Questions for Kathy Sagan

[Paul_Hochman]

Kathy, Joseph's editor, will be with us for the week. Say hello and ask some insider questions.

Welcome to the group, Kathy!

[bookloverjb85]

Hi Kathy!

There are many conflicting reviews on how this story opens, with the death of Mary.  How did you feel when you first read the opening of this book?  Did it pull you in along with some of us or did you feel a little upset by knowing this ending?

[bookloverjb85]

Kathy,

How did this book come to you?  Did it catch your eye right away?

[judycarr]

Hi Kathy,

Perhaps this is a question for Joseph as well but I am curious as to whether this book is basically the same as the manuscript you originally received or if there were major changes made during the editorial process. If there were major changes made, what did they involve?    I loved the book and am curious as to what it might have been(or was !).  Many thanks for your part in a great read!

[BaseballMomma]

Hi Kathy! I would love to know what you thought of Eternal on the Water when you first read it. I have to admit that I think being an editor seems like a dream job - reading books and being able to say you were a part of the finished product!

[Zia01]

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bookloverjb85 wrote:

Kathy,

How did this book come to you?  Did it catch your eye right away?

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I'm interested in knowing this too. What it one particular thing that caught your eye or was it the whole of the story?

[dhaupt]

Hi Kathy and welcome to our little family ,

I loved Eternal on the Water and I found the title really fit the book.

This is a general question not connected in any way to Eternal on the Water

I have read several books lately, not ARC's but final publications and the editing was horrible, not only things that spell check wouldn't catch, but things it would, even content. It was a book I was judging for a BIG contest and I really felt bad for the author but it was so bad that I couldn't enjoy the book.

My question is this - how do you prevent something like that from happening, and is it becoming more common in your opinion.

Thanks

[Vermontcozy]

Dear Kathy,Thank you so much for bringing Joseph and his Beautiful book "Eternal on the Water".to us.I wish both of you much success..I live in Vt,and have great memories of Maine,not the Allagash,but hope to visit.New Hampshire is also where most of my family lives,so its very familiar to me.For readers who have not visited New England,and the areas that Joseph mentions and describes so well,it seems too me,from reading the posts,that we might have a few more visitors.  When can we expect to see  Josephs schedule of book signings? That would be a great treat for many of us to meet Joseph..I will finish EOTW this week,because I can't wait any longer to learn all that happens.The collaboration between you,Paul,Joseph,and of course Rachel is amazing..Vtc

[maxcat]

Hi, Kathy. I want to know how you felt reading the manuscript for the first time. Did the manuscript grab you as it has for us?

[thewanderingjew]

Hello,
Does the nature of the subject matter make a book more difficult to edit or do you simply approach them all with the same eye?

What is it that you look for when you edit besides glaring errors in type and language?

Do you discuss with the author, whether or not a particular part of the book needs changing, and if so, who overrules in the end about whether it is done? Is it a compromise or is it sometimes one way or the highway?

Thanks, I am just curious.

twj

[Peppermill]

Kathy --  please share with us some of the things that you consider most important that an editor handle with an author, especially those that came to the fore as you handled Eternal on the Water.

Thank you so much for joining us!

Pepper

[Bonnie_C]

Hi Kathy, How much of a boon is it to be chosen for a First Look discussion? Also, what do you and the author hope to take away from all the discussions in the group? Bonnie

[GadgetgirlKS]

Kathy,

Hi! I was wondering what made you pick this book to feature here with the First Look book club?

I have noticed that some books get a lot of hype prior to publication, while others never get any publicity. How does an editor decide which books to publicize more than others?

On a more personal note, how did you get into editing?

Thanks,

Emily

[Deltadawn]

Dear Kathy,

Thank you very much for joining us here at the First Look Book Club!

I (along with many other FL members) am very much enjoying reading and discussing Eternal on the Water immensely! What a wonderful book!

I look forward to reading your replies to the questions posed by the other members.

All the best,

Dawn

[Vermontcozy]

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thewanderingjew wrote:

Hello,
Does the nature of the subject matter make a book more difficult to edit or do you simply approach them all with the same eye?

What is it that you look for when you edit besides glaring errors in type and language?

Do you discuss with the author, whether or not a particular part of the book needs changing, and if so, who overrules in the end about whether it is done? Is it a compromise or is it sometimes one way or the highway?

Thanks, I am just curious.

twj

VtcWrote

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I am looking forward to your answers to all the great questions that  have been asked here...Thanks, Vtc...

[rosia408]

Hi Kathy,

I have never even had a discussion with an editor, and can't even imagine what to ask! I am thinking it must be exciting and yet mundane at the same time to be reading manuscript after manuscript for an occupation. What is it that grabs you as an editor to believe that a manuscript is worth publishing? How difficult is it to suggest changes to an author who has put so many hours into creating a manuscript?

Rose

[Kathy-Sagan]

Hi Everyone

I'm so impressed with the depth of the thoughts and invovlement with the characters that everyone has been posting about Joe's wonderful novel. I have snuck in and posted a few times but am officially here now. Sorry for missing some of the party...

[Kathy-Sagan]

Hi Jen

That's a great question. The first time I read the opening to the manuscript I have to confess I thought, Is this a murder mystery? But since the framing of Cobb telling his back story to the ranger explains the set up  so quickly, and Cobb's voice is so tender toward Mary, I quickly got on board.

 After I bought the novel and in the editing process, though, I experimented with moving the opening scene to the end and beginning with Cobb on the way tot he campground. But it felt as if something was missing then. So I moved it back. Ultimately, I think Joe got it right!

[Kathy-Sagan]

Hi Jen

The book actually came to me through Joe's agent, but as soon as I started reading it, I fell in love with the writing.

I feel Joe has created a vibrant and nuanced  world here that is so alive with nature and the essence of human experience, and the writing itself echoes/reflects one of the main themes of the book, to live life  to its fullest and without compromise. I still think that line by line the writing here is some of the best that has come across my desk.

The characters of Cobb and Mary are so aware, so smart, and so attuned to nature around them, And the creation of the Chungamunga girls seems so perfect I wondered, how did he think this up?  Plus the weaving of myth as well as exploring what it really means to love someone--whether to be selfish and hang on to them as long as you can, or be prepared to let them go, if that is what they wish. It was all very powerful for me.

[Kathy-Sagan]

The novel reads almost exactly as it did the first time I read the manuscript. My only request of Joe was that he write more! I felt that he had created such a wonderful bond between Mary and Cobb, as well as such an appealing "family" with Ben and Wally and Cobb's dad and Mary's mom, brother, and the others, that we wanted to spend more time with them.  We deserved to be with them longer, to see them live happily, independently and with so much creativity. So I suggested adding things like the summer solstice wedding,etc. And Joe did so in a wonderful way, sketching seasons as if years were flying off a calendar.

He himself also experimented with having Cobb tell the ending to us directly, instead of through his conversation with Sarah, the ranger. But again he ultimatley went back to his original version.

The ending still gives me goose bumps every time I read it.  An egg of air... how beautiful...