Acquisition Editor Responsibilities

Acquisition editor responsibilities are associated with the professionals working in publishing industry. Acquisition editors are very important to an organization and they play an important role in the core functions of a publishing house.

In a publishing house, the acquisition editor is in-charge of acquiring new manuscripts for publication. This may be done by contacting the existing writers, agents or by soliciting manuscripts from new writers, work of whom has not been published earlier. Acquisition editor has to keep searching for new projects from existing authors in order to keep the business running.

Acquisition editors also decide the genre of the manuscript and they also have to see that the manuscript has a commercial value. An acquisition editor does not always decide which manuscript goes for publication before discussing it with concerned person or departments such as sales and marketing department, managers, legal advisors, etc. He must see that the manuscripts selected for publishing are unique and will boost the image of the organization.

Acquisition editor is not just responsible to look after the creative matters but also the financial matters related to publication. He has to analyze the time and cost of publishing a book and the estimated profits that the organization will earn from the sales.

Key Responsibilities of Acquisition Editor

The primary acquisition editor responsibilities can be classified under the following heads:

• Scrutinize manuscripts: An acquisition editor has to read a manuscript from buyer's point of view. He has to analyze the target audience of a particular manuscript and decide if it will make for a good read for the audiences.

• Networking: It may not always happen that the authors will contact the editors in the first place. Working as an acquisition editor, an individual may have to approach the authors and agents and discuss any manuscripts that may be in its final stage of completion. Acquisition editor, apart from acquiring manuscripts, must also try to acquire new authors as well.

• Pitching: Publishing is all about business. So when an acquisition editor likes a particular manuscript, he has to discuss it with other people in the organization. Publishing a book is a time consuming task and is also a costly affair. Editors, sales managers, advisors and other concerned people and departments must be informed about the manuscript.

• Project management: Once the organization decides to publish a book, the acquisition editor prepares project specifications including the estimated time and cost for publication.

An acquisition editor, apart from the tasks mentioned above, also performs following duties:

• Suggest changes for manuscript to make the content more captivating and easy to understand
• Suggest concepts for book covers
• Prepare and renew contracts
• Participate in the marketing and promotion activities for new books
• Research and prepare statistics for market trends and prioritize publication of manuscripts that best suit the current market trends
• Supervise and assist the editorial staff
• Perform any other tasks as assigned

Skills of an Acquisition Editor

To become an acquisition editor, you need to be an excellent salesperson, communicator, reader, editor and a team leader. You also need to be creative and business oriented at the same time in order to bring unique books and profits for the organization.

Becoming an Acquisition Editor

A bachelor's degree in mass communication or media studies combined with an experience in the publishing industry will be advantageous if you want to get selected for this position.

Salaries for acquisition editors vary with location and organization. The pay scale ranges from $63,000 to $93,000.

Career Scope

With an increasing number of writers and reading enthusiasts, you can expect a bright future in this industry.

Acquisition editor responsibilities contribute in the growth of a publishing house. An acquisition editor must execute all his duties diligently in order to achieve professional success and also enhance the business of the organization.