Editor - Running Press Group

Hachette Livre; Philadelphia (Philadelphia County); Hybrid; USD 60,000 - 70,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical

Dental

Vision

401(k)

Discretionary bonus

PTO 15 days

Tuition reimbursement

Travel assistance

Job summary

Running Press, an imprint of Hachette Book Group, seeks an Editor to acquire and edit about 15 books and related products each year, with bonus for expanding genre fiction lists. Location: Philadelphia preferred or NYC hybrid.

Strong relationship-building with authors, agents, and licensors is essential. The role involves coordinating with design, production, and sales teams, drafting compelling copy, and guiding projects from proposal to publication.

Qualifications

• 5+ years editorial experience in book, licensing, magazine, or digital publishing.
• Experience in genre fiction and/or illustrated books is a plus.
• Strong understanding of acquisition and publishing process.
• Well-organized, detail-oriented, able to manage multiple projects.
• Excellent verbal and written communication; comfortable presenting to teams.

Responsibilities

• Brainstorm and develop projects based on entertainment properties, lifestyle practices, and popular formats, with a vision for creating books and related products that connect with fan communities and hit marketplace trends.
• Cultivate strong relationships with authors, licensors, literary agents, subject experts, and other creative communities to acquire titles and partnership opportunities.
• Evaluate and develop book proposals and pitches, making commercial, creative, and imprint-focused cases for acquisition.
• Work with Editorial Director on expanding publishing lines and grow fiction through partnerships.
• Work with licensors to craft concepts and guide projects through approvals.
• Edit and develop manuscripts, and act as project editor through publishing stages.
• Collaborate with in-house design, production, and freelancers and partners.
• Draft descriptive copy for sales/marketing and consumer-facing copy.
• Act as project editor on titles acquired by Editorial Director.

Skills

Editorial experience

Public speaking

Project management

Negotiation & licensing

Creative development

Tools

Microsoft Word

Outlook

Teams

PowerPoint

Excel

Job description

Running Press, an imprint of the Hachette Book Group company, is a leading publisher of books, decks and book-plus, and Mini Kits in the categories of Pop Culture, Entertainment, Licensed Publishing, Creative Self-Help, Lifestyle, Food & Drink, Humor, and Gift. We are seeking an Editor to join our highly creative and collaborative team to acquire and edit approximately 15 books and related book-plus products (such as card decks, guided journals, puzzles, games, and our proprietary Mini Kits) each year. It would be a bonus if the candidate is also able to help expand our emerging list of genre fiction with key publishing partners.

RESPONSIBILITIES:

• Brainstorm and develop projects based on entertainment properties, lifestyle practices, and popular formats, with a vision for creating books and other related products, including Mini Kits, that connect with fan communities and hit marketplace trends.
• Cultivate strong relationships with authors, licensors, literary agents, subject experts, and other creative communities with the goal of acquiring titles and introducing partnership opportunities for Running Press.
• Evaluate and develop book proposals and pitches, making commercial, creative, and imprint-focused cases for acquisition.
• Work with Editorial Director on expanding Running Press’s one-color narrative publishing and bonus if able to grow our fiction line, working with partners to acquire and develop titles that meet trends in the genre fiction space.
• Work with licensors to craft concepts and guide projects through all stages of approvals.
• Edit and develop manuscripts, and act as a project manager through all stages of the publishing process.
• Work closely and collaboratively with in-house design, production, and production editorial departments, as well as external freelancers, authors, and publishing partners.
• Draft descriptive copy that will be used to explain and position books to the sales and marketing departments, as well as write consumer-facing descriptive copy.
• Act as project editor on some titles acquired by Editorial Director.

KNOWLEDGE, SKILLS & ABILITIES REQUIRED:

• Possess excellent verbal and written communications skills, including comfort speaking publicly in varied in-house team meetings and sales-facing presentations.
• Have 5+ years’ editorial experience in book, licensing, magazine, or digital publishing, with experience in genre fiction and/or illustrated books or other content-rich media spaces considered a plus.
• Have a well-developed understanding of the acquisition and book publishing process.
• Be highly organized, detail-oriented, and capable of managing multiple projects simultaneously.
• Embrace all aspects of the creative process, including brainstorming, editorial development, and determining a design/physical package.
• Demonstrate sensitivity and professionalism when interacting with authors and their literary agents, licensors, and colleagues.
• Be comfortable coordinating team projects that will include designers, authors, and freelancers.
• Be proficient in Word, Outlook, Teams, PowerPoint, and Excel or other like tools, and have a strong understanding of line editing, and familiarity with the Chicago Manual of Style or other style guides

Location:

Philadelphia (Preferred) or New York City (Hybrid – three days per week in the office)

About Hachette Book Group

Hachette Book Group (HBG) is a leading book publisher based in New York and a division of Hachette Livre, the third-largest publisher in the world. The mission of Hachette Book Group is to make it easy for everyone to discover new worlds of ideas, learning, entertainment, and opportunity. At HBG, we are guided by four core pillars: Understanding Consumers, Changing the Story, Owner Mentality, and Growth Mindset.

As a leading book publisher, we believe that including and representing diverse voices in all aspects of our business is fundamental to what we do. Our publishing programs must reflect the broad range of backgrounds, experiences, political views and ideas that shape our society and publish books for all readers.

Hachette Book Group provides equal employment opportunities to all employees and applicants for employment and prohibits discrimination and harassment of any type without regard to race, color, religion, age, sex, national origin, disability status, genetics, protected veteran status, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, or any other characteristic protected by federal, state or local laws. This policy applies to all terms and conditions of employment, including recruiting, hiring, placement, promotion, termination, layoff, recall, transfer, leaves of absence, compensation and training.

The compensation range for this position is $60,000-$70,000. Salary can vary based on a number of factors including skills, experience, and location — talk with your recruiter to learn more. There may be times that you will be required (or requested) to work overtime due to the nature of your role or exceptional workload issues or special projects.

The following benefits are offered by the company:

• medical
• dental
• vision
• basic and supplemental life
• short-term and long-term disability
• accidental death and dismemberment
• critical illness
• hospital indemnity
• long-term care
• health and dependent care FSA
• commuter benefit plan
• employee assistance program
• tuition reimbursement
• travel assistance
• 401(k)
• discretionary bonus program
• PTO (15 vacation days, 3 personal days, 10 holidays and generous sick leave)
• group discounts on auto and home insurance and legal services

Eligibility requirements apply to some benefits and may depend on your job classification, hours worked and length of employment.

Benefits are subject to change and may be subject to specific elections, plan, or program terms.