Staff Profile is a monthly feature which introduces readers to the forces behind our journals.  Based on their own experience, UTP staff answer questions which provide insight into their background, responsibilities, and the process of publishing an academic journal.

Our first Editor Spotlight will be Sylvia Hunter, the Editorial Manager of UTP’s Journals Division.

Sylvia Hunter

Editorial Manager, Journals

How long have you worked at University of Toronto Press?
17 years — I started working at UTP in July 1996.

What is your job title and briefly, what do you do?
My job title is “Editorial Manager, Journals.” I really have 2 jobs: managing the Editorial & Production group in the Journals Division (copy-editing, contracts, and production staff) and managing the XML workflow aspect of P-Shift (manuscript preparation; XML coding; XSL transforms; tech support for copy editors, client publishers, and compositors; and EPUB).

What is your favourite part about your job?
As John Watson says about living with Sherlock Holmes, I’m never bored! 🙂

How has your job changed since you started?
I’ve done a lot of different jobs in 17 years, and it’s actually harder to think of a way in which my job hasn’t changed. I started out doing editorial (peer-review) support for 2 UTP journals, and back in 1996 that involved an enormous amount of photocopying and envelope-stuffing, as well as maintaining an Access database and checking 2 email accounts twice a day via dial-up modem! I had 2 filing cabinets all to myself, one for each journal. The people who do that job now use an online peer-review system and don’t even have filing cabinets in their office! I now do a lot of work with XML and XHTML code, which I would never have expected my  job to involve. Fortunately, being a nitpicky copy editor is good training for fixing XML validation errors and figuring out why your EPUB file won’t work.

What about academic publishing do you find most interesting/exciting right now?
Everyone keeps saying this, but it’s true: this is a really fascinating historical moment in publishing, possibly weirder and wilder even than the Gutenberg era, and nobody really knows where it’s ultimately going to end up. I’m excited by the possibilities for more interactivity and better usability in online journals and ebooks.

What advice can you give those trying to start a career in publishing?
Take some good publishing courses (including courses on topics you may be less interested in: you never know). Read a lot. Be prepared to expand your skill set; publishing jobs are ever-changing, so don’t discount any opportunity to learn new things. Hone your written communication skills: learn to be accurate, brief, and clear. Pay attention to the details. Be patient, and keep trying!