So You Want to Edit an Anthology?
Wonder how to put together and publish an anthology? Check out the Q and A with author Andi Buchanan, who recently published It’s a Boy: Women Writers on Raising Sons.
What was the most challenging aspect of compiling the anthologies?
Well, aside from the usual challenge of finding enough time in my day to accomplish anything other than mothering, I think the hardest part was just being organized and dealing with all the business things – working out contracts, dealing with agents … just getting to the post office to mail stuff with two kids in tow! (Though I had a wonderful intern this summer who helped ease that burden.) I really enjoyed editing the pieces and seeing the books take shape.
In your opinion, is the anthology market “hot” right now or are anthologies a hard sell?
Hard to know. When I was shopping around Mother Shock, which as you know started out life as a proposal for an anthology, I was told many times over that anthologies didn’t sell and in general are not a great investment for a publisher. But since then and now, we’ve seen books like The Bitch in the House and Mothers Who Think do quite well. And I discovered when I was interviewed for a New York Observer piece last spring that evidently we’re now in the midst of an “anthology orgy.” So, when I tried it before, anthologies weren’t hot enough, and now that I’m doing three, they’re so hot they’re pretty much burned out. Who knew? I really think you just have to write the book you need to write, whether it’s hot or not.
You can find more of Andie’s insights here.
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