Arpita Dasgupta – Editor

I started my career in academic publishing at SAGE Publications, where I was responsible for editing manuscripts and liaising with authors to ensure a seamless production process. To me, one of the most satisfying aspects of being an editor is the opportunity to work closely with authors. It has been a defining factor in my decision to stick with this industry.

Editing academic books is challenging yet satisfying, especially since I did an MPhil and understand the rigour of perfecting academic writing. While I mainly work on books on culture, history, and politics, I am also interested in sociology of fashion, and food history. The former, because it happened to be the topic of my dissertation at university, and the latter because it is a personal interest that I pursue very keenly. I also took my love for food and culture a step further and started a blog that goes by the name Piquant Punch.

After SAGE, I completed a two-year stint as an editor at The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) and then began what would be the longest phase of my career. At DK (formerly Dorling Kindersley), I worked on illustrated books for adults. My focus continued to be in the areas of history, culture, and art. There, I honed my skills in working with images and complex layouts, and also learnt to edit on the InDesign software. Additionally, I also helped develop a series titled Bilingual Visual Dictionary; it is a series of handy little books for anyone interested in improving their vocabulary and diction—I worked on 11 editions for the UK and US markets.

As a freelancer, I have worked with publishers such as Oxford University Press and Penguin SEA, in addition to working with individuals, helping them build their manuscripts from scratch.

Here's what my authors had to say about me:

Arpita Dasgupta is a thorough professional and her keen eyes spot the minutest of errors. She is very tenacious and not shy of going through the manuscript over and over again. She also meets her deadlines diligently. While working on my book, she dutifully informed me of possible ways to enrich my text and gave me sound reasons for the same. However, she was also sporting enough to accept my viewpoint. She is friendly and a pleasure to work with.

I hope this is the first of my many books with her!

R. GIRIDHARAN Right Under Your Nose

It's not often that an author finds an editor who is extremely diligent with her work and is equally patient when you are getting over concerned with punctuation and syntax. In a mad week of final edits when we were working on my book, Matinee Men, for Rupa Publications, Arpita cheerfully put in hours of work, in fact, I would say extra hours, and was always sensitive, conscientious and ended up becoming a friend from just a work partner. A huge asset for every author.

ROSHMILA BHATTACHARYAMatinee Men