Questions for Emily Meehan?

[Rachel-K]

Emily Meehan, Becca's Editor, will join our group for this week only! Please help me welcome her, and please post any questions you have for her by replying to this message!

[tato]

Hi, Emily! It's so nice to have you here with us this week 

I bet you have a tight schedule, so thanks for stopping by and sharing with us.

Okay, my question is, what do you look for on a manuscript? Why did Hush, Hush appeal to you? (Great choice by the way. I really liked the book).

Thanks a lot!

Tatiana

[marciliogq]

Hi Emily,

The author answered in some questions her book was written in 2003 and during this time some editors asked her to change some chapters or situations because they thought the book was a bit similar to Twilight even being written before it. What made Hush, Hush different for you, in a way you got it in your hands and said: "That's the book"?

Congratulations for you and Becca for the nice reading! I'm really enjoying thwe book!

[dhaupt]

Hi Emily and welcome to First Look, Becca's book is great by the way. I've been reading with the schedule so I don't know what happens after chapter 2o right now.

My question for you is - Is it different choosing a YA book opposed to an adult read. Do you include YA's to help choose what will sell or what to publish?

Thanks for being here!

[Rosei]

Hello Emily, and thank you to stop by! I would love to know what about Hush, Hush gave you an insight that it would be worth publishing? Have you suggested many changes, like plot, length, title or characters' names?

Congratulations! I love the book!!

[Zia01]

Hi Emily, I would like to know what was it about Hush Hush that caught your interest? Was it the storyline or the characters or a mixture of both?

[Vermontcozy]

Hi Emily,Good to have you back..If someone asked you this question,I missed it..What has drawn you to publishing,and how did this all happen for you,especially becoming an Editor? What is on your reading list now,and my most important comment...Becca just gets it..she is intuitive,she is a keeper,and I haven't enjoyed a book so much in quite a while..plus she liked "The Jane Austin Book Club" a quirky good read and Carlos Ruiz Zafon.....we will miss her when this open forum is over..I am reading on schedule..sooo hard...VTC 

[GreenFairyLV]

Hi Emily,

Has Becca told you Patch's real name?

[7thgradeteacher]

Were there any or what was the biggest thing about Hush that you felt needed to be changed or improved upon?

Thanks for joining us!

[Emily-Meehan]

Hi, Tatiana,

I'm thrilled to be participating in First Look and thanks for signing up for HUSH, HUSH.

When I'm reading a manuscript, I treat it like I would a book I'm reading for pleasure. If it pulls me in, if the author is a good storyteller and her characters are genuine to me, I want to read more. If I feel the problem areas are fixable in the editorial process, then I take the next steps in pursuing the manuscript. I don't always get what I want, though. In the case of HUSH, HUSH, I consider myself very lucky to have gotten Becca!

Thanks for writing,

emily

[Emily-Meehan]

I, like so many others, have read all of the Twilight books. I was not one of the editors who saw HUSH, HUSH in the earliest stages back in 2003. But, when I did read it for the first time last year, I was impressed with how much better I thought it was than the Twilight books. This, of course, is just my opinion and I hope I'm not insulting any fans out there! I was just really taken in by the manuscript and the way Becca told Nora and Patch's story. It made me swoon and laugh and I just could not put it down and that told me "That's the book!"

Thanks for the great question!

[Emily-Meehan]

Hi, Debbie,

Thank you! I'm really excited to be a part of the First Look program. Thanks for choosing HUSH, HUSH to read!

As for choosing YA, I work in the children's division of Simon & Schuster, so I work on books for the very young (picture books), books for emerging readers (chapter books), books for middle schoolers and tweens (middle grade), and teen or YA. My list is mostly YA because that's what I've found most success in doing. So publishing adult books isn't an option for me. I do read adult books in my free time, and I'd say that my criteria for both what I acquire and what I read in my free time is the same: It must be well-written, it must tell a good story, and its characters must offer me something that I can't get elsewhere. My time, like yours, is precious and I want a book to be an escape, to feel effortless.

I hope this answers your question!

[Emily-Meehan]

Hi! I loved HUSH, HUSH the moment I picked it up. A lot about the editorial process is subjective, and you hope that others like a book as much as you do. I'm glad it seems to be the case with a lot of you.

As for the suggestions I gave to Becca, we did have some editorial discussions, and I did make some suggestions. It's up to the author, ulitimately, to take her editor's advise or leave it. I have suggested many things that authors don't take and I'm happy for it. One thing we did change was the ending. The advanced reader copy you have has a different ending from what will appear in the final book!

[Emily-Meehan]

Hi, Zia,

HUSH, HUSH was an absolute thrill to read. I picked it up and had to stop everything I was doing in order to finish it. In particular, Patch was the character I was really drawn to, who I couldn't get enough of.  I knew I simply had to have this and share it with others. Thanks for the question!

[Emily-Meehan]

Hi!

Good question! I was drawn to publishing because I love books, and in college I was an English major who didn't want to teach. So, my advisor suggested I do an internship with a publishing house. I got accepted into the Scholastic summer internship program and that's how I got started in children's publishing. During Spring Break of my senior year of college, I lined up interviews at publishing houses and flew up to NYC (I went to school in North Carolina) to do the interviews. I was hired at Simon & Schuster and asked to start immediately (the head of the department needed an assistant). I told them I had to graduate first! So, after graduation, I packed up all my things and drove to New York. I started at S&S one week after graduating college and have been here ever since...almost 10 years!

As for what's on my reading list, I just finished The Book Thief and now I'm reading Alice McDermott's After This. I am a HUGE Carlos Ruiz Zafon fan, though have not read his new book. It takes me a long time to read for pleasure because I have so much reading to do for work and I have a 21 month old who keeps me quite busy.

Thanks for the great questions!

[Emily-Meehan]

One word: YES!

[Emily-Meehan]

Thanks for reading HUSH, HUSH! I love hearing what everyone thinks and I'm really enjoying the discussions.

Becca worked on HUSH, HUSH for a long time before it came to me, so it was quite polished by the time it got to my eyes. But, we did have a lot of discussions about her characters and making them as authentic as possible. Actually, in the first draft I saw, the prologue was very short and I asked her to expand it a bit, to give us more of a glimpse into the history and lore of the angel world. Becca is a true pro and any direction or advice I give her, she knows what to do with it. And sometimes she tells me she's not taking it, and that's fine too. I've been wrong more times than I can count. It's a great feeling to know, in the end, our collaboration only made the book the best it can be.

[Vermontcozy]

Thanks for getting back to me.We know how busy its been,in a good way..Your resume is impressive..10 yrs with Simonand Schuster..thats a great accoplishment Emily...Enjoy your baby..as I am sure you have heard a million times..So precious ,and then the 1st day of school..I remember those days so well. I do have a Question..Are you surprised at the amount of non YA are truly loving "Hush,Hush?....we are a huge group of readers,as you know,and for me especially to be able to see so much of myself,my daughter(24 College Grad..Suny Albany and Sage) its amazing..i was forever the risk taker,and my daughter has only inherited the "Good Risk Taker Side" Thank Goodness....In fact a dear BNer friend of mine just suggested "Hunger Games" ..We appreciate your talent in discovering Becca.. Any Book Signigs coming up? Casting Call will be so interesting..Thanks again for your time.. Susan...Will you reveal where you bought yr sweater? ; )

[GreenFairyLV]

Is there any way you can post Emily Meehan's name in a different color when she answers like you do with Becca Fitzpatrick?  I think it would be easier for people reading this section.

[GreenFairyLV]

Emily have you or do you ever want to write a book of your own?