Editorial Assistant

Job Description
Job Title
Editorial Assistant, Academic

Job Holder
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Reports to
Senior Production Editor

Date
July 2024

• Job Purpose

To contribute to Pre-press editorial activities of Academic titles. To take responsibility for Pre-press projects and tasks under the supervision of the Senior Production Editor, and to offer general assistance in working with authors, copyeditors, freelancers, typesetters, project vendors, indexers, designers, illustrators and others in taking projects forward and ensuring their successful publication. The job also includes proofreading text and covers of print and digital titles, and checking advance copies received from printers.

• Dimensions

Financial:
Project management or task completion within an agreed budget and demonstrable contribution to successful print publication

Staff:

• Collaborate with other desk editors/ commissioning editors/ sales persons/ marketing colleagues and vendors

Other:

• Working on an agreed schedule after discussion with the Senior Production Editor
• Maintaining relationship with production colleagues
• Principal Accountabilities

Editorial Responsibilities

• Handle different book projects and tasks in Pre-press production
• Proofread text and cover files for both print and digital products
• Coordinate with design vendors for generating cover files
• Maintain quality standards set by the Press
• Ensure that all vendors and freelancers adhere to our quality standards
• Provide constant feedback to vendors for quality issues
• Coordinate with the Senior Production Editor on content-related issues that may need to be resolved during the course of a project
• Stick to the Press' font policies and other compliance policies

Additional Duties
To carry out any other duties which may be reasonably expected of you by your immediate manager or the Head of Academic Publishing.

Press Policies and Procedures
To abide by all Press policies and procedures, as detailed in your contract of employment and the Staff Handbook, e.g., code of ethics, anti-bribery and corruption, health and safety, e-mail and Internet use and standards of behaviour.

• Context
• Operating Environment:

Successful and error-free publication of print and digital Academic titles

• Framework & Boundaries:
• Pre-press workflow
• Adhering to the Press' font policy and other compliance policies
• Organisation:

Organization chart is understood.

• Relationships
• Subordinates:
• Manage freelance editors and other vendors
• Check their quality of work whenever required
• Superior(s):
• Weekly publishing updates
• Updates on a task may be required at any point in time
• Discuss timeline of all tasks and project assigned
• Other Contacts:

Within The Company
Commissioning, marketing and sales colleagues

Outside The Company
Publishing vendors, designers, illustrators

• Knowledge and Experience
• The ability to work both independently and as part of a team
• The ability to communicate well in English, both verbally and in writing
• Strong attention to detail and the ability to work accurately and quickly to tight deadlines
• A high standard of computer literacy
• Reading comprehension -- Understanding written sentences and paragraphs in work related documents.
• Writing comprehension -- Communicating effectively in writing as appropriate for the needs of the audience.
• Time Management -- Managing one's own time and the time of others.
• Judgement and decision making -- Considering the relative costs and benefits of potential actions to choose the most appropriate one.
• Familiarity with the style guides, especially the Chicago Manual of Style, desirable.
• Job Challenge(s):
• Editorial assistants need to be train themselves quickly in whatever systems they are expected to use and whatever tasks they are expected to carry out.
• Time management – certain projects or tasks can have sharp deadlines which need to be understood well before a it is taken up for execution.
• Maintaining professional relationship and work balance with all vendors