Faculty Interview: Dana Isaacson

Compiled by Jason Henry

Are you excited? We certainly are! Why shouldn't we be? The 2015 Pikes Peak Writers Conference is just around the corner! It has been an absolute pleasure recruiting the incredible faculty that we have lined up for you this year and the workshops they will be teaching are proving to be just as amazing.

Pikes Peak Writers Conference is known as one of the best and friendliest conferences for many reasons. One of those reasons is that we provide as many opportunities as possible to not only learn from our faculty, but to get to know them. Keeping in the spirit of that very statement, we interviewed all of our faculty members to get inside their heads just a little. Really, we don't see the point in waiting until April. Do you?

Over the weeks to come, we will be posting those interviews along with the responses right here on the PPW Blog. Be sure to check in on Facebook and Twitter as well! We hope you enjoy reading these brief Q&As as much as we have!

Dana Isaacson (Editor, Ballantine)

1. What are the most compelling elements you feel are necessary for a good read? 

Engaging characters and a fast moving plot.

2. What do you see as the pleasures and difficulties of being a writer/artist in today's world? 

The pleasures for a writer are many, but mostly enjoyed in one’s head alone in a room with a closed door and a thrilling plot springing from the imagination.

The difficulties remain as ever: making a living that allows you to eat while trying to express oneself.

3. What is the best career/writing advice someone has given you? 

Keep at it.

4. Would you pass that same advice on or alter it? 

See above – good advice.

5. What do you love most about your career? 

Getting paid to read.

6. What is something you wish everyone knew (or didn't know) about you? 

As a 13-year-old, I won a “Loyalty Day” Essay Contest with my composition “The Right to Dissent.”

7. Which fictional character do you relate to the most, and why? 

Harriett the Spy – I’m nosy.

8. What character would your friends/family pick for you? 

Having a nervous breakdown, a friend visiting New York City during a 100 plus-degree heatwave once called me a “Pollyanna with a pat answer for everything.”

Quick Qs:

Pen or Keyboard? Pencil.

Plotter or Pantser? I have no idea what a pantser is.

Book or E-Book? Doesn’t matter.

Spicy or Mild? Spicy, of course. Bring it on.

Sunrise or Sunset? Sunrise.

Mister Rogers or Sesame Street? Mister Rogers, I suppose. He seemed like a nice man.

Facebook or Twitter? Twitter

Dana Edwin Isaacson is a senior editor at Ballantine Books at Random House in New York City. A veteran of the publishing industry, over the years he has edited non-fiction and fiction books for various publishing houses, as well having worked as a literary agent, an abridger and a co-writer. Presently, he works with authors from Rita Mae Brown to Nancy Thayer to Jonathan Kellerman. He is currently on the lookout for mysteries and thrillers for the eBook line, Alibi.

PPWC 2014 Q&A - DeAnna Knippling

DeAnna Knippling, Author/Editor/Designer
Photo copyright 2010 Elya Martino

1. What was the defining moment that made your realize you wanted to be an author/editor/designer?

Author: It was while I was standing on the surface of the planet Caltrox III, living in the blissful freedom of that terraformed paradise, that I realized that not everybody had the same scope of imagination I did, and I should share it. No, wait, it was right after I cut my thigh- length hair and decided not to be the country western singer Crystal Gayle when I grew up and thus had to do something else.

Editor: You know how you read a book and realize you could write better than that? I became an editor when I realized I could edit better than that. Also, that corporate America will give you a raise if you'll fix their typos.

Designer: Someone told me she'd spent over $5000 to get her book published and was still paying royalties to them. I was like, "No matter how bad I am, that's one fewer person who's getting screwed out of five grand."

2. What is the one thing you cannot work without? What is your creative vice?

Generally, I would have to say I cannot work without my brains. Alas, I often can't find them. And so I have been picking off the retired people on my block and taking bits of theirs. I'm not so much a zombie as I am a vampire for brains, you know? The neighbor across the way eventually had to go to the nursing home, which made me feel bad, but that meant her incredibly annoying dog had to go away to her family, which made me feel good. Now the neighbors who live there are a) pretty young, and b) overenthusiastic about shoveling their walk, raking leaves, etc., which makes me worry that I'm going to get spotted sometime soon.

