SYP South West spotlight on: David and Charles

Posted on October 13, 2022 in South West

Continuing our spotlight on South West publishing houses is David and Charles, an arts and craft publishers and online-course provider based in Exeter. Initially publishing niche and local-interest titles, the company has expanded and has published over 3,000 titles across a wide array of topics. The SYP South West team spoke with Ame Verso, the team’s Publishing Director.

1. Can you tell me a little about David and Charles and what kind of books you publish? 

David and Charles is a 60-year old publishing imprint, specialising in illustrated non-fiction. Our backlist covers a huge range of subject areas but in recent years we have focused primarily on practical art and craft books for the international market. Since a management buy-out in 2019, we have diversified the list into the Wellbeing category too.

2. What does a typical day look like for a Publishing Director? 

My role is to oversee the editorial and design teams and to lead on new title acquisition. A typical day would be spent researching new ideas, working with authors on book proposals, running P&Ls for new titles, reviewing pages and covers for books in production, helping troubleshoot any issues the team is facing, refining metadata for upcoming releases, and working on the next season’s overall strategy.

3. What was your publishing journey? Have you always worked in publishing, or did you enter the industry after a career change? 

I have worked in publishing since graduating from university. Firstly, as a local magazine publisher and then quickly switching to books, starting as a junior editor and rising steadily over the years to my current position, including six years as a freelance editor.

4. What advice would you have for anybody, particularly in the South West, looking to get into the publishing industry? 

Getting some industry experience is crucial. But most importantly, publishing requires an entrepreneurial spirit. I call the period when I ran my own local magazine my ‘masters’ as it taught me an enormous amount about publishing, and business in general, in a very hands-on way. If you can demonstrate that you’re self-starting – by doing something enterprising such as launching a digital magazine or setting up your own ebook imprint (as just a couple of examples) – then this will make you stand out from the crowd. Go out and make the opportunities rather than expecting them to come to you. From there, go and knock on doors and seek out placements and internships – when you show recruiters what you have done of your own accord you will undoubtedly impress them.

Ame is Publishing Director of David and Charles.

https://davidandcharles.com/

@dandcbooks