I worked in the acquisitions department of PIL’s General Books division for a collective total of five years, from 2000 to 2007 (accounting for a two-year hiatus during which I returned to television). In those years, I rose from acquisitions assistant to senior acquisitions editor. It was an interesting time to work in publishing. When I started out, some writers were still submitting manuscripts composed on typewriters (though email had taken hold) and we were more likely to receive giant FedEx boxes of slides from photographers than links to online galleries. At my exit, the industry had made the digital transition, and other changes were afoot that continued to dramatically alter the world of book and magazine publishing.
It’s tough to list all the projects I worked on, but here are a few highlights:
