Algonquin’s Kathy Pories on Editing The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry

April’s #1 Indie Next List pick, The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, hit store shelves on Tuesday backed by a wave of enthusiastic support from indie booksellers. Here, Algonquin Books’ Kathy Pories, editor of The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry, provides a behind-the-scenes look at the editing process surrounding author Gabrielle Zevin’s manuscript, from the moment it landed at Algonquin to the rave reviews the galley has received from booksellers.

Bookselling This Week: How were you introduced to Gabrielle Zevin’s manuscript? What were your initial feelings about it?

Kathy Pories: Her agent, Doug Stewart, sent it out to a number of editors just after everyone had returned from the Christmas holiday break, saying that reading it was a good reminder to all of us of why we were in this business and what we loved about it. And he was right! I read it in just a few hours, and I confess that it made me cry. This is a hard sign to ignore when you’re reading a book as an editor; it usually means you have no choice but to try to buy that book.

BTW: What about The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry spoke to you so strongly that you wanted to acquire it above other manuscripts?

KP: Aside from the tears, I felt most of all that Gabrielle Zevin’s book was smart and witty; that though it was compressed, it was not simplistic. It was wise about what books do for us and how they connect us to others. The characters were so endearing. A.J. himself is just the kind of cranky man that I love. It rang true. It had that feeling of a book that you wanted to press into someone else’s hands immediately.

BTW: Was there competition for the manuscript? How did you make sure this one didn’t get away?

KP: Actually, it almost did get away. The book went to auction, and we were the under-bidder, and so we saw the book go to another house. But a few months later that editor left that house, and so Doug (great agent that he is) came back to me and asked if we were still interested in publishing Fikry and the answer, of course, was yes. Talk about a serendipitous moment.

BTW: What was Gabrielle’s reaction to Algonquin picking up Fikry?

KP: She was very happy. When you read the book, you can see why Algonquin is actually just the right fit for her book. We really are a lot like Knightley Press [the publisher Fikry interacts with in the novel], always steadfastly believing in our books, no matter how the publishing landscape is looking. Not to mention that we have a very close relationship with our sales reps.

BTW: Tell us about the editing process.

KP: The best thing about working with a smart writer is that you don’t have to tell them very much for them to know what you mean. I asked Gabrielle to expand scenes here and there, and she knew what I meant immediately.

BTW: What was the process for designing the cover? Were there other designs that we’ve never seen?

KP: Our art director sent it out with her notes for what she was envisioning, and based on the amazing jacket that we ended up with, I think we could all see that the designer just felt inspired by the story. I think nearly every design we saw on this book was beautiful (the U.K. cover is also great!), so it was really hard to choose.

BTW: The story obviously speaks to booksellers and book lovers. What other readers do you hope to see it reach?

KP: That’s true, but I think it really speaks to anyone who loves to read. Based on the reviews we’re seeing on social networking sites, it’s appealing to all kinds of readers. I keep seeing comments about the universality of the story, about what it has to say about love, friendship, sorrow, romance, and writers (both good and bad ones).

BTW: How did you go about getting booksellers on board and collecting their endorsements for the galley copy? What pre-publication work did you do to generate excitement?

KP: We all had a hunch that the booksellers would love this. And Algonquin has always had a really strong relationship with booksellers. So we sent out as many galleys as we could early on to the booksellers. That was really it! I mean, the booksellers were the ones whose enthusiasm vindicated our sense of this book. It’s one thing to get excited in house, but when all of the booksellers — all of whom don’t mind being honest with us, ever — told us how much they love the book, then we just wanted to send it out to even more booksellers.

BTW: Do you have a hand in the marketing of the book? What are your plans to get Gabrielle out promoting the book?

KP: As the editor, I don’t play a role in marketing. But we have Gabrielle scheduled for a nice-sized tour, as she is so engaging and funny, and so many bookstores wanted to host her. We’ve also been nicely surprised by all of the ingenious promotions that bookstores have come up with, so inspired are they to sell the book: The Book Frog [in Rolling Hills Estates, California] built a display with a baby in it; Rakestraw Books [in Danville, California] offered customers free delivery — and has already sold out of their stock. Anyway, we have stoked the fire, but it’s the booksellers who have really fanned the flames for this book — more than I can ever remember happening with any other book!

To learn more about The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry and Gabrielle Zevin, read BTW’s Q&A with the author.