Hungry for books, even more passionate, crazy, and obsessed with these leafy rectangles, Morgane devoted all her studies to the world of books and publishing. Graduated with a DUT in publishing/bookselling then a Master in editorial policies, she began by working for large publishing houses before setting out on her own as an editor. Classic, logical. Needless to say, Morgane is not content with the skills she has already acquired, she is in search of excellence and embraces everything that can make her more professional. So yes, after having a great meeting, Édith & Nous and Morgane, it quickly became obvious. A message, a call, a meeting and some readings, and here she is Editorial Manager of Édith & Nous . With a sharp eye and keen senses, Morgane reads, discovers and highlights the treasures that authors present every day on the platform, to the great pleasure of the editors to whom she presents them.
Hungry for books, even more passionate, crazy, and obsessed with these leafy rectangles, Morgane devoted all her studies to the world of books and publishing. Graduated with a DUT in publishing/bookselling then a Master in editorial policies, she began by working for large publishing houses before setting out on her own as an editor. Classic, logical. Needless to say, Morgane is not content with the skills she has already acquired, she is in search of excellence and embraces everything that can make her more professional. So yes, after having been a great meeting, Édith & Nous and Morgane, it quickly became obvious. A message, a call, a meeting and some readings, and here she is Editorial Manager of Édith & Nous. With a sharp eye and keen senses, Morgane reads, discovers and highlights the treasures that authors present every day on the platform, to the great pleasure of the editors to whom she presents them.
YOUR FIRST MEMORY OF READING
For my first memory of reading, strangely, I remember neither the title nor the name of the author... I only remember the plot and the front cover with this young girl with blond hair cut in square, on a red and green background, who holds in his hands around ten blackened sheets of paper. She seems to hold them out to a person in front of her, whose hands we only see, who is already holding a few of them, in the same posture as the reader who is holding the novel. The story is that of a teenage girl who writes and whose dream is to present her manuscript to a publishing house. She will therefore throw herself body and soul into this mission, until a publisher agrees to read her novel.
This is, certainly, the first time that the world of publishing presented itself to me, I must have been in primary school. So, I imagine that the discovery of this world found a special place in my mind where it nestled there and that it perhaps started from there, this desire to exercise the profession of editor, because I didn't have the idea until much later, after high school. »
A PROUST MADELEINE
I think without hesitation of Pearl Buck’s Mother . I read it in middle school, I must have been 13-14 years old. Every month, our French teacher required us to read something that we had to take from a list of around fifty works. What's funny is that the choice of this book – the first of the exercise, it seems to me – was recommended to me by my own mother who had already read it. The American novelist tells the story of a young Chinese peasant woman, who encounters the suffering of working in the fields and must take care of her children alone after her husband disappears. She must show great courage and inordinate strength to keep her head high and above water. She ages over the pages, grows calmer and it seems that we age with her, exhausted by the life she has led. I was amazed by the accuracy of his writing, by the finesse and tenderness of his characters and by the depth of truth that was hidden behind. Beyond being dazzled by her story, the author herself fascinated me. Pearl Buck, who spent her childhood and much of her adult life in China, was able to perfectly reproduce Chinese peasant life, describing it with such authenticity that she received the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1938 A few years earlier, in 1932, she was also the first American to receive the Pulitzer Prize for Chinese Land . An inspiring woman, who has long fought for women's rights in Asian countries and has largely transcribed this fight in her work: Pivoine , Empress of China , The Mother , Women's Pavilion , etc.
THE BOOK YOU DREAMED OF WRITING?
The book that I would have dreamed of writing (and which also changed my life, at least my perception of it) is The Madwoman of the House by Rosa Montero. The Spanish author brilliantly succeeded in making me lose my mind in this reading. The genius of his writing is to play with our imagination, to have fun with the different perceptions we have of life. She whispers to us: “So reader, will you be able to disentangle fact from fiction? » And it's fascinating, because she manages to tell us a story in which we enjoy immersing ourselves, without this classic plot that we usually find in novels. She transports us from one idea to another through the mechanisms of romantic passion, dreams and by focusing on the doubts and fears of authors like Melville, Goethe or Tolstoy. Because the imagination, this madness of the house which inhabits us during the creation or reading phase, is indomitable, elusive. We can only be content to feel it floating around us and catch the few scents when it does not intoxicate us. It is ultimately an ode to writing, a captivating but equally disconcerting melody. »
TELL US ABOUT YOUR ROLE IN THE EDITH & NOUS TEAM
On Édith & Nous, several dozen manuscripts are submitted every week. So there is a lot of material! My role is to highlight the nuggets hidden there and to share my discoveries with those of the editors. I therefore try to consult the site regularly to discover and read new arrivals. I take care to go through them one by one, to make sure I don't miss any treasures.
