Rod Green – Ghostwriter

October 2009 to date
Freelance editorial consultant and writer
Currently working as a freelance writer and editorial consultant for several different publishing companies including Carlton, Ebury, Michael O’Mara, John Blake and Dungate Press. Over the last few years I have written a number of books including Majesty, Magna Carta and The Car for Carlton; The Wicked Wit of Scotland and Man Up! for Michael O’Mara; and Mandela for Constable. I have also ghost written books for motorcycle racer and TV presenter Guy Martin, war hero Johnny Johnson, TV presenter Paul Martin and business entrepreneur Sir Rod Aldridge. I also spent some time as Editorial Director at Palazzo Editions. To date, including children’s books and books not produced under my own name, I have written around 70 titles and been responsible for the publication of several thousand.

January 2008 to September 2009
Editorial Manager, Carlton Books
Responsible for the Entertainment and Media list, including André Deutsch. Published books created under licence from D C Thomson, including the Commando series, as well as working with nostalgia titles from Fleetway and IPC. Worked with Granada on Coronation Street titles, a number of illustrated and non-illustrated celebrity biographies and repackaged classics from Conan Doyle and W E Johns to Jack London and Edgar Allan Poe.

May 2002 to January 2008
Freelance editorial consultant and writer
In 2002 I was employed on a freelance, part-time basis by Michael O’Mara Books to produce one title for them, a major illustrated co-edition called WWII: The People’s Story. This relationship rolled on through a variety of other projects including MOM’s Most Evil . . . series and a successful series of ‘dossier’ packs which featured facsimile documents and a short booklet. These titles included Churchill, Spitfire & Hurricane, D-Day and Victory 1945. As well as researching the contents for the dossiers, I also wrote the illustrated booklets. Among many other titles handled for MOM, the facsimile theme continued with the Eating For Victory and Make Do And Mend reproductions of wartime information leaflets and the official centenary book for Morgan Cars.
While continuing the relationship with MOM, I also worked with other publishers, including writing Beach Huts for Cassell; managing a major illustrated project The Rock and Roll Years being packaged for Readers’ Digest; contributing to The Encycolpedia of Conspiracy Theories (I wrote the section about aliens!); ghostwriting an SAS memoir for Osprey; and writing a number of books for Carlton. These have included The Building of the Titanic, The Real History Behind Foyle’s War, The Dog, The Cat, The Puppy, the New York Times bestseller Santa Claus and an official book based around The Spiderwick Chronicles.
I also wrote and produced a lavish official 50th anniversary book for the Army Air Corps.

August 2000 to May 2002
Freelance editorial consultant and writer.
As a freelance publishing consultant, project manager and author, I worked on books for a number of major publishers including AA Publishing, Penguin Books, HarperCollins, Ebury, Virgin Books, Barnes & Noble, Aurum Press and Carlton Books, for whom I put together a Mr Bean publishing programme, writing a number of the titles myself. As well as several other children’s books for Carlton, other titles I produced as an author for other publishers include a book about explosions called Bang!, a history of Scalextric model racing cars, The Little Book of Curry and The Little Book of Lager and a tie-in to the Robot Wars TV series. In addition, I spent several weeks working on special projects for OK! Magazine.

November 1994 to August 2000
Senior Commissioning Editor, Virgin Publishing
Senior Commissioning Editor, responsible for the General Publishing list and managing five editorial staff at Virgin, reporting to the Managing Director. I commissioned books at Virgin across a wide range from Sport and Music to Humour, TV and Film related titles, Reference and Motoring books. I have always handled both illustrated and text-led books, generally involving celebrity authors such as Spike Milligan, Eric Sykes, Barry Cryer and Barbara Windsor or major licensed product such as Star Wars, The Archers and Jaguar Cars.

August 1990 to November 1994
Editorial Director, Boxtree Limited
Responsible for the Mass Market list and managing four editorial staff, reporting to the Publishing Director. Established and developed Boxtree's humour list. Amongst other successes, bestselling humour titles included Comic Relief Return Of The Red Nose Joke Book, Comic Relief The Squashed Tomato Joke Book and Paul Merton's History Of The Twentieth Century. I also conceived and created the best-selling and much-copied Mr Bean's Diary.

July 1988 to August 1990
Commissioning Editor, Penguin Group
Commissioning Editor at Fantail, then a new arm of Puffin, reporting to the Editor-in-Chief and helping to establish the new mass market imprint. Fantail was created to handle television tie-ins, novelty books, music books, licensed character books and even launched a stationery range.

January 1988 to June 1988
Reporter/Features writer, D C Thomson & Co Ltd, London
Reporter/Features writer on The Weekly News, reporting to the London Editor.
April 1986 to January 1988
Senior Sub-Editor, D C Thomson & Co Ltd, Dundee
Senior Sub, reporting to the Editor, on a variety of children's magazines/comics such as Bunty and Victor as well as several teen magazines.

June 1979 to April 1986
Sub-Editor, D C Thomson & Co Ltd, Dundee
Sub-Editor on various magazines/comics, writing articles and features, interviewing celebrities, also responsible for the children’s pages on The Sunday Post newspaper June 1978 to June 1979
Editorial Assistant, D C Thomson & Co Ltd, Dundee
Editorial Assistant working on children’s magazines, proof reading, devising storylines, writing dialogue, copy chasing