SYP Conference: Editorial
Posted on November 29, 2008 in Uncategorized
Giving an inside perspective on editorial at this year’s conference, Gurdeep Mattu from Continuum Books and Sara O’Keefe from Orion shared their thoughts on what it means to be a Commissioning Editor.
First to speak was Gurdeep, Commissioning Editor for the Language and Linguistics list at academic publisher, Continuum. Gurdeep’s editorial career so far has taken him from Editorial Assistant at Robert Hale Ltd to Assistant Editor at SAGE before his commissioning role at Continuum. Gurdeep gave those starting out on the editorial ladder advice on the skills you need to develop in a commissioning role and exactly what the job entails. He explained that proposals are “the meat of commissioning” and how publishing is about business just as much as pleasure and personal taste. It is fundamentally based around about profit and loss sheets, and finding those books that can make a profit as well as making a difference. He noted the importance of the 60% profit margin, understanding the market and spotting gaps in it, and delivery of a coherent plan of action amidst differing opinions.
First to speak was Gurdeep, Commissioning Editor for the Language and Linguistics list at academic publisher, Continuum. Gurdeep’s editorial career so far has taken him from Editorial Assistant at Robert Hale Ltd to Assistant Editor at SAGE before his commissioning role at Continuum. Gurdeep gave those starting out on the editorial ladder advice on the skills you need to develop in a commissioning role and exactly what the job entails. He explained that proposals are “the meat of commissioning” and how publishing is about business just as much as pleasure and personal taste. It is fundamentally based around about profit and loss sheets, and finding those books that can make a profit as well as making a difference. He noted the importance of the 60% profit margin, understanding the market and spotting gaps in it, and delivery of a coherent plan of action amidst differing opinions.
Gurdeep also pointed out that academic publishing doesn’t require an in-depth knowledge or masters degree in a particular subject. Skills and passion for the product are more important. He compared academic books to literary fiction in the sense that they hold up a mirror to humanity and are essential to a better understanding of the world around us, and therefore incredibly worthwhile to work on. Gurdeep concluded that “enthusiasm is the key” and pointed out that, as commissioning editor, if you don’t enthuse about a book, nobody else will.
Sara O’Keefe then spoke from a commercial publisher’s perspective about her work at Orion, part of Hachette-Livre UK. Sara’s path to Commissioning Editor spanned 6 years, moving from Editorial Assistant at BCA to Assistant Editor at Orion and then Editor, and ultimately, Commissioning Editor. She pointed out that, while fiction can be divided into the categories of literary fiction and commercial fiction, there’s a great deal of crossover between both departments in terms of content and approach. “Commercial fiction is not code for badly written or down-market fiction” she explained and cited the main difference to be that commercial fiction is usually narrative driven.
When working on commercial fiction, Sara explained, the question to ask first and foremost is, “Does it make me want to turn the page?” Although working as an editorial assistant can mean a role dominated by administration, Sara gave some top tips for making the most of this time, including: keep an eye on the bestseller list in order to track publishing trends and anticipate new ones; be aware of the packaging of different books and how they are marketed; analyse the market, and of course, “read, read and read some more”. She concluded by explaining the importance in commissioning of building a vision for the book in your mind, maintaining that vision when others may try to sway you and ultimately getting others to support your vision too.
Gurdeep and Sara then went on to answer questions from the audience, giving practical advice on getting ahead in editorial before we all headed to the canteen for a well-deserved lunch.
Sara O’Keefe then spoke from a commercial publisher’s perspective about her work at Orion, part of Hachette-Livre UK. Sara’s path to Commissioning Editor spanned 6 years, moving from Editorial Assistant at BCA to Assistant Editor at Orion and then Editor, and ultimately, Commissioning Editor. She pointed out that, while fiction can be divided into the categories of literary fiction and commercial fiction, there’s a great deal of crossover between both departments in terms of content and approach. “Commercial fiction is not code for badly written or down-market fiction” she explained and cited the main difference to be that commercial fiction is usually narrative driven.
When working on commercial fiction, Sara explained, the question to ask first and foremost is, “Does it make me want to turn the page?” Although working as an editorial assistant can mean a role dominated by administration, Sara gave some top tips for making the most of this time, including: keep an eye on the bestseller list in order to track publishing trends and anticipate new ones; be aware of the packaging of different books and how they are marketed; analyse the market, and of course, “read, read and read some more”. She concluded by explaining the importance in commissioning of building a vision for the book in your mind, maintaining that vision when others may try to sway you and ultimately getting others to support your vision too.
Gurdeep and Sara then went on to answer questions from the audience, giving practical advice on getting ahead in editorial before we all headed to the canteen for a well-deserved lunch.
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