My approach is simple, I start by reading the title, a glance at which is enough for me to qualify it as completely convincing or very questionable. But, of course, I never stop at this criterion alone because the content can nevertheless be brilliant and if the work is to be published, it is the editor who will provide his professional advice for find the perfect title. Then, I read the summary written by the author and I open the manuscript. In general, I always try to read the first ten pages, since in my opinion they are decisive. Then, if the text reveals something in its writing or in its plot (or sometimes in both), I put it aside and reserve it for further reading. Before moving on to the stage where I dig deeper into reading, I often manage to find out for which publishing house I intend to present the manuscript. However, it seems essential to me to push the reading up to 50 or even 100 pages before proposing it to the editors. Once the proposal is sent, I continue reading to be able to discuss it with the editors who can in turn give me their impressions of the text.
My main objective is, in short, to highlight all the texts which are consistent with the editorial lines of the partner publishers and which can lead to publication. I am at the service of both the publishers and the authors whose manuscripts I have spotted on the platform.
WHAT RELATIONSHIPS ARE YOU DEVELOPING WITH THE PLATFORM'S EDITORS
My first approach to the editors was to offer them a telephone meeting so that they could explain to me precisely all the important points of their editorial line. I was thus able to gather their vision of a good publication and the definition of a good text in their eyes. While I was chatting with an editor and we were discussing her literary expectations, she asked me if, ultimately, publishing houses weren't all hoping for the same thing in a manuscript: a singular voice, a personality, a thickness, an original plot, a beautiful pen… I answered him that on the main ideas, yes, in fact the publishers are all looking for that little spark which will further magnify their catalog. But there are subtleties depending on the publishing houses, because they all have a particular identity that they have shaped since their creation. Some people accept texts that require a lot of editorial work before publication, because they believe in what is being said, because despite everything, something has happened. Others are waiting for a revelation, as much in the writing and narrative construction as in the substance of the story. And then, unsurprisingly, there is everyone's sensitivity which is different when it comes to a particular subject, theme, genre or atmosphere in the narration.
Also, I pay particular attention to establishing a relationship of trust with all the partner publishers of the platform. I aspire that they receive the best possible content and that they can integrate it, as a matter of course, into the other editorial projects in their program. I hope to provide them with valuable help in their daily quest. By listening to them, I can get an ever more precise idea of their needs, their desires and their objectives.
WHAT ADVICE CAN YOU GIVE TO AUTHORS TO IMPROVE THEIR CHANCES OF BEING SPOTTED BY AN EDITOR ON ÉDITH & NOUS
“Starting your novel with too long a description does not help the reader get into the story; what grabs the mind is often a thought, an action in its original form. Like when you start a discussion with someone you don't know well, there's always that moment where you try to fill the conversation by talking about the weather. I'm obviously exaggerating, but that's almost the idea. To seduce an editor, the author must present his pen in all its splendor, whether it is very literary, sharp, popular or mischievous, from the first sentences. They must be gripping, gripping, the reader's eyes must dart over the words and their fingers must turn the pages (or skroll them), almost frantically, without realizing that they have already reached the fiftieth page.
Beyond the writing which is the setting of the novel, there is the plot, the subject which is inside and which is waiting for only one thing: to shine. Editors want to be blown away, captivated, intoxicated by a story they have never read. The important thing for a publishing house is to offer its readership a perception that they have never experienced before, of personalities they have never met. Novelty and the unprecedented are, without doubt, the keystone of a successful plot. But, of course, the ideal story is also one that has been lived before being told. Authors, this story or this statement, you must have carried it, pampered it, refined it, pampered it and improved it two, three, ten times. It is a part of yourself that must be taken care of and it is what will bring all the content, presence and depth to your manuscript.
Another important element, that fiction authors have the obligation to refine well and, above all, not to simply skim over, is the construction of the characters. Most of the time (if not the majority of the time), these are the pillars of the work, those who valiantly animate the different chapters. This is why it is important to give them time to reveal themselves, and not, as soon as they are introduced, to subject them to too hasty a description, whether physically or mentally. Curiosity would disappear and so would the mystery since everything would be there, on a few lines.
The last advice I could give to authors is to take care of the dialogues. They often constitute a weakness in the overall narrative, because it is difficult to find the right line at the right time. After all, it is nothing more and nothing less than a spoken moment that we want to transcribe on paper (or on screen). You should therefore not hesitate to read them aloud to get the most out of them.