Book Commissioning and Acquisition - Hardcover

Davies, Gill

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0415317886 ISBN 13: 9780415317887

Publisher: Routledge, 2004

Synopsis

Since its first publication, this essential guide to book commissioning has established itself as the one and only 'must-read' for any successful editor, and the core training text used both within publishing houses and on publishing courses worldwide.
In this new edition, Davies concentrates on the essential skills of commissioning, as well as other editorial challenges such as handling new lists following mergers and takeovers, and the demands of digital technology. New case-studies have been added which illustrate the commercial and practical problems that editors must address in today's complex and demanding marketplace.
This book remains the one text that editors must have by their side throughout their careers.

About this title

Review:

"This is an excellent guide for all aspiring editorial staff and, indeed, established editors. Gill Davies gives a very clear and in-depth picture of how to acquire and live with an editorial job-title. Her information is delivered in an authoritative, brisk style with a dash of wry humour and clear enthusiasm for a job which can be both exciting, very rewarding and very nerve-racking. Established editors can also learn from this book and I shall happily recommend it to all the staff I help to train."
-Mary Tapissier Director, HR and Training, Hodder Headline Publishing
..."This is a first-class complete and measured account of everything that a commissioning editor needs to know."
-Richard Balkwill, Copy Train
..."The book is truly 'master and commander' of its subject. Its appeal to editors is obvious - whether they are new, aspiring, or 'old hands' - but Ms Davies' book should also be compulsory reading for publishing company directors, especially those chief executives or senior corporate accountants who believe in the book fairy, and who imagine that commissioning and editing good books is an easy and leisurely affair when compared to the real world of grappling with annual budgets and three-year forecasts
."
-Richard Balkwill, Copy Train
..."Gill Davies' book has many outstanding qualities. Its single most remarkable feature is balance: it maintains the equilibrium between competing forces, whether the contest is between creative authors and target-bound editors; or between achieving intangible 'value-add', and ensuring quality through meticulous detail. The book shows at every turn that the author has lived in the difficult 'real world' of an author'saspirations and a company's commercial goals. To understand, even to reconcile these sometimes opposing demands, buy and read Gill's book."
-Richard Balkwill, Copy Train

Synopsis:

This new edition of a successful and highly-praised book provides an comprehensive introduction to the job of a commissioning editor. Gill Davies offers close guidance and support on how editors should approach this job. She demonstrates the main principles and practices involved in commissioning and acquisition, and covers difficult issues connected with judgement and decision making which are at the heart of the editor's job. Individual chapters address: * how to choose what to publish * proposing projects for publication * from contract to delivery * managing the publication process * strategic and financial aspects of list building * developing and maintaining a list * teamwork and professional ethics. The new edition also includes guidance on issues that have become more pressing since publication of the first edition, such as controlling e-mail, the effect of digitisation, and inheriting other editors' lists as a consequence of take-overs and mergers. Extensive coverage is given to the perennial problems that editors face, particularly the most demanding: slippage and handling difficult authors.

New case studies from a wide variety of publishing contexts illustrat the commercial and practical problems that editors must address in today's complex and challenging marketplace.

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2004
• ISBN 10: 0415317886
• ISBN 13: 9780415317887
• Binding: Hardcover
• Edition number: 2
• Number of pages: 192