Hugh Barker – Editor

I write books for several major publishers including Penguin and Hachette; some of these have been translated into more than 20 languages. My past publishers have included Constable, Faber, Atlantic Bloomsbury and W.W.Norton. I also work regularly as a freelancer for publishers around the UK and the US, as well as taking on a wide variety of jobs via Reedsy, which I find endlessly enjoyable and fascinating. In addition, I contribute book reviews to a UK magazine.

As publishing director, I oversaw all the firm's editors and was fully responsible for the non-fiction lists. This deepened my knowledge of how the editing process works, at all levels, and how to make a book successful.

I had a variety of roles, starting in the sales department, then commissioning and acquiring hundreds of books, including both fiction and non-fiction, and ending up as a commissioning editor. I had numerous bestsellers, and brought in successful authors in numerous genres.

This was my first job in publishing, although I previously worked as a proof-reader and in bookshops for several years. It was useful as a starter experience in understanding how publishing works, and what readers and publishers are looking for.