I also like tea.

3. If you could 'revive' any literary figure from the past for a one hour conversation, who would you choose?

Lewis Carroll--Charles Dodgson. "What were in those missing diary pages?!?" And "That Alice, was she a brat or what?"

4. What is one of your more notable or unusual conference or convention experiences?

One time Stephen Brust tried to pull a coin trick on me, but I caught him doing it. At PPWC, I always have a fun, relatively normal time. It's the people who are picking up the authors/editors/agents from the airport who have the truly great stories. Mine are like, "One time I peed in the next stall over from Carol Berg!" I'm a fangirl.

5. If we asked your friends and family to compare you to a cartoon character, which would they choose, and why?

I asked them. My husband says "Daffy Duck." My daughter says, "Twilight Sparkle." I guess we know who's getting the brownie points today. I wish somebody would pick something like "third cage dancer to the right from Samurai Jack," but they probably won't.

6. What is one thing would you like aspiring authors to know about the road to success?

It's not a road in the sense of you getting onto it in one place and getting off it someplace else. It's more of a road in the sense of the @#$%^& map is outdated, the GPS tries to drive you into a lake, the names of the towns are in worn-out white lettering on half-covered signs during a blizzard, you're hungry and have been driving since 4 a.m. and it's now after midnight, and not only do you keep pulling off the road to take care of emergencies, all your friends, family, and grade school teachers that you're driving around in this Pinto all have world's weakest bladders and need to get out and pee. That is, it's always going to take you longer than you think, and you probably won't get to the town you thought you were going to get to by the end of the day. Also, there's a convention of other writers in town and the rooms are all booked. Get it? Booked...

About the Author/Editor/Designer: DeAnna Knippling has two minor superpowers: speed-reading and babble. She types at over 10,000 words per minute and can make things up even faster than that. She has been officially constrained from drinking Ovaltine per her doctor’s orders since a tragic incident involving a monopoly game, a blender, a cemetery, and a school play at age eight. Her first job was hunting snipe for her father at twenty-five cents per head, with which she paid her way through college; her latest job involves a non-disclosure agreement, a dozen hitmen, a ballerina, a snowblower, three very small robots, and a disposable dictator in South America. If she told you which movie was based on her life, she’d have to kill you. Her cover job is that of freelance writer, editor, and designer living in Colorado Springs, Colorado, with her husband, daughter, cat, more than one cupboard full of various condiments, and many shelves full of the very best books. She has her own indie small press, www.WonderlandPress.com, and her website is www.DeAnnaKnippling.com.

PPWC 2014 Q&A - Terese Ramin

Terese Ramin, Editor, Entangled Publishing

1. What was the defining moment that made your realize you wanted to be an author/editor?

The defining moment when I realized I wanted to be an author took place when I was 9. I went to school with nuns, and they told us we should all ask St. Anthony to help us find our path in the world, so I did. No matter how many times I "asked" the response was always "be a writer." I took that to heart.

The defining moment that made me realize I wanted to be an editor happened when my husband retired and I needed to supplement the family income. ;-) I've always edited - school with nuns teaches you how to do this in a big way - but the hubs' retirement brought it home to me this way: a professional writer who wants to survive in an ever changing marketplace makes use of every skill she has at her disposal to work within her profession and get paid. So among other things, I took up professional editing.

2. What is the one thing you cannot work without? What is your creative vice?

Hmmm... In the morning my creative vice is a cup of coffee (or a latte) and a browse through the internet news. After that it's my Lhasa Apso in my line of sight - so I can make sure he's not finding trouble to get into. Otherwise I'm up checking to see what he's doing and getting No Work Done. He's been my muse for sixteen years (along with every other rescued creature that's come through the door.)

3. If you could 'revive' any literary figure from the past for a one hour conversation, who would you choose?

Madeleine L'Engle or Ray Bradbury. Their work influenced me from the start.

