A Peek Into The Evolving Role Of An Editor With Ajitha GS, Commissioning Editor With Harper Collins

Editing is no mean feat, and editors are actually the unsung heroes of the publishing world.  Credit for a successful book is attributed to the author, but the editor also has a major role to play in making the book interesting and saleable. The intellectual engagement of the author and the editor is what goes into creating a good book.
 

Ajitha GS, Commissioning Editor at Harper Collins comes across as a person who is absolutely in love with her job and approaches each book/manuscript with a fresh mind. The aspect of her job that she loves the most is “working with ideas”. Musings of different minds that take the form of a book, germinate from an ‘idea’ and it is this idea that appeals the most to her.
 

The role of an editor over time from Ajitha’s lens
 

Most of us associate editing with improving the language of the book or correcting grammatical errors. However, with changing times the role of an editor has evolved too. The editors now are more involved in the publicity campaigns of the book. They form an integral part of sales promotions and are more actively engaged with sales conversations. However, the motivational factor that strikes a chord with the editors is still pretty much the same as it used to be; that is, engaging with diverse ideas.
 

An evolving journey
 

Ajitha is a very satisfied professional in terms of the field that she has chosen for herself. The aspect of her job that she finds extremely satisfying is working with words. Understanding the point of view of the author is another challenging aspect of her job.
 

She describes her professional journey so far as constantly “evolving”.  The prospect of learning all the time about different subjects, different theories and working with different styles of writing is extremely exciting for her. Her job gives her the opportunity to do what she loves the most, learning; and that is what goes into making her an extremely competent professional too.   

Written by Ruchi Rajan