Friday Photo: Managing editor Christine Schwab

I’ve answered a few questions this week from authors who are a bit confused by our job titles here at Editions. These titles are standard in the publishing industry, so it doesn’t often occur to me to explain the organizational relationships. Perhaps most confusing is the title of managing editor. What is the managing editor’s organizational relationship to the editorial director? How about to the acquisitions editors? The copy editors?

These relationships can vary a bit among publishers, but here’s the skinny at Editions: Our managing editor, Christine Schwab, reports to the editorial director (fellow blogger and my boss, Patrick Hogan) and is a peer to the acquisitions editors (me and, until recently, Laura Pelehach).

Christine effectively has one foot in editorial and the other in production. She takes what an acquisitions editor has deemed to be a final manuscript and

• evaluates the level of copy editing it will require
• queries any missing or unsuitable bits in the text or the illustrations
• preps the manuscript for copyediting
• hires and supervises one of our regular freelance copy editors
• facilitates communication between the copy editor and the author
• preps the copyedited manuscript for production
• reviews the proof layouts and vets the work of the proofreader

The “managing” bit in her title refers both to managing the copy editors and to managing the editorial aspects of the production process.

Some of our products are rather more complex than others, so the steps described above are a bit simplistic. Indeed, she wouldn’t forgive me if I didn’t mention her work on Guide to Reference. She is not only vetting the copyediting and answering a raft of questions about the huge and idiosyncratic editorial stylesheet, but also training the copy editors to work within an online authoring system. Luckily for Editions, Christine is more than up to the task.

Christine joined Editions early last year, but she and I have worked together off and on in some capacity for 11 years now. We even shared adjoining offices for a while at the University of Chicago Press. Well, actually it was an office and an adjoining storage closet. (You might think that Christine had the short end of the stick there in the storage closet, but it depends on your perspective. I had the only window, but she had the only door.)

On GR, Christine works closely with associate editor Steven Hofmann . . . and this just got too complicated for one blog post. Look out, Steven. You’re next.