Miranda Harrison – Editor

For 13 years I built up an in-house career in book editing, mostly within art book publishing (The Good Book Guide, Yale University Press, V&A Publications, Scala Publishing). In 2003 I went freelance, as a career move. I have subsequently enjoyed a range of in-house short-term contracts and part-time roles (e.g. at Tate Publishing and British Library Publishing), while at the same time working freelance in my own office. From 2006 to 2012 I was Head of Editorial and Publishing at Lund Humphries – in this role, I added hands-on production (guiding books through repro, print and delivery) to my skill-set. Since that time my freelance offer has included production as well as editorial.

Building good working relationships has always been very important to me. Occasionally in my career I've witnessed in-house staff being dismissive of authors. This makes no sense - without the author there is no book! In my experience, the best books are the result of an appreciative collaboration between all those involved. As a non-fiction editor, I also value conversations with an author about their subject. Knowing how they approach things as a person can really help to inform the editing process, as well as helping with jacket blurbs, key selling points etc. I also enjoy working with the other members of the creative team - such as the designer, the repro house and the printers. It's been a real pleasure to meet and work with many interesting people throughout my career.