Editor, Intrigue

Company:                        Harlequin Enterprises ULC

Date:                                 January 5, 2024

Job Title:                          Editor, Intrigue

Department:                   Editorial – Harlequin Brand Group

Reporting To:                  Senior Editor, Brand

Status:                              Regular Full Time  

Location:                          195 Broadway, New York, NY

We celebrate and support the differences that make each of us unique, striving to create a welcoming workplace that ensures everyone has a voice and are able to do their best work. We welcome all applicants, including those who identify with groups that are traditionally underrepresented in the publishing industry including, but not limited to, Black, Indigenous, and people of colour, and members of the LGBTQIA2S+ community, and persons with disabilities.

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Job Summary:

We have an exciting opportunity within the Harlequin Brand Group for an Editor who has an affinity to the romance genre, reporting to the Senior Editor of Harlequin Intrigue. The successful candidate will be responsible for managing approximately twenty authors and accountable for acquiring, developing and editing their manuscripts. Additional responsibilities include working with the larger editorial team and with the marketing department to support the brand group publishing strategy. 

Key Accountabilities:

Editorial Quality:

• Works with author base to acquire manuscripts that support the customer expectation for excellent brand romance.
• Reads submissions (solicited and unsolicited where applicable), responds to authors/agents, present projects, negotiate contracts and monitor payments to authors. 
• Develop new authors to publication standards.
• Performs all editorial functions when appropriate, including titling books, reading and evaluating proposals, providing revisions to author and line editing manuscripts.  Oversee copy editing and author approval/alterations.
• Stays aware of the competitive marketplace, both print and digital.
• Demonstrates and strives for continued innovation, creativity, consumer and competitive insights.
• Mentors/coaches junior members of staff.
• Project management of specific initiatives as directed.

Product Packaging:

• Writes and reviews back cover copy to deliver the most saleable package.
• Provides editorial input into packaging design and copy to ensure key selling features are reflected in the book package. Works with the Marketing and Art teams on design recommendations.

Author/Agent Management:

• Maintains key authors under contract and develops new authors by providing mentoring and guidance with respect to career direction and positioning of imprint.
• Maintains positive relationships with agents.
• Represents the program/company at both internal and external conferences and with the media and with targeted outreach to under-represented writers and writers’ organizations as we work to increase diverse representation within the line.

Specific training or job experience required includes:

• An undergraduate degree.
• Minimum of 5 years’ experience in fiction book publishing, including acquisitions experience.
• Strong communication, writing and editorial skills.
• Experience finding, editing and managing key authors.
• Prioritizes project management, planning and organizing, teamwork and collaboration, negotiation skills and a drive for results.
• Experience with agents and proven negotiation skills.
• High level of creativity/innovation, functional/technical knowledge.
• Ability to effectively analyze and shape projects for the marketplace.

About Harlequin

Harlequin is a leading publisher of commercial fiction and narrative nonfiction. We publish more than 100 titles a month that reach audiences globally. Encompassing highly recognizable imprints that span a broad number of genres, we are home to many award-winning New York Times and USA TODAY bestselling authors. Harlequin is a division of HarperCollins Publishers, the second-largest consumer book publisher in the world. Through HarperCollins’s global publishing program, Harlequin titles are published in 17 countries and 16 languages.

The salary range for this position is $65,000-$75,000. We recognize that attracting the best talent is key to our strategy and success as a company. As a result, we aim for flexibility in structuring competitive compensation offers to ensure we are able to attract the best candidates. The quoted salary range represents our good faith estimate as to what our ideal candidates are likely to expect, and we tailor our offers within the range based on the selected candidate's experience, industry knowledge, technical and communication skills, and other factors that may prove relevant during the interview process.  

Harlequin is an Equal Opportunity Employer, committed to equal employment opportunities. Employment decisions are based on job requirements and the skills, knowledge, and experience of the candidate, regardless of any other factors unrelated to job performance. We are also committed to ensuring that the accessibility needs of candidates and employees are considered and accommodated during the recruitment process.

 We thank all applicants for their interest, however, only those candidates selected for an interview will be contacted.