas available on the shelves for people to enjoy. This wasn’t a thing when I was a kid. As I was reading, I often changed characters to be Black just to feel slightly included. But to now have so many characters who look like us? It makes my heart sing, and it gives me the strength to keep going in this industry.
WHAT’S AN EXISTING BOOK (CAN BE A CLASSIC) YOU WISH YOU HAD THE CHANCE TO EDIT?
The Taking of Jake Livingston by Ryan Douglass. In a heartbeat. I WISH I could have edited that book. Would have been so fun!
WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR WRITERS ON SUB?
Publishing is a marathon, not a sprint. And rejection is, unfortunately, common. We often see more of people’s successes online than we do the heartbreak and the dejection, the rough patches. But you are out here, doing it, putting your work and your words out there. You’re on sub! That’s such an incredible achievement already! It takes time to get where you want to be in this industry. As an editor, I too have had many moments where I was constantly thinking “What in the world am I doing?” But I can guarantee this: it’s better to receive a pass by an editor or press, than to be accepted by a company who is just “meh” about your work. Wait for the joy and the excitement and the connection from an editor; they will champion your book to the ends of the earth, and that is the kind of editor you want. You want not just a book deal, but you want the right book deal.
FUN QUESTION! TIME FOR A BLACK PUBLISHING BLOCK PARTY! WHAT SONG(S) MUST BE ON THE PLAYLIST?
I gotta represent my early 2000s Alt Black Kid roots, so I have to say Bodies by Drowning Pool, Down with the Sickness by Disturbed, Bring Me to Life by Evanescence, Ripped Apart by DevilDriver, and Rose of Sharyn by Killswitch Engage. Someone come headbang with me!
WHERE CAN PEOPLE FIND YOU?
TWITTER: @AliciaCSparrow