Today I chat with Rachel Donadio, writer and editor at the New York Times Book Review, formerly of the Observer. I learn the hard way that unlike at the Chicago Tribune, the book-related section at the Times is not called "The Book Section." D'oh.

How do the editors at the Books section decide which publishing industry news belongs in the section and which belongs in the Business/Media sections?
I'm not quite sure what you mean by the "Books section." At the New York Times Book Review, which is edited by my boss, the inimitable Sam Tanenhaus, we're only responsible for the reviews and essays you see in our pages each Sunday. It's generally understood that the Arts Section and Business Section of the paper handle all the hard news and more time-sensitive features. We can't accommodate any breaking news at The Book Review since we actually close ten days before our publication date. That's because we're the only section of the Times with its own subscribers, who receive the Book Review on the Monday before the Sunday it lands on doorsteps across America. While I and my editor colleagues at The Book Review are entirely separate from the news sections of the paper - and from the critics who appear in the daily Arts Section - we plan far in advance and try to be as timely as possible with our reviews. By temperament and because I can't really break any news on our schedule, in my reported essays I like to let things percolate for a while and then circle back, taking a more oblique angle and placing things in a broader context. When I was a reporter at The New York Observer, a weekly newspaper that places a premium on the individual writer's voice, the editor, Peter Kaplan, liked to remind his staff that there are different kinds of scoops: you can be the first to break a story, but you can also turn a story into a scoop by the force of your insights.

Do you think that 'fratire' will come close to having the sort of commercial success that 'chick lit' has?

I think it depends on how you define "fratire" and "chick lit." Sometimes the only thing that separates a chick lit or lad lit novel from a literary novel is marketing. It's a fine line between targeting a readership and pigeonholing an author. It's said that the majority of book buyers in America are women, but I have no idea what that might mean for the success of "fratire."

How does the Books section view Young Adult writing--does it belong in the children's section or does it get to sit at the 'big kids' table?
The Book Review reviews young adult books in the children's section, which appears about once a month and is edited by my terrific colleague Julie Just.

Have you written much fiction? Do you think that working so much with other people's literature makes it easier or harder to create your own?
I haven't written fiction since high school. As a writer and editor at the Book Review, my job entails reading books, interviewing writers, writing on publishing and culture and assigning and editing book reviews. I think the only training for writers is to read and write as much as humanly possible. The rest is commentary. You don't want your reading to cause a kind of paralysis - how could I ever live up to so-and-so's writing? What's the point? - but nor should you think you can write with authority if you don't know anything. I love getting lost in the byways of my reading and reporting. Often my favorite part of the assignment is the reading and extensive interviewing that's not overtly visible in the final product. My philosophy is it's only over-reporting if you don't meet your deadline!

As certain methods of book promotion wane, which new ways, in your opinion, have been most effective?
Whether a review helps sell a book is a matter of some debate these days. Publishers say their money is better spent on in-store placement for books instead of print advertising, and fewer ads means fewer pages for book reviews in most book sections in the country. But reviews are essential for the historical record, and also for generating important word of mouth. The web has become an extremely important means of book promotion and discussion. I think bloggers help promote books, either by praising or burying them. Books have several lives. When they're just out of the gate, television, radio and book reviews can help a book catch on quickly, but a book really lives on in paperback, and that's where word of mouth, book groups, blogs, reviews, on-line used booksellers can really help.