Today I'm delighted to welcome
SOPHIE ORME
What and when was your first job in publishing?
After a painfully expensive MA in Creative Writing I was
very keen to get into publishing (following an aborted attempt a couple of
years before) but couldn’t afford to do work experience. I was temping at a
recruitment firm when a job came up as a PA to the Sales and Marketing Director
at Pan Macmillan. I put myself forward for it, as well as having to find other
potential candidates (!) Luckily the interview went well and I got it. A couple
of years later, I moved to a role in the editorial department, working for the Mantle
imprint.
How long have you been working in your current job/role?
I joined Bonnier Zaffre as Editorial Director in March last year. Before that I spent ten years at Pan Macmillan (most of which was at Mantle)
and six months at Scribner, Simon & Schuster in a maternity cover role.
Which books have you worked on recently/are you working on?
I have a very varied list to look after – from thrillers to
reading group fiction – which I love. I’ve inherited several fantastic authors
from my predecessor Joel Richardson including bestsellers such as James Swallow
and T. M. Logan and I’ve brought a few authors to the list now, too. I am super
excited to have just acquired Stacey Bartlett’s amazing debut novel The Familiars following a nine publisher
auction. My editing pile is teetering at the moment, but among the books I need
to attend to are an incredible ghost story I haven’t yet announced (watch this
space) and a brilliant and very timely thriller: The Dangerous Kind by Deborah O’ Connor.
Which qualifications/life skills/experience have helped you get to where you are today?
From the start I was focused on becoming an editor and,
while working in the sales and marketing department at Pan Macmillan, persistent
in meeting people and offering editors help in reading submissions and tackling
their editing backlogs. While of course working hard and learning everything
you can about the industry is very important, persistence and confidence in
yourself are probably the most important things, particularly when you are an
‘outsider’ – someone without connections. Publishing is incredibly competitive
and filled with extremely talented people – finding a new role is as much about
being in the right place at the right time as it is your skills and qualifications,
so you have to keep pushing and try not to let rejections get you down.
How do you relax after a busy working day?
I have a toddler, so much of my spare time isn’t very
relaxing (!) but she is an enormous amount of fun. When she’s asleep (and I’m
not reading author deliveries or submissions or answering e-mails) I wind down
by watching Corrie or a period drama (currently Alias Grace which is fantastic). At weekends I love to go for walks
or bike rides on the Walthamstow marshes, then going for a pub lunch
afterwards.
What was the last book you read for pleasure?
I don’t have as much time for reading for pleasure since having my daughter, but I picked up The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell for my Christmas break.
I don’t have as much time for reading for pleasure since having my daughter, but I picked up The Silent Companions by Laura Purcell for my Christmas break.
Describe your job in 15 words or less...
I’m a curator, polisher and champion of great fiction.
What have been the highlights of your publishing life so far
Winning the auction for The
Familiars is definitely up there! I also absolutely loved working with Kate
Morton and, all too briefly, the incredible Elizabeth Jane Howard. It’s all
about the people in this industry, from the brilliant authors to my fantastic
colleagues.
If you could try out any other job for one day (with no limits on money, travel etc.), what would you choose?
I genuinely can’t think of anything else I’d like to do. I
had a brief period freelance editing at home earlier this year and missed the
buzz of the publishing world hugely.
If your publishing life was a book, what would the title be?
Perhaps something like ‘Keep on swimming’! Publishing – just
like writing and being published – is a marathon rather than a sprint. There
will be very tough times as well as wonderful ones and persistence and a bit of
self-belief will get you a long way.
Thanks so much for taking part, Sophie!
Look out for more MY PUBLISHING LIFE features coming soon.
Click here to read more MY PUBLISHING LIFE features.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment