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.