Adoptees often muddle along, alone. When they come together in the hopes of amplifying their individual voices, they are powerful indeed. When they have the opportunity to glean some inside information from an Executive Editor at a major publishing house—who also happens to be an adoptee—the effect is like supercharged fertilizer on seeded soil.

That was my reaction when Jessica Williams, Executive Editor at William Morrow/HarperCollins visited the Adoptee Voices Writing Group in May 2021. She shared insider knowledge and encouragement, not only acknowledging the dearth of adoptee voices in mainstream publishing but highlighting the current demand for outsider voices—including those of adoptees—in the publishing world.

There is a “reckoning” right now, she said, in the publishing industry. Across the board, publishers are addressing questions of who is being published (what voices are being promoted), why they’re being foregrounded (a recognition of cultural, social, racial, and class privilege), and where they’re being published (the traditional bias of the mainstream houses toward certain types of writing and writers). And they’re working to fix that imbalance. It’s an opportune moment for adoptee writers to publish.

Williams emphasized that as an editor, she looks for quality writing, great storytelling, singular voice, distinct points of view, and an important message. She looks to determine why each book exists. What is it providing to the world that isn’t being served elsewhere?

For that reason, Williams recommended that, before submitting work or making a query, writers should know where their book fits in the market. It is essential to read widely to discover where there are gaps in what’s available, as well as to find similar titles that can lead to making connections with the appropriate editors and agents. It is also important to respect the standards for querying and approaching agents, as this will be your introduction to a person who could become a close ally—and a core part of your team.

As with much of the world, relationships are essential tools in developing one’s writing career. Williams noted that finding an agent who has an interest in the kind of work you’re doing, as well as a history of successfully finding homes and favorable contracts for such writing, is important. It’s a sign of respect and common courtesy to address agents by name when querying, to show some knowledge of their work and areas of specialty. It is also more efficient for the writer to not waste time sending queries and manuscripts to people who work in other genres, formats, or areas of focus.

Although writers do sometimes manage to secure book deals without having an agent, Williams noted that agents have experience with negotiating deals, that they can protect a writer from unfavorable contracts, and that they know the industry and thus will be able to find the best place for a client’s work. Then the writer can focus on revising their manuscript instead of on business.

Agents spend much of their time developing relationships with editors at publishing houses so they can find the right home for a manuscript. Once a contract is signed, the editor-writer relationship begins. Multiple rounds of revision may be necessary, depending on the state of the work when it’s first seen. But, Williams noted, when an editor has agreed to work with a writer, it is because they are invested in the work. The editor—and the agent—are the writer’s allies in getting the work to the level it needs to be and then out into the world, in front of the people who need to see it most. All of these players comprise the team that believes in what the writer has to say. Once a writer has contracted with a publishing house, they are never working alone. The editor will work at the publishing house to drum up interest and hype. Designers will be engaged to create the cover. A marketing plan will be constructed that is intended to find the appropriate audience for the work.

Through the editorial process, writers learn a lot, Williams said. It is a far cry from typing away, looking at a glowing computer screen. From those lonely moments, when writers compose and organize their thoughts, to the eventual production of an actual book, article, story, or poem, a community grows around the writer.

For me, and for the writers in Adoptee Voices, the community begins with other adoptees and the experience of writing, sharing, revising, and commenting together. In her talk, Jessica Williams emphasized the importance of relationships to a writer’s career. The power of community is formidable. When relationships are formed, connections are made, and the writer is nourished, so that buried seeds sprout and grow, then push out feelers in search of an even larger community. Writing alone, then coming together, we adoptee writers put down our own kind of roots, and we thrive.