Andrea O'Connor Email and Phone Number

The first publisher I met at an interview took me via the kitchen on the way to his office and said, gesturing to the coffee machine, 'publishing is all downhill from here'. Fifteen years on, I believe that, on the whole, he was right. I'm lucky that I love coffee and, even though it is stressful at times, my job. My career to date has taken an interesting path that has fine-tuned my passions and skills. At a core level, I was always happiest when I was writing, cooking or enjoying good food. My first job out of university, as an Editorial Assistant for an independent trade book publisher of food and lifestyle titles, immediately engaged my interests and offered me a fantastic introduction to publishing. I got to experience the editorial process from manuscript to end product, and I was hooked.My current position as an freelance editor demands a high level of organisation as I work to multiple, fast-paced schedules to create titles within set budgets and to tight deadlines. I work alongside publishers and independently to complete all editorial processes, including intensive copy-editing, proofreading and copywriting as well as overseeing every creative stage, and managing the coordination of project contributors, production controllers and in-house designers. I believe that managing all stages of the publishing process in this way has given me a solid, holistic understanding of book production.Though a combination of great editorial work with interesting, illustrated non-fiction subjects is what I find most engaging, in previous roles I have also been involved with some more hands-on projects, including props and food styling for photo shoots, recipe testing, restaurant reviewing, sensitivity reading, and coordinating PR for some truly unique titles. Plus a few other personal, 'bang-your-head-against-a-wall' challenges, like trying to write a novel (I'm still going).I love making new professional acquaintances, so get in touch if you want to talk publishing, editing or, of course, food.