A Day in the Life of a Xulon Press Editor

I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been asked, “You’re an editor? What do you do all day?!” The misconceptions are many! Bottom line, we’re more talented than just humble comma-movers, more empathetic than red-pen wielding ice queens, and much more normal than the seemingly flawless, type-A perfectionist in the movies.  Want proof? Here’s a peek inside a day in the life of a Xulon Press editor:

8:42 a.m.
I arrive 12 minutes late (I can’t figure out why for the life of me), lugging my laptop, which I took home the night before to finish reviewing a novel. It’s going to be a typical day — busy.

8:50 a.m.
There’s an auto-brew Starbucks machine in the break room, which dispenses individual-sized cups of joy to its ever faithful, albeit impatient, recipients every morning.  After promising myself I will only have one cup all day, I pop an English muffin in the toaster, grab my precious pick-me-up and hustle back to my office. On the other side of my wall, I can hear the phone of Erika Bennett, Editorial Manager, ringing off the hook already.

9:00 a.m.
Ten pages into my first manuscript of the day, and I’m completely enthralled by this book on cats. Cats! An entire book devoted to the most delightful tale of three cats. This is going to be a good day. Rapid-fire clicking of the keyboard commences.

9:56 a.m.
There’s a rat-a-tat-tat on my office window, summoning me to the newest meeting on the docket: an hour-long brainstorm session for the new “Ask the Editor” blog. Editor Vanessa Correa and I volley back and forth on social media integration. I make a mental note to bring snacks to this meeting next week (and more coffee).

11:45 a.m.
After being joined at some point by Xulon’s Director of Special Projects and our Traffic Coordinator, notepads, red pens and scribbled diagrams have concealed the mahogany gloss of the conference room table. We’re interrupted for a moment as the Xulon staff gathers quickly to pray for a fellow employee and I’m reminded why it’s so precious to work for a company who functions like a family.

1:00 p.m.
Back in my office after a tantalizing “salad” at a nearby Chinese buffet, it’s back to the grindstone. I’ve got to fix the spelling in a fantasy fiction book and write a review on a testimonial autobiography this afternoon and I want to make sure they get my undivided attention.

2:07 p.m.
I may or may not have caved and gotten a second cup of coffee.

3:30 p.m.
We head back in the conference room; Erika has put us in charge of brainstorming new ideas for our department. We discuss how to meet author’s needs at various points in the writing process and how to keep them inspired along the journey. I sometimes think Xulon editor Krystina Murray can see straight into the soul of writers—she’s so intuitive—and her pointers lead the way in a discussion on helpful tools we can offer our authors.

5:30 p.m.
Somewhere in the midst of crunching numbers and revolutionizing the entire self-publishing industry, we realize that the office closed half an hour ago. We’re all going to be victims of rush hour traffic, but we’ve got pages and pages of notes on how to really engage and inform our authors.

All in all, it’s worth the extra effort (and the extra coffee); we’re blessed to be able to help so many people tell their stories!

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