Interview with Sourcebooks Executive Editor Deb Werksman

 Deb Werksman is the Executive Editor of Sourcebooks, Casablanca imprint. We are excited to have her here today to tell us about what's happening in the industry The good news is submissions to Sourcebooks do not require an agent.

1/ Can you tell us how you got your start in the book publishing business? What were some of the highlights of your career years?

I started publishing a political satire magazine in 1989 called THE QUAYLE QUARTERLY (A Watchful Eye on the Vice Presidency) and started doing books and calendars in 1990. In 1992 I switched to humor and women’s interest and gift books, and Sourcebooks became my distributor. In 1998 I sold the press to Sourcebooks and came on board as a nonfiction and gift book editor. In 2003 I started acquiring fiction, and in 2007 we launched our romance imprint, which has been my focus ever since.

 

2/ Who were some of the authors you helped get published?

I’m excited that we are the print publisher for Lucy Score (and so many others in our Bloom imprint), and Carolyn Brown and Sharon Sala have been publishing with us for many years. We’ve just acquired books by Jill Shalvis, Lauren Blakely and Pamela Kelley. I’m excited about the international bestselling authors we’ve acquired recently who we’re translating into English: Mercedes Ron, Alice Kellen, Elisabet Benavent and Joana Marcus who is a Wattpad sensation, among many others who we’ll be bringing to US audiences for the first time.

 

3/Why an independent publisher? Has Sourcebooks remained female owned? Is that important to you?

The entrepreneurial environment here is extraordinary, as is our culture of Growth Mindset. Dominique Raccah is our owner and we’re agile because we’re independent. I think the whole Sourcebooks experience is what’s important to me, all my colleagues, and to our authors especially. Teamwork and collaboration and agility are important in this overcrowded marketplace.

 

4/Books and readers expectations have changed over the years. What are some of the tried-and-true tropes that continue to attract readers?

The romance category continues to be the trailblazers, and the tropes remain strong—enemies to lovers, second chance at love, friends to lovers, etc. Fans just want fresh takes on the tried-and-true stories and the reading experience that they crave.

 

5/ What are some of the changes you have seen in the publishing world over the years? Any predictions of where publishing is heading next?

Authors as entrepreneurs is one of the huge changes, and of course big changes in the retail space too. The mass merchants (Target, Walmart) are increasing space for BookTok authors and Barnes & Noble has worked hard to make each store more like an independent bookstore with really passionate booksellers serving their communities of readership. Readerships have also fragmented along all kinds of lines—where people buy their books, what formats they prefer, etc. The biggest changes can be summed up as movement away from gatekeepers and towards what readers want.

 

6/ What kinds of stories are you buying and what storylines are selling better than others?

I’m buying New Adult, dark romance, contemporary and small town and romcom, and romantic women’s fiction. Cozy romantasy, romantic suspense (or strong suspense element), LGBTQIA+. My colleagues are experts in Romantasy, and that’s super hot right now.

 

7/the words high concept   stories are what publishers say they seek. What does high concept mean to you?

To me high concept means a hook I can sell with in 2-3 sentences, that has appeal to a broad readership.

 

8/Are you accepting unagented submissions?

Yes!

 

9/ Any predictions as to where publishing is heading next?

I think we need to watch readers and see what they’re doing, what they want, what life experiences they want to read about. It’s all about readers and fandom and that’s only going to get stronger.

 

10/ Changing directions. What do you do for fun?

Yoga and knitting, and when audiobooks made it possible to read (listen) and knit at the same time that was life-changing. Now if I could only figure out how to read, knit AND do yoga all at the same time…

 

12/ Before you leave us, are there any words of wisdom for those who continue to write and would prefer to be published traditionally?

I know it’s been said a million times, but the most important thing is to write the best book you can, and to figure out your own schedules/rhythms/processes that work for you for your writing. You’re going to need to market, whatever way you choose to publish, so be sure to start thinking about where your strengths lie in that domain, and start doing what you need to do to get comfortable and happy connecting with readers.

 

13/ What’s next for Deb Werksman?

I’m ecstatically happy acquiring for Sourcebooks—what’s next is to expand my horizons and make as many authors successful as I possibly can!

 https://www.sourcebooks.com/