Taking off my ‘commissioning editor’ hat

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Buondì.

I’ve taken off my ‘commissioning editor’ hat, which was one of my favourites, but was too much work.

What’s a ‘commissioning editor’? That’ll be the person in publishing who seeks out new projects and decides to press ‘go’ on the ones that grab them, so in effect ‘buying’ the manuscript from the author and committing to publishing it at some future point.

As opposed to other types of editor, and I’m sure there are many, but for instance the person who works with the author to shape up the manuscript into a publishable form, suggesting changes and… erm … editing.

For our ebooks business, which celebrates its tenth anniversary this year, given that what we publish is usually in a foreign language, the actual editing is often done by my wife, or someone expert in the language of the text, if it’s not Italian.

For the Italian texts, I proof read (= look for missing punctuation marks, delete double spaces, etc.) while listening to the online audio, then prepare the .pdf files, put together the product page in the shop, and so on. Lots of little bits and pieces, basically.

Also, during the birth of an ebook, I’ll have managed and monitored the process, and everyone involved in it. That looks something like this:

Production Funnel Notes
Process stages to copy and paste to production funnel for each volume:
1.) commissioned, awaiting draft
2.) first draft received
3.) final draft received
4.) Daniel to pre-format draft
5.) draft to Hannah for formatting
6.) draft to Stefi for: light editing, audio recording, verification of level
7.) find cover image
8.) ask Anya for cover
9.) prep for publication (add cover and audio, proof-read all, produce .pdfs)
10.) asked Fia for versions
11.) prepare shop product
12.) add versions to stock
13.) archive production folder to archive
14.) publish shop product
15.) easyorg post and copy to creatsend list
16.) promote new publication on content sites

Choosing the cover image is a pain in the butt, given all the copyright limitations, and the difficulty of finding the ‘right’ picture in the right size. I had to learn to resize and crop images, too.

For our newest ebook (see below), I couldn’t find the images I needed on the internet, so one morning I went out on my motorbike and took the pictures myself, then cropped them, then assembled them into one picture, then sent it to our graphic designer (steps 7 & 8).

By far the best bit comes before any of the (rather boring) sixteen stages, so 0.), if you will. The commissioning, the actual, yes, why the hell not, I’ll put my own money (and lots of hard, unpaid work) behind that idea!

Experienced writers would sometimes email a text, or an idea for a text. Here’s a story about a Venetian cat, they’d say, he’s a little wild and gets into lots of scrapes, would you like to publish it? Sure, I’d email back right away – people love cats, it’s bound to sell enough copies to cover our costs! And via with stage 1.)

Inexperienced writers, who have been by far the majority, might have some crazy idea they’re fixated on, but could often be guided towards topics that my gut told me would work, both for writer and readers.

Send your resume, I’d suggest, so I can see what you might be good at. Ah, you’re into history? Terrific, how about you write something about…?

During the pandemic I had lots of time – and writers sometimes had no other way to earn a living – so we had a super-productive couple of years! I commissioned literally dozens of ebook texts, which was, for the most part, lots of fun.

I’ve almost always enjoyed reading them (steps 2. 4. and 9.) and marketing them, as I’m sort-of doing now. Less so the other bits and pieces, but needs must.

Anyway, we are nearly at the bottom of the pandemic pile, and so I’m now an ex-commissioning editor, no longer agreeing to anything. I don’t even open the emails, if they’re unsolicited.

For a while now, we’ve been working through what we’ve got, then that’ll be it. For our regular readers (Pat, who’s bought every single thing we ever published), well, ragazzi, if you haven’t started reading ‘authentic’ Italian books/ebooks by now, with all this ‘graded’ support, maybe it’s time to take off the training wheels, bite the bullet, give it a go?

E così. The ebook I’m promoting today dates from the pandemic. At a certain point, Francesca and I wrote a long list of story/text ideas, and she worked through all the ones she liked best, churning out a text a week at least, but leaving the odds and sods until, yet again, it was time to pay the rent…

What about this one? I think I remember asking, or at least thinking. It’ll be REALLY INTERESTING. I’d like to read it, anyway. Why not have a go?? And so, with a little arm-twisting, she did.

