BookSpin Interview:

5 minutes with:

Charlotte Ashlock
Berrett-Koehler
Digital Producer and Editor



Charlotte Ashlock is a very interesting lady.  Don't take my word for it, read her bio here.

I "met" Charlotte on twitter and she has one of the twitter feeds that I stop and read every time.    

When I decided to change things up a bit and include interviews on BookSpin, I thought it would be a good idea to include all sorts of book people:  writers, editors, agents, publishers, and...digital producers.

Charlotte's blog is http://ashlockcharlotte.wordpress.com

1.  Tell me about your journey to working in the publishing industry.

When I was doing the bibliography for my Senior Project at Bard College, I noticed a bunch of the books I had read were all by the same publisher. So I contacted them and told them how much I loved their books, and got an internship on the strength of that.  After my internship, I did website work for a nonprofit and learned a lot of computer skills.  Because of my computer skills and previous internship, I was eventually hired as Berrett-Koehler's Digital Editor. 

2.  What is a "typical" day at work for you?

There is no typical day- my job is to innovate digitally so we can reach our audiences in other ways besides the printed book.  We are doing a lot of rapid prototyping and experimenting with different content delivery forms.  So the variety of projects I work on is endless.  It's a perfect job for someone who wants to use their imagination and their curiosity. 

3.  What has most surprised you about your job?

The praise and warm feedback from my coworkers.  It's a more supportive environment than I've ever worked in before.

4.  What is the best part of your job?  The part you wouldn't trade for anything....

Interacting with the authors always makes me really, really, happy.  Our publishing focus is books that improve lives, organizations, and societies, so our authors are always really driven to make the world a better place. The authors inspire me with their zest and enthusiasm and idealism.

5.  Tell me something I don't know about publishing.

Small presses sometimes receive fewer unsolicited submissions than literary agents.  So if you don't mind being published by a small press (instead of one of the big New York houses) your chances could be better researching the small presses in your niche and targeting them directly.

A big BookSpin thank you to Charlotte for her time and for being the first BookSpin interviewee.  

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Know someone who should be interviewed on BookSpin?  Contact me at the email address on the top right of this page.  :)