Assistant Editor, Character Publishing

Context:

Responsible for supporting the Character Publisher, the Executive Editor and the other Character creative team members in the development and management of a list of titles that robustly serves all global markets and territories. Currently the key character properties in development are: Where’s Wally? (original list), Where’s Wally? (spin-off list), Maisy, Lucy Cousins and Guess How Much I Love You.

Job Purpose:

To execute all elements of editorial administrative function of the Character list and to support the Executive Editor with generating copy. Working closely with all members of the Character team, primarily the Publisher and the Executive Editor.

• Managing the schedules for the Character list; updating Biblio and Character team workflow and approval documentation.  
• Liaising with Production.
• Assisting the Publisher with the preparations and organisation of meetings; attending regular meetings and taking minutes when asked to by the Publisher.
• Making good communication links with sales and editorial departments across the Walker Group.
• Handling approval of Character based Marketing and Publicity material.
• Handling approval of Character pre-OTR internal PDFs. 
• Handling approval of Character based Foreign Rights material.
• Generating copy for Biblio and other creative writing involvement, where appropriate

Key responsibilities:

Overall maintenance of the Character scheduling.
(Must be prepared to work with tight deadlines!)

Biblio

• Preparing Pub Schedule report and emailing round the day before the Character Production meetings (bi-weekly).
• Note taking at the Pub Schedule meeting.
• Communicating follow-up queries from the Pub Schedule meeting to Production.
• Checking the schedules are accurate.
• Updating the back end of the Pub Schedule on Biblio.
• Checking that new titles are added to Biblio with specs and publication dates and linked to Publisher (so they pull up on the report).
• Assistance generating Acquisition Forms.
• Assistance generating CRFs.
• Assistance generating AIs – and that copy adheres to Metadata targets.
• Checking that “copies sold” sales figures and author biographies are up-to-date and consistent across the brands.
• Adding of BISAC codes.

• Maintaining Character meeting diaries on Outlook – rescheduling if dates become problematic.

Character Title Tracker

• Updating weekly;
• Circulating to creative teams bi-weekly.
• Checking that titles are submitted on Tuesday to Ruth for the Thursday meeting (Acquisition UK) and elsewhere for (covers UK and US).
• Follow up with Americanisation scheduling – liaising with UK and US teams to ensure titles are sent and received back on schedule. 

Approvals tracker

• Keeping an excel doc updated on the server with title name, production checking stage and date of approval.

Character copyright lines

These were generalised across the brands over the past two years so ensuring a system of checking is necessary to make all Character old and new titles consistent, as well as marketing materials which require a different copyright line to books.

• Checking that reprint copyright lines are correct
• Checking that marketing copyright lines are correct
• Checking that Americanised copyright lines are correct

US edition Americanisation of Where’s Wally? Master Files

• Acting as the editorial liaison between the UK typesetter and Candlewick to ensure all seven books in all five formats are approved.

IT PDFs (pre-OTR)

• Matching pdfs supplied by IT to internally approve/signed off covers and interiors for Character titles.

FR edition PDFs from Co-edition customers (before sent to printer)

• Checking that copyright lines include the year Co-Edition publishers translated the new Master Files
• Checking for text clashes and/or other errors in the first printings of all new Wally Master Files
• Collating approvals for the Character team to feedback to Production and Foreign Rights
• Checking copy on marketing materials.
• Drafting back cover copy, where appropriate.
• Assisting Publisher with Character VC and Launch meeting presentations.
• Getting sales figures for Character titles from Bookscan, as and when required.

Minute taking for all of the meetings listed above:

• Typing up;
• sending to in-house teams for confirmation of any figures;
• then to Publisher for approval;
• then circulating to specified email groups.

Updating the Wally pub programme InDesign document as briefed by Publisher.

Monitoring advance editions:

• 1 of each new UK edition
  (including first Master File printings)
• 1 of each new US edition
  (including first Master File printings)
• 1 of each foreign rights edition
  (including first Master File printings)
• Keeping an Excel document with description and date sent on the server

Maintaining a Where’s Wally? library

• Organising by out of print titles, by edition version, foreign edition and Master File edition on the Wally shelves and labelling with year of publication and edition
• Filing as new titles come in so this area is clear and accessible
• Organising shelves for competitor samples
• Organising shelves for blank dummies
• Organising the “Wally top secret count” documents
• Organising “answers” for all new Wally books and filing these
• Filing of plotters