Donna Maree Hanson, Author, Phd in Creative Writing

I am pleased to present you with an interview with Russell B Farr, from Ticonderoga Publications, which has been in print since 1996. So Ticonderoga has published 25 titles, with a focus on SF, fantasy, horror, dark fantasy, paranormal romance, and related genres. With Ticonderoga Russell has published, single-author short story collections, multiple-author anthologies, The Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror anthology series. Russell says he is currently looking for genre novels.
Ticonderoga Publications can be found here.

Why did you become an editor?

RF: It seemed like a good idea at the time. Seriously. I was fortunate to be hanging around with the Eidolon editors Jeremy G Byrne, Jonathan Strahan, and Richard Scriven. I saw the great work they were doing and how essential they were to the genre in Australia at the time. In the mid 1990s, Eidolon were the quality flagship for short genre fiction in Australia. This coincided with me finding myself bringing out Howard Waldrop as a convention guest. Jonathan suggested that I could do a chapbook as Howard had very little in print in Australia at the time. Out came Custer’s Last Jump, by Steven Utley and Waldrop, with a cover by the pre-Academy Award winning Shaun Tan.

Somewhere in the process of lugging boxes around I thought it was fun, so I asked Steven Utley if he’d be willing to let me do a collection of his work. Utley is a remarkable short fiction writer, a world-class master of the field, but sadly under-appreciated. I remember vividly writing at the top of a draft contents list: “Over 25 years of writing and it takes a 23 year-old punk in Australia to make his first collection”. I think it was much later that I told Steven how old I was when I approached him.

From there it kind of steamrolled, and I was able to publish the first collections by Simon Brown, Stephen Dedman and Sean Williams (Sean’s was his first full-length collection, having first been collected in a chapbook by Bill Congreve’s Mirrordanse in 1994).

I took a few years off from books at the start of the last decade, working at webzines, moving house about 30 times, doing other stuff. In 2005 I was invited to be a guest at the 2007 SwanCon, and felt a little embarrassed I hadn’t done enough to deserve this. Something snapped in my brain and I was soon talking to writers about an anthology project, and before I knew it I was on the phone asking Simon Brown for his collection of Iliad-themed stories, Troy.

Since then my wonderful, creative and especially tolerant partner Liz Grzyb has come on board and we’ve published a further 18 titles, including work by Terry Dowling, the late Sara Douglass, Kaaron Warren, Angela Slatter, Lucy Sussex, Lisa L Hannett, Justina Robson, Lewis Shiner, in addition to numerous anthologies and a Year’s Best Australian Fantasy & Horror anthology.

At the end of the day, editing for TP is still the full-time job I come home to after my daytime full-time job. This may change over the next 5 years, but has certainly been the case for the last 16.

What is the most important aspect of your editing role?

RF: Everything. I have control-freak, perfectionist tendencies, and so for me every stage of the process is important. It’s important to get the writers onside early and keep them onside, as a happy, satisfied writer is essential to the whole process, including in marketing. The book – the product, if you will – has to look good. I picked up early from the Eidolon crew that if indie press isn’t going to be able to compete with large press for price, it can and should be competitive when it comes to quality. Good covers, good paper stock, attention to detail with what goes on every page, you will rarely find a widow or an orphan in a Ticonderoga book (there are occasional pages that refuse to comply but these are well and truly the exception). The contents have to stack up, each story should be able to justify its inclusion. Talking to readers is important, finding out what they liked and didn’t like.

Which areas of editing to you find the most enjoyable?

I guess I’m happiest when I’m bringing the whole package together, when the cover art is falling into place, the look and feel of the book is coming together, the stories are almost finished, I’ve got a happy writer I can bounce ideas around with, I’ve got Liz looking over my shoulder spotting what I’ve missed, when I can see the virtual product in my mind. At this point the book never gets better, it’s my happy place.

At this point, I can usually reflect happily (or at least with a smile) everything that has led to now. I can bring together what I’ve discussed with both the writer and with Liz, so I have an idea of what we’re all looking for. I want to produce something that the writer will be at the very least pleased with, if not somewhat stunned at the realisation that their words and thoughts are materialising into a solid form.

Once this point is passed, reality drifts back in, and things like deadlines start to reappear. And the finished book rarely totally realises my ideal, though they are getting closer. Seeing a stack of books together is as close as it gets – and that stack represents work, boxes to shift, books to pack and post, stock to track, and so on.

