Editorial Hiring Managers -- Find Those Who Can Find the River!

I spoke with a former colleague the other week and asked about the publishing business, since I'd stepped out to explore my creative side. He said things were stressful, more so than usual. I responded: "Oh, yes--jeez, AI... must be a strategic mind-bender." "Not that," he solemnly replied, "We can't find any developmental editors. Young people aren't going into publishing. How do we entice young editors, or find ones who have the talent to be trained?"

After his call I thought, it must be the allure of new media that's sucking the editorial "big picture" minds away. Books are outdated. Content is poised for shorter bursts and backed by imagery and video. Every side of every idea is covered (or not) in a contained space. There isn't time for the subtle, seductive essence of "theme" in content. Theme doesn't have time to evolve. The message has to be instant, in your face.

Ugh!--I gasped. New media must clash with the big-picture mind!--the mind trained enough to read Ulysses, or better yet, raised on Harry Potter! Lord, oh mighty, there must be a lot of suffering editorial souls out there!

Before the River Ran Dry

I can relate to these suffering young editors. I was seen as "creative," which worked well in some areas, like copywriting or acquisitions, but I struggled in production to find my editorial North Star. Then, somewhere over the past ten years, I noticed that the application of theme, which existed to some extent in educational content, even textbooks, was quietly fading with the big-name authors. We searched for content creators for short content "blocks" and whoosh!--all fun flew out the window. What I loved about publishing was working with authors--the older, quirky, eccentric, even troublesome ones, the better. These writers wove themes into their work whether they wanted to or not. Their content exuded personality, and if it connected with the young student, that author had a job for life.

My Autobiography Ghost Writer's Advice

This brings me to my sage advice for those hiring managers seeking the elusive future DE. I've found that where theme still reigns is in biography and autobiography. I've also painfully discovered in my freelance business, just how complicated and artful it is to extract a theme that can portray a person's entire lifetime. That skill takes a person who can match actions, values, intentions to outcomes, or lack thereof. In short, a good DE is a good listener.

So, when you take that potential new hire, or young editor with DE potential, out for coffee (pure fantasy ...more likely a Zoom call), ask them about the person or media figure who's most important in their life. Go further in having them describe a single theme that ran or runs through that person's life. If the potential hire really ponders the question, goes beyond the obvious, and best of all, becomes energized by the challenge, then you have the makings of a good developmental editor.

Because in all good content there is a river running through it (Clever wording inspired by Hollywood story writer, Norman Maclean). And it takes a special, talented, and often deeply creative person to find that river. But the content that person helps create will gain audience and quickly rise above. It's so worth the hunt!

PS - My editorial challenge when I was first hired by Mosby Yearbook way back in 1993 was to describe a paperclip in a full paragraph. Yikes! Luckily the backup question (should I have chosen not to write the paperclip paragraph) was "What's your favorite band?" Hum, dangerous question. I guess they liked Green Day.

Emerson Probst

Freelance Editor and Ghostwriter (Autobiographies)

[email protected]