Case studies: Assistant editor: Joanne

Joanne studied English and German literature at Warwick University and now works as an assistant editor for humanities at a large academic publishing house.

Although I was studying subjects I loved at university, I worried that I would graduate and have nothing to do. Doing some online research I thought I might enjoy publishing. Not knowing much about it as an industry, I wrote to a publishing house enquiring about work experience. I worked there during most of my holidays and found I loved the work. So when my ex-boss contacted me after graduation with the news of a job vacancy, I jumped at the chance to apply.

I started as an editorial assistant and after a couple of years progressed to assistant editor. As an editor you are at the centre of the organisation, and my work involves liaising with all the different departments involved in producing a book. In a typical day I may look at draft typescripts and provide feedback for authors, liaise with designers on the cover design for books, write briefing notes instructing the production department what I'm looking for regarding a particular book, and write some content for the marketing department about books due for publication.

The best part of my job is working with authors. I hold regular author meetings and I love taking an idea for a book from the preliminary proposal stage to developing the idea with the author and then seeing it come off. As I have progressed in my career I have had more opportunity to do this kind of commissioning work, and I may progress even further with it if I become a commissioning editor. I am really lucky because I work on a list directly related to my degree and I love being able to draw on my subject knowledge in developing ideas, in proofreading texts and in author meetings.

The hardest part of my job can be time management. I have multiple projects on the go at any one time, all at different stages of the publication process, and I have to liaise with lots of different people. Publishing is a continually busy and demanding environment, but it is also very rewarding. I love working in a job where I get to use my subject knowledge every day and working with academics, writers and colleagues who are all passionate about the work we do.

My advice to anyone seeking to enter the profession is to research the companies and the roles in publishing really thoroughly. All companies have different areas of interest and it's important to know this. I would also suggest you get work experience, preferably in both smaller and larger publishers to get a breadth of understanding of the industry.