At Raintree Steck-Vaughn, do you consider yourself a nonfiction publisher or an educational publisher?
SLOAN: I hope I’m considered a nonfiction publisher. The education side is worrisome. Most of the books I did at Macmillan and what I see coming up at Thomson Learning are curriculum-based, but I don’t see them solely as educational. “Educational” tips over too easily into textbook and these are not textbooks. They might be considered supplementary. OLSWANGER: Will they have bookstore sales? SLOAN: I don’t know. It’s tough. Traditionally bookstores don’t stock much nonfiction. At Thomson we’re talking about the possibility of paperbacks, which would give them more bookstore appeal, but really, the paperbacks are for school use. OLSWANGER: What’s the best way for a writer to approach you? For example, is there a particular cover letter that sticks in your mind, one from the past that got your attention? SLOAN: I can think of one that sticks in my mind as not getting my attention. People still use it from time to time because they believe I should be grabbed and excited. It’s a kind of m
