1. Space is required to judge a competition To start the process of sorting through a pile of competition entries, I generally start with a ‘yes’ pile and a ‘no’ pile, alongside the unread pile of course. Pretty soon, the ‘yes’ pile is bigger than the ‘no’ pile and I need to lay out a […]

1. There are many types of editors People often assume that ALL editors perform the same role, but there is an abundance of roles that editors take on that require different skill sets and experience. The most common types of editors that you may come across are structural editors, copyeditors and proofreaders. As a general […]

1. Not everyone understands that books need to be designed When I meet new people and they ask what I do for a living, they are often perplexed when I answer, ‘I’m a book designer’. This is mostly followed by a puzzled look (you can see their brains ticking away) and the next question is, […]

What does an editorial board member look for in a submission? There is no easy answer to this question. There are some motherhood statements that spring to mind—like well written, original, an arresting voice, an engaging narrative—and so on. But to unpick...