MY PUBLISHING LIFE with Sophie Goodfellow

Welcome to my latest MY PUBLISHING LIFE feature, an interview with a literary agent, publisher, publicist or editor about their publishing career to date. Some serious questions, and some just for fun!

Today I'm delighted to welcome 

SOPHIE GOODFELLOW

Communications Manager

at
FMcM Associates

What and when was your first job in publishing?

My first job was working at ED Public Relations. I worked there for over four years before moving to FMcM Associates. 

How long have you been working in your current job/role?

I’ve been a publicity manager at FMcM for just coming up to a year now – it’s flown by! 

Which books have you worked on recently/are you working on?

So many! Where do I begin? I’ve been working on the latest Ari Thor book by Ragnar Jonasson, which is reliably a treat. I’ve also been working on another amazing Icelandic crime novel called Snare by Lilja Sigurdardottir, an amazing thriller about a single mother forced into cocaine smuggling in the aftermath of the financial crisis. On the non-crime front, I’m also working on the most beautiful and heartbreaking Australian book called The Restorer by Michael Sala, a devastating and thoroughly convincing novel about the deep roots of domestic violence. There’s so much more…  

Which qualifications/life skills/experience have helped you get to where you are today?

Well an English degree never goes amiss – mainly cos you can say you have one! I’m also fairly chatty and like people on the whole, which is a good quality for a publicist – you have to talk to a lot of them! I also genuinely love books. I have to read a lot of them, so that’s lucky. 

How do you relax after a busy working day?
I’m lucky enough to usually come home and find dinner on the table, or at least in the works! We watch television, it’s Bake Off at the moment (#justiceforLiam #freethehackneyone), and I try to leave enough time to get some reading done. 

What was the last book you read for pleasure?
I actually genuinely had to check my GoodReads to remind myself, it’s been such a busy autumn. It appears that it was Whatever You Love by Louise Doughty. Excellent stuff – a tense and heartbreaking account of losing a child.

Describe your job in 15 words or less...

I talk about books and try and get other people to talk about them too! 

What have been the highlights of your publishing life so far

It has to be the Doctor Who Target Books art exhibition. One of the toughest things I’ve ever done – and I learnt that Whovians are the scariest bunch of people to piss off! But seeing it all come together on the day was just amazing. Peter Capaldi and Steven Moffatt came along! 

If you could try out any other job for one day (with no limits on money, travel etc.), what would you choose?

It’s a toss-up between astronaut or bookshop owner. I think everyone who works in publishing secretly wants to run a bookshop, and everyone wants to go to the moon secretly surely. Bookshop in space? 

If your publishing life was a book, what would the title be?

A Million Wine-Fuelled Conversations

Or 

Crashing Planes With Liz

I don’t think anyone who knows me needs any further explanation ;)

    

Thanks so much for taking part, Sophie!

Look out for more MY PUBLISHING LIFE features coming soon.

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If any literary agents, publishers, publicists or editors would like to take part, please contact me through my blog or Twitter for the full list of questions.