REUTS Acquisitions Editor: Ashley Ruggirello

Bio:Ashley Ruggirello is an author, designer and doting wife living in beer and cheese land, WI. When not lost in the fictional world of Skyrim, she can be found exploring typography, manipulating responsive <DIVS>, or with pen & paper in hand (figuratively though, as she uses Google Docs much more often), writing her New Adult novels. She considers herself a designer by nature and writing at heart, though she always wanted to make video game walk-throughs as a child. Ashley’s favorite color is chartreuse, and she has an undeniable attraction to moss (not of the Kate variety)
Links:Facebook  Twitter  GoodreadsTell us how you came to work with REUTS.I’ll probably have the most unique answer to this question as the founder of REUTS. In truth, REUTS was born out of frustration and disappointment. There’s a common phrase among authors, “Write the story you’d want to read. (Toni Morrison)” Applying that to my own publication journey, I decided to start REUTS as the “publisher I’d want to publish my story with. (Ashley Ruggirello)” And so, back in 2012 I partnered with other talented professionals, in disciplines I lacked (e.g. editing, sales, the cogs in a successful publishing machine . . .), and REUTS became a company based around the motto: do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Every aspect of REUTS was created with the author in mind. We’d constantly return to the same question: “What would I want out of my publishing company?” And those answers became the building blocks of all REUTS is.
What does your job entail? 
I touch a little bit of everything, and a lot of nothing. As the Owner I handle most of the behind-the-scenes workings of REUTS--accounting, email correspondence, managing, etc… I’m privy to all the directors doings and projects taking place at any time. So, while I handle a lot, it’s the directors who mainly handle their discipline. REUTS truly is a team endeavour.
What do you enjoy most about being an acquisitions editor? 
Reading! I think I’ve read more now than I have in my entire life, and I’ve always been a big reader. But, even more than that, it’s seeing the heart and soul someone puts into their story, and being one of the first they’ve entrusted to read it. There’s something very special about that, and humbling to realize an individual trusts you with their pride and joy--their baby. I started as an author. I know how terrifying it is to press Send, so I’ll forever be grateful to the authors who choose to submit to REUTS and allow us the opportunity to consider their story.
What have your experiences been like working with the authors?
Authors are like cautious, protective parents, and rightly so. They’ve spent a lot of time with their manuscript, nursing it to health, patching up the holes, and growing it into complete story. There’s no question an author will have questions and concerns when embarking on a new journey with, what essentially is, their child. As a boutique agency we don’t work with as many authors as one of the Big 5 might which, in my opinion, is how I’d like to keep REUTS. It allows each of our team members to touch a project, and I know I never want to be the hands-off owner. Working with 12-24 authors a year allows us to be very personal, and as our website says, we becomes fully invested in our authors and become their biggest cheering section!
What is the hardest part of being an acquisitions editor?
Saying no. I know that’s cliche to say, but it’s absolutely true. So true I wrote a blog post on the official REUTS blog documenting how difficult it is on the other side of the email (you can check it out HERE). It’s really an awful thing to have to do, especially having gone through it myself. But, unfortunately, that’s the name of the publishing game, and it’s something that must be done. We wish we could publish every story that crosses our proverbial table, but that’s just impossible.
And what is the best part?
You thought my last answer was cliche, get a load of this: Saying yes, of course! (See. Told ya.) Of course that’s when the power immediately shifts to the author, because when we offer a contract now we’re the ones waiting for a decision. And a decision could either be yes . . . or no. By this point we’ve already spent at the very least three months with a manuscript, following an MC, despising the antagonist, and getting lost in the adventure. So a negative decision truly does devastate our team, but, just like having to reject manuscripts, rejecting a contract is just part of the publishing game. You win some, you lose some. Either way, being able to send an author the energetic “YES! Let’s do this!” email is always exciting :)
What kind of manuscripts do you enjoy and are looking for, and how can an author submit to you?
I’ve begun to write more NA fiction, but I enjoy reading both YA and NA. My preferred genres, simply because there what I have the most experience in, are paranormal and urban fantasy. If you’re going to break away from those genres in particular, I love a good comedy/satire, but straight contemp fiction doesn’t often do it for me. Obviously there are exceptions. With me, when I read I want to be transported to a world or situation that is far from something we could experience in reality, and I believe that’s why I gravitate toward the more fantastical genres.
Last question; If you were suddenly struck by lightning/bitten by something/exposed to toxic waste, and ended up with superpowers, what would it be and why?

It’s funny, I’ve actually been thinking a little bit about this. I think I’d chose the superpower to “refill” things. At first glance it doesn’t seem like much, but when you really think about it you’ll realize how it’s really the ultimate super power. Bank account empty? Refill it. Fridge empty? Refill it. Someone annoying you on the bus? Refill their bladder! (OK, that one’s a bit cruel . . . )Beyond that, if I were to pick from a real superpower (and by “real,” I base all my super power info on the X-Men world--obviously), my two favorites have always been Wolverine (instant regeneration), or Nightcrawler (transportation . . . but sans blue paint). As a kid I loved Storm, and the ability to control weather, but as I got older I realized, while the weather sometimes sucks, there are much cooler abilities to possess.And, if you’re wondering, I do have a favorite X-Men quote, and it’s super cheesy but I’m going to share it anyway:
“Do you know what happens to a frog that gets struck by lightning? The very same thing that happens to everything else. (Storm--X-Men)”