What Kind of Editor Do You Want to Be?

Yesterday I had a very informative meeting with Johanna Vondeling, the Acquisitions Editor at Berrett-Koehler. She sat me down and explained the various roles that editors play in the grand course of a book's publication.

Here is the Campbell's Soup version of what I learned (condensed):

Acquisitions Editor -- In charge of seeking out new material. Johanna told me that she looks for leads for books in many different places. Most of the books Berrett Koehler publishes come from established authors, or other professionals who have already achieved a sizeable following. Previous BK authors also recommend new authors from within their respective professional communities. Other manuscripts come from agents who represent authors. By far the fewest number of books come from unsolicited proposals which go into the proverbial junk pile. Part of my job this summer will be to review these proposals and elevate those which I deem to have real merit.

Developmental Editor -- These are the people who work with the author to improve the book as a whole. They are often freelance--few publishing companies have in-house developmental editors. Johanna explained to me that they enjoy their work because it allows them to select the projects they find interesting and to wok on a variety of books. Developmental Editors are important because they are the people who bridge the gap between the specific field of the author and the conventions of book publishing; ideally they have some level of expertise in both arenas.

Copy Editor -- The detail oriented person who closely reads the manuscripts and makes sure it reads well (in standard American English).

My goal for the upcoming week is to have more of these kinds of meetings with other people from Berrett Koehler. I want to figure out how the industry works and what everyone does to accomplish BK's mission of creating a world that works for all.