Christina Sargent is a recent Emerson alum, and personal friend of mine, who graduated in May of 2018 with a degree in writing, literature, and publishing. She is currently working in the publishing industry and agreed to interview with me to talk about all things publishing! I had the pleasure of working alongside her while she was still at Emerson, and I’m excited to see how successful she has been since graduating! Check out our Q and A below for more information about Christina and the publishing industry in general!
Photo by Hannah Ellis
1.) What company are you currently working for?
Brill Academic Publishers
2.) What is the official title for your current position?
Production Editor
3.) What does your role as a production editor entail?
As a production editor, I am in charge of everything between when the manuscript is finished and when the book is physically printed. I order proofs from a typesetter, check those proofs to make sure everything follows our house style, communicate with the author for any last-minute corrections, register the title with the Library of Congress, calculate the spine width and hire a cover designer, update our website with relevant information about the book, and finally send all the files to the printer.
4.) What specific kinds of books do you work with?
Brill is an academic publisher, so all of our books are nonfiction. The Boston office mostly handles books on the humanities, specifically subjects like ancient cultures, international law, East Asian studies, religious studies, and philosophy.
5.) What is your favorite part about your job and why?
This might sound strange but I really like how solitary the job is. At any given time I am working on about fifteen different books, and it is up to me to prioritize what needs to get done when in order for each of these titles to meet their projected date of publication. I definitely work better when I am able to make my own schedule and figure things out as I go.
6.) What part of editing is your favorite? Why?
Formatting. I love playing with fonts and sizes, making everything look uniform, figuring out the best way to lay the text on the page, etc. It’s like completing a puzzle.
7.) What was the career trajectory you had that lead you to your current position?
I started working in a grocery store when I was sixteen, and after spending two weeks as a cashier I was promoted to customer service representative. This gave me a lot of experience not only helping customers but also balancing profits and handling confidential material. Having this particular experience on my resume led to an internship manning the front desk of a small publishing company. This allowed me to get my foot in the door of the publishing world. I then held internships with other publishers where I was doing things like spot checking manuscripts, corresponding with authors, and generating promotional material. Having all of this experience while still in college was what gave me the opportunity to land a full-time position doing what I love.
8.) What has been the most interesting part of your journey so far?
I think the transition from student to employee has come with a lot of unexpected perks and setbacks. It’s strange (but wonderful) to think that essays and tests are a thing of the past. But I am also coming to terms with the fact that school vacations and summer breaks aren’t a thing anymore. Overall though, being a full-time adult is decidedly better.
9.) How did you decide that you wanted to go into publishing?
I’ve always loved books, for as long as I can remember. When I was little and people asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, the answer was always “an author.” Sometime around middle school I realized that what I actually loved doing wasn’t the writing itself but all the editing, formatting, and organization that came with it. So I made the decision to attend Emerson College because of their incredible publishing program.
10.) Has being an editor improved your own writing in any ways?
*She laughed* I am definitely not a writer.
11.) Have you ever been in a situation where, as an editor, your role has shifted to incorporate or eliminate aspects of your position with the changing structure of the company you work for?
This happened before I started at Brill, but there is a definite trend toward ebooks, especially in the field of academic publishing. A lot of our books are being used as references in dissertations and research papers, and oftentimes scholars prefer to use ebooks as they are cheaper, more accessible, and have a search function. Brill publishes all of our titles simultaneously as both print and ebooks, so I have to make sure I am assembling both of these files at the same time.
12.) How often do you see overturn of staff? Do you feel it has to do with position?
I only recently started at Brill, but from what I have observed people tend to stick around here for a while. Many of my coworkers have been here for five years or longer. I like to take this as a sign of a good company!
13.) Is there a lot of room for movement in companies because of personnel overturn, or do you feel like people tend to stay where they are once they get to where they want to be?
At Brill, people tend to stay where they are. I don’t think this is typical of the publishing industry, though. From what I’ve heard people tend to move around.
