Be The Best Entry-Level Editor You Can Be!
In June, Deborah Malmud will be teaching a course on how to get promoted from an editorial assistant to the coveted role of acquisitions editor in a book publishing company. You want to take this course! Here she gives some basic pointers about how to manage your entry-level publishing job to make yourself look as good as possible.
You’re an editorial assistant. You’re probably making less money than everyone you went to college with, but you’ve got a cool job with the potential to have a really interesting career in book publishing. Book editing jobs are intellectually rewarding and fun. And book editors can always be counted on for a good meal. But how do you go from an assistant to the one in charge, especially when the competition is so great?
This seminar will teach students how to understand the business and social culture in which editors work so they can better position themselves for promotion. Students will learn concrete strategies and steps to take to ensure that they are the most valuable entry-level employees as well as get an insider’s view about what it’s like to be an acquisitions editor.
Here are some basic mistakes that editorial assistants make and how to avoid making them. Following this simple advice will make your path to the editor’s job much easier.
1. The mistake of confusing a laid-back work environment for a non-professional one. Most publishing houses have a less corporate feel than do law firms and other places of big business. But don’t make the mistake of thinking that just because the executive editor down the hall wears shorts to work that as an editorial assistant you can too. Publishing is an industry that tolerates quirky behavior, but before wearing green sneakers on a daily business is thought of as endearing rather than just disrespectful, you need a lot of clout. Unless you’ve already acquired the million-dollar surprise, dress as if you are going to work in a corporate environment, because for all the reading, long lunches, and casual behavior, ultimately the book business is just that-a business.
2. The mistake of focusing only on what is happening now, and not thinking about what is to come. Acquisitions editors are always concerned about what the next book is going to be. It is their job to be looking for new projects and new authors. By the same token, they are also concerned that the authors they have signed up will be turning in manuscripts in a timely fashion. After all, if the author doesn’t turn it in, the editor can’t edit it, the house can’t publish it, and no one can make money from it. This is where your job comes in. The superb editorial assistant will help her editor by keeping a running list of manuscripts that are due in and being proactive in offering to contact authors to check on their progress. If you remind your editor about a potentially overdue manuscript before she starts to worry about it, that won’t be quickly forgotten.
3. The mistake of being afraid to call authors. Often authors, particularly those who are running behind in their work, will feel less imposed upon if an editorial assistant calls to check in than if the editor does. If you are working with authors for whom this is the case, you can use this to your advantage by forming a relationship with the author, and becoming a support to the author. An editorial assistant with authors who feel comfortable talking to her about their work is a powerful editorial assistant indeed.
4. The mistake of hanging around only with other editorial assistants. As an editor, you need to know about how different areas of the publishing company work, and you need to form good relationships with employees in sales and marketing and production and design. As an editorial assistant, these areas of the company should be important to you too. An easy way to learn about them is to befriend assistants in these divisions. So don’t only go to lunch with fellow editorial assistants; ask the production assistant on the next floor out to lunch. What you learn from her may be invaluable and the contacts you make will help you down the road. The sales assistant you have lunch with today may be the sales manager down the road.
5. The mistake of not attending editorial board meetings. Different houses will have different policies about assistants attending editorial meetings, but you won’t know unless you ask. What you can learn at editorial meetings is priceless so try to get invited to these meetings and listen intently to everything when you are there. After the meeting, go back to your office and jot down some notes about the editorial presentations: what sorts of questions were asked; when did an editor have difficulties; who had a hard time getting projects approved, and what were the sticking points. These notes and tips will come in handy for you in the future when you are presenting a project to the same group of people.
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