Ep. 118: Editing Literary Fiction with Caroline Zancan (Senior Editor at Henry Holt)

<p><strong>In Episode 118, Caroline Zancan, Senior Editor at <a href="https://henryholt.com/">Henry Holt</a>, joins me for another episode in the Genre 101 series — this time with a twist.  Caroline answers behind-the-scenes questions about editing literary fiction, as well as a deep dive into the genre itself.  </strong></p> <p><span id="more-6001614"></span></p> <p><em>This post contains affiliate links, through which I make a small commission when you make a purchase (at no cost to you!).</em></p> <h2>Announcements</h2> <ul> <li>I’d love your feedback on the podcast!  Please take a moment to complete my <a href= "https://www.sarahsbookshelves.com/2022-sarahs-bookshelves-live-podcast-survey/">2022 Podcast Survey</a>!</li> </ul> <h2><strong>Highlights</strong></h2> <ul> <li>How Caroline got into editing: right place, right time, and Craigslist.</li> <li>The varying college degrees, the wide range of colleagues’ previous careers, and whether there’s a typical career path to becoming an editor.</li> <li>The <em>je ne sais quoi</em> factor and determining if a book is for Henry Holt.</li> <li>The entire process of book acquisition at Henry Holt — from determining what books to pursue and bidding on manuscripts to the approval process.</li> <li>Caroline’s preference for dealing with an author’s agent.</li> <li>The execution of a compatible vision for the editor-author relationship.</li> <li>The “right” length for a book and editing big-name authors.</li> <li>What the heck is ‘literary fiction’ and why there seems to be a lack of consensus about this question.</li> <li>Current trends in the literary fiction world.</li> </ul> <h2><strong>Caroline’s Book Recommendations</strong> <a class= "spp-timestamp">[39:19]</a></h2> <p><strong>Two OLD Books She Loves</strong></p> <ul> <li><strong><a href="https://amzn.to/3IY88MD">Lincoln in the Bardo</a> by George Saunders</strong> | <a href= "https://amzn.to/3IY88MD">Amazon</a> | <a href= "https://bookshop.org/a/24569/9780812985405">Bookshop.org</a><img src="https://ir-na.amazon-