Episode #158: Editorial Assistance with Ruqayyah Daud
Grace and Alvina welcome special guest Ruqayyah Daud, Associate Editor at Little, Brown Books for Young Readers. They discuss what is entailed in terms of assisting and how things have changed since Alvina was an assistant.
Grace mentions selling Hazel’s quackducks art the RISD alumni craft fair, and the recent graduates there who recognized her books from childhood! Alvina talks about the virtual sales conference, life without a car, and physical therapy. Ruquayyah went to a Cold Play concert and learned a lot about Chris Martin in College Park, and she shares her thoughts about the sales conference.
“How did you first decide you wanted to get into publishing and how did you break into the industry?”
Alvina and Grace ask Ruqayyah about her background and how she landed in the publishing industry. Her first full-time job was at Little Brown in 2018. She grew up in the D.C. area and attended grad school at Pace University in NYC.
Ruqayyah walks the book friends through her daily work routine. They talk about some of their favorite parts of their job and some of the challenges. “What part of editing do you like best?” Ruqayyah mentions negative millennial attitude towards capitalism and Grace asks questions about what an author should do if so many people are leaving the publishing industry.
Ruqayyah would like to see more diverse YA fantasy! “What do you wish to see a little but less of?”: Alvina would like to see less picture book biographies that are repeated.
Grace also asks, “What is your publishing dream?”
Fortune Cookie Segment: Social Media!
How important is it that authors are social media? Ruqayyah shares her tips on how she finds aspiring authors. She looks at mood boards on twitter, BookTok, Tik Tok, Instagram and the author’s websites, and hashtags such as #workinprogress #amwriting and #amquerying.
Gratefuls:
Grace is grateful for meeting up with her friends that all live in Northampton; Jarrett Krosoczka, Mike Curato, and Lisa Yee. Grateful that the RISD alumni read her books and remembered them so well. Alvina is grateful for The Bug Bite Thing. Ruqayyah is grateful for the sun shinning in her room!
Thank you for tuning in! Thank you to Hachette Audio, Little Brown Books for Young Readers, and Alex at Pacyworks Studio for producing and editing this podcast. Be sure to rate and review us on Apple Podcasts and tell a friend about us. (Use the hashtag #bookfriendsforever.)
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You can find Alvina @Planetalvina on Twitter and TikTok and @Alvinaling on Instagram
You can find Grace @Pacylin on Twitter and Instagram and @gracelinauthor on TikTok and @authorgracelin on Facebook
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