City Lights

City Lights Publishers is seeking an energetic, multi-talented, team-oriented person to work with us in our office in North Beach, San Francisco.

As the Associate Publisher, this individual will work closely with and support the Publisher, who is also the Executive Director of City Lights, on a range of tasks critical to the functioning of all aspects of the publishing process — editorial, rights and contracts, production, sales/distribution, and marketing/publicity — as well as tasks associated with the general oversight, management and development of City Lights Publishers. 

This position collaborates with the Director of Publicity and Marketing to supervise and support the publicity and marketing team, directly supervises the Production Department, including a roster of freelancers hired on a project basis, and in consultation with the Publisher, develops and oversees budgets and initiatives.

The Associate Publisher must be a passionate advocate for City Lights and its books, and ready to play a leadership role in developing and sharing best practices, tools, and resources to accomplish overall and title-specific objectives. This is both an inward and outward facing position; the Associate Publisher works with all departments in the organization as well as a range of constituents, including our distribution team, as well as colleagues within the book publishing and bookselling worlds.

Previous experience and a track record of accomplishment in book publishing is required and a sincere enthusiasm for the publishing program at City Lights is a must. The ideal candidate must be collegial and well organized, highly attentive to detail, comfortable juggling many projects at once and working collaboratively both within and outside of City Lights. Strong leadership and excellent communication skills, both verbal and written, are required, as are keen judgment, discretion, and diplomacy. 

Responsibilities include, but may not be limited to these areas:

Management

• Support the Publisher in all aspects of running the organization.
• Supervise the work of various staff as needed and share personnel and management duties with the Publisher.
• Participate in the recruitment process for new hires, including editing job descriptions, selecting candidates, conducting interviews, and hiring.
• Support with offboarding when necessary, ensuring all procedures and documentation are properly followed.

Editorial

• Work with the Publisher and the Director of Marketing and Publicity to help shape policy, programs, and initiatives.
• Support the Publisher and other editors by reading notable submissions and advising on acquisitions.
• Copywriting for catalogs and marketing materials
• Copyediting and proofing of catalog copy, covers, and marketing materials 

Rights and Permissions

• Serve as Rights Director; submit titles for foreign, audio, and other consideration.
• Maintain and update databases pertaining to foreign and subsidiary rights, track and pursue payments due, record receipt of funds, and track royalty allocation of incoming payments.
• Maintain and cultivate existing relationships with current foreign rights agents, research new territories and agents as needed, evaluate foreign-language market potential and create pitches for new titles, manage and track foreign-language licensing contracts and requests.
• Generate and execute foreign-language contracts and permissions documents as necessary.
• Serve as liaison to the Permissions Consultant.

 Production

• Liase with production team and editors as needed to maintain production schedule; track and control expenses.
• Hire and supervise copy editors, proofreaders, designers, and other freelancers.
• Oversee reprints and reprint budget, manage offset reprint schedules in consultation with Publisher, and the ongoing entry of backlist titles into a digital print program.
• Manage any necessary ebook conversion of backlist titles.
• Advise on inventory decisions and troubleshoot distribution warehouse issues as necessary.

 Author Relations

• Generate publishing contracts, maintain a contracts database, and track Advance payments
• Manage annual royalty payments: maintain and update database; generate, procure, and import necessary reports, generate annual statements and track payments; file statements and payments; troubleshoot systems problems; research, recommend, and implement systems improvements.

 Miscellaneous

• Compiling data/running reports, filing, correspondence
• Troubleshooting technology issues, helping to improve on existing systems
• Assisting with special projects and other tasks as needed

Required Skills, Knowledge, and Abilities:

• 5+ years of professional publishing experience
• Excellent written and verbal communication skills
• Experience in copyediting and proofreading, and working familiarity with The Chicago Manual of Style
• Self-starter who can work independently with little direction—an investigative problem solver
• Detail-oriented, well organized, and meticulous in execution of tasks
• Strong Mac OS and Microsoft Office skills are a must, particularly Excel, and other basic office technology
• A professional and friendly attitude, ability to collaborate across departments and disciplines
• Ability to direct and motivate a team, fostering a positive and productive work environment.
• Strong decision-making skills, with the ability to assess situations and make informed choices.
• Excellent time management skills to prioritize tasks and meet deadlines.

Education: Possession of a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university

 Preferred experience:

• Independent project management experience
• Supervisory experience
• Experience with data entry and databases
• Immediate availability preferred

 Physical Demands, to be performed with or without reasonable accommodation:

• Must be able to sit for extended periods of time
• Frequent use of hands for keystrokes
• Ability to infrequently lift boxes weighing up to fifty pounds

Notes:  
This position is subject to irregular work schedules and may require occasional evening and/or weekend attendance at events and/or conferences, and require public contact. 

Compensation: Annual salary range starts at: $60,000

How to apply: Send Cover Letter and Resume to: publishers@citylights.com

City Lights Publishers encourages women, minorities and persons with disabilities to apply. Applicants will be considered regardless of their sex, race, age, religion, color, national origin, ancestry, physical disability, mental disability, medical condition (associated with cancer, a history of cancer, or genetic characteristics), HIV/AIDS status, genetic information, marital status, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity, gender expression, military and veteran status, or other protected category under the law.