4. What is one of your more notable or unusual conference or convention experiences?

At the very first writer's conference I ever attended I got up the courage to have a New York editor read a passage from something I was working on out loud to a group of other writers at a round table. I hadn't even completed my first book at the time. Although I was terribly untried at the time, the editor complimented my work and encouraged me to keep on with it. Later that day I was in the bathroom and another one of the writers at the table dashed up to me and asked for my autograph. I was completely taken aback (read: shocked out of my mind). She told me she wanted it because she knew I would eventually be someone and she wanted the autograph to show her kids as having met me when. That moment was both thrilling and daunting, but it's also the first autograph I ever signed. You always remember your first.

5. If we asked your friends and family to compare you to a cartoon character, which would they choose, and why?

Lucy Van Pelt (Peanuts), Elektra, or Natalia Romanova. When "the doctor is in" she's way in and generally helpful, but when she's out, boy howdy! Look out.

6. What is one thing would you like aspiring authors to know about the road to success?

The only road to success is perseverance and practice. Practice your writing as often as possible, thicken your skin against criticism, and realize that you are not your work / your writing. The very act of putting your work in front of another person takes courage. Your willingness to refine that work, to make it better, to understand that editing is not an attack on your baby - that's the mark of the true writer, the true author.

About the Editor: Terese Ramin was born to parents who frequently wondered where she came from. A brush with mortality made her pull up her socks and finally finish her first novel. It won the Romance Writers of America Golden Heart Award that same year. She is the author of ten romance and romantic suspense novels, numerous short stories, and the creator/editor/author of the charitable collaboration Bewitched, Bothered & BeVampyred. Ramin joined Entangled Publishing as Editorial Director of Ignite (formerly Entangled Suspense) in June 2013. Prior to this she spent eighteen months editing for Crimson Romance and numerous years as an editorial freelancer for private clients. Ignite is the Entangled imprint for romantic suspense/mystery/thriller novels, but Terese will take pitches in all varieties of romance. Her reading tastes are eclectic, ranging from YA to NA to erotica, romance, mysteries, thrillers, SF/F, literary fiction, and non-fiction – and all of the attendant sub-genres. Aside from writing and editing, Terese works as a ghost writer, a book doctor, and a paranormal investigator. Find her on Twitter at @TereseRamin and Facebook Terese Ramin.

PPWC 2014 Q&A - Terri Bischoff

Terri Bischoff, Editor, Midnight Ink

1. What was the defining moment that made your realize you wanted to be an editor?

After college I started working at an independent bookstore and found that I loved it. After managing at two different bookstores, I learned that my local mystery bookstore was up for sale. I owned and operated that store for five years, selling it for family reasons. I knew I would work again in the book industry, so I would check publisher’s websites for any openings. When I saw that Midnight Ink was hiring an acquiring editor, it was a match made in heaven. Being an acquiring editor was never in the plans, but it has worked out very well.

2. What is the one thing you cannot work without? What is your creative vice?

Music – I usually work with my headphones on – it’s the only way I can block out what is going on around me. That and lots and lots of coffee.

3. If you could 'revive' any literary figure from the past for a one hour conversation, who would you choose?

Hmm… that is a hard question. I think that I wouldn’t choose anyone because I wouldn’t want my idea or image of the character to be altered in any way

4. What is one of your more notable or unusual conference or convention experiences?

I was on a publishers panel with only one other traditional publisher and a bunch of small presses and ebook only publishers. Someone asked how long it takes to get a book published – the other traditional publisher and I said 12-18 months. The ebook only publishers got into a heated, “I can publish it in six weeks.” “I can publish it in three.” It was like name that tune. I could only shake my head and wonder how these publishers are serving their authors. (Don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against ebook only publishing. I do have something against publishers not doing their jobs – editing, marketing, publicity, etc.)

5. If we asked your friends and family to compare you to a cartoon character, which would they choose, and why?

I asked my friends and family, but there wasn’t a consensus. Mostly though, they chose Looney Toons characters. Perhaps I am too hard to pin down.

6. What is one thing would you like aspiring authors to know about the road to success?

The road to publication is long and difficult and needs a little luck sprinkled in. The road to success is even longer and harder. As a writer, you will get better every step of the way. Listen to critical, honest feedback.

