In Which I Share Some Exciting News!

Dearest Writer Friends! I have been making changes in my life of late—changes to which I have made many an oblique reference and then cruelly offered no explanation. But today, I tell all!

During my second or third month as an Editorial Assistant, my company began to assemble a team to devise a new marketing strategy, and I was asked to come on board as the editorial department’s voice and liaison. I dove right in, but I have to admit that I had a lot of trepidation. Though I’d often been told that the best way to get a foothold in the industry was through marketing and sales, and I had sort of shuddered at the advice. “I'm an editor,” I would insist, “I do not like selling things.”

But in working with a team of salespeople and marketers, I re-discovered all the things I am besides an editor. I’m a designer. I’m a writer. I’m a socialite and a networker. I'm a person who loves to celebrate others and to collaborate with them. And that’s exactly what all the other team members were, too. I learned that marketing and sales aren’t about pushing a product at the market; they’re about meeting people, understanding their needs and motivations, and finding a way to connect them to solutions that make them happy. In publishing, they're about sharing your excitement over books you really believe in with other bookish people. And that is so me, Writer Friends.

So once I had a year of experience as an Editorial Assistant under my belt and I was starting to think about Next Steps, I investigated marketing positions as thoroughly as I was investigating editorial ones. And I’m really, really excited to announce that I’ve been hired as the Marketing & Publicity Associate for a local press! In the coming weeks I’ll begin training authors in social media best practices and promoting great children’s books through public events and print and online media. I can hardly wait to get started!

Does this mean I’m done with editing? Of course not! In fact, I am actively seeking editorial opportunities on a freelance basis, and I’m happy to provide a quote to readers of this blog for line editing or manuscript critiques (just email a short description and a word count to rachel.stark[at]hotmail.com). But during the day, I’m now a designer, writer, socialite, networker, celebrator, and collaborator just as much as I am an editor.

Thanks for sharing my excitement!