Ask the Agent, Ask the Editor

For a highly interesting, in-depth look into the life of a book editor, and some important aspects of the current state of publishing, see An Interview With Johanna Vondeling Editor of Berrett-Koehler Publishing, a new blog post in Ask The Agent: Night Thoughts about Books and Publishing, from literary agent Andy Ross, the former owner of Cody’s Books in Berkeley, Calif. Johanna is Vice President, Editorial and Digital for B-K, which is located in San Francisco. She is also my editor and was the person responsible for bringing my new book, Living in More Than One World: How Peter Drucker’s Wisdom Can Inspire and Transform Your Life, to the company. The book as it exists now would never have happened without her, as I noted in the acknowledgments: “She had the vision and patience to realize there was a strong central idea in my book, but that it was not the one I originally brought to her. She also helped give the book the structure it required.” In the Q&A, Johanna also discusses the unique publishing practices that have made B-K so successful as an independent publisher since its inception in 1992. For instance, each author is invited for an Author Day at headquarters, an entire day based around you and your book, held between deliverery of your first draft and final manuscript. Mine was held last November and was an exhilarating experience. As Johanna describes it, “Authors get to meet their editor in person, they talk to production about the internal design of the book, they strategize with marketing staff about the marketing plan for their book, and they make a presentation about their book over lunch to the whole staff and invited guests–it’s their first chance to pitch their book to the world.” More publishers may try to emulate the B-K model, which would be a positive sign for an industry undergoing a significant transition.