First-time meeting with publisher & editors (What to expect)?

Question

My fiancée is a first-time children's book author. What should she expect from her first meeting with the publisher and editors? Any advice? They've already seen some samples of her unpublished work and are interested in interviewing her before signing any contract. The meeting is to be a panel-style interview (Skype call) with a few editors and a head publisher/director-type. How can she prepare for this? What expectations might they have of new authors?

Answer 1

I hope this answer is not too delayed to be of help. Please encourage your fiancee to be very diligent in discerning which publishers are "legit" and which are money-suckers. The publishing industry is rife with companies who promise much, charge their authors much, and deliver little. A genuine, mainstream, traditional publisher usually reviews submissions through literary agents. I have never heard of a publisher "interviewing" a potential author; the author's written work should speak for itself. When she is offered a contract, I would highly recommend having an intellectual property attorney review it. If it asks the author to pay anything other than the minutest administrative costs, run in the other direction.