In your view can editing be taught?

RF: I don’t know. I certainly believe that it is a learned skill, but from my experience it does require a certain predisposition to loving books and language. I think I’m not the best person to be teaching editing, as I find a lot of what I now do is more intuitive and I’m not always great at communication intuitions.

I certainly don’t believe that doing a course and getting a certificate at the end of it makes a person an editor. Much of the process involves learning on the job, learning from mistakes, developing as a person.

How do you define the editing role?

RF: I think as an editor/publisher at an indie press with a total staff of 2 part-timers, there isn’t the luxury of strictly defining roles. I’m not really strongly in favour of trying to do this – if a box of books needs taking to the post office they won’t move themselves. No job is below me and no job is above me.

I think even in a larger organisation, editors should take a wide view of their role, something like whatever needs to be done in order to get books out of writers’ heads and into the hands of readers.

What do you look for when employing an editor or working with an editor?

RF: I’m not the best at playing with others, so am yet to really find the ideal mix for someone to collaborate with as an equal on a project.

When I’m looking for editors to take on projects for TP, I’m looking for people I respect – to the point of being able to have a respectful heated discussion if necessary. I like to work with editors who have ideas, drive, enthusiasm and a good knowledge of the genre. I’m happy to work with someone who may not have a great deal of editing experience if they have a passion for and knowledge of the genre. I think I’m good at this as we’ve managed to bring on board some fantastic editors – Liz Grzyb, Talie Helene and Amanda Pillar.

What areas of editing do you find most challenging?

RF: I think the biggest challenge is growth. We started small, a couple of books in a big year, and records of almost everything could be kept in my head with the help of a couple of spreadsheets, a diary and a couple of napkins. Now I’m looking at whether to upgrade to specialist publishing accounting software to keep track of royalties on 8 titles per year, dealing with transactions in 3 currencies, or if our current systems are suitable. Finding the time to investigate these things takes time and focus.

At the same time I’m thinking if I should be buying books that won’t see print until 2014 (even with our 8/year schedule), balancing our titles across genres and formats, tracking review and other promo copies, getting books into the hands of the right advocates.

Growth also brings the challenge of making every writer know that we love and respect their work, the love to share does grow accordingly but I’d like to make sure that we continue this. No one writer is less special to us than any other when it comes to getting our books out and noticed, or when it comes to treating all writers in a respectful and professional manner. I hope we succeed at this.

What do you find rewarding about editing?

RF: Seeing a row of the same book, spines out. I think some books only become real at that stage, and I do put a lot of effort into our spines. Having a writer tell me that I’ve somehow contributed to their creative process, making their work better through my input. Having a reader tell me that they’ve enjoyed a TP book, or seeing someone recommend a TP book to one of their friends. Getting a cover design right. The little creative touches I’m able to add to books. The feeling I get from writers trusting me with their ideas and visions. Putting a book in the post is a wonderful grounding experience, knowing that at the other end is someone who has chosen to buy a book I’ve been involved in putting together (there are probably only a select few who buy a book because of my involvement – a handful who seem to trust my taste regardless of wherever it takes TP – but for all the others I just feel privileged to have been part of the process).

Books are a reward, ebooks included. Each book is a little package of a writer’s ideas, visions, thoughts and feelings, broadly or narrowly filtered through an editor, and then wrapped up in a form that should be pleasing to all interested parties. I’m involved in bringing incredible talent and creativity into the world. I like that.

Do you have any advice to aspiring editors?

RF: Love books. Love words.

For new entrants to the market, where is a good place to start in the editing field?

RF: I guess work out what you’re good at and what you want to do, and look for suitable roles accordingly. Don’t start an indie press, really, don’t. Cat Sparks is probably the only editor in Australia who started that way and now makes a living from working with books (as separate from writing), and she does that with 2 different editing jobs. There are a number of reasons why someone would want to start an indie press (wanting to dispose of an embarrassing fortune, certifiable insanity, a pathological love of books, a dislike of relaxing and doing nothing, the inability not to do it), but wanting to gain a foothold in the industry isn’t one of them.

I think the most important thing is the love of books and the desire to get books into the hands of readers. If you have that, then pursue this wherever it takes you.