About the Editor: Terri Bischoff joined Midnight Ink as an Acquiring Editor in October 2009. She leads all editorial directions and creates the seasonal lists. She has dramatically increased the number of titles per season, publishing 30-36 titles per year, as well as expanded the type of crime fiction MI has published. Terri has a wealth of experience and knowledge in both mysteries and in bookselling, having been involved for 17 years in all areas of bookstore operations, particularly as book buyer and reviewer. She has worked at Kramer Books in Washington, DC, and more recently, Terri owned and operated Booked For Murder Mystery Bookstore in Madison, Wisconsin.Terri is looking for all types of crime fiction, from cozy to suspense/thriller.

PPWC 2014 Q&A - TIffany Yates Martin

Tiffany Yates Martin, Editor, FoxPrint Editorial

1. What was the defining moment that made your realize you wanted to be an editor?

I’ve never not loved words and stories. They’re my first memories. I wrote as soon as I could speak, and I analyzed books and movies as soon as I could reason. I began as a copy editor—which I also loved, by the way, because I think grammar is beautiful (I actually loved diagramming sentences in school)—and then moved into developmental editing, which I love even more because I get to be the handmaiden to an author’s creativity. I’m very, very lucky that I’ve worked in this field for nearly all of my career.

2. What is the one thing you cannot work without? What is your creative vice?

Can’t work without coffee, and my Webster’s Collegiate dictionary. Creative vice…well, until recently I would have said candy corn, as it used to fuel creativity—until an author friend sent me a terrifying list of health issues that it can contribute to. I suppose the worst creative habit I have is that I’m constitutionally unable not to analyze and deconstruct any form of entertainment I’m enjoying, or to not mentally (and, sadly, verbally) correct grammar and spelling in advertisements, signs, documents, etc.

3. If you could 'revive' any literary figure from the past for a one hour conversation, who would you choose?

Max Perkins, in a heartbeat. He was the editor for Hemingway, Fitzgerald, Thomas Wolfe, and so many more. By all accounts a gentleman, a gentle and insightful editor, and a profound fan and champion of authors.

4. What is one of your more notable or unusual conference or convention experiences?

At the Santa Barbara Writers Conference, I stayed with one of the organizers in her incredible home atop a mountain in Montecito. We sat outside overlooking mountains and ocean on their brick patio amid hibiscus and plumbago and frangipani and palm trees, a group of writers, editors, and publishing professionals talking about what we loved most in the world: books. Pretty idyllic.

5. If we asked your friends and family to compare you to a cartoon character, which would they choose, and why?

Ha! Oh, dear, probably Big Bird, because I’m very tall. And I love yellow. J

6. What is one thing would you like aspiring authors to know about the road to success?

I had an author friend of mine—a very successful multi-published Knopf writer—tell me once that the only thing that separated her from many of her unpublished writer friends was persistence. That really stuck with me. If you love writing, do it—in the face of rejection, discouragement, despair . . . keep doing it. You will get better and better, and eventually—I really believe this—you will find an audience for your work, whether that’s a traditional pub contract, or a wide readership as a self-pub author, or some other path we don’t even know about yet. As long as writing feeds your soul and what it offers your well-being is greater than the cost of the hard parts, don’t quit.

About the Editor: Tiffany Yates Martin has worked in the publishing industry for more than twenty years, currently through her editorial consulting company, FoxPrint Editorial, helping authors hone their work to a tight polished draft. As a developmental editor she works both directly with authors as well as through major publishers. As a freelance copyeditor and proofreader, she has worked with several of the “big six” New York publishers, among them Random House, the Penguin Group, and HarperCollins. She holds a BA in English Literature from GSU and is a member of the Editorial Freelancers Association. As a speaker, she has presented editing workshops for conferences such as the Santa Barbara Writers Conference and writers’ groups including Delve Writing, and served as a panel moderator for the Texas Book Festival. She has worked on titles by New York Times best-selling authors and manuscripts for unpublished writers, single titles as well as entire series. www.foxprinteditorial.com www.facebook.com/FoxPrintEditorial