Managing Editor

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About Boldwood

Boldwood is an award-winning independent global fiction publishing house launched in February 2019, with its first titles published in August 2019. The company has published over 500 titles in ebook, audiobook and multi-print formats, signed over 120 authors and sold over 14 million books across the world. Boldwood publishes the very best in commercial fiction across crime and thriller, women’s fiction, romance, historical fiction, saga and reading group fiction, including #1 bestsellers Beth Moran, Louise Douglas and Shari Low.

Boldwood was awarded Small Press of the Year this Spring at the British Book Awards, and won Independent Publisher of the Year at the 2022 Independent Publishing Awards.

About the role

The Managing Editor will have overall responsibility for managing the Boldwood Editorial workflow, ensuring every title is delivered to critical path and to the highest possible standard. The role requires exceptional organisation, prioritisation and communication skills, as well as a keen eye for detail and ability to manage multiple projects and tight deadlines efficiently.

The ideal candidate will have hands-on experience of working within a busy Editorial department and managing an extensive title list. Strong Microsoft Office skills are important, and other Adobe Creative Suite and Adobe Acrobat skills are desirable.

The Managing Editor will be open-minded to new ways of working. They will actively look for ways to improve the efficiency of our processes, and seek out technological solutions.

This is a full-time permanent position for an experienced publishing professional. The Managing Editor reports to the Head of Production. The Boldwood team is based from home, nationwide, and as such we welcome applicants located anywhere in the UK. They will be required to travel to regular in-person team meetings around the UK.

Salary: up to £35,000 per annum, depending on experience

Key responsibilities will include:

• Managing editorial responsibility for the complete Boldwood list
• Publishing schedule management, including co-ordinating schedule changes and communicating with key stakeholders
• Co-ordinating the movement of manuscripts between the Editorial, freelance teams of copyeditors and proofreaders, and Production departments
• Maintaining the Boldwood critical path, turning around 25-30 titles per month
• Liaising with Production on text delivery and formatting, ensuring ‘clean manuscripts’ are ready to be converted to various print and electronic formats
• Communicating delays to the Production team in a timely manner, and problem solving the impact on the latter stages of the production workflow
• Handing over texts to Boldwood’s audio supplier, ready for audiobook production
• External freelance management of copy editors and proof-readers, including ensuring the Boldwood Style guide is adhered to
• Hiring, training and induction of new freelance partners
• Recommending and implementing technology, time and cost-efficiencies, to manage a growing list

Required attributes:

• Proven experience project managing a demanding Fiction list
• Ability to process a high number of titles while maintaining top editorial standards
• Keen eye for detail and strong visual awareness
• Strong IT skills, ideally with knowledge of working on a Mac
• Initiative and problem solving skills
• Pro-active and independent
• Flexible and forward thinking
• Team player

Desirable:

• Experience with AI technology

To apply, please send your CV and a covering letter of no more than 1 A4 page to recruitment@boldwoodbooks.com.

The deadline for applications is midnight Sunday 11th June 2023, but early applications will be prioritised.

This role is open to applicants based nationwide.

For more information about Boldwood Books please visit www.boldwoodbooks.com or follow @BoldwoodBooks on Twitter.