The Editor

Another great live webchat on Guardian Books online. Editor Francis Bickmore of Canongate. So now you have it, wonky plot can be fixed but forget it if you haven't got the voice, that particular presence-on-the-page.

I'm really looking for voice and personality. There needs to be a story of course, but if the voice doesn't sizzle it's not going to work for me. Certainly there will be books with a great voice that lack plot, and that can sometimes be remedied with a good edit. But you can't really edit in more charisma.