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An Interview with Cynthia Black, Publisher and Editor by Connie Hill

Cynthia Black is co-owner with her husband, Richard Cohen, of Beyond Words Publishing Co. Cynthia is co- author, with Deborah Levine Herman, of Spiritual Writing, From Inspiration to Publication. Their book is a great resource to help an author get a spiritual book published. You'll find such topics as developing credibility, staying humble, a good hook, outlines, publishers and agents, book proposals, avoiding rejection and more.

CH: Hi Cynthia. Let's talk about how you got into this world of books.

CB: I was an art major in college. When I graduated I was offered a job as an Interior Design Coordinator for a condominium project. Soon they asked me to help sell real estate.

After I got my real estate license I started selling luxury condos on Maui. Later I moved to another company, became a broker incharge and built my "dream house. " After getting divorced I sold my house and I decided to travel and while traveling I met my current husband, Richard, on a blind date. Once we met we have been together every since. Early in our relationship we traveled to Nepal, trekked in the Himalayas and listened to spiritual teachers. Then one day, out of the blue Richard got a call from a National Geographic photographer who said he was on a meditative walk and heard a voice that said "Call Richard Cohen about publishing your book." He didn't even know Richard.

CH: Had Richard done anything in publishing?

CB: No, nothing at all. The gentleman mentioned "the voice" to his sister who knew us and gave him our phone number. Richard thought "either this man is crazy or he's heard the 'big voice. '" Incase it was the 'big voice' Richard didn't want to get to heaven and have God say "Well, I sent you an opportunity and you didn't take it." So Richard said "I'll be happy to look at your photography, but I don't know anything about publishing. If you can find a publisher, I'll give you some business advice."

Two weeks later the photographer found a publisher and asked Richard to come to the meeting. That was the beginning. Richard formed a partnership with the publisher to produce two books. They were high-end, photography books. We didn't know what we should do in publishing and our partner, little did we know had never made a profit before. But these two books won incredible awards for design and quality and really set a standard for our company.

What we didn't know about publishing is that you have to produce new books every year. After we learned this new books started coming to us. Our business started in 1983 with the coffee table books. We've tried things that many other publishers had never tried. Our guiding principle: Beyond Words, the name of our company means what it says, beyond the words. This sentiment is formalized into our mission statement: "Inspire to Integrity" which means to us inspiring people through words and images to a place of wholeness in their lives. Next year we will celebrate our 20th anniversary.

CH: Congratulations! Had you and Richard planned to work together?

CB: No, that just happened. We enjoy it and compliment each other. We're both visionaries. I'm more on the inspirational sales side having ideas and putting them together. Richard is on the sales and marketing side. He loves listening and selling.

CH: Is Spiritual Writing the first book you have been a part of?

CB: No. Our Turn, Our Time which is a collection of women's writings from women 50 and over was the first. Also, Mid-life Clarity, which was limited to women 40 and up. Between the two Spiritual Writing came out.

Deb Herman talked to me a couple of years ago about Spiritual Writing. I told her there was a need for a book like that. We receive so many submissions from writer that don't know how to position themselves so that their book will be attractive to an editor or an agent.

CH: What does an editor do?

CB: It depends on what kind of editor. There are different editors in a publishing house. There's the Editor-In-Chief, who oversees all of the editors in the house and decides the direction of that house or imprint of a larger house. Then the Managing Editor, who oversees all of the projects.

Then we have a Developmental Editor who works closely with the author to help develop books. Not all publishing houses do this, but we do. Sometimes we have a book that has a great idea, but the writing is not up to par, so we work with the author if we feel that there is something to work with. It's challenging to find someone who is a fabulous writer and presenter at the same time. There's a chapter on editors in the book.

CH: I'd assume you have people sending you books all the time. How many do you get in a year.

CB: In a year we get about 3-4000. That's about 250/month. Out of that we publish about 20 books/year. So the odds are very small that you are going to get published. Having the absolute best proposal is very important.

CH: In your workshop do you talk about proposals.

CB: We bring samples so people can see what works and what doesn't. I like to show people what doesn't and what causes us to pay attention. We also bring samples of query letters.

CH: I liked what you suggest in your book about needing to boil your book down to 57 words. That seems really difficult.

CB: You have to be able to do that. If you got on the elevator with Oprah and you are between floors, how would you describe your book before she gets off at the next floor?

CH: So she'll want it!

CB: Yes. You have 30-45 seconds. Most spiritual writers have a difficult time doing that--getting it down the essence of their book but this daunting task is possible.

CH: I'd imagine one of the most important thing in your book is that what one would do for a spiritual book is very different from what one would do in other non-fiction markets.

CB: What an author needs to know for spiritual writing is that other non-fiction writing is really different and you have to be clear about the differences. A lot of people think spiritual writing is just new age writing. I think it is important for an author to try to position their book as broadly as possible. I talk about the book Cultural Creatives that defines a group of 50 million people who are very open to a lot of spiritual writing. If someone positions their book as a new age book and uses that kind of woo-woo language, they are loosing a huge audience who would never even consider your book.

CH: When you come to New Renaissance Bookshop you will be teaching a workshop on your books and doing 15-minute pitching sessions. Is there anything you would like to say about either of these?

CB: The workshop is going to be fabulous and my developmental editor, Jenefer Angell is going to be working with me on it. She was an editor at Simon and Schuster. Jenefer has both the large house and small house perspective so she can share that. A lot of people are really curious about the difference because there's an image of what it's like and she can share the reality with you. I think people will come away with much more clarity about their project. You'll come away with some concrete ideas that will help you to put together your proposal and get your book published. The consultations are fabulous. You get our full attention and in 15 minutes we will give you some fabulous advice that will help you in even more specific ways.

CH: And you two know your stuff!

CB: Yes we do! It's a natural thing for us and we love to share it. Also, since we did this same thing last year at your store we have been talking to several of the authors and some published books may come out of those contacts. The pitching sessions are a unique chance to sit down with an editor and receive great feedback about your idea. It's difficult to get. You don't get editors to call you back.

CH: Cynthia, this has been so much fun! Thank you for taking the time for this interview.

Connie Hill works at New Renaissance Bookshop and is a local astrologer. She can be reached at 503-542-4330 ext. 1287 or gmnite@yahoo.com.