FORGIVENESS AT MASS (MARKET)
Yesterday I wrote to a fantastic editor, Steve Meltzer, at Dutton, who I had gotten in touch with through Brad Meltzer (yes, Meltzer and Meltzer, though they’re not related). Anyway, Steve had read an early, early version of THE DISAPPEARED and I asked if he’d want to see how far it had come. Like I did with Kristin, I pasted the first chapter into the email as evidence of this.
Steve said he dug how the book had changed, but that it wasn’t right for Dutton. And he gave me an interesting reason as to why. His exact words: “This book has more of a feel of a mass market original. I think that is the way to go.”
And I was like, huh? Mass market original? I totally didn’t get it, or why a mass market original wouldn’t fit with Dutton’s books. I looked up “mass market book” then “mass market paperback” online and found a link through answers.com. What I can gather is that mass market paperbacks or trade paperbacks are soft-cover books that get really wide distribution – bookstores, airports, etc. Like a soft-cover John Grisham or a straight-to-paperback romance. Why wouldn’t Dutton want that? Because they’re in the business of publishing books like MY SIDE OF THE MOUNTAIN, which will garner awards, even while they might not have appeal across such a wide audience. And hey, as much as I’m proud of THE DISAPPEARED, I also realize it’s not Newberry material.
If anyone has any insights about mass market originals or if anyone can give further insight into this situation, I’d love to hear from you.