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It's always tempting to write for a certain market, especially if you are under the impression that what you write will be easier to sell and make you Oprah-rich. This is a publishing myth. In this week's Ask the Agent, I tackle some of those ideas (after I tackle cookbooks, of course). 

Question from Chris

Do standards change for cookbook publication? I haven't seen many updated books on publishing them.

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LURID: vivid in shocking detail; sensational, horrible in savagery or violence, or, a twice-monthly guide to the merits of the kind of Bad Books you never want your co-workers to know you're reading.

…you'll hear about Saucy Jacky's work tomorrow double event this time number one squealed a bit couldn't finish straight off. ha not the time to get ears for police.

—Jack The Ripper, September 30th 1888

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When a book is accepted by a publisher, it goes through a few rounds of editing, but there are two that are pretty important.

The first is the content edit, in which the reader looks for issues related to pacing, structure, theme and overall effectiveness of the story. The second round is proofreading--making sure everything is spelled right, all the facts are straight, all the periods are in the right place. 

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Back in April, Max Barry wrote an excellent article for LitReactor on some of the common frustrations surrounding the first draft.