Acquisitions, "The Numbers," and How Editors Make Them Work, with Macmillan Editor Rachel Diebel

Summary: In this episode, Macmillan editor Rachel Diebel walks us through how acquisitions work at Macmillan, why the numbers aren’t always the determining factor (and what “the numbers” means), and submission guidelines (and what you should think if you are on submission for months). We also discuss imprints within imprints, publishing in quarantine, and her least favorite thing about the industry. Rachel is an editor at Feiwel & Friends (an imprint of Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group), acquiring middle grade, young adult, and graphic novels. Broadly, across all categories, she is always looking for commercial fiction with a unique voice, a great hook, and characters she wishes would be her real-life best friends. She always wants projects by and about people from a marginalized background, and is a huge fan of stories that feature found/chosen families. Timestamps: 10:45: How she approaches rejections 11:42: How acquisitions meetings work at Macmillan 14:46: We talk about "The numbers," and what that means