Acquisitions Editor Interview ~ Cynthia DiTiberio: Avon Inspire

Cynthia DiTiberio is an acquiring editor for Avon Books new line of inspirational romance, Avon Inspire. She also acquires nonfiction titles for HarperSanFrancisco (soon to be renamed HarperOne), the religious and spiritual division of HarperCollins Publishers. She is based out of their west coast office. Originally from St. Louis , Missouri , Cindy moved out to California after graduating with a religion degree from Wake Forest University . She worked at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church in college ministry before moving into the publishing industry.

Tell us about Avon Inspire

Avon Inspire is a new line of inspirational women's fiction that features the things that matter most to us as women: family, community, faith, and love. These are books that Christian readers can trust, and are for the devoted readers of Karen Kingsbury, Beverly Lewis, and Lori Wick. Readers looking for good stories that embody values they cherish, strengthen their faith, but ultimately entertain.

The first releases include well known women's fiction novelists.

How were these authors chosen to launch the line?

We looked for authors who were beloved, respected novelists whose name recognition would show Christian readers that Avon Inspire was a line to be trusted. We also were looking for authors who with the right marketing and publicity support and distribution could really go to the next level.

In the future, will A.I. acquire newer authors?

You never know where the future will take you, and of course we hope further down the line we can be in the business of finding new talent, but for now we are looking for established authors.

How can a writer submit his/her ms for consideration? (Must it be through an agent?)

We prefer agented proposals. Unless an author is one of the topsellers in the category, I'm afraid we're just working through agents.

Which genres is A.I. acquiring?

Contemporary romance, chick lit, historical romance, romantic suspense, romantic comedy, African American romantic fiction.

Is there a specific word count or special guidelines an author who wishes to write for A.I. need to consider?

Most books we publish will be in the 60,000-90,000 word count range. We don't have specific guidelines authors must follow, but we encourage our authors to keep their reader in mind, thus try to avoid any language or subject matter that might not sit right with the reader.

What is women's fiction?

Women's fiction is many things. It speaks to issues women face on a daily basis, whether it's family (both raising kids or dealing with siblings, parents, grandparents), relationships (both friendship or romantic), finding your way or figuring out where your life is headed. I think often women's fiction is focused more on the interior life of the characters than other kinds of fiction where the action is most important.

What in your opinion makes for good women's fiction vs great?

Great women's fiction is the kind where you find yourself in the pages of the book, you relate to the characters and their struggles, and while you're completely engrossed in the story, you come away from the book with a bit of self-understanding as well.

What does a day in the life of an acquisitions editor entail?

Most people assume that editors sit in a room all day reading. I actually do very little reading in the office (luckily I have an hour and half commute each way by train which is where I get all my reading done). Most of my days are spent keeping up on email, attending meetings about new projects, marketing plans, or cover design, communicating with authors, writing flap copy, talking to agents about potential projects, discussing titles, etc. There's never a slow day.

What's your favorite part of the job?

Working directly with the authors is definitely one of the best aspects of the job. Other than that it's being able to use both the creative side and the business side of my mind in one place. Plus I'm a compulsive reader and the fact that each day I get to be a part of creating more books is a dream come true.

Least?

The fact that I have to turn books down. You always want to be a part of making dreams come true, but unfortunately we have a bottom line and thus often can't take on a project because it is too much of a risk. That's never been easy no matter how many years I've been doing this.

Will you be at any upcoming writer's conferences?

I will be at the International Christian Retail Show and RWA this year. I'll also be attending the American Christian Fiction Writers conference in the fall.

Parting words?

I hope readers will take a look at our first two offerings to see the quality of fiction we'll be publishing. Avon Inspire will publish at least one contemporary novel and one historical novel each season to keep readers of the different genres satisfied. Also, Avon Inspire books will all have discussion questions in the back of the book so use them for your next book club meeting!