Commissioning Editor Jobs in Publishing

The role of the commissioning editor is to find and develop ideas for publication as well as decide which books to publish, mainly based on trends and market conditions. It is very much a business development role within a publishing house, in line with the publishing house's overall publishing strategy. The commissioning editor will be responsible for the revenue on a particular imprint or list of titles, therefore they have to make key decisions as to where the book will sell and how many to print for the market. Keeping up-to-date on market trends is crucial in this role and the commissioning editor has to consider how current markets will react to new titles, and at the same time consider new markets for old titles, known as the backlist. Looking after the backlist titles and ensuring that they are performing is just as vital for a commissioning editor as commissioning new titles. Decisions such as: when to reprint; when to do a new edition of a publication; or when to put a title out of print, all come under their responsibility. The role of commissioning editor is therefore a key one within a publishing house, and one that many entering into a career in publishing aspire to.

Other likely terms for commissioning editor are acquistions editor, sponsoring editor or sometimes senior editor.