14.) Have you ever had to take ownership of the work that someone working for you produced? Where there any situations where you realized that they did something wrong and because you approved it, you were going to have to answer for it too?
This hasn’t specifically happened to me, but in such a situation it is important to take responsibility for your mistakes, and also work with your supervisor(s) to come up with a solution. Everybody makes mistakes, and at a good company they will realize this and appreciate your efforts to fix them.
15.) In order to “make it” in the publishing industry, what is your biggest piece of advice for interviewing? Starting a new position? Going for a promotion?
It’s important to have relevant experience on your resume, but what is even more important, I think, is to be friendly and approachable during the interview. If the company wants to interview you, it means they liked what they saw on your resume, and now they want to see if you would be a good fit for their company. I think a positive attitude goes a long way. And when you start your job, it is important to show that you’re willing to listen and learn from those who have been there longer. Eventually when you’re looking to move up, start taking on more responsibilities and go the extra mile with your assignments. The effort won’t go unnoticed.
16.) If you could go back in time and tell yourself what you know now, would you take the same path? Is there anything you would change or do differently?
I would probably tell my younger self to have more fun! I have always been very focused on schoolwork which did help get me where I am today, but there were definitely times where I was stressing over grades that ultimately didn’t matter so much. My boss doesn’t care if I got an A- or a B+ in a history elective. As long as you’re putting in the effort where it matters, there’s plenty of room to have some fun too.
17.) Do you have any future aspirations? If so, what are they?
Pay off my student loans!
18.) What is your go to Emerson spot?
The dining hall! Kind of basic but it’s a good place to get work done, meet up with friends, and have something to munch on.
19.) What is your favorite place to go when you’re in Boston?
The Esplanade. So many good memories there :)
20.) What clubs and orgs were you a part of at Emerson and how have those clubs helped you your career?
I spent a few semesters copyediting for publications like em Magazine and Emertainment Monthly, but the Emerson Review was the organization I was the most involved with by far. I started on the reading staff as a freshman, completely fell in love with the process of reviewing and refining submissions, and eventually worked my way up to Editor-in-Chief my senior year. Like I mentioned before there were many times when I doubted if this was the right career for me—mostly when classes were difficult, I was bogged down with homework, and I just wasn’t enjoying it. But Em Review was what reminded me that this is truly what I’m passionate about. Every time we got a new packet of submissions or had another meeting it reassured me that I was on the right path.
I think it’s clear to see the connection between the skills used working on a school literary magazine and the skills used as a book editor. There’s no doubt that Emerson Review helped me become better at my job. But it also gave me a lot of encouragement and motivation at a time when I really needed it. I enjoyed every minute of my time at Em Review and I would highly encourage current students to get involved with an org they feel passionate about.
21.) What was your favorite thing to do when you were working for Emerson Publications?
I always had so much fun during the final stages of publishing a literary journal. Once all the submissions were finalized, it was time to assemble a copyediting team, have the designer do some mock-ups, and plan a launch party. It was so exciting to see something you worked very hard on come together in the end, especially when the people you worked with were equally as passionate, which was the case for me.
22.) What’s once piece of advice you would give for anyone currently at Emerson looking to break into the publishing industry?
Take as many publishing classes as you can—you never know what might spark your interest!
23.) Did you ever think, 10 years ago, that you would be where you are now? Where do you think you will be in the next 10 years?
Thirteen-year-old me would be very happy to learn I’m working as an editor at a fancy publishing company in Boston. It has always been my goal, but actually attaining it is a little surreal. Ten years from now I hope to still be working in production in the Boston area—maybe at Brill, maybe at a different company. Either way I hope to have my own place (no more roommates!), plenty of free time to enjoy my hobbies, and maybe a cat or something, who knows?!
I want to personally thank Christina so answering all of these questions for me and agreeing to let me publish the responses. I am so proud of Christina and all of the hard work she puts in every day, and I’m excited at the prospect of getting to work alongside Christina again in the future! I hope you all got to know a little bit more about publishing and about Christina!