Describing a typical day as an editor at Priddy Books is quite the challenge, in that no day here is typically the same. Perhaps the only remaining constant throughout the week is that every day does begin with sipping a creamy, hot latte at my desk, whilst tackling my inbox.
There are always deadlines to work to, so often the morning is spent ensuring that projects are on schedule, and this usually means adding to the ‘to do’ list. This might be proofs that have come in that need to be proof-read and circulated throughout the team for checking, or ensuring that projects are ready to send off to the printers.
As an editor at Priddy I feel very privileged as all the editors write, and similarly, all the designers illustrate, too. As a team we fundamentally create all the books ourselves in-house. This makes for a super-fun creative environment, and with the guidance and knowledge of all the Priddy team, all the way from production to sales and marketing, and of course our publisher, Roger, a Priddy book really is just that, made by all of us. This means that part of my day might be spent researching and developing new ideas. But, for now, these are all top secret. Watch this space!
Then there is manuscript writing. We’re currently working on a new range of girls’ sticker activity books. Again, I can’t go into too much detail, but so far they are looking really fantastic. One of our designers, Holly, has come up with a very contemporary, beautiful look, so much so that we all want to buy them ourselves! I’ll write the manuscript, and after my editorial manager, Nat, has taken a look at the content ideas, I’ll brief Holly and she’ll get designing. Manuscript writing certainly features on my daily ‘to do’ list!
The girls’ sticker activity books actually came from one of our brainstorming sessions that we like to call the ‘Creative Forum’. This is where we all get together, bring along ideas, and think up new books. As we work way in advance of publication, an idea might start out life in the Creative Forum, but not find its way into a book for a long time. Despite the long lead time on most projects, it just means that if our ideas – such as the new Sticker Doodle books, which might be my favourite books EVER – do get to publication stage, it’s all the more satisfying!
Seeing a book you have worked on arrive in the office for approval from the printer, known as advances, is the final stage before the books get into the shops, and is a very exciting part of the day in the office. Being part of a book’s development from the very start – from the initial idea through to layouts, approval, and the various proofing stages – means that it really is a great moment when you get to hold a printed book in your hands.
As you can see, it’s very difficult to describe a typical day but it’s very easy to describe how fun and creative it is to be an editor at Priddy. Sure, it’s not all fun, there’s a lot of pressure with continual deadlines to meet, but that’s all part of my ‘not so typical’ day job, and I wouldn’t change it for the world, except maybe with the addition of a coffee shop to desk, latte delivery service!
