Mystery Blogger from Inside the Publishing World

Sometimes I can’t get over how unbelievably lucky I am. To say I am excited to start my career in publishing would be an understatement. I am ready to crawl out of my skin and announce “Hello, World! I’m ready to help bring you books!”

From my cozy community in Columbus, Ohio, I applied to every editorial position in book publishing that I came across: from Mediabistro and Monster.com, to individual publishing house websites, I religiously checked listings so I could jump on every opportunity (and hopefully beat out the competition). With so many qualified candidates and not enough jobs, I dreamed of dining on crackers three times a day, and a dirty apartment in a noisy Manhattan neighborhood, with only one naked light bulb for light and warmth. And so with these optimistic aspirations, I sent out enough cover letters and resumes to make a forest weep, and never had a single bite. Didn’t they recognize my use of Dr. Seuss stamps was a sign of my editorial genius?!?! I also applied online, also known as “no chance in hell, but we’ll let you think you’re being productive.” How thoughtful of them. I became so familiar with the receptionists on my follow up calls that I could emulate a New Yawk accent flawlessly. Not a skill that got me far in Ohio.


I read every “how to get the job of your dreams” book I could get my hands on. But fear struck in my young heart when I read a word over and over: NETWORK. Sure, I was a big fish in moderate sized pond at The Ohio State University, but whom did I know in publishing? Well, as it turns out, my best friend’s cousin (ready to follow this?) used to work at Houghton Mifflin before becoming a social worker a few years ago, and she still had some old buddies who still were in the business. I emailed these faceless names who held my life in their inboxes with hopes that they’d share their wisdom. Imagine my surprise when a production editor at Candlewick called me. He recommended the Columbia Publishing Course (formerly known as the Radcliffe Publishing Course), which is a six-week crash course about everything in publishing. Miracle of miracles, I was accepted into this elite program, and within days of its completion, the director recommended me for a position at The Berkley Publishing Group. Two interviews and three days later, I accepted the job over the phone at the Cleveland airport. Hours earlier, I had left New York downhearted that I was returning to Ohio unemployed, but hours later, my fate had changed. Networking indeed.

And so here I am. An honest to goodness I’m-learning-at-the-feet-of-the-masters type of experience. Every day, I’m surrounded by brilliant and creative minds, including my boss who is a mentor as well as an inspiration. I have another mentor within the company who strives to give me whatever additional tools and support I need to be successful. What more could any aspiring editor ask for?

And to think it all began when Dr. Annable threatened to keep me from graduating high school.

Dr. Annable’s dogged persistence that I understand grammar, at the time, was irritating. Who cared if I knew the difference between an independent and dependent clause? My love for reading surely was not going to increase because I recognized dangling modifiers.

Oh how wrong I was. With Dr. Annable’s determination that I understand the foundation of sentences, I started to look at words in a new way. Books, which since the age of three had been my companions, were more than just a story, a history lesson, or a confidant. Word choice, syntax, even a semi-colon, had the power to arise in me an excitement I never knew possible.

When I weave the story of who I have become, it is as if the pattern was always laid out, but I was not ready to see it: It was Dr. Annable who recognized in me an aimless love, and she gave me the foundation for which I wouldn’t realize its value until I was ready. She strengthened my passion for literature - for words - because I was unconsciously preparing for a literary life. It was because of her, and now for her as well as myself, that I am determined to become an editor and commit my passion to publishing.

Living in a New York state of mind isn’t always easy; the Ohio in me rears up and I’m surprised to find myself missing what I had previously couldn’t wait to escape. But I’m living my dream, and as the person I was always meant to become– and the person Dr. Annable always saw.

Author’s note: Dr. Mary Annable passed away from ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease) in April of 2002. I never was able to tell her thank you. I like to think that she already knows.

Mystery Blogger: Emily Rapoport, Berkley Publishing Group