It’s rare that an editor remains at the same job for more than a few years. The longest I worked with one editor was eight years, and some editors only last a few months.
Maintain Good Relationships with College Textbook Supplement Editors
This rapid turnover is a very important reason for maintaining good relationships and good communication with editors. If an editor you work for leaves her post, you want to know about it, and you want her to recommend you highly to her replacement. I’ve been very fortunate in my textbook supplement and ancillary writing career that most of my best editor clients have gone out of their way to promote me to their successors.
What to Do When An Editor Leaves
When you find out an editor is leaving or getting promoted, ask for the name, title, phone number, e-mail address, and mailing address of her successor, and ask her to sing your praises to her replacement.
Contact the new person a week or so after the transition. I usually do so by e-mail. Mention the work you have done for the previous editor, and other editors in the company if relevant, and say that you are very interested in continuing a mutually beneficial working relationship.
Send your resume and sample materials just like you would do when seeking projects from a new editor as discussed in Chapter 3, “Getting The Assignment,” in Writing College Textbook Supplements.
Be Nice to Everyone
Make it your policy to always be polite, friendly, and professional with everyone you work with. Some people may not seem very important to you, but those people may eventually take your editor’s job, or move higher up in the company and be in a position to help you.
For example, the lowest person on the college textbook publishing totem pole is the editorial assistant, and you will usually be working with an editorial assistant’s boss, usually an assistant editor or associate editor. However, the editorial assistant position is the starting place for most editors. With the frequent turnover in textbook publishing, there is a real chance that the editorial assistant will eventually be promoted and then be the one deciding whether or not to hire you.
What’s been your experience with editor turnover at textbook publishing companies? Any stories to share, or advice to add?
(This post is based in part on Chapter 7, “Getting More Work,” from John’s ebook Writing College Textbook Supplements.)
