Heather Boisseau – Editor

I have over twenty years editorial and production experience. I first started working in publishing at Hodder Education and after five years, left to join trade indie publisher, The Friday Project. I subsequently moved to HarperCollins, Virgin (working in editorial and publicity on celebrity and commercial non-fiction), and most recently Anova (Pavilion), as Commissioning Editor for Good Housekeeping books. It was here that I managed cookery photoshoots and planned co-edition recipe books in association with the magazine. I was named an Unsung Hero of Publishing by White Fox Publishing agency in 2016.

I am Publishing Director at RedDoor Press, responsible for the editorial, production and print buying of each book from manuscript stage. I commission both fiction and non-fiction, working closely and collaboratively with authors. Whilst I commission editorial and design freelancers, I edit and proofread manuscripts where required. I also sell translation and audio rights and present at book launches and festivals. Non-fiction genres include Health and Fitness, MBS, Cookery, Humour, Travel, Adult and Autobiography – in both mono and full-colour formats. Since joining RedDoor, I have been able to pursue my passion for women’s commercial fiction, domestic noir and popular drama, and to commission books I feel translate from page to screen.

Having spent years writing copy in-house, I now also take on freelance writing. I have written for various trade press and am looking to expand my portfolio.

I was responsible for commissioning and managing all new books published in association with Good Housekeeping Magazine and Zest Magazine. This involved project management of multiple co-edition, illustrated books (cookery, health, fitness) and planning/managing photo shoots to create new photographic material. Tasks included identifying market trends, budget management, client management, picture research and creation of presentations for book fairs.

I worked closely with freelance editors, proofreaders and designers, in addition to photographers, home economists and food stylists. The job was very creative and I really enjoyed collaborating with both the magazine and photographic teams.

I loved working at Virgin – tasks included proofreading manuscripts, picture research, project management of celebrity autobiography and non-fiction, writing press releases, generating ideas for serialisation, pitching to journalists and broadcast media, accompanying authors for media training and raising embargo confidentiality agreements.

The Friday Project was the UK's first blog to book publishing company. I worked with a diverse range of bloggers and website owners to create books from their digital content. Clients included: Holy Moly, PopJustice, Nudo, TVCream, TheManOnTheMiddleFloor, BloodSweatandTea.

I commissioned new books and authors from the Internet, blogs & agents, raised author contracts, liaised with The Society of Authors, project managed titles and managed editorial/ design budgets, copy edited & proof read jackets, marketing copy and manuscripts, created copy for jackets, marketing copy and AI blurb, commissioned photographers for photo shoots (inc. jackets & internal artwork). On the publicity side I handled media requests, wrote press releases, managed launch events, and secured authors for interview (attending TV/ radio interview where required). I handled all the print and paper buying across the list.

I integrated the TFP system into HarperCollins when the company was bought in 2008.

• Project development and list management; liaised with authors & contributors
• Prepared final manuscript and illustrations for production, sized & cropped artwork, prepared rough line drawings for artist and halftones for wet proofing
• Commissioned copy editors, proof readers and indexers
• Briefed jacket and text design; marked up material; briefed picture research
• Wrote jacket blurbs and marketing copy for Title Database
As Editorial Manager I managed a team of 5 editors and was the main liaison between editorial, production and design.