Commissioning editors review submissions and actively seek out writers for publication. They track trends, work with writers, and make recommendations at meetings. Good communication skills and a network of contacts are important.
A commissioning editor makes recommendations about pieces to be accepted for publication by a newspaper, magazine, or book publisher. These publishing professionals review submissions and queries to decide which to pursue, and may also actively seek out writers to commission specific projects. Typically, commissioning editors are supported by staff who review materials to identify the most promising pieces to read so they don’t have to read all of the material sent to employers.
This person essentially acts as a buyer for the publishing industry. Commissioning editors need a skill set to do their job well. One is the ability to track trends to identify commercially promising work to publish. This requires reading trade publications, keeping track of what customers are demanding, and monitoring activity in rival publications to see what kind of material they are publishing. Commissioning editors also need to be familiar with some legal issues as they can determine what types of parts they can accept.
The commissioning editor works directly with the writers, hiring them and interacting with them during the editing process. Many maintain relationships with writers the publication wants to use on a regular basis, as well as keeping an eye out for new talent. Cultivating relationships with writers can require a variety of activities, including meeting face-to-face with writers, helping writers communicate with other publication employees, and so on.
Commissioning editors generally do not have final authority over publication decisions. They make recommendations at meetings, allowing other editors and senior executives to participate. After a supervisor indicates an interest in acquiring a play, the commissioning editor can move forward with working with the writer. This can include ensuring writers stay on task with deadlines, as well as organizing fact-checking of journalism pieces, working with a photography art department to follow up on the piece, and other tasks.
Working as a commission editor requires the ability to read pieces quickly and fairly to assess publication value. Good communication skills are important, as is the ability to work under fire; someone working at a daily newspaper, for example, needs to be able to pull together stories quickly each day and quickly change the editorial page if necessary to accommodate breaking news. Having a network of contacts is critical, so the commissioning editor knows exactly who to turn to for a quick response on a time-limited piece.
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