So here we are, a couple of years down the road, and MY IDEA is all ready for you to take a look at. I’ve included a longer than usual FREE SAMPLE, too.

E’ così. In a couple of weeks we’ll have ‘Sex in ancient Greece’, which isn’t as much fun as it sounds, but I paid good money for the text so need to get at least some of it back…

And a couple of weeks after that, our final publication, which is one I’ve been saving until last, so we can go out with a bang. Or at least with a bark.

Actually, lots of barks, as it’s about a municipal dogs’ home, narrated by one of the inmates, who’s hoping to be rehomed. This one was totally not my idea, but snapped up in accordance with the ‘people like cats’ principle of ebook commissioning.

So that’s one to keep an eye out for.

For Bug fans, a quick summary, before I end today. We’re still not sleeping nights, though he’s back at the zoo Mondays thru Fridays.

Development-wise, he’s at the ‘throwing his bones out of the cage’ stage, and takes it very seriously. Also he’s more or less sitting on his own.

At the weekend he and I went on the swings for the first time, which was fun. Oh, and we’ve all got snotty noses… But spring is on the way!

Alla prossima settimana.

New B1/B2-level ‘easy reader’ ebook, – 25% this first week!

Improve your Italian reading and listening skills with our newest ‘easy Italian reader’, Le vie del cuore, level B1/B2 (intermediate/upper-intermediate).

In your home town, street names may have been chosen by a city planner hoping to orientate you, by a developer so as to evoke pleasant images in your mind (and raise real estate prices), or by local leaders to commemorate an important person, place or event. At the very least, they’ll be familiar to you. But in another country? The names of Italy’s piazze, strade and vie can often seem mere strings of hard-to-remember syllables, devoid of any meaning to visitors from afar…

But no! Take a little time and – with the help of this ‘easy reader’ ebook – you’ll soon know as much as any local!

Chi visita più di una città italiana, trova alcuni nomi di vie e piazze molto ricorrenti: sono i nomi di personaggi celebri e importanti, di date significative o di luoghi con un valore storico o sociale. Per esempio, in molte città italiane c’è una “Via Leonardo da Vinci” o una “Piazza Dante Alighieri” in onore del grande genio e del famoso autore della Divina Commedia. Ci sono anche tante “Via Roma” in ricordo della splendida capitale…

E poi ci sono un sacco di nomi ed eventi sconosciuti o quasi. Per esempio: chi diamine era Giuseppe Mazzini? Perché è famoso Enrico Fermi? E cosa è successo il 4 Novembre?! Conoscere i personaggi e i fatti che danno il nome a molte strade e piazze delle città del Bel Paese è un po’ come fare un tuffo nella cultura italiana. Allora, siete pronti a tuffarvi?

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• 4 chapters (19 typical street names) to read and listen to
• Five exercises to test yourself (or your classmates)
• Suitable for students at intermediate level or above
• Download your Free Sample Chapter (.pdf)

Buy Le vie del cuore (B1/B2) just £7.49 | FREE sample chapter (.pdf) | Catalog

How do I access my ebooks?

When your order is ‘completed’ (normally immediately after your payment), a download link will be automatically emailed to you. It’s valid for 7 days and 3 download attempts so please save a copy of the .pdf ebook in a safe place. Other versions of the ebook, where available, cannot be downloaded but will be emailed to people who request them. There’s a space to do that on the order form – where it says Additional information, Order notes (optional). If you forget, or if you have problems downloading the .pdf, don’t worry! Email us at the address on the website and we’ll help. Also, why not check out our FAQ?

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P.S.

Did you read/listen to yesterday’s FREE bulletin from EasyItalianNews.com?

Neither did I. Busy day. But I’m going to get to it this afternoon, promise!

Didn’t see it? Subscribing to EasyItalianNews.com and so receiving each ‘easy news’ bulletin via email is FREE!

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