This summer I was given the opportunity to apply for a job as an acquisitions editor for Immortal Works Press. Initially, I hesitated to submit an application for various reasons. I’m fully consumed with raising five kids. Writing anything is a struggle and I wasn’t sure I could commit the time to a job, even if I could work from home.
After some internal debate, I realized I would be a fool if I didn’t apply. Here was an opportunity to support an industry I love! I could gain invaluable experience and make connections with professionals that would never exist otherwise. So I applied and was given the job (shocking)!
Now I get to read submissions and pass the good ones on to my superiors as publication candidates. It’s the dream job that I never knew I was dreaming of! I love it!
Being on the front lines of the publishing industry has educated me in countless ways. Most importantly, I have discovered the unending fountain of talent that exists out there in the world. I thought I would send a lot more rejections than I do. Instead, I request more full manuscripts than I expected. Finding a gem of a raw manuscript is exhilarating and I get so excited with the prospect of putting a wonderful book on the shelves.
So if you write or know someone who does, send your manuscript my way. I would love to read it!
Staci Olsen, Author/Editor 